Worren
05-26-2005, 03:27 AM
That's what it's all about - speed. Overclocking, faster memory and cpu's, raid, scsi, etc. Well here's one I bet very few know about. Windows uses what is called the MFT. The master file table. It installs at a default size. It works as a repository for for file parameters. It does fine for a while but then it gets full. Windows in it's wisdom then grabs more disk space and adds more MFT space. That's when you notice the first performance hit because instead of making the MFT one contiguous file, it fragments and puts the added space wherever it will fit. I've adjusted it manually for years and it's a pain in the butt but I found a utility that does it for me with just a few clicks. I'm not giving advertising away but to make the point I must give you the name. Diskeeper Pro, version 9. Once you install it go down to 'change your settings' and find the MFT section. It will recommend any changes you need to expand your MFT and keep it in one piece. Defrag after you expand the MFT and run a boot time defrag with every option you can check. You will notice a difference.