Defragment problem solved at last

De-fragmentation is complete for: (C:)

Some files on this volume could not be De-fragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files.

In my previous article I mentioned to use RECUVA to solve De-fragment problem with the above mentioned error. Unfortunately the problem re-appeared after a few reboots and defragment sessions.

Thinking that the problem was due to MFT (Master File Table) fragmentation, I tried Paragon Total Defrag 2009 - Not to be mention that it is a powerful tool for de-fragmenting MFT as well as compacting MFT. It worked well but the problem still crept in after a few reboots. And I was shocked when I noticed that although the MFT (Master File Table) was not fragmented still the windows Defrag utility was giving the same error - "Some files on this volume could not be De-fragmented".

After trying almost all De-frag Utilities I downloaded JKdefrag. After running JKdefrag I came to know from its log that the following files were not getting De-fragmented viz. C:\$extend\$usnjrnl:$j$data and D:\$extend\$usnjrnl:$j$data.

These are parts of NTFS structure the update sequence number ($USN) Journal is not read or used by Windows but are used by other applications essential to the health and proper operation of the NTFS file system. It is disabled by default and only activated when invoked by any application which uses this feature.

For More details you can check the following links:

• Keeping an Eye on Your NTFS Drives: the Windows 2000 Change Journal Explained
• Creating, Modifying, and Deleting a Change Journal
• Change Journal Records

Recently. I had installed Voidtools "Everything" which was using this feature. Immediately I opened Everything and disabled USN journal logging in the options.

There after I ran JKdefrag again and checked the log file just to find that there was no trace of fragmented "\$extend\$usnjrnl:$j$data".

Finally the problem got solved and now even the Windows default Defrag utility ran perfectly without giving error anymore.

JKdefrag was the only apllication which showed details in its log file as compared to Auslogics Disk Defrag, Defraggler, Smart Defrag & Paragon Total Defrag 2009. Since these are hidden files (Marked with $) they don't show-up in windows Defrag utility's Log file either.

If you are unable to identify the application which is using USN Journal then you can use Fsutil.exe (present in Windows XP system folder) to delete or modify USN Journal

Hope this will help people facing similar issue.

Some files on this volume could not be De-fragmented

Recently I encountered a typical problem in windows XP pro SP3. I have a SATA hard drive in my system with one primary partition (C:) and two logical extended partitions viz. D: & E: drives.

After successfully De-fragmenting the partitions, I received the following message for drives C: and D: .

De-fragmentation is complete for: (C:)

Some files on this volume could not be De-fragmented.
Please check the defragmentation report for the list of these files.

Inside the report it was not showing any fragmented files at all. Neither any file was reflected even after re-analyzing the drives. Thereafter I tried to defrag the MFT (Master File Table) using Paragon Partition Manager 8,5 - which fixed the problem on both the drives.

But all went in vein when the problem reappeared in drive C: after a few boots and system's De-frag utility was not able to fix it at all.

Since De-fragmenting the MFT was taking a huge time (nearly 1-2 Hours) ; it was not feasible to run it every now and then.

So I started searching for permanent remedy - the problem was in the MFT (Master File Table) which increases in size and gets fragmented over the time. And this is not rectified by systems's default defrag utility (One has to use third party utility to defrag MFT). When we delete a file the deleted file's entry remains in the MFT adding to its size.

Surprisingly I used "RECUVA" - yes you are right, it is for recovering deleted files. But there is a feature in Recuva called "Secure Overwrite ..." - which is used to permanently erase the deleted files from the disk and make them unrecoverable for ever.

Solution:

1. Open "RECUVA".
2. Select the Drive (In my case it was C:)
   
3. Run "Scan" without entering anything in the search box.
4. A list of files will appear after the scan. Check tick in all the boxes.
5. Now right click and select "Secure Overwrite Checked".
6. It will take some time and will not be able to delete all the files.
7. But the problem will be solved.

Yes now, after performing the above process, I ran defrag once again on the drive C:.

VIOLA!! - no error anymore - ALL FIXED.

Read this for the final solution.
Do let me know if it worked for you.

वेवोसौर नि:शुल्क (मुफ्त) एडिटिंग सॉफ्टवेर

वेवोसौर एक वेव एडिटिंग सॉफ्टवेर है जो मुफ्त में उपलब्ध है। इसको आप वेव फाइल (wave file) अथवा एमपीथ्री फाइल (MP3 File) प्रोसेस या एडिट करने के प्रयोग में ला सकते हैं। इसमें कट, कॉपी और पेस्ट जैसे प्रावधान हैं जो आपको किसी भी प्रकार की ऑडियो फाइल को एडिट करने मैं मदद कर सकता है। वेवोसौर में वीएसटी (VST) प्लगइन, एसीओ (ASIO) ड्राईवर, अनेक चैनल (Multichannel) वाली वेव फाइल एवं रियल टाइम एफ्फेक्ट प्रोसेसिंग करने की क्षमता है।

इस प्रोग्राम की खासियत है की इसको इन्स्टाल करने की कोई ज़रुरत नहीं है। आपको सिर्फ एक फाइल डाउनलोड करनी है और बस वही फाइल रन करने से प्रोग्राम चालू हो जाता है। ये प्रोग्राम रजिस्ट्री में भी किसी प्रकार की एंट्री नहीं बनता है। वेवोसौर एक पोर्टेबल प्रोग्राम के रूप में काम करता है।


इसको आप विंडोस ९८ (Windows 98), एक्सपी (Windows XP) एवं विस्ता (Vista) में चला सकते हैं।

अधिक जानकारी के लिए इस सॉफ्टवेर की वेबसाइट या होमपेज पर जा सकते हैं। इसकी विस्तृत कार्य क्षमता की जानकारी हेतु आप इस प्रोग्राम की वेबसाइट में फीचर पेज पर जाएँ।

सॉफ्टवेर का नवीनतम वर्जन है १.०.८.० जिसे आप यहाँ से डाउनलोड कर सकते हैं।

आशा है की यह प्रोग्राम ऑडियो के क्षेत्र में कार्य करने वाले काफी लोगों के काम आयेगा।

Wavosour Free Editing Software

Wavosour is a free audio editing software for processing and recording sounds, wave and mp3 files. Wavosaur has all the features to edit audio (cut, copy, paste, etc.) produce music loops, analyze, record, batch convert.
Wavosaur supports VST plugins, ASIO driver, multichannel wav files, real time effect processing.
The program has no installer and doesn't write in the registry. Use it as a free mp3 editor, for mastering, sound design. The Wavosaur freeware audio editor works on Windows 98, Windows XP and Windows Vista.
Go to the features page for an overview of the software.
The Homepage of the software is here.

You can download the latest version 1.0.8.0 from here.

This is a nice software with no installation and works as a portable application. It is still under developement but approaching towards a professional stage.

The best part is that the program has a very small single binary (exe) file with all the features.

Hope this will be of use for many audio enthusiasts.

नए साल २०१० की शुभकामनाएं

मेरी तरफ से आप सब को नए साल २०१० की शुभकामनाएं ! आप सभी लोगो को नया साल बहुत बहुत मुबारक हो । इस वर्ष मैं कुछ हिंदी का प्रयोग करना चाहता हूँ । आशा है की जिनको अंग्रेजी समझने में कठिनाई होती है उनकी कुछ मदद हो जाएगी । कृपा करके मुझे बतायें की मैं सिर्फ अंग्रेजी में ही लिखूं या कुछ कुछ हिंदी में भी लिखूं ?

धन्यवाद ।

Happy New Year 2010

Wish You All a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2010