Sent: 01/15/2005
From: "Steve Radich \(BitShop, Inc.\)" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise the
file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
"summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>
> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC 2004 and
> run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did compact.
>
> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host os/physical
> drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS defrag utility
> claims it can't defrag it.
>
> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to justify
> defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>
> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>
> Neil Thomson
>
Sent: 01/16/2005
From: "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and virtual
server helper service.
Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
Neil Thomson
"Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise the
> file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>
> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>
> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>
>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC 2004 and
>> run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did compact.
>>
>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host os/physical
>> drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS defrag utility
>> claims it can't defrag it.
>>
>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to justify
>> defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>
>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>
>> Neil Thomson
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/16/2005
From: "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win 2003.
Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch the VHD file -
so it's not a file locking problem....
Neil Thomson
"Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
> virtual server helper service.
>
> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>
> Neil Thomson
>
> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise the
>> file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>>
>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>
>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>>
>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC 2004 and
>>> run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did compact.
>>>
>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host os/physical
>>> drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS defrag utility
>>> claims it can't defrag it.
>>>
>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to justify
>>> defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>
>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>
>>> Neil Thomson
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/16/2005
From: "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:Try copying the VHD to another partition/shared folder, deleting the
original, defrag the partition that the VHD was on, then copy back the VHD.
Of course, back up the VHD if you can before the copy in case the copy gets
munged somehow.
- Bob Comer
"Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
>A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win 2003.
>Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch the VHD
>file - so it's not a file locking problem....
>
> Neil Thomson
>
> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
>> virtual server helper service.
>>
>> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>>
>> Neil Thomson
>>
>> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise the
>>> file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>>>
>>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>>
>>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>>>
>>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC 2004
>>>> and run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did compact.
>>>>
>>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host os/physical
>>>> drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS defrag utility
>>>> claims it can't defrag it.
>>>>
>>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to justify
>>>> defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>>
>>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>>
>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/16/2005
From: "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get big,
sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was hoping to find
an "in place" solution.
Will post what the outcome is...
Neil T.
"Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
> Try copying the VHD to another partition/shared folder, deleting the
> original, defrag the partition that the VHD was on, then copy back the
> VHD. Of course, back up the VHD if you can before the copy in case the
> copy gets munged somehow.
>
> - Bob Comer
>
>
> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win 2003.
>>Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch the VHD
>>file - so it's not a file locking problem....
>>
>> Neil Thomson
>>
>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
>>> virtual server helper service.
>>>
>>> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>>>
>>> Neil Thomson
>>>
>>> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise
>>>> the file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>>>>
>>>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>>>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>>>
>>>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>>>>
>>>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC 2004
>>>>> and run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did compact.
>>>>>
>>>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host os/physical
>>>>> drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS defrag utility
>>>>> claims it can't defrag it.
>>>>>
>>>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to justify
>>>>> defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>>>
>>>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>>>
>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/16/2005
From: "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get big,
I understand that problem all to well. I think you'll probably need a boot
time defragger that specifically states that it can do very large files.
The defragger that comes in Windows (whatever version after Win9x) is pretty
lightweight.
Please do!
- Bob Comer
"Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
> sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was hoping to
> find an "in place" solution.
> Will post what the outcome is...
> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get big,
> sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was hoping to
> find an "in place" solution.
>
> Will post what the outcome is...
>
> Neil T.
>
> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>> Try copying the VHD to another partition/shared folder, deleting the
>> original, defrag the partition that the VHD was on, then copy back the
>> VHD. Of course, back up the VHD if you can before the copy in case the
>> copy gets munged somehow.
>>
>> - Bob Comer
>>
>>
>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win
>>>2003. Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch the
>>>VHD file - so it's not a file locking problem....
>>>
>>> Neil Thomson
>>>
>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
>>>> virtual server helper service.
>>>>
>>>> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>>>>
>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>
>>>> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise
>>>>> the file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>>>>>
>>>>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>>>>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>>>>
>>>>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC 2004
>>>>>> and run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did compact.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host os/physical
>>>>>> drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS defrag
>>>>>> utility claims it can't defrag it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to
>>>>>> justify defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/16/2005
From: "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:Somewhat obviously (sometimes you never know), moving the VHD file to
another drive solved the problem.
My next test will be to try Diskkeeper 9 w boot time - however, as I now
have a happily defragged VHD file, I'll need to wait until I get at least
some fragmentation....
Neil Thomson
"Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get big,
>> sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was hoping to
>> find an "in place" solution.
>
> I understand that problem all to well. I think you'll probably need a
> boot time defragger that specifically states that it can do very large
> files. The defragger that comes in Windows (whatever version after Win9x)
> is pretty lightweight.
>
>> Will post what the outcome is...
>
> Please do!
>
> - Bob Comer
>
>
> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get big,
>> sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was hoping to
>> find an "in place" solution.
>>
>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>
>> Neil T.
>>
>> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> Try copying the VHD to another partition/shared folder, deleting the
>>> original, defrag the partition that the VHD was on, then copy back the
>>> VHD. Of course, back up the VHD if you can before the copy in case the
>>> copy gets munged somehow.
>>>
>>> - Bob Comer
>>>
>>>
>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win
>>>>2003. Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch the
>>>>VHD file - so it's not a file locking problem....
>>>>
>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>
>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
>>>>> virtual server helper service.
>>>>>
>>>>> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>>>>>
>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>
>>>>> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise
>>>>>> the file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>>>>>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC 2004
>>>>>>> and run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did compact.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host
>>>>>>> os/physical drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS
>>>>>>> defrag utility claims it can't defrag it.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to
>>>>>>> justify defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/16/2005
From: "Colin Barnhorst" <colinbarharst(nojunk)@msn.com>
Message:You will like Diskeeper 9. Only the Pro version has the boot time
defragger.
--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
"Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
> Somewhat obviously (sometimes you never know), moving the VHD file to
> another drive solved the problem.
>
> My next test will be to try Diskkeeper 9 w boot time - however, as I now
> have a happily defragged VHD file, I'll need to wait until I get at least
> some fragmentation....
>
> Neil Thomson
>
>
> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get
>>> big, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was
>>> hoping to find an "in place" solution.
>>
>> I understand that problem all to well. I think you'll probably need a
>> boot time defragger that specifically states that it can do very large
>> files. The defragger that comes in Windows (whatever version after Win9x)
>> is pretty lightweight.
>>
>>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>
>> Please do!
>>
>> - Bob Comer
>>
>>
>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get
>>> big, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was
>>> hoping to find an "in place" solution.
>>>
>>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>>
>>> Neil T.
>>>
>>> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>> Try copying the VHD to another partition/shared folder, deleting the
>>>> original, defrag the partition that the VHD was on, then copy back the
>>>> VHD. Of course, back up the VHD if you can before the copy in case the
>>>> copy gets munged somehow.
>>>>
>>>> - Bob Comer
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win
>>>>>2003. Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch the
>>>>>VHD file - so it's not a file locking problem....
>>>>>
>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>
>>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
>>>>>> virtual server helper service.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise
>>>>>>> the file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>>>>>>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC
>>>>>>>> 2004 and run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did
>>>>>>>> compact.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host
>>>>>>>> os/physical drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS
>>>>>>>> defrag utility claims it can't defrag it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to
>>>>>>>> justify defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/16/2005
From: "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:> Somewhat obviously (sometimes you never know), moving the VHD file to
I was pretty sure it would, but never really tested with a vhd. It's good
to know it works.
- Bob Comer
"Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
> another drive solved the problem.
> Somewhat obviously (sometimes you never know), moving the VHD file to
> another drive solved the problem.
>
> My next test will be to try Diskkeeper 9 w boot time - however, as I now
> have a happily defragged VHD file, I'll need to wait until I get at least
> some fragmentation....
>
> Neil Thomson
>
>
> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get
>>> big, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was
>>> hoping to find an "in place" solution.
>>
>> I understand that problem all to well. I think you'll probably need a
>> boot time defragger that specifically states that it can do very large
>> files. The defragger that comes in Windows (whatever version after Win9x)
>> is pretty lightweight.
>>
>>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>
>> Please do!
>>
>> - Bob Comer
>>
>>
>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get
>>> big, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was
>>> hoping to find an "in place" solution.
>>>
>>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>>
>>> Neil T.
>>>
>>> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>> Try copying the VHD to another partition/shared folder, deleting the
>>>> original, defrag the partition that the VHD was on, then copy back the
>>>> VHD. Of course, back up the VHD if you can before the copy in case the
>>>> copy gets munged somehow.
>>>>
>>>> - Bob Comer
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win
>>>>>2003. Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch the
>>>>>VHD file - so it's not a file locking problem....
>>>>>
>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>
>>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
>>>>>> virtual server helper service.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment, otherwise
>>>>>>> the file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>>>>>>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC
>>>>>>>> 2004 and run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did
>>>>>>>> compact.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host
>>>>>>>> os/physical drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host OS
>>>>>>>> defrag utility claims it can't defrag it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to
>>>>>>>> justify defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/17/2005
From: "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:After dropping in a 300G drive and moving the vhd files there and after much
mucking around with the virtual machines, I ended up with fragmentation of
the physical VHD files again.
This time, the W2003 defrag tool worked. I suspect because it had much more
room to play with.
So the defrag toy throwing up it's hands on a file previously suggests it
was really saying " not enough room to defrag this file".
Neil Thomson
"Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
>> Somewhat obviously (sometimes you never know), moving the VHD file to
>> another drive solved the problem.
>
> I was pretty sure it would, but never really tested with a vhd. It's good
> to know it works.
>
> - Bob Comer
>
>
> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>> Somewhat obviously (sometimes you never know), moving the VHD file to
>> another drive solved the problem.
>>
>> My next test will be to try Diskkeeper 9 w boot time - however, as I now
>> have a happily defragged VHD file, I'll need to wait until I get at least
>> some fragmentation....
>>
>> Neil Thomson
>>
>>
>> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get
>>>> big, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was
>>>> hoping to find an "in place" solution.
>>>
>>> I understand that problem all to well. I think you'll probably need a
>>> boot time defragger that specifically states that it can do very large
>>> files. The defragger that comes in Windows (whatever version after
>>> Win9x) is pretty lightweight.
>>>
>>>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>>
>>> Please do!
>>>
>>> - Bob Comer
>>>
>>>
>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get
>>>> big, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was
>>>> hoping to find an "in place" solution.
>>>>
>>>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>>>
>>>> Neil T.
>>>>
>>>> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>> Try copying the VHD to another partition/shared folder, deleting the
>>>>> original, defrag the partition that the VHD was on, then copy back the
>>>>> VHD. Of course, back up the VHD if you can before the copy in case the
>>>>> copy gets munged somehow.
>>>>>
>>>>> - Bob Comer
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win
>>>>>>2003. Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch
>>>>>>the VHD file - so it's not a file locking problem....
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
>>>>>>> virtual server helper service.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment,
>>>>>>>> otherwise the file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag util.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>>>>>>>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical drive.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC
>>>>>>>>> 2004 and run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did
>>>>>>>>> compact.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host
>>>>>>>>> os/physical drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host
>>>>>>>>> OS defrag utility claims it can't defrag it.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to
>>>>>>>>> justify defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Sent: 01/17/2005
From: "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)>
Message:> So the defrag toy throwing up it's hands on a file previously suggests it
Sounds like it. Interesting.
- Bob Comer
"Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
news:(email address - cut out)...
Show quoted text
> was really saying " not enough room to defrag this file".
> After dropping in a 300G drive and moving the vhd files there and after
> much mucking around with the virtual machines, I ended up with
> fragmentation of the physical VHD files again.
>
> This time, the W2003 defrag tool worked. I suspect because it had much
> more room to play with.
>
> So the defrag toy throwing up it's hands on a file previously suggests it
> was really saying " not enough room to defrag this file".
>
> Neil Thomson
>
> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> Somewhat obviously (sometimes you never know), moving the VHD file to
>>> another drive solved the problem.
>>
>> I was pretty sure it would, but never really tested with a vhd. It's
>> good to know it works.
>>
>> - Bob Comer
>>
>>
>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>> Somewhat obviously (sometimes you never know), moving the VHD file to
>>> another drive solved the problem.
>>>
>>> My next test will be to try Diskkeeper 9 w boot time - however, as I now
>>> have a happily defragged VHD file, I'll need to wait until I get at
>>> least some fragmentation....
>>>
>>> Neil Thomson
>>>
>>>
>>> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get
>>>>> big, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was
>>>>> hoping to find an "in place" solution.
>>>>
>>>> I understand that problem all to well. I think you'll probably need a
>>>> boot time defragger that specifically states that it can do very large
>>>> files. The defragger that comes in Windows (whatever version after
>>>> Win9x) is pretty lightweight.
>>>>
>>>>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>>>
>>>> Please do!
>>>>
>>>> - Bob Comer
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>> That was going to be my next step - however, as these drives can get
>>>>> big, sometimes you don't have anywhere else to copy to... so I was
>>>>> hoping to find an "in place" solution.
>>>>>
>>>>> Will post what the outcome is...
>>>>>
>>>>> Neil T.
>>>>>
>>>>> "Robert Comer" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>> Try copying the VHD to another partition/shared folder, deleting the
>>>>>> original, defrag the partition that the VHD was on, then copy back
>>>>>> the VHD. Of course, back up the VHD if you can before the copy in
>>>>>> case the copy gets munged somehow.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> - Bob Comer
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>>A further update - I have two partitions on the machine - XP and Win
>>>>>>>2003. Rebooted to XP and tried defrag from there. Still won't touch
>>>>>>>the VHD file - so it's not a file locking problem....
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "Neil J Thomson" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>>> Stopped the guest (virtual machine), the virtual server service and
>>>>>>>> virtual server helper service.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Defrag still won't touch the VHD file....
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "Steve Radich (BitShop, Inc.)" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in
>>>>>>>> message news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>>>> Make sure the guest is stopped when you try to defragment,
>>>>>>>>> otherwise the file will be locked and unmovable by the defrag
>>>>>>>>> util.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Steve Radich - Server Troubleshooting, Colocation
>>>>>>>>> http://www.bitshop.com - Since 1996 - Reliable NT Services
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> "summer_porch" <(email address - cut out)> wrote in message
>>>>>>>>> news:(email address - cut out)...
>>>>>>>>>> How do you unfragment the VHD files on the host OS/physical
>>>>>>>>>> drive.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I've successfully pre-processed (zeroed) a VHD w the Virtual PC
>>>>>>>>>> 2004 and run compaction (it's a dynamic size VHD), which did
>>>>>>>>>> compact.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> However, in running the standard w2003 defrag on the host
>>>>>>>>>> os/physical drive, the VHD file is still fragmented and the host
>>>>>>>>>> OS defrag utility claims it can't defrag it.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Within the guest OS, the VHD drive is not fragmented enough to
>>>>>>>>>> justify defrag (virtually 100% blue).
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Any solutions on rectifying? Other defrag toys?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Neil Thomson
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
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