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What’s it do? PerfectDisk helps keep the hard drive healthy with its contiguous free space consolidation and Master File Table and page file defragmentation that can be scheduled or run as unattended background processing. Does it do what it promises? . Reviewer 1: PerfectDisk 10 performed most of the promised functions. It is a robust defragmenter with practically all of the performance and scheduling options I can imagine. Its biggest claim to fame is that it will move files and programs you use frequently to the portion of the disk which is fastest and easiest to read. The only problem I had was with it running silently in the background and automatically adjusting itself to work without interfering with my normal computer functions; it was so slow to adjust to my system that it went for about a week without defragging a file. Otherwise, it performed well on two systems. Reviewer 2: PerfectDisk 10 is the latest version of this defragmentation software. It seems to work very well. The user interface is clean and intuitive with no real need to resort to documentation to find out how to use it. It claims to offer a number of new technologies, exclusive to PerfectDisk 10. The documentation is available on the site and within the program if needed. Reviewer 3. Yes. Reviewer 4: Yes. PerfectDisk did a good job of defragmenting the disks that I tested it on; however, over time, I did not find a significant improvement in performance and speed, as claimed. Reviewer 5: Yes. The developer’s Web site claims that PerfectDisk 10 provides “Fast and thorough disk defragmentation, optimization and free space consolidation” and that “you will see faster boot times. . . .” I found these statements to be true and unexaggerated. I would only take exception which such overly generalized and unsubstantiated claims such as that PerfectDisk will “speed up everything you do [on your computer],” that it will “keep your computer running like new,” and that PerfectDisk is “the world’s most popular and thorough disk defragmentation solution.” This type of marketing hype is unnecessary with an excellent product such as PerfectDisk and such exaggeration only detracts in my opinion. Was it easy to install? Reviewer 1: Installation was fast and easy. Reviewer 2: Yes, quite easy. PerfectDisk 10's EULA allows for installation on computer(s) indicating that it can be used on both a desktop and a laptop, under a single license. This is reasonable usage but not all that common in my experience. Reviewer 3: Yes, the 46.6 MB downloaded file installed without any problems or conflicts. Reviewer 4: Yes, it was a fairly standard installation procedure. We tested both PerfectDisk 2008 and PerfectDisk 10, so went through the procedure more than once. Most programs that I have downloaded come in a compressed form, and need to unpack themselves and store the installation files somewhere on the hard disk before actually beginning the installation. PerfectDisk is the first program that I have seen that wants to put its installation files in the Program Files directory; normally this is reserved for the Programs themselves and their supporting cast of characters. Many programs will erase their installation files when they have set themselves up on your computer; PerfectDisk did not do this. Actually, as I do my best to keep the Program Files directory on my computer in some kind of logical order, I made sure that only the PerfectDisk program itself went into the Program Files directory. PerfectDisk also attempted to load two programs into the computer's startup process; however, as both are required only if one plans on using the scheduling functions of the program, they do not need to be enabled. Fortunately, I have Win Patrol on my computer, so I was able to decide if I wanted these programs running all the time. All software program installations should give the user the ability to decide what s/he does or does not want to run. We should not have to depend on a third-party program such as Win Patrol to tell us if a program is required or not, and that it is being installed without our permission. Reviewer 5: Yes; although, the reasonably large 46.6MB download notwithstanding, it did download a bit slow due possibly to busy servers on the PerfectDisk download site. I did experience one glitch in that after downloading and clicking the dialogue box to “run” nothing happened; in fact, the dialogue box disappeared and I had to navigate to the folder that I had selected for the download, open it, and click on the installation file to begin the installation manually. Once done, the installation was handled by a standard installation wizard, and installed smoothly and seemed to integrate seamlessly in the Window’s operating system. Once installed and launched a configuration wizard fine tunes the set up to the individual user, allowing a choice between a notebook or desktop configuration, and creating the first or initial defragmentation schedule. The EULA (End user License Agreement) is printable which I greatly appreciate and something that I wish all software developers would emulate, and it is more or less standard in its limitations (single user) and disclaimers (no liability). There is one item which was unusual and inexplicable that dealt with “U.S. Government Retrieval Rights.” I think to fully understand this section or to determine its necessity (or implication) might well require an attorney well-versed in the United States Legal Code. I do wish developers might someday get together and develop a standard EULA written in simply language that also takes the consumer into consideration as well as the software developer. This installation was an upgrade installation from PerfectDisk 2008. Upon advice of technical support, I did not uninstall the previous version (notwithstanding that there is a “cleanup tool” available on the Web site to uninstall the old program first). The newer version installed cleanly over the previous version, even removing the old desktop icon and replacing it with the new icon, a nice touch! Registration was simple and fast as well. The only glitch was that it did leave the old, and sizeable, 80MB installation file; however, it left only six empty Registry entries and that is the mark of a well designed program and upgrade. I would prefer that the upgrade automatically uninstalled the old version rather than simply writing over the old version using the prior directory structure, but this is more a matter of personal preference than a weakness—especially since the upgrade went perfectly. Good points Reviewer 1: Once I properly configured PerfectDisk 10, the defragging and space management jobs ran smoothly on my PCs. My first system was well defragmented by other software and my second system was new; so it was difficult to detect a performance change; however, the process of defragmenting and optimizing my disks was smooth and made sense. There are features in PerfectDisk 10 which are not present in other defragmenters I have used. The first and foremost is the ability to reposition files on the disk so that the ones most frequently used are accessed the most quickly. The second is that it can consolidate the free space on the disk. This should allow large files to be saved with minimal risk of fragmentation. PerfectDisk 10 will defragment at bootup the system files that are inaccessible while Windows is running. This can be bypassed in a hurry by pressing the “esc” key. The user has detailed control over the scheduling time and frequency of maintenance tasks. There were also some options to minimize the space occupied on the disk. The duplicate files finder worked quickly and efficiently and there were appropriate options to open the duplicate files for inspection and to see the full path of the files. Reviewer 2: PerfectDisk 10 has a very clean and easy-to-use interface. During the initial install, PerfectDisk 10 detected all four drives connected to my desktop, including one USB external drive. It also appears to be able to defragment a remote computer over a network connection. This has a few access caveats obviously, but it is nice to know that this facility is available, if properly configured. To use PerfectDisk 10, one simply selects the drive and clicks “Analyze” to determine the condition of that drive. The analyze scan was very fast and produced a nice graphical display of the condition of all the sectors on the selected drive(s) with the option to defragment or not. One of the advancements touted by PerfectDisk 10 as an exclusive patented process, is something called “SMARTPlacement” which Raxco claims optimizes file placement during a one-pass free space consolidation run. It also offers the option of "consolidate free space” only, and Defragmentation only. It also has the ability to defragment individual files. This could be useful for very large files such as word processing documents or spreadsheets that are frequently opened and closed contributing defragmentation of that individual file. Like any good program of this type, PerfectDisk 10 allows defragmenting on a schedule. This can be manually set, or by using PerfectDisk 10s "AutoPilot Scheduling" in combination with their "StealthPatrol" feature allowed to run only during the computer’s idle times. This is a very “customizable” and flexible program for doing drive maintenance at a reasonable price. With its specialized features such as SMARTPlacement, AutoPilot Scheduling and StealthPatrol, it can be a good solution to one’s disk maintenance toolbox. Reviewer 3: The most important feature of any program is its ease of use and how much the user has to learn in order to use the program properly. PerfectDisk is a very easy and requires very little learning to use. In testing this aspect, my first use of PerfectDisk was done without any advanced reading of the help files. I was able to install, use, and schedule PerfectDisk to defrag my HD without any problems. As I tested the more advanced features I occasionally would check the help files to make sure I was making the correct choices for my setup. I especially liked the tabbed interface that made all functions under each section readily accessible. Although I am an experienced advanced user, I feel that the average user with any experience at all in using defragmentation programs would be using PerfectDisk as soon as they install it with little or no learning curve. Defragmentation of a drive is a well known performance improvement for any setup using a mechanical hard drive. Simply put, the less time the mechanical arm of the hard drive spends moving over the hard drive platters seeking the different parts of a file, the faster the file will load. Rearranging the pieces of the file so that it resides in one continuous space on the hard drive is what defragmentation is all about. PerfectDisk does this in a single defragmentation process. What makes PerfectDisk excel over other defragmentation programs is how it rearranges the file. PerfectDisk uses what it calls SMARTPlacement to organize the files on one’s disk based upon the files most used. This setting can be adjusted by the user based upon when a file was last modified. The result is that these most often-used files become fragmented at a slower than normal usage rate. The result of slower fragmentation means continued higher performance. To test this out, I monitored how much fragmentation occurred after defragmentation with the Windows-installed utility before I ran PerfectDisk for the first time. Then I monitored how much fragmentation occurred after defragmentation with PerfectDisk. For the same time period the amount of defragmentation with PerfectDisk’s SMARTPlacement was 2% less than the same time period after Window’s utility defragmentation. Two percent doesn’t sound like much, but considering I have a 500GB drive with 35.5 GB of data, that’s over 700 MBs of fragmentation. It took 2.5 times the amount of time for my system to reach the fragmentation level as in the test period following the Window’s utility defragmentation. Not many defragmentation programs offer the ability to defrag the boot files, but PerfectDisk performs this type of defragmentation. When I first tried this, it didn’t work, but after a little review of the FAQ section on the developer’s Web site I found that my firewall was preventing PerfectDisk from doing the boot file defrag. PerfectDisk even told me exactly what file was the problem and how to temporarily deactivate the file so the boot defrag could be done. I did notice a faster boot time after performing this boot defrag. For the average user the boot files don’t become fragmented at the same rate as other files on the drive, so the boot defrag doesn’t have to be performed very often. Defragmentation of a hard drive is a routine maintenance function that many users ignore until the performance of their PC screams “defrag me”. This usually happens when one needs to use the PC and not watch little color blocks move on a grid. With PerfectDisk I was able to schedule when the defragmentation would occur and would delay that defrag if I was using the PC at that time. This function has made this defrag maintenance chore a set-and-forget task. I love the “candy” that comes with PerfectDisk such as details about each defragmentation, properties about the drive, and the number of different types of files on the drive. A very nice extra in PerfectDisk is Space Management with which I was able to find and remove many duplicate files. Space Explorer allows viewing of files in a whole new way, but what impressed me most was how much faster it was than Windows Explorer. Individual files and the program used to display those files display much faster than clicking on that file in Windows Explorer. I would recommend that Raxco offer Space Explorer by itself; I know I would buy it and use it over Windows Explorer. Reviewer 4: PerfectDisk is easy to use and operates quickly in comparison with other defragmentation program.. When I asked it to Analyze or Defragment a drive, PerfectDisk would give a somewhat optimistic estimate of the time required. The graphics showing progress are very much like those of other defragmentation programs but with much more detail and more statistics after the process has been completed. When it is in background mode, PerfectDisk uses about 20 MB of RAM, which increases to almost 41 MB when actively running. Following defragmentation, statistics are displayed along with comparative graphs of the "before" and "after" states of the drive. Files are grouped into types (text, graphic, program, video, music, etc.) with pie charts and the percentage of the drive occupied by each type in a table, the amount of free space, and so on. These statistics are continuously updated. Some of the more surprising statistics are those showing which files are most often modified and those that are rarely modified. From within PerfectDisk, one can log onto other computers in the local network and run the program on the remote computers. I found this useful in performing maintenance on other family members' computers. After-sales support is an important criterion in evaluating a software program. The support provided through the PerfectDisk online ticket system was quick, courteous and efficient. Although I had few problems with the program, I did submit some support requests. Even when working with a trial version of the software) I received a prompt answer within a couple of hours and even on weekends. Reviewer 5: Disk defragmenting software for Windows has been around since there has been a Windows operating system and while the newer NTFS file system is less prone to fragmentation than the older FAT file system, disk defragmentation is still necessary to insure a healthy hard drive and optimally functioning computer. When files on one’s hard drive are not stored contiguously, the drive heads have to work harder trying to locate individual files. Incontiguously stored files are said to be fragmented and placing the files in contiguous order requires a program to defragment the hard drive. This is where PerfectDisk comes into play. While Windows has its own built-in defragmentation tool it does not fully place every file in contiguous order and does not defragment the Master File Table (MFT), all metadata, paging files, and directories. PerfectDisk 10 does all of this and more. While there are many excellent features built into this program, possibly the most unique feature of PerfectDisk 10 is what is identified as “SMART Placement.” This patented technology allows PerfectDisk to not only place files in contiguous order but it optimizes the hard drive file structure as well by placing files on the hard disk according to each user’s individual usage pattern. So rather than simply moving every file around as most defragmenters do, PerfectDisk 10 “SMARTPlacement” moves only those files that do not conform to the usage pattern. Not only does this reduce “read/write” time by finding files faster, it also provides faster drive defragmentation and minimizes future defragmentation by consolidating the drive free space as well. This additional ability and feature of PerfectDisk 10 to “Consolidate Free Space” defragmentation option allows the user to not only defragment the part of the disk containing files, but also the free space as well to create the largest piece of unbroken or contiguous free space. PerfectDisk 10 requires only about 5% of disk free space to operate. This is far less than most defragmentation software requires and means one can defragment a far fuller disk. CPU usage was extremely low at only around 37% due , in part, to Perfect Disk’s ability to automatically detect if the drive is busy and adjust the I/O (input/output) or throttle down its CPU use accordingly so that defragmenting in the background doesn’t slow down other actively running applications. RAM usage was a bit high on my machine, consuming approximately 10 MB of RAM when simply idle and 36 MB of RAM while in operation. This was a slight improvement over the previous version of Perfect Disk 2008, especially in CPU usage which would run as high as 70%. PerfectDisk 10 claims to be 30% faster, and it is that at least. On a 500 GB drive that is about 20% full and showing it to be about 5% fragmented, PerfectDisk 10 completed the defragmentation in just under twenty minutes as compared to the previous version which took nearly an hour. When completed ,it showed my disk at 97% defragmented which, when tested against the very reputable Auslogic disk defrag program, was conservative as the Auslogic program as well as the built-in Windows tool showed 0% fragmentation. Conversely, when I first defragged my office computer using the Auslogic program, PerfectDisk 10 found an additional 12% of fragmented files. So as well as I like the Auslogic free program, it really does not compare to the feature-rich and more robust PerfectDisk 10 program. Now, does all of this PerfectDisk 10 performance really mean a faster computer? Based on my extensive testing, my boot time decreased by a noticeable 28% and my I/O reads and I/O writes times decreased by an average 24% on running processes which resulted in applications opening noticeably quicker. So, yes, the claims made by Perfect Disk 10 were met and exceeded in my testing. The Perfect Disk 10 program seems to outperform its competition, has made significant improvements over its previous version, and also features a very flexible scheduling option, automatic updates, a nice suite of tools that include applications for space management, finding duplicate and temporary files, and so on. There are options to create enough logs to keep even the most hardcore geek happy, a new pause button that allows activity to be suspended for an unlimited amount of time, a stealth mode that allows for automatic defragmentation in background, an auto start option, and cumulative counters that display how many files have been defragmented and how much free space has been recovered. There is even enhanced self-diagnostics to detect and repair most common issues with the program, and a new and attractive GUI which, although I am not a big fan of ribbon style tool bars, is intuitive and will seem very familiar to anyone using the Microsoft Office or Word 2007 programs. It includes tabbed navigation, setup wizards, and graphics of a drive’s fragmented files. Finally, good looks and great performance are only as valuable to me as the technical or customer support that is offered, and here, too, PerfectDisk shines. Support consists of an extensive FAQ, an excellent Knowledge Base, an active and friendly online community forum, user guides, video demonstrations, and an email/ticket support system in the unlikely event there is a question that has not been answered through any of the above means. Quite honestly, I could find no reason to contact support. I could not even invent a “test problem” without finding the answer in the Knowledge Base or forum. The only real glitch that I encountered (see below) was resolved with a “bug fix” download offered in a Knowledge Base article. The Pro version as tested might seem a bit costly at $39.95—notwithstanding that I think it is well worth the price—however, there is a home version at $29.95 that has all of the functions of the Pro version other than the ability to create endless logs that probably only a true geek would appreciate anyway. Either version gets my unqualified recommendation. There is also a fully functioning trial download as well and PerfectDisk offers a 30-day warranty. This is really a must-have program. Weak points. Reviewer 1: On my new system, I set up the defragmenting process to run under PerfectDisk’s “StealthPatrol”. This is designed to have PerfectDisk run when the system is idle, or under a decreased load, so as not to interfere with normal computer activity. After it ran automatically in the background for about five days, the log file showed it starting, stopping, and changing its settings, but never getting to the point of defragging a single file. I emailed support and they replied that this is normal behavior and that I should just continue to let it run until it gets used to my computer’s profile and activity pattern. I let it run for a couple more days before I discontinued this function and defragmented according to a fixed schedule. A subsequent email to support asking for clarification of when this lack of activity would be considered a problem was answered five days later, telling me which settings could be adjusted (this was obvious from the “manual settings” option,), but giving no guidance to decide what to set them at. One feature I do not like is that PerfectDisk will to complete scheduled jobs where the “Boot” option is selected and if the user is not at his computer when the override warning pops up, he may return to find that their system has rebooted on its own. The boot option is automatically selected by PerfectDisk as it configures the job and is not easily overridden. I did not find a way to override this reboot option on a global basis. Reviewer 2: The "Help" button is a tiny dot with a question mark in it, about 1/4 inch in diameter or less, located in the upper right corner of the "defragmentation" window. It should be more prominent so that the user does not have to leave the page and go to the product resources tab where all of the various Help options were located, including a large “Help” button. Reviewer 3: I found only one weak point in this program. In the self diagnostics and troubleshooting it found a file that was incompatible with PerfectDisk. When the fix button was pushed it was a link to PerfectDisk support; however, it was a dead link yielding a “Page not displayed” message. Raxco knows the links in PerfectDisk and should at least redirect these links to a page that displays a message even if the message was to check the FAQ section of the Web site. I would recommend to Raxco to have Space Explorer open a file by double clicking it rather than the right click open method it currently uses. This would make Space Explorer act more like what users are accustomed to. Reviewer 4: When upgrading from PerfectDisk 2008 to PerfectDisk 10, I did a complete uninstall of the older version. I was surprised to find that even after the installation had been completed, there were still 173 items left in the Windows Registry. Although this caused me no problems on any of the computers on which I used either version of PerfectDisk, I would have been more comfortable had the uninstallation been cleaner. PerfectDisk will not run unless there are two services that are already functioning when one tries to start the program. It is possible to have both services run at boot-up and they are needed along with the rest of the program in order to use the scheduling features; but, since they are required only for PerfectDisk itself, they are an otherwise unnecessary use of system resources. If PerfectDisk is run on an occasional basis and not used otherwise, one must go into the Control Panel and activate these two particular services. This is a part of the program that needs some rethinking and redesign. Reviewer 5: There are few weaknesses and very little not to like. Aside from the aforementioned glitch in installation that I experienced, the only other “bug” I encountered was that some of the options for closing the program would not stay selected. In the Knowledge Base I found an article that addressed this very problem and offered a download to correct the bug. The estimated times for defragmentation and analysis were not always accurate and seemed to modify constantly, a minor annoyance only since the elapsed percentage indicates how the process is proceeding. I was also irritated that Perfect Disk 10 installed two new services set to automatic so that they are running all of the time, but the Windows services applet solved that problem by resetting them to manual. (Note, these services need to be running for PerfectDisk to run always in background.) I also think the feature set may be a bit too robust and thus may intimidate some users, i.e. does the average user really need all of those logs; and, leave the cleaning of temporary files to programs such as CCleaner and not in a disk defragmentation program. I don’t believe anyone reads Space Management reports and I would rather eliminate them and save the space. Again, however, these are more matters of personal preference than weaknesses in the program. Developer's Web Site Reviewer 1: The website and help systems were not as detailed or intuitive to use as I would have hoped. They seemed more geared towards promoting the program than to providing troubleshooting assistance. Following the link for the ‘printable user’s guide’ led to a 404 “file not found” error. Reviewer 2: The Product Resources page has links to purchase a PerfectDisk 10 license, and online resources consisting of Webinars, printable user guides, the PerfectDisk blog, as well as links for product information, and technical support. There were three options under technical support; FAQs, Knowledge Base, and "Ask a Question". Clicking the FAQs link launches one’s default browser and navigates to the PerfectDisk Web site for system requirements for all PerfectDisk 10 products Reviewer 3: The Web site is easy to navigate and easy to access from links within the program. I did find a problem using the Knowledge Base. If I made all the selections such as platform, file system, etc. when asking a question I got no answer , not even “file not found.” The same search without indicating the specifics yielded the exact results I was looking for. Trial and error was needed to navigate the Knowledge Base correctly. This should be changed or detailed instruction should be posted so users can make use of the solutions. Reviewer 4: The Web site is a fairly professional one. It is easy to navigate; in fact at the bottom of all screens there is a list of all the pages, so one can easily navigate from any one page to any other page on the site. In terms of content, it is geared to promotion and sales and less towards information and support. For example, there is a section with several videos labeled as commercial and promoting PerfectDisk; however, remaining videos are called "Tips", suggesting that they will explain how different functions in the program work. Instead, they are simply advertising, reminding me of those annoying infomercials that infest late-night/early-morning TV channels. That said, one of the interesting parts of the Web site is the section "About Us." There is a users forum on the site, but it is a bit different from the usual users forum. I would recommend that users take a look at the PerfectDisk online community. Reviewer 5: This is a professionally designed Web site that is very attractive, quite readable, easily navigated, and offers more than enough information to allow for an informed decision before making a purchase. I did have some repeated difficulties with certain tabbed windows remaining open and they tended to randomly close and return to the home page. This happened most often when navigating between the support page and other non-support pages. Other comments Reviewer 1: One other advantage of PerfectDisk 10 it that its developers refrain from the incessant spamming which one of their direct competitors did when I registered their software. Reviewer 2: None. Reviewer 3: This is not just a defragmentation program. The best part is Space Explorer, which is many times faster than Windows Explorer. Reviewer 4: Although we are reviewing the Professional version of PerfectDisk here, there is also a Home Version. The main difference between the two is that the Professional version offers support for defragmentation on the Windows Home Server, additional management of the "free space," and a duplicate file finder. There is a comparison of all versions of PerfectDisk available on the Web site at: http://www.perfectdisk.com/products/home-perfectdisk10-professional/which-PerfectDisk. Reviewer 5: As a reviewer I always attempt to approach every program we select to test with an open and objective frame of mind. I must admit, however, that when provided PerfectDisk to test and evaluate I really wanted to dislike it because I had recently found a free disk defrag program, Auslogics, that I really thought could not be beat—not to mention that it was a free program. It did not have all of the bells and whistles of PerfectDisk or other shareware defrag programs such as Diskeeper, but I thought it would defrag a disk as well as possible. I was just sure that PerfectDisk would be some over-rated and over-priced piece of bloatware that once stripped of its bells and whistles would perform no better than the free program. While I prefer the small newer companies and lighter programs with a small footprint, I could not have been more wrong in regards to PerfectDisk 10. There are cheaper programs; there are smaller programs; there are programs that use less resource and have a smaller footprint; but there are no other defragmentation programs that I have found that can compare with PerfectDisk. While not the smallest or cheapest, it is by far the best. This is a rock solid and well written piece of software; one of the very best I have encountered in the past 20+ years of software testing. Will you continue to use it? Reviewer 1: Yes. Reviewer 2: Yes, I liked this one and will continue to use it. Reviewer 3: Yes, definitely. Reviewer 4: Yes, sometimes. I will keep in my toolbox of utilities to be called up on occasion, but I do not plan to keep it installed and running continuously in the background. Reviewer 5: Yes. |
OPERATING SYSTEMS USED IN THIS REVIEW
Windows XP Pr, XP Home, XP Media Center
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