Diamond Edge Demo Version Extendible Help System
 File: OPTIMIZE.HLP
 Topics covered:
 

    ù  Choosing the Optimization Method
    ù  Other Optimization Options
    ù  Optimizing your Drive


 
 ù  Choosing the Optimization Method
 
       Diamond Edge offers two optimization methods: Full 
 optimization and Compress Free Space.  You select the 
 optimization methods by selecting the appropriate method under
 the Optimize menu.
 
       Full optimization is a complete optimization of your hard 
 disk.  First, all of the directory sectors of a given subdirectory 
 are consolidated, then all of the sectors in each file within the 
 subdirectory are defragmented and consolidated, then all of the 
 files within a subdirectory are located consecutively on the disk.  
 
       Compressing free space eliminates free space from the area 
 of used disk space by moving it all to the end or beginning of the 
 disk.  If there is any free space located within the allocated space 
 on the active drive it will be eliminated.  Compressing Free space 
 does not defragment files, directory sectors, or directories it 
 simply moves clusters so there is no free space within the allocated 
 area.  This basically segments your disk into two separate blocks, 
 all of the used space is together and all of the free space is 
 together.
 
    We recommend that all disks be fully optimized when you first 
 receive Diamond Edge.  After that you can use the compress free 
 space option to keep the free space contiguous in between full 
 optimizations.  Use the disk fragmentation maps and statistics to 
 assist you in determining the level of disk fragmentation on each 
 of your disks.  
 
 ù  Choosing the Optimization Priority
 
    Diamond Edge provides two optimization priorities: Optimization 
 for Reading and Writing.  You select the optimization priority by 
 selecting the appropriate method under the Optimize menu.  The 
 basic distinction between the two priorities is where on the disk 
 the allocated space is moved.  
 
       Selecting Prioritize for Reading will move all of the 
 allocated disk space to the beginning of the partition.  This 
 improves the reading performance of the disk because all of the 
 directory sectors and file clusters are physically closer to the 
 FAT tables.   This significantly reduces the amount of disk head 
 movement that is required to find and then read a file.  Disk head 
 movement is the slowest component of any disk operation and the 
 amount of disk head movement is critical to disk performance.  
 
       Selecting Prioritize for Writing will move all of the 
 allocated disk space to the end of the partition.  This improves 
 the writing performance of the disk because all of the free space 
 is physically closer to the FAT tables.  The operating system does 
 not have to work very hard to find the free space and when it does 
 the disk head does not have to move very far to write the 
 information. 
 
 ù  Other Optimization Options
 
       In addition to the Optimization Type and Priority, there are 
 a number other options available to you when doing an optimization.  
 The first three are: Auto-Fix errors, Ignore Illegal File Names, 
 and Save Lost Clusters.  These functions should be familiar and 
 function exactly as described in Medic section. 
 
       Before each optimization, the disk is automatically subjected 
 to a Disk Medic pass to assess it's ability to be optimized.  If ANY 
 disk errors are detected in the Disk Medic pass, they must be fixed 
 before the optimization can proceed.  Optimization of a disk that 
 contains any errors is not allowed.
 
       The other option involves the disposition of deleted files 
 within the directories.  A full description of what happens when you 
 delete a file is given in Section 5.1 of the manual.  The optimization 
 of a disk drive significantly reduces the probability of successfully 
 recovering a deleted file.  If you select Remove Deleted, then the 
 space occupied in the directory sectors for the deleted files will 
 be removed.  This will help speed up directory searches.  
 
 ù  Optimizing your Drive
 
       Before you perform an optimization there is one thing left to 
 do: Backup your hard drive.   Diamond Edge provides secure protection 
 against and recovery from a wide variety of disk related problems,  
 however there is NO SUBSTITUE for a valid up to date hard disk backup.  
 
       Regardless of the safeguards within the program, the only way to 
 protect against an unexpected power outage during an optimization is 
 to have a current hard disk backup. We find that using Diamond Back II 
 is the fastest and most reliable means to accomplish hard disk backups.
 
    You may either optimize just the active drive by selecting Optimize 
 Drive from the Optimize menu or on multiple drives by selecting 
 Optimize Multiple.  Before each disk is optimized, it is automatically 
 examined by the Disk Medic for problems.  Any problems detected by the 
 Disk Medic must be fixed before optimization will be allowed.  After 
 the disk has passed the Disk Medic examination, the optimization will 
 begin.  A bell will ring to indicate that the optimization is complete.