Defragmentation is a process whereby Windows scans a disk, finds the fragmented files, then reassembles them whole on the disk. When “defragging” is done on a regular basis, it helps maintain optimum system performance. Defragging can be done via the operating system on any modern Windows-based computer. The sad fact, however, is most of us don't think of defragging our drives until our computer's performance becomes annoyingly slow.

That's where a product like Diskeeper 2007 Professional Premier Edition from Diskeeper Corp. in Burbank, Calif., can be most useful. According to the company, this utility not only automatically defragments a disk quickly, “but also enhances the speed of the Windows file system itself.”

They add that defragging is done “on the fly as fragmentation occurs, using idle system resources. This approach ensures maximum PC speed and reliability at all times, without the performance hit of a manual defrag.”

For those of you who like to do things the old-fashioned way, manual defragging is still possible with Diskeeper 2007 Professional Premier Edition. We tested our software in both the manual and automatic modes.

Diskeeper claims that the level of computer resources taken from applications and services during its defragging operations “is so close to zero that it's virtually undetectable.” Indeed, with the program running in the background, we noticed no change in system performance, even though periodic checks of the utility's activity log showed that defragmentation activity had definitely been taking place.

We also turned off the auto defrag function and used the computer for several weeks without defragging. At the end of that time, we used the utility to analyze our hard disk and found a number of fragmented files.

When we did the manual defrag on those files, the program told us that we had eliminated 663 fragments and gained a “42 percent improvement” in access time for the fragmented files, with a slight improvement in overall access time.

While the access time for the previously fragmented files was only about two seconds faster, the point was certainly proven.

The company also claims its technology outperforms “ordinary” file defragmentation “by an average of 10 percent to 20 percent, and by as much as 80 percent.” We were unable to test this assertion, however.

We liked the helpful, step-by-step instructions provided on screen in the utility's Quick Launch panel. Users can also search for and download updates to the program from this screen.

The software allows you to specify individual files for defragging, or to view the “most fragmented files” on your hard drive. Some tech junkies may find this fascinating or useful, but our bet is that most users couldn't care less.

The strength of this program is it runs in the background and keeps files on your disk nicely organized for better performance, without the user having to intervene–or even think about what is going on.

Users can also choose to automatically run boot-time defragmentation on startup. This feature defragments files at boot time that cannot be moved safely when Windows is running, the company says.

The bottom line is that while you could defrag your disk without this software, you probably won't remember to do so all that often, and that could result in degraded systems performance.

This product offers an easy-to-install-and-use solution that lets you play with dashboards, charts and graphs if you really want to–or you can just let the application run in the background and stop worrying about boring, and often time-consuming, manual defragging.

Diskeeper 2007 Professional Premier Edition carries an estimated street price of $99.95. Home ($29.95), Professional ($49.95), Server ($299.95), Enterprise Server ($999.95) and Administrator ($199.95) Editions are also available.

Further details are available at www.diskeeper.com.

Product At A Glance

Name: Diskeeper 2007 Professional Premier Edition

What it Does: Automatically reorganizes computer files in a form that allows for quicker access by users.

Requires: Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2003

Advantages: Allows users to forget about the inconvenience of manual defragging and helps keeps systems running at optimum levels.

Disadvantages: You might feel guilty about spending money for something Windows can already do–but the automation of this task alone may be worth the outlay.

Estimated Street Price: $99.95

Further Details: www.diskeeper.com