A hard disk may get highly fragmented as files are regularly deleted and created by users. Thus to overcome the issue, Microsoft Windows includes Disk Defragmenter utility. The tool can place fragmented files on contiguous locations on the storage device. This indirectly reduces stress on the read/write head, which might get failed while accessing different fragments of a file. Data Recovery experts suggest that users should regularly defragment their hard drives as extensive fragmentation can corrupt the file system.

In Windows 2000, Disk Defragmenter performs tasks like moving directory and index information from the original location to a spot and then again moving this spot to one-third of the original way in. Also, it can move uncommonly used files further from the area of directory. But sometimes, the tool fails to optimize a particular data cluster, based on a specific condition. Its ultimate result is that the data element can’t be moved and system shows that the file system structure of the hard disk has gone damaged and become unusable (System Event Log reports the error as Event ID 55). Therefore, Chdsk.exe starts scanning the particular NTFS partition at first restart after running the Disk Defragmenter tool, though it doesn’t find any corruption. As a solution, user may need to reformat the disk and if backup is unavailable, Data Recovery Software will be required.

Solution

• The condition used in Windows 2000 Disk Defragmenter tool has been eliminated in its later versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. So, users can simply upgrade their system. Alternatively, volume can be moved to Windows XP or Server 2003 system to defragment.
• If Windows XP or Server 2003 system is not available, you can format the volume after backing up all the data. Such backup must be crosschecked to prevent any data loss issues while restoration.
•  Users can also try to run the defragmentation tool after running Disk Cleanup.

Data Recovery

It will be required in case of no or insufficient backup after disk formatting. A Data Recovery Software can scan those affected drives, suffering from data loss. These are the tools that offer interactive interface to ease users. Also, they consist of several advanced features that assist users to achieve effective recovery results.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery efficiently scans the drive and recovers lost data. It supports FAT16, FAT32, vFAT, NTFS and NTFS5 based Windows partitions and volumes. It is compatible with Windows Vista, XP, 2003 and 2000. It the foremost Data Recovery Software due toits rich feature set.