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Date: February 10, 2006
Author(s): Matthew Harris
Editor: Rob Williams

Diskeeper is back with their top notch Defragmentation software. The new version takes a lot of features that have helped make the software so great, and made them even better. You now will even have the capability of defragging computers on your network. Let's take a look at the latest version and see if it's worth your hard earned money.

Introduction and Features

Today I'm taking a look at Diskeeper 10 Professional Premier. For those of you who are not familiar with Diskeeper, it is one of the finest defragmenting utilities on the market today. In fact Windows XP uses a stripped down version of Diskeeper 6 as it's default defragmenting tool. Even though you already have a bare bones version of DK on your PC if you run XP don't be fooled into thinking that you won't benefit by moving up to the full version of the newest revision out today.

I'll let the features do the talking:

• Diskeeper 10 professional premier edition "Set it and forget it" features:
• Redesigned user interface for intuitive and easy scheduling and configuration
• Intelligent file access acceleration sequencing technology (i-faast(TM)) learns the performance characteristics of each drive and sequences the most commonly-accessed files for the fastest possible access
• "Set it and forget it" operation automatically defragments according to the schedule you set—or allow Diskeeper to intelligently schedule itself with Smart Scheduling(TM)
• Enhancements to i/o smart(TM) which intelligently monitors drive access during defragmentation, allows transparent background defragmentation so you never experience a performance hit, even during system peak production times
• Boot-time mode safely performs Microsoft(R)-recommended defragmentation of critical system files
• Historical reporting tracks the progress of Diskeeper over time and displays cumulative defragmentation benefits
• Frag shield(TM) dynamically reduces fragmentation of critical system files, maintaining system stability and reliability
• Two schedules per volume, allowing flexible defragmentation customized for your server
• File performance defragmentation mode now combinable with all defragmentation methods for an instant performance boost for those fragmented files causing the biggest slowdowns
• Screen saver mode defragments your drive while your system is idle
• Power management for laptops prolongs battery life by suspending background defragmentation while on battery power
• Group policy administrative templates to manage product settings and scheduling; now updated with new functionality.
• Non-administrator end user access System Administrators can now have the option to allow end users, without Local Administrative privileges to access Diskeeper

Diskeeper is the only defragmenter truly designed for the network. Keeping your servers automatically defragmented to maintain peak performance and reliability has never been easier. Just install Diskeeper simply and easily either locally or using Diskeeper Administrator Edition, Group Policy or systems management tools (such as Sitekeeper) and Set It and Forget It. Diskeeper will keep every server on your network defragmented automatically and in the background. With over 18 million licenses sold, Diskeeper is the number one automatic defragmenter for your servers.

And for those of you of a more technical mindset here's what it brings to the table:

Hardware Support

• Diskeeper runs on the Intel® x86 platforms (including compatible CPUs from other manufacturers).

Operating System Support

• Windows XP Media Center
• Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows XP Professional
• Windows XP Professional x64
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows Server 2003 Web
• Windows Server 2003 Standard
• Windows Server 2003 Standard x64
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Windows Server 2003 Enterprise
• Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
• Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Server
• Windows 2000 w/ Server Appliance Kit
• Windows Server 2003 w/ Server Appliance Kit

Functional limits

• Maximum supported volume size: 2TB
• Simultaneous defragmentation jobs: 8

Disk subsystems supported

• Primary Partitions
• Extended Partitions
• Logical Drives
• Volume Sets
• RAID Arrays (hardware and software)
• Mirrored Disks
• Mounted Volumes (letter-less drives)

Resource requirements

The disk space requirements for Diskeeper depend on several factors. On Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows 2000 systems, Diskeeper will need about 11 MB. Allow about 10 MB of extra free space for temporary files during the installation. If Internet Explorer is not present on your computer, some other needed files (hhupd.exe, 50comupd.exe, and wintdist.exe) may be added. Further, your system may require a new or updated version of the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), which is less than 6 MB.

Additional software requirements

On Windows NT 4.0 computers, Service Pack 6 is required for Diskeeper to function properly. Diskeeper will not install on Windows NT systems running Service Pack 5 or lower. Diskeeper relies on the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). The MMC provides a single point of control for system utilities such as Diskeeper. The MMC is used as a central location for a variety of Microsoft and third party administrative tools.

Note

The MMC normally has to be installed separately, except on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 systems, where it is already built into the operating system. The Diskeeper setup process will automatically install the MMC on your computer if needed.

A Note About Firewalls

As a normal part of its operation, the Diskeeper Service (DkService.exe) acts as a server on your system. If you are running a hardware or software firewall, you may see messages indicating Diskeeper Service is trying to act as a server. These messages are expected; you can safely allow these events. This functionality is designed to allow for support for network operations (e.g. Remote Control) via Diskeeper Administrator. You may also be notified that Diskeeper is trying to access the Internet. It is important to note that Diskeeper does not access the Internet (except when you specifically use the Check for Updates feature), but it does use Windows mechanisms that may trigger these alerts from your firewall. Again, these messages are expected and you can safely allow the events. If networkability or automatic update checking is not required, you can safely disable this.

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