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The excessive fragmentation in NTFS/FAT/FAT32 volumes is a result of how MS places files on the system combined with the fact that the PageFile (system swap) is on the same volume as the system and most applications. A typical configuration of MS Windows (WinXP) is set to allow the Pagefile to grow and shrink as deemed necessary by the OS. Also MS just dumps its data into the largest available space. NTFS does some block buffering and some block filtering (defrag?), but it is not equivelent to an actual defrag.
An interesting observation of NTFS is that when copying files from one volume to the next, there is little fragmentation. When installing many diferent applications, the system fragments alot. I am not sure why this happens, but it is strange. This kinds of leads me to wonder if the volume management is affected by system load, ie. processes and memory availability. Who knows, MS just sucks. Too bad MS is closed source, otherwise we would have an answer.
Something I found out the other day about NTFS that really chaps my A** is the concept of Multiple Data Streams. This is the ability of either a user, administrator or code to associate a file with another, hide the data and execute code when the file is requested. The biggest problem: MS recognizes this as a security threat, but has not patched it. There is the possibilty of viruses attaching themselves to these Data Streams and executing. Unless you have the right software to check, these Data Streams go undetected. To fix it you have to use a FAT file system or better yet start using Linux. Makes you wonder don't it?
Last edited by usaf_sp; 09-29-2005 at 04:05 PM.
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