Files Won't Defragment

[Lucky Stiff]

Lately when I try to defragment my hard drive there are many Postgres files which will not go through the process. Is there a fix for this?

[WhiteRider]

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I suspect postgres files can't be defragmented because they are 'managed' files. Postgres is in charge of their layout, and if they get moved around it could cause problems.
Of course, it might just be that they can't be defragged while the postgres service is running..

[keggler]

1. do a cluster & analyse first.

2. defrag after stopping the postgres service.

3, if that doesn't get 'em, defrag in safe mode.

4, if that still doesn't get 'em, get contig, the single file defragger from sysinternals...


susan

[six4withafro]

you also need a decent amount of empty space on the hdd/partition being defragged for these files to defrag completely. i use executive software diskeeper, fwiw.

[Lucky Stiff]

1. do a cluster & analyse first.

2. defrag after stopping the postgres service.

3, if that doesn't get 'em, defrag in safe mode.

4, if that still doesn't get 'em, get contig, the single file defragger from sysinternals...


susan

Thanks. Cluster/analyze had no effect. How does one stop the postgres service and does it need to be restarted after the defrag process? How does one enter safe mode?

[WhiteRider]

To stop postgres:
Start -> Programs -> Postgres -> Stop Service

Safe Mode is described here:
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8753&p=40321&hilit=+safe+mode#p40321