Microsoft KB Archive/323237

= The Free Space in the GUI Display Map of the Defragmenter Utility May Not Match the Free Space in the Defragmentation Report in Windows XP =

Article ID: 323237

Article Last Modified on 1/15/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional
 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

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This article was previously published under Q323237





SYMPTOMS
After you run the Windows XP built-in Disk Defragmenter utility, the defragmentation report may indicate that there is a high percentage of free space on the disk, but the graphical user interface (GUI) display map may indicate very few or no areas of free space (represented by white-colored areas on the map). The GUI display map does not seem to accurately represent the free space that is recorded in the defragmentation report.



CAUSE
This behavior may occur because the GUI display map is an incomplete depiction of the disk slices. If the majority of the slice that is represented by the Disk Defragmenter utility contains fragmented files, the map displays a red-colored area. If the majority of the slice that is represented by the Disk Defragmenter utility contains free space, the map displays a white-colored area. When the disk size is larger, the representation of each slice in the GUI display map is less granular in appearance. When the map displays few or no white-colored areas, but a large percentage of free space is reported, the free space occurs in many small areas.

This behavior means that each slice is more likely to contain pieces of fragmented files than contiguous free space. As a result of this behavior, the actual amount of free disk space that is displayed in the GUI display map may be misrepresented. This behavior can easily prevent defragmentation, because a single area of free space is not large enough to fit defragmentation files of a certain size.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, free up some disk space by using the Disk Cleanup tool that is located on the General tab of the volume properties of the affected volume. You can use this tool to delete unused files, such as the temporary folders. To use Disk Cleanup:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, click Administration Tools, and then click Computer Management.
 * 2) In Computer Management, click the Disk Administration folder under Storage Option.

You may have to expand Storage Option to display all of the storage options.
 * 1) Right-click the drive that you want to clean, and then click Properties.
 * 2) Click Disk Cleanup, and then follow the directions in the Disk Cleanup tool to remove files that you either do not want or do not require.

Alternatively, move the largest unused files to another volume to free up disk space. If a page file is located on the volume, you can temporarily move the page file to another volume, and then restart the computer before you run the Disk Defragmenter utility again. After you complete this step, the Disk Defragmenter utility can perform a more complete defragmentation of the volume before the files are moved back. Also, after you complete this step, the GUI display map may represent the free space that is contained on that volume more accurately.



MORE INFORMATION
For additional information about this behavior, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

227350 Files Excluded by the Disk Defragmenter Tool

229850 Analyze Operation Suggests Defragmenting Disk Multiple Times

Keywords: kbdefrag kbui kbprb KB323237

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