Defragmentation tools on Windows 11 with NVMe & SSD drives

[branfont]

So, I decided to test out Condusiv DymaxIO using the 30-day free trial. I don't currently notice any difference, I did have to change only one setting. What I don't like is it's not an actual application, everything is Web-based instead of a dedicated Windows app like what they used to make.

[devHead]

On 25/03/2025 at 13:17, branfont said:

So, I decided to test out Condusiv DymaxIO using the 30-day free trial. I don't currently notice any difference, I did have to change only one setting. What I don't like is it's not an actual application, everything is Web-based instead of a dedicated Windows app like what they used to make.

You will never notice a difference.  You're using software to defragment a drive for which there is never any fragmentation.  Everyone posted this simple fact, yet you still decide to use some third-party web-based software to do what your operating system is already doing?  Of course you'll not notice a difference.  Just don't use it after the 30 day trial.  Software like this which still exists out there is a scam, plain and simple.  Never let anyone tell you differently.

[spaceelf]

 

On 25/03/2025 at 20:31, devHead said:

You will never notice a difference.  You're using software to defragment a drive for which there is never any fragmentation.  Everyone posted this simple fact, yet you still decide to use some third-party web-based software to do what your operating system is already doing?  Of course you'll not notice a difference.  Just don't use it after the 30 day trial.  Software like this which still exists out there is a scam, plain and simple.  Never let anyone tell you differently.

I agree about never noticing the difference, but I don't believe I've ever seen a source saying solid state drives never have fragmentation.

 

[+thexfile Subscriber²]

Solid-state drives have errors. The errors are from the dead bits in those drives.

The best way to maximize the lifespan of solid-state drives is to avoid defragmenting them, which helps minimize errors.

[branfont]

On 25/03/2025 at 19:31, devHead said:

You will never notice a difference.  You're using software to defragment a drive for which there is never any fragmentation.  Everyone posted this simple fact, yet you still decide to use some third-party web-based software to do what your operating system is already doing?  Of course you'll not notice a difference.  Just don't use it after the 30 day trial.  Software like this which still exists out there is a scam, plain and simple.  Never let anyone tell you differently.

No, I am not using 'defragment' on the drive, since you didn't see my post about DymaxIO, here's the relevant part:

* Auto-detects SSD or HDD and applies correct performance-boosting technologies

Since I have an SSD, guess which technology is being used, and it's not defrag.

[Joe User]

With Windows 10 and 11, it's best to just let Windows manage Windows.

Additional apps are rarely needed for things like defrag and disk clean up. Microsoft has decades of experience with this, it just works if you let it.

The one thing these third party apps are all great at speeding up is the flow of cash out of your bank account.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

On 26/03/2025 at 15:23, branfont said:

No, I am not using 'defragment' on the drive, since you didn't see my post about DymaxIO, here's the relevant part:

* Auto-detects SSD or HDD and applies correct performance-boosting technologies

Since I have an SSD, guess which technology is being used, and it's not defrag.

Snake oil. Just leave it alone.

[Athlonite]

On 24/03/2025 at 07:17, cooky560 said:

I haven't used anything other than the default "Optimize and Defragment" tool that comes with Windows since Windows 10. It does a good enough job of knowing which drives to TRIM, which to defrag, and when to do it.

Sometimes it does but at others it seems to forgets to run it 

set mine for weekly defrag and or trim 208 days later still hadn't done a trim 

[spaceelf]

On 27/03/2025 at 22:50, Athlonite said:

Sometimes it does but at others it seems to forgets to run it 

set mine for weekly defrag and or trim 208 days later still hadn't done a trim 

Generally I've seen that on a fresh install.  It's gotten much better about that though...I usually don't need to intervene anymore.

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

It's not exactly snake oil, it is just that there are few benefits except in a few niche edge cases.  For example, it make a small amount difference when you are copying multiple terabytes of files around (think hundreds of thousands of individual files), working with OLTP databases, and so forth.  Those are very large sets of data, and cumulatively microseconds are going to add up over time.  If you have a batch or real-time job that runs continuously, it  can be a competitive advantage to run it in a shorter time than your competition.

Another scenario where it might be more important is in certain industries where the lifetime of a device and it reliability over that time takes priority.  You may want to perform some intelligent write-caching to extend the lifespan of a SSD because it is cost-prohibitive to service and replace, or has very tight maintenance windows.  Consider space-based hardware like satellites, or scientific or industrial equipment which may have maintenance scheduled out years in advance with prescribed service windows.

The thing is that in the case of typical consumer drive usage, the amount of time saved is not going to be amazingly noticeable.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

On 28/03/2025 at 05:58, goretsky said:

It's not exactly snake oil, it is just that there are few benefits except in a few niche edge cases

The tool itself does have benefits - marketing it to general consumers is the snake oil.

[goretsky Supervisor]

On 28/03/2025 at 03:32, Dick Montage said:

The tool itself does have benefits - marketing it to general consumers is the snake oil.

Hello,

I think that description could be applied to a lot of marketing in general.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[parker_caas2]

You don't need third-party defragmentation tools. Since Windows already automatically performs TRIM optimization, this is exactly what SSDs need. Because additional defragmentation software won't improve performance and can wear down your SSD a bit.

[Case_f]

I've not seen a (reputable enough) defrag tool that offers anything but optimize/trim on SSD drives in a very, *very* long time. I seem to recall seeing one (don't remember which one it was at this point) that did technically offer actual defragmentation on top of optimize/trim on SSDs, but when selecting the option, it threw up a big warning that it's probably a pretty bad idea to do this on an SSD and made the user confirm that they are indeed absolutely sure that's what they want to do and that they really know what they're doing.

[Dustyn]

On 16/10/2025 at 09:25, Case_f said:

I've not seen a (reputable enough) defrag tool that offers anything but optimize/trim on SSD drives in a very, *very* long time. I seem to recall seeing one (don't remember which one it was at this point) that did technically offer actual defragmentation on top of optimize/trim on SSDs, but when selecting the option, it threw up a big warning that it's probably a pretty bad idea to do this on an SSD and made the user confirm that they are indeed absolutely sure that's what they want to do and that they really know what they're doing.

I get e-mails from old companies I once gave money to such as DiskTrix Inc.

They want to let me know that I may not realize that SSDs require defragmenting too and that I should look into their products again as I haven't purchased any new versions from them in quite a long time... 🙄

You do not defrag an SSD. Period.

DiskTrix Inc > SSDs - Does Fragmentation Really Matter?

[Athlonite]

On 28/03/2025 at 17:11, spaceelf said:

Generally I've seen that on a fresh install.  It's gotten much better about that though...I usually don't need to intervene anymore.

No no it hasn't it still fails to do regular TRIM's on both of the NVMe SSD's in my PC