DiskMax 4

[kjx]

DiskMax is a windows performance maintenance software used by novices and experts alike. Novices because it guides them with a detailed help file and helpful prompts. Experts because it automates all those tedious tasks for you.

DiskMax 4 has been reviewed by members at other technology forums and has over 800 installs from Sunday (5Apr09). Over 40,000 if you take count from a 2-3 years back. It's user base growth has been rapidly increasing pace since version 4 released a month back and I thought it's now good enough for the discerning crowd at neowin.

If you take CCleaner as the benchmark, DiskMax does everything it does (except the registry cleaning and software uninstalling) and more. An unique feature not seen in any software application till date is the ability to clean out Windows Event Logs. It basically clears out the standard junk file locations (including other user profiles on the same system - if you are an admin and you specify it), deep scans your drives, cleans out your event logs, defragments your drives and rearranges key files based on prefetch data collected by Windows.

Official features list and download location: http://www.koshyjohn.com/software/diskmax.html

Additional information (help file as a separate download for review; only on neowin): http://koshyjohnuk.googlepages.com/dmhelp.chm

DiskMax is listed on Softpedia: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Secu...g/DiskMax.shtml

Please digg it when :p you find it to your liking: http://digg.com/software/DiskMax_Windows_P...nce_Maintenance

I greatly attribute DiskMax's sudden popularity spurt to it being picked up by tech bloggers at other forums. I'd be much obliged if DiskMax was shared around by bloggers who are reading this and decide they like the program. It's a small way of showing that my work is appreciated and deserves a wider audience. Thank you.

Edited April 14, 2009 by Koshy John

[kjx]

Good program. Could use a bit of streamlining, but I have been using it for some months, and will continue.

I've a list of things I want to do to make it better - and a good chunk of it is based off user feedback. The fundamental functions that it performs are sound but the way it is presented to the user could be far better. I do interface overhauls between major version changes (3->4, 4->5), and I aim to have 5 out by early 2011, with a private beta between now and then for those who have donated.

[sanctified Veteran]

Trying it right now. Is it normal that is taking its sweet time performing prefetch optimizations?

[kjx]

Trying it right now. Is it normal that is taking its sweet time performing prefetch optimizations?

Yes, if it has never been done. You can continue to use your PC while it runs in the background.

Remember to clear out your Prefetch folder manually before your restart your PC next (the first reboot will be slow as Windows collects new prefetch data), but the ones after that will be zippy. You might even notice lower idle RAM usage.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Nice program, wouldn't have noticed this if it weren't for the bump.

[Rigby]

Clearing the prefetch folder is not something you want to do. See this page

[kjx]

Nice program, wouldn't have noticed this if it weren't for the bump.

:)

Clearing the prefetch folder is not something you want to do. See this page

Read this: https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/929330-performance-tweaking-results/

The post you linked to is not wrong, but it is not the entire truth. Think of prefetch as a list of instructions to Windows as to what to expect next during startup or while launching an application. If the instructions are accurate, performance will be optimal. But when something in your system changes, say for example you decided to diable certain services during startup, Windows will continue to prefetch data into RAM expecting that a service is going to load. It will eventually "learn" the changes in the startup process, but it won't be quick since it has to account for one off situations - something like part of a Windows update running at a startup. The fastest way to reset this behaviour and force Windows to take in what startups are going to be like henceforth is to delete the prefetch data. The first reboot after this is done will be slow since Windows has no ReadyBoot data to rely on, but new data will be recorded. And subsequent boots after that will be faster.

As far as application launches are concerned, the first start after clearing prefetch won't be noticably slower - 5 seconds instead of 3 seconds just for the first time is not going to hurt anyone. Subsequent launches will be faster - some people find that it's faster than before - maybe (continuing on the example) 2 seconds.

My results may seem to go against the grain but what you usually see is this: A knowledgable person, say a Microsoft insider, will tell users not to clear Prefetch since most users will do it blindly, and it will result in diminished performance. Going by the clout of this knowledgable person, people who "follow" him will harp it across the internet without questioning it (as in without understanding what is not being said). And it'll filter down to the masses who will take it as the gospel truth.

[Skyfrog]

Misinformation and the The Prefetch Flag

The Windows Prefetcher Guide

[kjx]

Misinformation and the The Prefetch Flag

The Windows Prefetcher Guide

I did not disagree with the general advice about periodically clearing out prefetch. Periodically clearing it out is bad advice. That what all the articles say and that's what I'm saying. But I added a rider to that...

What I said was: if there is something that has changed significantly in the behavior of the system during startup, clearing the prefetch folder will force Windows to "relearn" the changes faster.

As you can see from the last 4 posts in this thread, it is evident why that little nugget of information is never mentioned - it will mislead people who do not choose to pay close attention to what is being said.

[Skyfrog]

-

I did not disagree with the comment about periodically clearing out prefetch.

What I said was: if there is something that has changed significantly in the behavior of the system during startup, clearing the prefetch folder will force Windows to relearn the changes faster.

Even if it did it wouldn't be worth clearing it out and losing all the other entries; kind of a steep price to pay for one single slightly faster boot. Plus the outdated entry would be updated on the first reboot anyway. There's no need to delete anything, Windows keeps them updated, defragmented, pruned, curried and combed all on it's own.

Also just rebooting a system a few times isn't really a reliable way of determining the effects of clearing the prefetch folder. I can get different boot times from one to the next without even changing anything. Plus few people are going to be disabling services or any major changes like that, and even if they did the effect on performance of an outdated prefetch file would not be noticeable to the user and would only last for a single boot until the file was updated. There's really just no way that the prefetch entries can slow down a system over time or that clearing the folder will improve performance.

I'm not putting down your program, it looks like it's coming along nicely but I really think that is one feature I'd leave out. :)

[kjx]

-

Even if it did it wouldn't be worth clearing it out and losing all the other entries; kind of a steep price to pay for one single slightly faster boot. Plus the outdated entry would be updated on the first reboot anyway. There's no need to delete anything, Windows keeps them updated, defragmented, pruned, curried and combed all on it's own.

Also just rebooting a system a few times isn't really a reliable way of determining the effects of clearing the prefetch folder. I can get different boot times from one to the next without even changing anything. Plus few people are going to be disabling services or any major changes like that, and even if they did the effect on performance of an outdated prefetch file would not be noticeable to the user and would only last for a single boot until the file was updated. There's really just no way that the prefetch entries can slow down a system over time or that clearing the folder will improve performance.

I'm not putting down your program, it looks like it's coming along nicely but I really think that is one feature I'd leave out. :)

DiskMax does not really do that, which is why I asked sanctified to do it manually.

And yes, theoretically, Windows would manage it all on its own. But experimental data indicates otherwise - if prefetch is cleared, the first reboot will be slow, every subsequent boot will be significantly faster. Casual testing also showed applications to launch faster - sometimes even from the very first launch after clearing.

And changes don't get reflected in the way ReadyBoot works in a single reboot - that would make for a bad ReadyBoot algorithm as random variations would make their way into the prefetch data, potentially causing wide fluctuations in performance between boots.

[ozgeek]

Please explain why I should use this instead of CCleaner which is more popular.

[DJ-Light]

Nice program, I really like it.

[wrack]

First off all John, I wasn't trying to blame the problems I faced on the DiskMax program, I do apologies if that was the impression.

All I wanted to say that I only had this problem after I started using DiskMax. I already ran CHKDSK, all good. I also made sure the necessary services were not stopped. I even tried a brand new HDD. I am actually getting a new disk next month so I will take an image after a clean install and then try again to see how it goes.

[kjx]

Please explain why I should use this instead of CCleaner which is more popular.

I should make this a FAQ question on my website. But anyway, this is far far more comprehensive than CCleaner. The only things CCleaner can do better is registry cleaning, and maybe support for obscure applications that I don't know about. But even then, most users report back with beaming smiles (I assume considering the praise and number of exclamation points I get in some e-mails). I've even got feedback stating that I helped them "not have to buy a new computer" - we both know that software can be optimized but there are apparently a whole lot of people who think computers getting slow over time is natural and part of the "ageing" process. :o I know.

I'll let the some of the feedback at download.com speak on my behalf. I've selected two that refer to CCleaner:

a) ""O.....M.......G!"

by warlover2 on September 11, 2009

Pros: This...makes...CCleaner and Glary...look... like...junk! My computer runs faster than when it was new! This is not emotional ranting. It is fact.

Cons: Set it the way you want it the first time but the program does walk you through the entire cleaning process.

Summary: This is the best cleaner and optimizer I have ever used. I have Iobit Smart Defrag, Advanced Systemcare Pro, CCleaner, and Comodo System Cleaner. Iobit Smart Defrag is faster and better. CCleaner is faster but not as thorough. Iobit Advanced Systemcare Pro does optimize more but does not clean as good and Pro is not free. Comodo System Cleaner is comparable in cleaning and optimizing but is not better. Skip the defrag in Diskmax and use Iobit Smart Defrag. Otherwise, Diskmax is the best I have ever seen. I mean it. Try this once and you will love it! "

b) ""This is unbelieveable!!!!"

by johnox123 on November 7, 2009

Pros: cleans better than glary,ccleaner,and alot of software that u pay for!!

Cons: none so far

Summary: I used norton 360 file clean up,then advance systemcare junk files clean,then i used disk max and it removed 700 more junk files.WOWWW

Junk files that norton and systemcare couldn't find!!"

You should go through the whole set of comments. There are some unflattering ones but you'll know the trolls when you see them. Some of those "bad" comments came in at times when DiskMax broke in through to the top 10 at download.com, so I'm going out on a limb here and say it's probably competitors who need to actually make money off their stuff, and you can't really compete with a free product if it is better.

If you are looking for low level details, there's the help file which you can download separately from my site to read through.

Nice program, I really like it.

Thanks :)

First off all John, I wasn't trying to blame the problems I faced on the DiskMax program, I do apologies if that was the impression.

All I wanted to say that I only had this problem after I started using DiskMax. I already ran CHKDSK, all good. I also made sure the necessary services were not stopped. I even tried a brand new HDD. I am actually getting a new disk next month so I will take an image after a clean install and then try again to see how it goes.

I know you might not have been meaning that but I'd have to consider that others who might read that might come to the wrong conclusions.

I really don't know what is causing your problem, it could your antivirus, it could be your hardware drivers, programs running the background, incompatible shell extensions, ... etc. etc. I know you believe it could be DiskMax but consider this: Around 10 months back I got an angry e-mail from a DiskMax user that DiskMax had "broken" Firefox, and it wouldn't start up. I was mystified, but this individual was adamant. I did my best to help her.. Well a day later she got back to me saying that it happened because one of the extensions she had installed was incompatible with an update Firefox released and hence her problem - it was purely coincidental that the problem turned up after running DiskMax. I don't know what to tell you but this is what I have to deal with, and I can't really blame her. Tech support companies would have billed her by the hour for this. And I have to do it for nothing.

As a neowin member, I'm sure you know what a false positive is. Well AVG incorrectly tagged DiskMax as containnig a virus once, and the definitions were quickly fixed. But the meanwhile I got a mail showering me with abuse. Asking me questions like "How do you sleep at night? Where you born the same way as the rest of us?" I've developed enormous patience after dealing with people like that. And well when I explained what false positives were, etc., he's like "Get over it. I had to do that to see if you would reply. A real malware dude would never bother to reply". :blink:

[wrack]

I didn't even say it was a malware. I was just posting my experience with it. Anyways like I said, I will dig deep. Thanks and sorry again.

[kjx]

I didn't even say it was a malware. I was just posting my experience with it. Anyways like I said, I will dig deep. Thanks and sorry again.

I know.. I got carried away with the reply, I had actually intended to post a couple of links I had found describing the problem you have/had, and this is the one that came closest:

http://www.<< spam >>.com/general-discussion/90999-need-help-deleting-file-doesnt-exist-2.html

Replace << spam >> with seven[remove this part in between]forums - neowin probably tags it as spam because it is a competing forum. IDK..

Does that accurately describe what you were facing? You can get Unlocker here: http://www.filehippo.com/download_unlocker/

[soldier1st]

great program as always.it does it's job well. if users don't know what a certain function does then they should read your short discriptions and or research it so they can comprehend it and select the right choice depending on if they want it done or not.

[wrack]

I know.. I got carried away with the reply, I had actually intended to post a couple of links I had found describing the problem you have/had, and this is the one that came closest:

http://www.<< spam >>.com/general-discussion/90999-need-help-deleting-file-doesnt-exist-2.html

Replace << spam >> with seven[remove this part in between]forums - neowin probably tags it as spam because it is a competing forum. IDK..

Does that accurately describe what you were facing? You can get Unlocker here: http://www.filehippo.com/download_unlocker/

Allright I had a look at it but nah that is not the one. This one is not specific to a folder but the whole disk. Doesn't happen with XP. I am goind to look around more.

[draman]

I FIND DISK MAX A VERY GOOD CLEANING SOFTWARE.  BUT I WONDER WHY

INTERNET CONNECTION IS REQUIRED EACH AND EVERY TIME WHEN YOU

RUN DISK MAX. IT MEANS YOU CANNOT CLEAN ANY PC WHICH IS NOT CONNECTED

TO INTERNET.  THEN YOU HAVE TO RELAY ON BLEACHBIT THE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

ONLY.  ANY IDEA TO USE DISK MAX OFFLINE.