Solved Can I defrag System Image files and I lost one

SaggyMaggyPoo

New Member
Power User
Messages
341
Location
Greece
I have a 1.8tb external hard drive that I defragged using Advance System Care's Smart Defrag 3.

I re-analyzed the drive to check the result as it completed overnight. The disc is still 21% fragmented.
I also analyzed the drive using CCleaner's Defraggler, which shows 27% fragmentation.
I ran Windows' own defrag which shows 0% fragmentation of this drive.

Question 1: According to Smart Defrag and Defraggler there are 4 fragmented files, all of which are System Images. So am I right in assuming that these files can not be defragged (and that I should have done all my cleaning up before I made the Images)?

I had deleted one of the fragmented files and used Advanced System Care's facility to shred all files in the recycle bin. But this file is still showing on the list of fragmented files so I think it was not actually deleted. I usually get a message if I am trying to delete something that is too big (this is around 70gb) but in this case I didn't.

I can see the file path in the results of the defrag analysis but I can't find the file through Search. I would really like to get rid of it given it is so big.

Question 2: how can I find and delete this file? Would using the Disc Clean utility do the job?

Question 3: I am likely to need to delete large System Image files in the future. What is the best way to do this without losing them in the ether like I did this time?

Thank you
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
What image software did you use to create the image file, you should be able to delete the backup from there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
I think I would back up my data on the external hard drive to another hard drive. and use Diskpart to Clean, create a Logical partition convert to mbr and format NTFS. then move your data back on to it. Window should keep it defragged with out issues. In my experience Data Drives do not require much defragging unless your doing a lot of data transfers back and forth.

I am Leary of aftermarket utilities and don't use any that have not proven themselves over the years. I used Diskeeper for several years and Norton Utilities. I paid for these for several years. I was happy with them. Then Windows 7 came along and I found that Window was using Diskeeper Lite for there native defragger! and Norton just became extinct also not needed in windows 7. The way I look at it is that why have these programs running or install on your computer and there (Potential Problems) when the built in stuff works just fine
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro MC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus G75VW / Z97 Pro
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3610QM / I7-4790K
    Motherboard
    Z97 Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Hyundai HTM315156CFR8C-PB PC3-12800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (GF114M)
    Sound Card
    VIA 6.0.10.1600
    Screen Resolution
    1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB
    Internet Speed
    30 down 3 up
    Browser
    Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    NIS and Malwarebytes

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
If I understood your question correctly: You try to delete those backup image from the Recycle Bin, if so then read on.
I can see the file path in the results of the defrag analysis but I can't find the file through Search. I would really like to get rid of it given it is so big.
Search will not work if the files are hidden. Open "Folder Options" and check on "Show hidden Files" and uncheck on "Hide hidden operating system files" then you might be able to see them in File Explorer.
I am likely to need to delete large System Image files in the future. What is the best way to do this without losing them in the ether like I did this time?
Did you try to right click on Recycle Bin and select "Empty recycle bin". If you did without any success then the chance that the $RECYCLE.BIN folder is corrupted and since it is a system folder, you cannot manually delete it.

If all fails

Since you cannot delete anything from this folder while Windows is running. The quick way is to delete the whole folder using Linux Slacko Puppy. Under Linux, Windows System Files/Folders are treated as Regular Files/Folders.

  1. Download the ISO (160MB) :Slacko Puppy Linux . Click one of the link shown on screen shot #1.
  2. Create a bootable USB Using Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
  3. Boot from USB, the screen should look like the screen shot. From the bottom left #2 of the screen. The HDs mounted as sda1, sda2 ... and one of these is your external drive
  4. Find the $RECYCLE.BIN folder, right click and delete it.
  5. Disconnect the USB and reboot Windows, a new $RECYCLE.BIN folder should be created.

a (2).png

Please do report back if it works so it'll help others with similar problem.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
If I understood your question correctly: You try to delete those backup image from the Recycle Bin, if so then read on.
I can see the file path in the results of the defrag analysis but I can't find the file through Search. I would really like to get rid of it given it is so big.
Search will not work if the files are hidden. Open "Folder Options" and check on "Show hidden Files" and uncheck on "Hide hidden operating system files" then you might be able to see them in File Explorer.
I am likely to need to delete large System Image files in the future. What is the best way to do this without losing them in the ether like I did this time?
Did you try to right click on Recycle Bin and select "Empty recycle bin". If you did without any success then the chance that the $RECYCLE.BIN folder is corrupted and since it is a system folder, you cannot manually delete it.

If all fails

Since you cannot delete anything from this folder while Windows is running. The quick way is to delete the whole folder using Linux Slacko Puppy. Under Linux, Windows System Files/Folders are treated as Regular Files/Folders.

  1. Download the ISO (160MB) :Slacko Puppy Linux . Click one of the link shown on screen shot #1.
  2. Create a bootable USB Using Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
  3. Boot from USB, the screen should look like the screen shot. From the bottom left #2 of the screen. The HDs mounted as sda1, sda2 ... and one of these is your external drive
  4. Find the $RECYCLE.BIN folder, right click and delete it.
  5. Disconnect the USB and reboot Windows, a new $RECYCLE.BIN folder should be created.

View attachment 46962

Please do report back if it works so it'll help others with similar problem.

I wanted to rep you but I have to spread some around.
Good reply. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Thank you for all the replies. Form some of these I'm not sure I explained my issue clearly enough.

I deleted an System Image that was on an external hard drive and which I had made through the Windows 8.1 utility and then emptied the recycle bin. I actually chose to Shred the files in the recycle bin, one of the options I have with Advanced System Care, and did a single over-write.

A couple of days later I decided to defrag the drive which is when I found that ACS and Defraggler indicated a little over 20% fragmentation after the defrag whilst Windows indicated 0% fragmentation.

All the fragmented files are System Images, hence me wondering if these can actually be defragged.

One of the fragmented files has E:$Recycle.bin as part of the file path, hence me suspecting this is the file I thought I had deleted.

I have switched on the external drive and opened the recycle bin on my desktop, which is definitely empty now.

Based on the suggestions given by topgundcp I unchecked 'hide hidden operating system files' and searched for the recycle bin on the external drive but could not find it. I am not particularly tech-savvy so would prefer to leave deleting the recycle bin as a last option.

But I am awaiting delivery of a new hard drive, which I am planning to use purely for back-ups. Once I have this set up I am planning to follow Clintlgm's suggestion to temporarily remove all wanted data from the current hard drive drive then use Diskclean on it. Then I can replace the data and use this purely as a data storage drive.

Question: Does this seem a reasonable solution or would I be better reformatting the drive?

Also, this still leaves me with the question of the best way to delete these large System Images, which can be over 100gb, if I need to in the future.

Question: Should I expect my recycle bin to be able to deal with these? If not, is there a simple way to delete very large files from an external hard drive?

Thank you
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
Question: Should I expect my recycle bin to be able to deal with these? If not, is there a simple way to delete very large files from an external hard drive?

I occasionally will delete an image, which is a mistake to manually do it as it leaves a record somewhere that it still is there. Should use file history or something to do it... But occasionally I stumble across it mentioned on the web and will clean up the windows tracking of it.

When I do delete a large system image, windows will pop a message saying something about recycle bin can not handle files this large - so I usually hold the shift key down and delete it. And it goes into a little dust cloud ... poof into the magnetic ionosphere or somewhere equally as magical. But it doesn't go to the Recycle Bin. It just disappears. Yah I know secretly it just chopped off the first letter or something and windows now has lost track of it.

I think I learned long time ago to not trust Advanced System Care.. I forget why but it along with iobit everything is on my no-way list right there next to ask.com
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    lenovo
You could right click the recycle bin & click Properties & increase the size of it in MBs.
I have mine at about 25,000 MBs--{ 25 GBs }.

100,000 MBs = 100 GBs.

screenshot_105.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
When I do delete a large system image, windows will pop a message saying something about recycle bin can not handle files this large - so I usually hold the shift key down and delete it. And it goes into a little dust cloud ... poof into the magnetic ionosphere or somewhere equally as magical. But it doesn't go to the Recycle Bin. It just disappears. Yah I know secretly it just chopped off the first letter or something and windows now has lost track of it.

Thank you, I will try this on the older images. I'm not a hot key fan but I must try to remember some of the most useful ones. For newer images I am trying to remember to rename them. If this works as planned I hope to get the second oldest image overwritten when I make a new one. Then I have 2 to play with which I feel is enough for me.

I think I learned long time ago to not trust Advanced System Care.. I forget why but it along with iobit everything is on my no-way list right there next to ask.com

I am planning to get rid of ASC as I don't like the way it changes things at every update and sets itself as the default way to do certain things. But I do like the uninstaller, which prompts me to check for leftover registry items, and also the file shredder.

Will just have to get used to using CCleaner and remembering to do things myself. Shame I can't remember where I left my memory:think:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
You could right click the recycle bin & click Properties & increase the size of it in MBs.
I have mine at about 25,000 MBs--{ 25 GBs }.

100,000 MBs = 100 GBs.

View attachment 47285

Thank you. Not something I had thought of but will definitely give it a try in the future. I'd love to be able to just check the box and not move files to the recycle bin, but I just know I would lose something important if I did. :eek:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
Back
Top