[0xff] [OT]mac firewire

[Christopher Penrose]

On Jun 16, 2004, at 7:12 AM, Kurt Ralske wrote:

>
> I think this link implies a different reading. It states that one of 
> the
> _necessary_ conditions for automatic defragmenting to be done to a 
> file is:
> the file must be less than 20 mbs. So, this would not apply to most 
> video
> files.

A point well-taken.  But unless you know exactly what files are 
fragmented on a volume, both of our opposing viewpoints are simply 
voodoo.  Fortunately, you may use the aforementioned "hfsdebug" program 
to find out precisely which files on a volume are fragmented.  When you 
have this information, you can then make an informed judgment 
concerning the effect of fragmentation on a particular file's read 
performance.  With such information you can also better decide whether 
or not using a 3rd party disk fragmentation regimen is worth the time, 
effort and inherent risk.   It is more than conceivable that a video 
file will become fragmented and its fragmentation may effect read 
performance.

I did a hfsdebug run on a partition with mostly sound and video files 
on it.  Of 6047 files, 53 were fragmented.  I checked the list of 
fragmented files and amazingly my largest video files were not on the 
list.  Again, this partition has seen heavy use for 20 months and has 
never been de-fragmented by a third-party utility.  I am using MacOS 
10.3.4 at the moment on this machine.  But this is my individual case.

Christopher











>> I just checked my main system volume on my laptop, which has
>> experienced heavy daily use for about 20 months without ever running a
>> disk defragmentation utility.  This report was just generated:
>
>> Out of 225713 non-zero data forks total, 225411 (99.87 %) have no
>> fragmentation.
>> Out of 8479 non-zero resource forks total, 8456 (99.73 %) have no
>> fragmentation.
>
>
> Even if you work with video, even only a tiny percentage of the files 
> on
> your machine will be larger than 20 mbs. But these  ~1% are the ones 
> that
> will make you tear your hair out if they drop frames!
>
> Kurt
>
> Auvi for Jitter: http://auv-i.de
> 242.pilots: http://242pilots.org
> A/V: http://www.miau-miau.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> 0xff mailing list
> 0xff at music.columbia.edu
> http://music.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/0xff
>