Diskeeper Corporation's Diskeeper Pro Premier 2007 can help you optimize your system's performance by counteracting the continual process of file fragmentation, which occurs every time you save data to your hard drive--or for that matter, simply use your PC.
The version of Diskeeper I tested was not Vista-compliant (the company has since released Vista versions). Diskeeper Pro goes beyond Windows XP's built-in defragmentation capabilities. For example, it optimizes performance for specific applications based on how often you use them; this could be an advantage if, say, you primarily edit or view photos with the same one or two applications. This optimization effect could be neutralized, however, if Diskeeper Pro tries to optimize for a large number of applications that are used with equal frequency.
I've been using Diskeeper since the days of Windows NT, and I've never been disappointed. In my own, anecdotal hands-on experience, Diskeeper 2007 markedly improved my system's performance; I now get from my Windows XP log-in to a usable desktop in half the time it took before, and access times for some frequently used files (such as images displayed in ACDSee 7.0) showed noticeable improvement. I also like the new version's friendlier interface.
Diskeeper Corporation Software representatives told us that systems equipped with the latest version of the product should show performance gains on our WorldBench 5 benchmark tests, but we found no significant differences. (We did see some small changes in the results for individual applications in our test suite; these changes were likely due to the file's new placement on the hard disk drive, after Diskeeper performed its defrag). WorldBench 5 doesn't measure boot-up time.
The operating system support for Diskeeper 2007 Pro Premier includes Windows XP Home, Windows XP Tablet PC, Windows XP Media Center, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Professional x64, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Ultimate, and Windows Vista Enterprise.
An older system, highly fragmented from years of use, could see an improvement from Diskeeper Pro Premier. But with newer systems, your mileage and benefit from the software may vary. Though it won't solve all of your PC's pokiness problems, the $50 investment may be worth it. You can get a free trial version of this program from our Downloads library.
Ramon G. McLeod