MyDefrag GUI

[Steve Coffee]

This is a simple GUI I put together for MyDefrag.  I originally wrote it to remove the BOM bytes from the script files, but when I logged in to the forums to post it I noticed Jeroen had already fixed that problem.  Anyway, here is a zip file with the executable and source attached.  It's written in Visual Studio 2008 and you need the .NET 3.5 runtime installed to use it.

[jeroen]

Thanks for your contribution, I appreciate it! And I am sure many other people as well. Do you have a homepage for this program somewhere? With a small description of what it does, installation instructions, and a way to contact you in case of problems. I'll be more than happy to put a link to such a homepage on the MyDefrag website.

[TeDDy]

Bravo scoffee!

You need less than .NET 2.0 to run it. This is perfect because w2000 can't have newer .NET.
Some w2k don't have .NET at all (by default setup).
Maybe without .NET can be better, to have the same requirements as MyDefrag.

Can you make it with:
- configuration file? (to keep previous settings for spacehogs, exclude ?)
- multiple drive selection box?

[dmatter]

in windows seven 7057 the .exe is not fonctional

[schitzn]

oh nu....

lets see if I ever finish this little side project I started a few days ago...

As you can see, its far from bug free, still working on the gui, but it will be standalone without any third party .NET requirements, and hoping it to be around 50Kb uncompressed.

[jeroen]

lets see if I ever finish this little side project I started a few days ago...

Thanks for contributing, I appreciate it! Perhaps you can start a new thread here on the forum for your GUI? It's a bit confusing if all GUI's are discussed in a single thread.

[Steve Coffee]

I was not sure at first whether I wanted to maintain this in the long run, but I have decided that it's the least I can do considering the time and effort Jeroen has put into this outstanding product.  So, here is an updated version of MyDefragGUI that works with v4.0b3.  I'll set up a web page soon to give it a more permanent home.

Changes:

 - Now requires only .NET 2.0 instead of 3.5
 - updated to handle the new command line options in v4.0b3.
 - Automatically detects macros in scripts in real time and provides an entry field.
 - Improved search for MyDefrag.exe.  Search is in this order:
    Look in working directory.
    Look for the handler for .myd files.
    Look in c:\Program Files\MyDefrag
    Look in c:\Program Files (x86)\MyDefrag
  - The script directory is scripts under the MyDefrag dir if it exists, otherwise the MyDefrag directory.

I am interested in adding some features that could make MyDefrag much more manageable in a corporate networking environment.  I wonder, Jeroen, if you would be interested in dumping out a statistics file in a format that could be parsed and stored in a database, for example.  I am thinking of simple statistics like, the start and end times of the last run, the file and free space fragmentation levels before and after.  Perhaps for each zone: the total number of files, total space and the number moved in the last run.

If I could collect that data in an automated fashion, I could build a pretty capable network server application that could push the defragger out to machines in the network, schedule it and monitor the performance.

[Falcon4]

If I could collect that data in an automated fashion, I could build a pretty capable network server application that could push the defragger out to machines in the network, schedule it and monitor the performance.

...

Fucking wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

<3

[jonib]

I am interested in adding some features that could make MyDefrag much more manageable in a corporate networking environment.  I wonder, Jeroen, if you would be interested in dumping out a statistics file in a format that could be parsed and stored in a database, for example.  I am thinking of simple statistics like, the start and end times of the last run, the file and free space fragmentation levels before and after.  Perhaps for each zone: the total number of files, total space and the number moved in the last run.

If I could collect that data in an automated fashion, I could build a pretty capable network server application that could push the defragger out to machines in the network, schedule it and monitor the performance.

Have you looked at the MyDefrag.log? it seems to contain at least some of that info.

jonib

[Steve Coffee]

Have you looked at the MyDefrag.log? it seems to contain at least some of that info.

The log does contain most or all of what I need and parsing it to extract the data is possible, but it's not in a structured format and there is no guarantee that Jeroen won't change it in the future to accommodate new features.   A simple structured file with a reliable format is a better long term solution.

[jeroen]

Look in c:\Program Files (x86)\MyDefrag

MyDefrag should never be installed in the x86 directory. The installer automatically selects the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version, depending on the Windows version. In both cases the default directory is "c:\Program Files\MyDefrag v4.0xxxx". The x86 directory is for 32-bit applications running in compatibility mode on a 64-bit system, which is not the case for MyDefrag.

I wonder, Jeroen, if you would be interested in dumping out a statistics file in a format that could be parsed and stored in a database, for example.

Yes, it's on my wishlist and will be implemented before the first release. There will be a script command to write to a logfile, by default the content of the statistics window, but something else if you want. It will be possible to write in a comma-separated format, for example. The current logfile is a debug logfile, for my use only.

[Steve Coffee]

There will be a script command to write to a logfile, by default the content of the statistics window, but something else if you want.

That's great, Jeroen!

The one thing I would really like to see that is not in the statistics window is the start and end time of the defrag run.  I can work with whatever format is easiest for you.  CSV, tab delimited, XML... doesn't matter.

[Steve Coffee]

After giving it a bit more thought, some zone level statistics would be extremely useful.  For each zone, knowing the file count, total file size and the starting position would allow me to write some higher level zone planning features.

My plan is to separate the specification of the optimal layout of the volume from the maintenance tasks.  In other words, the user could define the desired zone contents and placement and the GUI would generate and schedule appropriate daily, weekly, monthly and annual scripts.  With some stats about the zone sizes and placement from the last MyDefrag run, I could even accomodate users (like me, for instance) who want to define some zones at the start of the drive and some at the end.  This would require multiple defrag passes, but that could be automated and hidden from the user.

[jeroen]

some zone level statistics would be extremely useful.

I had not considered that myself, but I can see how that would be useful. I have made a note on the wishlist and will look into it later.