Defragging ARMA2 directory

[vasmkd 12]

I just thought id'e start a post about defragging.

Alot of ppl complain they get bad fps or stuttering after new patches.

Well from my experience you should defrag the ARMA2 directory with a free program like gamebooster after every major patch or if u have been adding alot of mods etc. No other game i have played gets patched, stuff added n changed like ARMA2 for me and as ur ARMA2 directory grows with expansions, patches and DLC's defragging becomes more important.

It only takes 3-4 minutes to defrag the directory and so far i noticed a degrade in perfromance after every major patch and all i do is run gamebooster and performance always increases again after defragging. Better than previous patch in most cases.

Stuttering and extra fps is what i have gained by doing this.

Hope this info helps people with bad performance

cheers

[-)rStrangelove 0]

... or just install ArmA2 on an SSD. A 32GB will do so not a lot money, but a lot of stuttering & popups is gone now. Really worth it imo. :)

[xmongx 0]

I use contig

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897428.aspx

Place in the arma 2 directory, right click>send to>desktop shortcut and add -s *.* to the target line (mines is in d:\bohemia interactive\arma2)

E.G.

"D:\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\Contig.exe" -s *.*

run it every time you use new beta, update ace, add a new mod etc etc etc

It Makes sure all the files in that folder are contiguous.

Disclaimer:

It may make you lol massively at the idiotic posts in the beta thread such as:

"I INSTALLED THE BETA AND NOW HAVE MASSIVE DROP IN FPS"

or:

"I NOW HAVE INCREASED UNBEARABLE LOD ISSUES THAT DIDNT HAPPEN BEFORE I CHUCKED SOME SHITE IN MY ARMA2 FOLDER"

[vasmkd 12]

I bet the amount of users with fps/stuttering/lod problems after installing a patch will drop less than half if they did these simple defrags

In fact i think defragging should be no 1 in the ARMA2 troubleshooting guide

Edited December 2, 2010 by vasmkd

[TechnoTerrorist303 10]

Defrag should indeed be the first thing you try. Shelling out for an SSD just to run Arma2 is a bit extreme, that said I'm seriously considering it :)

It's worth pointing out that the built in Windows defrag is useless compared to some of the third party applications out there. I use Defraggler, Arma2 usually ends up about 25% fragmented after patching.

[Macadam Cow 1]

It works !

Edited December 2, 2010 by Macadam Cow

[Alwarren 2767]

Windows 7 is not really helping there either, it mostly insists that drives aren't fragmented. I recently had that as well, Windows said I had a mere 3% fragmentation, then I copied my ArmA 2 directory over to my second drive, and since then all stuttering issues are gone.

I can only highly recommend defragging with an external tool. It will do miracles.

[stk2008 14]

Ok so what defrag tool would you suggest?.

[TechnoTerrorist303 10]

Defraggler works for me

[Macadam Cow 1]

Vasmkd suggested me GameBooster and it works pretty well. And you have a few "game boosting" options aswell. I've tried them but didn't notice any significant improvement. But the drefragging tool is good !

[LondonLad 13]

I use Auglogics Disk Defag.

http://www.auslogics.com/en/checkforupdate/?product=disk-defrag&version=3.1.9.160

Quite useful if you have several harddrives as it has the ability to defrag several at once.

There are also options within the 'Program settings' where you can tweak things further if you so wish (e.g. move system files to the beginning of the disk, delete temp files before defrag..etc)

I also tend to defrag when I do the following:

1) After an install/patch of software

2) After an uninstall of software

If none of the above have occurred then I'll run it every couple of weeks.

Also remember to close down any programs you have open otherwise the Defragging software won't be able to touch the files that are 'locked/opened'

Edited December 2, 2010 by LondonLad

[Horus 83]

I use contig

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897428.aspx

Place in the arma 2 directory, right click>send to>desktop shortcut and add -s *.* to the target line (mines is in d:\bohemia interactive\arma2)

E.G.

"D:\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\Contig.exe" -s *.*

run it every time you use new beta, update ace, add a new mod etc etc etc

It Makes sure all the files in that folder are contiguous.

+1 and I use Contig + Power Defragmenter because you don't need to put Contig in each directory/folder/partition which you want to defragment.

Power Defragmenter is a very advanced GUI for the Sysinternals core application which takes defragmentation process to a whole new level.

Power Defragmenter is a GUI (Graphic User Interface) application for program Contig by Sysinternals.

[SPC.Spets 21]

Defragging works, thanks for the tip, going to spread the word

[1in1class 0]

What about the regular defragging on the system disk defragmenter? Thats the same thing right?

[kylania 568]

What about the regular defragging on the system disk defragmenter? Thats the same thing right?

Supposedly, but my Windows default defrag said my drives were not defragmented. I tried out the program LondonLad mentioned and it showed something near to 50% fragmentation. Default has a strange view of what fragmented means.

You'll always be better off with a "real" defrag program than just default.

[vasmkd 12]

What about the regular defragging on the system disk defragmenter? Thats the same thing right?

Useless and too slow from my experience. Also only takes less than 4 minutes for me to defrag my ARMA2 directory after major changes and delete's with Gamebooster anyway.

Maybe BIS needs to make ppl more aware about defragging.

Also maybe ARMA2 should come bundled with defragger ;)

[TechnoTerrorist303 10]

Maybe BIS needs to make ppl more aware about defragging.

Also maybe ARMA2 should come bundled with defragger ;)

Should be automatically done by anyone after installing or patching something big anyway. Not doing it is a bit like owning a car and not knowing how to change the spark plugs.

That said, I know fuck all about cars.

Why not BIS? Can we have such a thing? You could even call it "frag-12" as part of the patcher/installer?

[maddogx 13]

Not sure how Contig is licensed, but perhaps it would be possible for BIS to bundle it with each patch and have it automatically defrag the Arma2 directory after patching is complete.

[avengerzx 10]

I use the Latest Game Booster v2.0

It frees my RAM space and it has Defragging functions

HERE:

http://www.iobit.com/gamebooster.html

Easy, just select the directory, it will scan and tell you the files that are fragmented

[arcadebert 10]

Yep, just defragged Arma for the first time since install!

I know, unthinkable. But only when you know!

Used Gamebooster and I think after It said 407 files had been done.

It also shuts down unnecessary programs for you to give another performance boost.

Very good indeed IMO.

Thanks for the advice

[Noraf 0]

i hope they don't bundle and autorun a defrag prog with the patches, would be bad for those of us that got ssd's for os and arma2

[mosh 0]

Gamebooster was a good tip. I have Arma 2 on SSD, but all my other games on a regular HD. Good performance tweaks and a few other features I really like.

[kdjac 19]

Diskeeper and all mods on a seperate drive. Scheduled defrag every day works well.

Still get stutter with official patches and none with beta patches ;)

[1in1class 0]

Supposedly, but my Windows default defrag said my drives were not defragmented. I tried out the program LondonLad mentioned and it showed something near to 50% fragmentation. Default has a strange view of what fragmented means.

You'll always be better off with a "real" defrag program than just default.

Useless and too slow from my experience. Also only takes less than 4 minutes for me to defrag my ARMA2 directory after major changes and delete's with Gamebooster anyway.

Maybe BIS needs to make ppl more aware about defragging.

Also maybe ARMA2 should come bundled with defragger ;)

Thanks for the info guys.

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

I use Auslogics Disk defrag. its free for home use. I try to defrag once a week and after game patches. It also helps that my game is on a different HDD than my OS.