"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
news:OcjLOjFuIHA.4736@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote in <news:u5nV18EuIHA.4528@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl>:
>
>> "rick s" <ricks@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:4C4390A7-08CB-4E70-9695-FF9880DA1801@microsoft.com...
>>> Someone told me that the more you run disk defrg the better chance of
>>> destroying your hard drive. Is this true?
>>
>> There is a small risk of damaging your file system while
>> defragging, e.g. when you suffer a power failure right in
>> the middle. I think defragging once a month is plenty. Any
>> more often would make no measurable difference but
>> would increase the risk.
>
> I believe the use of journaling with NTFS compensates for that loss, and
> also if the content of the hard disk's PCB write buffers aren't flushed
> to the platters, too. Another reason to use NTFS rather than FAT. NTFS
> can use its journal log to determine how to return the disk to a
> consistent state upon recovery.

I am aware of this mechanism. It appears to work most of the time
but once every so often we get a post in this newsgroup that reports
a thrashed filing system after an interrupted defrag.