Piriform updates Defraggler, adds Quick Defrag scheduling

Piriform Software has released Defraggler 2.13 and Defraggler Portable 2.13, brand new builds of its freeware Windows defragmentation tool. Version 2.13 adds support for Quick Defrag scheduling, Fragmentation Threshold options when scheduling and support for external 3TB drives.

The update comes four days after Piriform updated its free data-recovery tool, Recuva 1.45 and Recuva Portable 1.45, with the promise of better reliability when deep-scanning NTFS drives as well as improved performance when securely overwriting data.

The notable improvement in Defraggler 2.13 is a new option for creating a scheduled quick defragmentation of the hard drive to tidy things up. Also added to the scheduled tool are two options, the first closing Defraggler when the defrag completes, and the second to allow the user to set a fragmentation threshold, which can prevent scheduled defrags taking place if the specified figure (as an overall percentage of the drive) hasn’t been reached.

Version 2.13 also adds support for external 3TB drives, drives with allocation units greater than 4KB, and the ReFS filing system as found in Windows Server 2012. It’s rounded off with the usual mix of updated translations, GUI and usability tweaks and minor bug fixes.

The Recuva 1.45 update also adds support for external 3TB drives as well as hard disks with 4KB sectors. More critically, perhaps, it promises improved secure overwrite performance when wiping hard drives as well as better reliability when recovering data using the NTFS Deep Scan tool.

The paid-for Pro version gains an option for creating VHD drive images for recovery purposes, while a minor bug with opening VHD images in Windows has been fixed. The update is again rounded off with minor tweaks to the user interface.

Defraggler 2.13, Defraggler Portable 2.13, Recuva 1.45 and Recuva Portable 1.45 are all available as free-for-personal use downloads for PCs running Windows XP or later.