Is ok to do a disk defrag?

[dorian88]

Hello,

Can I do things like perform a disk defrag and disk clean up on the windows running on parallels? I am just wondering because the program is technically running on the mac osx disc and didn't want it to screw it up.

Thanks.

Dorian

 

[David5000]

1. By default, ~/Documents/Parallels
2. All VM-specific items reside in the folder above and thus stuff in ~/Library/Parallels is irrelevant here.
3. No, because the disk file in question suffers double fragmentation - the inside of the disk file is fragmented and the disk file itself is fragmented. Trying to defrag the inside while the file itself is fragmented would be slower than having to defrag inside after the file itself is defragmented.
4. For best possible performance, yes.

I don't have a Parallels folder in ~/Documents, so I am still in the dark about where the VM Directory structure is. (In ~Library/Parallels>winxp> I have unattended.fdd, Windows Applications, winxp.hdd and winsp.pvs.)

David

 

[dkp]

I don't have a Parallels folder in ~/Documents, so I am still in the dark about where the VM Directory structure is. (In ~Library/Parallels>winxp> I have unattended.fdd, Windows Applications, winxp.hdd and winsp.pvs.)

David

That happens to be my configuration as well but I've got the same setup since May of last year. If your structure is in Library/Parallels then that is the structure you need to preserve. I understand that newer fresh installs put things elsewhere and that mucks up the support effort. There are bits of Parallels in other places but those are in OS X file space and will be defrag'd when you use an OS X defrag tool.

 

[wesley]

The place I mentioned must be the 'new' place. Of course, the place that has the .pvs and .hdd is indeed the place to deal with.

 

[David5000]

That happens to be my configuration as well but I've got the same setup since May of last year. If your structure is in Library/Parallels then that is the structure you need to preserve.

Which files exactly constitute the structure you are referring to? (I am unfamiliar with this terminology.)

Thank you,

David

 

[dkp]

Which files exactly constitute the structure you are referring to? (I am unfamiliar with this terminology.)

Thank you,

David

A disk structure is a directory and it's contents including other directories. You can think of any directory as being the parent of the structure below it. Your home directory structure includes the Library directory among others. If you were to make a copy of the Library structure it would include your Parallels directory and contents but also a lot of other stuff you don't need. If all you want is Parallels then use the Parallels directory and it's contents as your target structure. Just copy it to an external disk and the structure will be preserved in its new location.

You verify the copy by checking file count, file sizes, and for the presence of all directories and subdirectories that are found in the original.

 

[David5000]

A disk structure is a directory and it's contents including other directories. You can think of any directory as being the parent of the structure below it. Your home directory structure includes the Library directory among others. If you were to make a copy of the Library structure it would include your Parallels directory and contents but also a lot of other stuff you don't need. If all you want is Parallels then use the Parallels directory and it's contents as your target structure. Just copy it to an external disk and the structure will be preserved in its new location.

You verify the copy by checking file count, file sizes, and for the presence of all directories and subdirectories that are found in the original.

Sorry, but I am just not following this--it is too abstract for me.

Could you please be more specific as to which files exactly I should be first copying to an external disk and then back again to defragment?

Thank you,

David

 

[dkp]

Sorry, but I am just not following this--it is too abstract for me.

Could you please be more specific as to which files exactly I should be first copying to an external disk and then back again to defragment?

Thank you,

David

No, it's not possible to simplify it further. I can't tell you specifically what files to back up because I don't have your system here to observe. The file names are arbitrary - chosen by whom ever does the install. Where they are located is better defined. It is the Parallels structure located somewhere in your home directory. This can also be arbitrary. You could try using the Parallels "File>Open>Choose..." option. This will open a Finder like window that provides the full path to virtual machines Parallels already knows about.

 

[Eru Ithildur]

Sorry, but I am just not following this--it is too abstract for me.

Could you please be more specific as to which files exactly I should be first copying to an external disk and then back again to defragment?

Thank you,

David

They are frequently located in ~/Documents/Parallels or ~/Library/Parallels .
They end with the file extension .hdd . To find any .hdd files (what you would want to remove for a defrag), pull up spotlight and search for *.hdd and then copy those over to your external. Just remember where you pulled them from or you will have to make some changes to your file paths in your configuration (.pvs) file.