Post #69,624
12/18/02 11:28:46 AM
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Group Policy to roll out scheduled events?
We want to force a defrag of the end user's hard drives on a semiregular basis. I'm looking for some group policy method to roll this out, but I'm not finding one - any suggestions?
(FYI, I already know about the "defrag.exe" command line util - just looking for some way to bulk automate the scheduling of this so I don't have to do it for 60+ PCs by hand.)
Gimli's Rules for Surviving in Middle Earth #43: When attempting to destroy an artifact, remember to use somebody else's axe.
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Post #69,630
12/18/02 12:04:09 PM
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How we did it
Since we just could not convince people to leave their systems on overnight, we added it to the login script to fire once a month, just after end-of-month billing should be completed. Yes, it made the boot sequence ridiculously long, but since they wouldn't leave the systems on like we asked them to ...
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Microsoft offers them the one thing most business people will pay any price for - the ability to say "we had no choice - everyone's doing it that way." -- [link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=38978|Andrew Grygus]
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Post #69,661
12/18/02 2:26:37 PM
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Suggestion
Schedule defrags, set a flag. Once a month at boot, check modify\r\ntime on the flag. If it's < 1 month, then no defrag. If > 1 month, the\r\nuser suffers through a long boot. \r\n\r\n Cooperators (those who leave their systems on) are rewarded.\r\nDefectors (those who turn off systems) are punished. Eventually, clue\r\nmay sink in. Or it may not. But a set of your users are no longer\r\npissed off. \r\n --\r\n
Karsten M. Self [link|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com|kmself@ix.netcom.com]\r\n
[link|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]\r\n
What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?\r\n
[link|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/|TWikIWETHEY] -- an experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever.\r\n
\r\n
Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead.\r\n[link|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html]\r\n
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Post #69,664
12/18/02 2:35:59 PM
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Do it on every boot
That way it's only a long boot the first time. My system is set up this way and it only adds about 5 seconds to my boot.
Why should we ask our military to die for cheap oil when the rest of us aren't even being asked to get better mileage?
-[link|http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=14107|Molly Ivins]
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Post #69,677
12/18/02 3:01:51 PM
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Except ...
For the people who leave their systems on all the time. I haven't booted in ... hmm, can't even remember when the last time was. Oh, you mean schedule it for off hours and check for the flag at every boot. Got it.
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Microsoft offers them the one thing most business people will pay any price for - the ability to say "we had no choice - everyone's doing it that way." -- [link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=38978|Andrew Grygus]
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Post #69,678
12/18/02 3:06:13 PM
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Yeah, that's it.
Uhmm, exactly, err, what you said.
Why should we ask our military to die for cheap oil when the rest of us aren't even being asked to get better mileage?
-[link|http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=14107|Molly Ivins]
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Post #69,639
12/18/02 12:34:03 PM
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Defragging Almost Useless
Windows machines are 98% fixed files and 2% data typically. Defragging accomplishes nothing once done on the fixed files - it simply works the hell out of the disk, making a failure more likely.
In any case, how many machines need to be touched? Why can't Task Scheduler handle it? I think you can access Task Scheduler from the net if you turn on remote administration.
-drl
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Post #69,643
12/18/02 12:58:02 PM
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Well, yeah, I could do it that way...
...but it's a pain in the ass. I'd have to do it for every. single. computer. one. at. a. time.
Actually, I did figure out a way - the scheduled tasks are files in %systemroot%\\Tasks - so you make an MSI and roll it out to everybody via GP.
As far as defragging goes, it does seem to help system performance a bit, and as we've got some "older systems" out there (LMAO - an "old system" here is a Duron 700 w/256mb RAM - it's like farkin' HEAVEN) that actually do notice performance hits with Siebel (turd) anything we can do helps.
Gimli's Rules for Surviving in Middle Earth #43: When attempting to destroy an artifact, remember to use somebody else's axe.
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Post #69,756
12/18/02 6:50:52 PM
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Some other ideas.
This will probably work better on the perpetual whingers (because personal attention is initially requried), thuogh you could automate it to some extent for everyone.
There are a number of semi-obscure settings in Windows that can be tweaked to gain performance. VCache size in Windows 98 is the classic one, but there are quite a few others. APC haven't put the article on their web page yet or I'd link to it.
Wade.
"Ah. One of the difficult questions."
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