how do i view progress of disk defragmenter in vista, like you can in xp?

Vista does not have a graphical display as XP did.

Vista disk defrag works quietly in the background.

You will need 3rd party Software for what you want:

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/auslogics-disk-defrag/adiskdefrag.html

Auslogics Disk Defrag is a disk defragmentation tool that supports FAT 16, FAT 32, and NTFS volumes. It offers scheduled defrags, automatic defrags when your system is idle and advanced options to customize which files will be defragmented.

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/iobit-smartdefrag/iobitsmartdefrag.html

Smart Defrag is an automatic disk defragmenter that keeps your hard drive space from becoming overly defragemented, which can cause slower disk performance. It works continuously in the background while your computer is idle and does not require further user intervention for basic maintenance. The program also includes a manual defrag option as well as support for scheduled defragmentations and with optional file system optimization.

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/ultradefrag/ultradefrag.html

UltraDefrag is an Open Source disk defragmentation tool that offers fast defragmenting, using a kernel based driver. It offers a simple GUI with a cluster map display, as well as a command-line interface and scheduling option. The program supports full defragmentation and space defragmentation (compacting), and allows you to include/exclude files or folders based on their name or size. Other features include HTML reports and boot time defragmentation. (Will not work on Vista x64)

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/Diskeeper\_Home/diskeeper.html

Diskeeper Home is a fully automatic defrgmentation engine that replaces the standard Windows defragmenter. Built-in defragmenters are manual-only, resource consuming and require full administrator privileges to operate. Running Diskeeper is like hiring an expert to constantly monitor and maintain your systems maximum performance. Diskeeper is the fastest defrag engine ever built. National Software Testing Lab (NSTL) proven 300-500% faster and far more thorough than built-in defragmenters. The program includes a unique Set It and Forget It functionality with Smart Scheduling, that, once set, runs invisibly and fully automatic in the background. In addition, the Frag Guard feature helps prevent fragmentation in your most critical system files. Additional features include boot-time defrag, priority settings as well as the ability to defrag multiple disks automatically and simultaneously while system is in use.

Cheers.

Mick Murphy - Microsoft Partner