Manage NTFS File Write Positioning

Question

I am using dynamic disks that start small and grow in size based on disk writes. Sometimes I delete space and clear the recycle bin but NTFS does not use that free space and instead continues to a new location based on where it left off until eventually it will hit the end of the disk and then start over looking at free space. Is there a way to tell NTFS to start looking at the beginning of the disk for free space? Otherwise the dynamic disk grows in size using real physical space instead of reusing free space that is available at the beginning of the disk.

Answer 1

Hi,

According to Partition Allocation Methods in Memory Management, the allocation method your NTFS employed is Next Fit Algorithm. You can refer to Implementation of all Partition Allocation Methods in Memory Management to let your NTFS perform First Fit Algorithm which make it look for free space from the beginning.

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Answer 2

Great info. Still need to zero in on how to set NTFS to use first-fit instead of next-fit. Also it is unclear if NTFS uses next-fit when a machine is recycled or whether it starts over with first-fit. In any case, a good starting point. However there has to be documentation somewhere in regards to configuring NTFS for dynamic disks in order to efficiently manage there growth. Still searching for that.