Defrag.exe

File Path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\Defrag.exe
Description: Disk Defragmenter Module

Hashes

Type	Hash
MD5	`4DC461ACA28988B93236664F7E2CA393`
SHA1	`CFC34B4AF8644B5A4056AB0AD8BBED003074E770`
SHA256	`6BB17AA5A647D4526957BF35F596E13CB5D0595FEE71E4F64A20D965C67B5E5F`
SHA384	`1ED7CECEBE9B191909DBD5376D05377099C7C29F68E712BC60FCABA5FB5216FC798B5458C18CF188580EAE957BCD7C29`
SHA512	`C8A7CEBC92860393D9CCB50AD53D858F6A756BB8F03098B2F0C52070BAC08B10FDC091141602CC43FDE1427DFB087645B28AE5418A7ABFA78BA01E2D4CC57466`
SSDEEP	`6144:/QSfHI5y5ddUn1sDEJ13lRGOUZGKc4YFnwjCpW:NI5idtIJ13lRkRc4YFwjsW`
IMP	`940CF82C19922BDC3972F87BD4922894`
PESHA1	`E59614F72B980F5764E81739C0C244761939A68D`
PE256	`63F50513A041AD760BD92E9F7C4FA49802CA29825E19C6646CDAB52B111CDCE5`

Runtime Data

Usage (stdout):

Please specify a volume to perform the operation on. (0x89000007)

Defrag <Volumes> <Operations> [<Options>]

Volumes:
  /C | /AllVolumes      On each volume run only the preferred operations from
                        the given list of operations.
  /E | /VolumesExcept <volume paths>
                        Perform all the given operations on each volume except.
                        those specified. If the exception list is empty, this
                        behaves as /AllVolumes.
  volume paths          Specifies the drive letter followed by a colon, mount point
                        or volume name. More than one volume can be specified.  Run
                        all the given operations on each specified volume..

Operations:
  /A | /Analyze         Perform analysis.
  /B | /BootOptimize    Perform boot optimization to increase boot performance.
  /D | /Defrag          Perform traditional defrag (this is the default). On a tiered
                        volume, traditional defrag is performed only on the Capacity
                        tier.
  /G | /TierOptimize    On tiered volumes, optimize files to reside on the appropriate
                        storage tier.
  /K | /SlabConsolidate On thinly provisioned volumes, perform slab consolidation to
                        increase slab usage efficiency.
  /L | /Retrim          On thinly provisioned volumes, perform retrim to release free
                        slabs. On SSDs perform retrim to improve write performance.
  /O | /Optimize        Perform the proper optimization for each media type.
  /T | /TrackProgress   Track progress of a running operation for a given volume. An
                        instance can show progress only for a single volume. To see
                        progress for another volume launch another instance.
  /U | /PrintProgress   Print the progress of the operation on the screen.
  /V | /Verbose         Print verbose output containing the fragmentation statistics.
  /X | /FreespaceConsolidate
                        Perform free space consolidation, moves free space towards
                        the end of the volume (even on thin provisioned volumes). On
                        tiered volumes consolidation is performed only on the Capacity
                        tier.

Options:
  /H | /NormalPriority  Run the operation at normal priority (default is low).
  /I | /MaxRuntime n    Available only with TierOptimize. Tier optimization would
                        run for at most n seconds on each volume.
       /LayoutFile <file path>
                        Available only with BootOptimize. This file contains the list
                        of files to be optimized.  The default location is
                        %windir%\Prefetch\layout.ini.
  /M | /MultiThread [n] Run the operation on each volume in parallel in the background.
                        For TierOptimize, at most n threads optimize the storage tiers
                        in parallel. Default value of n is 8. All other optimizations
                        ignore n.
       /OnlyPreferred   When volumes are specified explicitly, defrag performs all
                        the given operations on each specified volume.  This switch
                        lets defrag run only the preferred operations, from the
                        given list of operations, on each specified volume.

Examples:
  Defrag C: /U /V
  Defrag C: D: /TierOptimize /MultiThread
  Defrag C:\mountpoint /Analyze /U
  Defrag /C /H /V

Loaded Modules:

Path
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Defrag.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNELBASE.dll
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll

Signature

Status: Signature verified.
Serial: 33000002ED2C45E4C145CF48440000000002ED
Thumbprint: 312860D2047EB81F8F58C29FF19ECDB4C634CF6A
Issuer: CN=Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US
Subject: CN=Microsoft Windows, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US

File Metadata

Original Filename: Defrag.EXE.MUI
Product Name: Windows Drive Optimizer
Company Name: Microsoft Corp.
File Version: 10.0.22000.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
Product Version: 10.0.22000.1
Language: English (United States)
Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corp.
Machine Type: 64-bit

File Scan

VirusTotal Detections: 0/74
VirusTotal Link: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/6bb17aa5a647d4526957bf35f596e13cb5d0595fee71e4f64a20d965c67b5e5f/detection

File Similarity (ssdeep match)

File	Score
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Defrag.exe	63
C:\windows\system32\Defrag.exe	61
C:\Windows\system32\Defrag.exe	63
C:\Windows\system32\Defrag.exe	65
C:\Windows\system32\Defrag.exe	60
C:\Windows\system32\Defrag.exe	60
C:\Windows\system32\dfrgui.exe	43
C:\windows\system32\dfrgui.exe	43
C:\Windows\system32\dfrgui.exe	46
C:\windows\SysWOW64\dfrgui.exe	41
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\dfrgui.exe	38
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\dfrgui.exe	43

Possible Misuse

The following table contains possible examples of Defrag.exe being misused. While Defrag.exe is not inherently malicious, its legitimate functionality can be abused for malicious purposes.

Source	Source File	Example	License
sigma	win_apt_slingshot.yml	`title: Defrag Deactivation`	DRL 1.0
sigma	win_apt_slingshot.yml	`TaskName: '\Microsoft\Windows\Defrag\ScheduledDefrag'`	DRL 1.0
sigma	sysmon_suspicious_remote_thread.yml	`- '\defrag.exe'`	DRL 1.0
sigma	proc_creation_win_apt_slingshot.yml	`title: Defrag Deactivation`	DRL 1.0
sigma	proc_creation_win_apt_slingshot.yml	`- '\Microsoft\Windows\Defrag\ScheduledDefrag'`	DRL 1.0

Additional Info*

*The information below is copied from MicrosoftDocs, which is maintained by Microsoft. Available under CC BY 4.0 license.

defrag

Applies to: Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

Locates and consolidates fragmented files on local volumes to improve system performance.

Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, is the minimum required to run this command.

Syntax

defrag <volumes> | /c | /e <volumes>    [/h] [/m [n]| [/u] [v]]
defrag <volumes> | /c | /e <volumes> /a [/h] [/m [n]| [/u] [v]]
defrag <volumes> | /c | /e <volumes> /x [/h] [/m [n]| [/u] [v]]
defrag <volume> [<parameters>]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
`<volume>`	Specifies the drive letter or mount point path of the volume to be defragmented or analyzed.
/a	Perform analysis on the specified volumes.
/c	Perform the operation on all volumes.
/d	Perform traditional defrag (this is the default). On a tiered volume though, traditional defrag is performed only on the Capacity tier.
/e	Perform the operation on all volumes except those specified.
/g	Optimize the storage tiers on the specified volumes.
/h	Run the operation at normal priority (default is low).
/i [n]	Tier optimization would run for at most n seconds on each volume.
/k	Perform slab consolidation on the specified volumes.
/l	Perform retrim on the specified volumes.
/m [n]	Run the operation on each volume in parallel in the background. At most n threads optimize the storage tiers in parallel.
/o	Perform the proper optimization for each media type.
/t	Track an operation already in progress on the specified volume.
/u	Print the progress of the operation on the screen.
/v	Print verbose output containing the fragmentation statistics.
/x	Perform free space consolidation on the specified volumes.
/?	Displays this help information.

Remarks

You can’t defragment specific file system volumes or drives, including:
- Volumes locked by the file system.
- Volumes the file system marked as dirty, indicating possible corruption.
  You must run chkdsk before you can defragment this volume or drive. You can determine if a volume is dirty by using the fsutil dirty command.
- Network drives.
- CD-ROMs.
- File system volumes that aren’t NTFS, ReFS, Fat or Fat32.
To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run As to perform this procedure.
A volume must have at least 15% free space for defrag to completely and adequately defragment it. defrag uses this space as a sorting area for file fragments. If a volume has less than 15% free space, defrag will only partially defragment it. To increase the free space on a volume, delete unneeded files or move them to another disk.
While defrag is analyzing and defragmenting a volume, it displays a blinking cursor. When defrag is finished analyzing and defragmenting the volume, it displays the analysis report, the defragmentation report, or both reports, and then exits to the command prompt.
By default, defrag displays a summary of both the analysis and defragmentation reports if you do not specify the /a or /v parameters.
You can send the reports to a text file by typing >FileName.txt, where FileName.txt is a file name you specify. For example: defrag volume /v > FileName.txt
To interrupt the defragmentation process, at the command line, press CTRL+C.
Running the defrag command and Disk defragmenter are mutually exclusive. If you are using Disk defragmenter to defragment a volume and you run the defrag command at a command-line, the defrag command fails. Conversely, if you run the defrag command and open Disk defragmenter, the defragmentation options in Disk defragmenter are unavailable.

Examples

To defragment the volume on drive C while providing progress and verbose output, type:

defrag c: /u /v

To defragment the volumes on drives C and D in parallel in the background, type:

defrag c: d: /m

To perform a fragmentation analysis of a volume mounted on drive C and provide progress, type:

defrag c: mountpoint /a /u

To defragment all volumes with normal priority and provide verbose output, type:

defrag /c /h /v

Scheduled task

The defragmentation process runs scheduled task as a maintenance task, which typically runs every week. As an Administrator, you can change the how often the task runs by using the Optimize Drives app.

When run from the scheduled task, defrag uses the below policy guidelines for SSDs:
- Traditional optimization processes. Includes traditional defragmentation, for example moving files to make them reasonably contiguous and retrim. This is done once per month. However, if both traditional defragmentation and retrim are skipped, then analysis isn’t run. Changing the frequency of the scheduled task does not affect the once per month cadence for the SSDs.
- If you manually run traditional defragmentation on a SSD, between your normally scheduled runs, the next scheduled task run performs analysis and retrim, but skips traditional defragmentation on that SSD.
- If you skip analysis, you won’t see an updated Last run time in the Optimize Drives app. Because of that, the Last run time can be up to a month old.
- You might find that scheduled task hasn’t defragmented all volumes. This is typically because:
  - The process won’t wake the computer to run.
  - The computer isn’t plugged in. The process won’t run if the computer is running on battery power.
  - The computer started back up (resumed from idle).