Server 2019 OS Layer and Defrag App

[Darryl Sakach]

We are in the process of rebuilding our layered images with Server 2019, previously being built on Server 2016. One of the documented steps we have from building the Server 2016 OS layer is to disable any scheduled defrag. I am finding that I am unable to open the Defragmentation and Optimization app on the OS Layer packaging machine. I can find it in the start menu, on the Server Manager Tools tab and on the Disk Management console, but opening any of them returns nothing, no UI window opens. I have confirmed that defrag.exe is available, but it too will not open.

 

Our ELM is running version 20.5.0.1008 and layers are built on VMWare 6.7.

 

Is App Layering now suppressing this app in some way? If not, any idea why it would not open.

 

The OS Layer was build from scratch using the product ISO for version 1809.

 

I have confirmed in Task Scheduler that the defrag task does not have any triggers set for it so I am fairly confident that it is not scheduled. I am just curious as to why the app will not open and am concerned that this behavior may extend to other apps.

[Rob Zylowski]

Did you use a windows optimizer and disable the "optimize drives" service?  If its disabled the app wont open.

[Darryl Sakach]

Rob, thank you for the response.

 

I have not run any optimizer against this OS Layer. That said, the Optimize Drives service is disabled. Checking the various Event Logs does not reveal what may have disabled it. I started the original OS Layer source VM back up and it has the service enabled. It seems it was disabled sometime after ingestion as an OS Layer.

[Rob Zylowski]

Its possible we disable it.  You wouldn't want tot to run.  Layers will always be perfectly sequential because they are always new storage.

[Darryl Sakach]

Thank you Rob. That seems to be the case. Thank you for your help.