Defrag and erase?

[jeffmm]

If I have a very defragmented hard drive (Windows XP, NTFS), will eraser work better if
my hard drive is defragged first or not?

Or does it really matter?

 

[garrett01]

It is better to erase then defragment. This way you will erase the file properly. Defragmenting could spread fragments around the drive.

Garrett

 

[Robbie]

If a drive needs defragmenting I usually run Eraser, then defragment then run Eraser again.