[didip]

This is fascinating. What would be the solution for this? You can’t ask users to defrag.

[DANmode]

Perform the file operation, after zipping the existing db as a backup, and leaving the original where it sits.

Success, performance increase.

Failure, no change.

[axitanull]

Forgive my lack of knowledge, but how is simply zipping the original file would "defrag" the file?

Shouldn't the file be moved into different disk fragment first, for that to happen?

[DANmode]

That's "the file operation" :]

Again: zip is a backup