How and why to defragment your hard drive
In this section we will explain how disk fragmentation can cause long delays in accessing the data if you do not defragment your hard drive, and give you a step-by-step instruction on how to access and use Windows Vista’s Disk Defragmenter. In terms of benefit, your hard drive will be faster and your waiting time will be reduced.
Fragmentation and Defragmentation
The process in which deleted files leave fragments or empty spaces amongst your drive’s data or when a file is divided as it is stored is referred to as fragmentation. When the operating system needs to write another file it usually looks for the nearest available free space and writes the data there. If the data that has to be written is bigger than the available free space, it will fill that space and then search for the next free space, and so on until the file is completely written, thus scattering the file in a fragmented manner.
Defragmenting your hard drive consists in locating and rearranging the scattered files in an ordered manner. This reduces data access time and allows you to use your storage more efficiently.
Who needs to defragment the hard drive?
The answer is simple: everybody. And that’s because no one can control how files are written on the hard drive by the Operating System, so we call on defragmenting applications. Performance is visibly reduced over time if no defragmentation is used on the hard drive. Accessing a simple document may take up to a couple of seconds and you will be able to notice the stress on the hard drive by hearing the noise it makes.
How to defragment your hard drive
Beside all the defragmenting utilities out there, Windows Vista has its own one – Disk Defragmenter.
Disk Defragmenter can be accessed using the following methods:
- in Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools
- in My Computer or Windows Explorer, right click on any of your hard drive - Properties ‑ Tools - Defragment Now.
Disk Defragmenter has two options:
- Defragment on a schedule – by pressing Modify schedule you can simply tell Disk Defragmenter when to run. You have to specify three things:
- How often – Daily, Weekly, Monthly
- What day – Any given day of the week
- What time – Any given hour of the day
If scheduled defragmentation is enabled then the defragmentation will only run at the specified date and time.
- Defragment at that very moment – you should deselect the Run on a schedule option and then click the Defragment now button.
Windows Vista’s defragmenter has been simplified and automated, thus making it easier to be used. The recommended Run Automatically option makes it unnecessary for you to manually defragment your hard drive, increasing the chances of keeping your hard drive running smooth and fragment free.
I would like to know how to
I would like to know how to fragment hard disk in window xp professional edition
Hey Jeff, To defragment a
To defragment a hard drive in windows xp follow the steps bellow:
- Go so Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - click on Disk Defragmenter
- Select whatever drive you want to defragment and click "Defragment"
Vista's defragger needs to be improved.
"Windows Vista’s defragmenter has been simplified and automated, thus making it easier to be used."
Unfortunately, this has also resulted in most options being removed, and the total inability to check what Vista's defragger is actually doing. There are less painful options out there which work *much* better than the vista defragger, such as Diskeeper Pro. I switched to Diskeeper shortly after my first run-in with vista. So far, it has been excellent - I can defrag both my drives very quickly, and it defrags my system files if I ask it to. Good software.
I feel that one of the most
I feel that one of the most inconspicuous reasons for the performance downslide of a computer is drive fragmentation. It builds up in the background and slows down the launching of programs, backups and even virus scans. Its like an infection that can affect the health of the entire system. We have experienced its hassles on the desktops at work, which tend to shoot up one problem after another.
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