Defragmenting your hard drive is a means to keeping it healthy. By defragmenting your hard drive it will boost your computer’s performance and ensure its lifespan. Although it may sound difficult, it is quite simple.
Before we begin to to discuss de-fragmentation of your computer, let’s first discuss fragmentation. This will help you to understand the process of de-fragmentation. Fragmentation may occur due to insufficient space in the storage device where the file were originally stored.
For example, you say you have a file in which you modified and the size increased from its original size and you are not able to store it in its original physical space. The file is broken into two or more pieces but stores them into different storage areas. The computer system will save where the file fragments are stored. The system will save a record of where they are stored which will be either the FAT (File Allocation Table) or NTFS. This is like a library that keeps various files and documents. When the file is needed the operating system will ask the file system its whereabouts. The computer system’s scanning process will reunite the fragmented pieces into its original file which is called defragmentation.
This is sometimes a consuming task. However, it is an easy way to boost the operation of your computer system. Thus, you need to have sufficient time before starting the process. The process may take up to 30 minutes or more depending on how often you defragment your computer.
Defragmentation Steps:
Close all your applications that are running, even those that run constantly such as your anti-virus utilities and screen savers. You can use the command CTRL + ALT + DELETE to check your running applications. Select the running file and click on the “End Tsak” that is at the bottom of the box to close it.
Browse through the “Programs” then through “Accessories” to “System Tools”, and lastly “Disk Defragmenter”.
You will see the Select Drive. Click on “Settings”.
Select both “Check the drive for errors” and “Rearrange programs files so my programs start faster.”
Select which drive to defragment by pulling down the menu and pressing “OK”.
Left click on the drive to highlight which drive you want to defrag and press “Analyze” to determine if the drive needs defrag or not.
If it shows that the drive should be defragmented click on “Defragment”.
Once you have pressed this option, the defrag operation will begin and may take 30 minutes or more to complete. The time will all depend on the drive size.
If it shows an error and your defrag utility can’t defrag your chosen drive then run the Scandisk utility.
To do this, clikc on the “Start” option which will be found over “Programs”, then utility. Next click on “Acessories” and then “System Tools” and finally “Scandisk”.
Close the utility once the defrag process is completed.
Defragmentation should be done at least once a month.
Also, it is advisable to run it after downloading or installing new software to your program.
Always read the instructions before you begin.
