When
your computer writes information onto your hard drive, it does not
always write information in the same location on the actual hardware. A
section of a file can be written near the beginning of the disc,
whereas the rest of that file could be written near the end. This
causes programs to run slowly, as the computer spends time in
retrieving these file clusters from all over the disc. Defragmenting
your computer sorts all of your files [as well as free space] in an
orderly manner, in effort to reduce loading time. Here is how to do it.
Steps
- Uninstall any programs you do not use or need. It is best to uninstall programs prior to a defragmentation, as the newly-acquired free space will generally
be located all over the hard drive, thereby giving rise to
fragmentation.
- Make sure that all unnecessary programs are closed.
- Cancel any programs that are scheduled to run. If you have not manually scheduled any programs to run, then skip this step.
- Delete any temporary files. This is done by running Disk Cleanup. To run the program, go to: START - Run, and enter cleanmgr in the window.
- Run the Disk Defragmenter Program. Go to START - Run, and enter dfrg.msc in the window. A window that is similar to the one below should appear:
Make sure that your desired drive is selected [C: being the default drive], and click on the Defragment button.
- Sit back and relax as your computer organizes your fragmented files.
Tips
- Defragment your computer overnight. If you have never
defragmented your computer before, and you have a large hard drive, the
process can take several hours.
- You can also access the Disk Defragmenter via the Start menu
by going to START -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools
-> Disk Defragmenter.
- The more often that you run the defragmenter, the quicker the process will be. Generally, once per month is good.
- Remember that defragmenting takes the saved portions of all of
your files and organizes them to help your computer run more
efficiently. Keep in mind that some files (such as critical system
files and boot procedure files) cannot be moved.
- An alternative to defragmenting is the use of a program called Diskeeper.
It is very useful, since it can defragment your computer while your
screen saver is running. You can work (or play) on your computer when
you're defragmenting because it has a technology called I/O smart,
where if your computer is doing something big, it will pause until your
computer is finishing. You can also set the priority for defragmenting
so that it won't pause every time that you do something little.
Warnings
- If you are using Windows 95, 98, or ME, do not use your
computer during the defragmenting process, since this may restart or
hinder the process.
- While uninstalling, if you are unsure what a program does, don't remove it until you know for sure if you need it or not.
