Defragmentation works by locating file fragments that are scattered and putting them back together. The purpose is to decrease file access times and increase space on the hard-drive.
1 factor that contributes to a slow computer is fragmented files on the hard-drive. When a file is stored on the hard-drive it is broken up into smaller pieces and, if they are not located in one location the file is considered fragmented. Fragmentation is a little hard to get your head around at first so let me give you an example in dot point form.
For example:
- A photo album is the file and the photos are pieces of that file.
- If the photo album was fragmented you might have to look in a few different places for all the photos that belong to the photo album.
- It would clearly take longer to access the photo album if some photos were in a kitchen-draw, some more in a bedside table and some at a friend’s place.
- If you defragmented the photo album all the photos would be in one place, so instead of going to 3 different places to get the photo album you would just go to the bedside table.
Windows Operating Systems like XP, Vista and Windows 7 all come with a defragmentation utility called ‘Disk Defragmenter’. Keep in mind running a defrag can take awhile so only run it when you don’t need to use the computer for at least a few hours.
See below for steps on running a Defrag:
- Close all open programs and files;
- Click Start;
- Click All Programs;
- Click Accessories;
- Click System Tools;
- Select Disk Defragmenter from the list;
- When the Disk Defragmenter tool opens click on the Defragment button;
- The defrag process can take awhile so grab a cup a coffee.
I recommend you run a defragmentation every couple of weeks to keep your computer system in good health.