How do I defrag my harddrive?
People have asked me in the past why their computers run slow. Beyond some of the other reasons that I have given you in past articles, another is not having run a ‘defrag’ on your hard drive.
But what does that mean? and why do I need to do it?
Basically what happens to your computer is that files are saved on it in order. So as you uninstall and add new programs, all the data that is written to the hard drive is written to different areas or sectors of the drive. This means that all your data is jumbled up, and rather then it being in a nice pile its spread out all over the place, and your computer has to spend time trying to find where the next bit of information is.
When you defrag, you basically grab all the little bits of data, and organize them into nice organized piles again so your computer knows where everything is.
How do I run this defrag?
Luckily Windows has a tool built in for just this purpose. It’s not the best tool available, but hey you have it installed, and it works, so lets go with that.
Here’s where you can find it:
- Start
- All Programs
- Accessories
- System Tools
- Disk Defragmenter
When this program opens it will give you a few choices, the first thing we should do is analyze the disk. After Analyzing, the program will report back to let us know if we need to defrag. Most of the time, it will need it.
Click on the Defragment Disk option, and the process will begin. Now if you have a lot of data on your drive, and if its really defragmented, then it will take a while to complete this process.
Once its completed, you should see a little bit more speed out of your computer.
***Special Note***
Windows 7 has the ability to schedule your defrag. You can set your PC to defrag in off hours, so it will not interfere with your day-to-day operation of the PC. I highly recommend setting up a weekly schedule for running your defrag. This way your PC will stay optimal and you wont have to think about it. Just set it and forget it!
