Disk defragmentation on Windows: why it is needed and how to do it. What is hard drive defragmentation
One way to improve work efficiency modern computer is a disk defragmentation program - an application that rationally distributes data across a storage device.
With its help, even an inexperienced user can speed up the computer.
Process principle
During operation, files are constantly overwritten.
And, if their size has increased, it may turn out that new information will be located not in a neighboring sector already occupied by other data, but in another part of the hard drive.
As a result, file access takes longer, and total time program launch increases.
All this happens gradually, but if the disk has not been defragmented for a long time, the operating speed may drop by 10–20 percent or even more.
Defragmentation is a process that allows you to move parts of files so that they are located contiguously.
This simplifies access to programs by reducing the distance traveled by the read heads of the hard drive.
The best defragmentation programs
Defraggler
In fact, the best program for disk defragmentation, which should only be run as a system administrator.
To work with it you need:
- Open the application and select the disk to be defragmented in the main window;
- Click the right mouse button to open the menu;
- Select the defragmentation command.
Advice: To select multiple disk partitions, hold down the Ctrl key while highlighting them.
After the analysis, the utility performs defragmentation hard drive, increasing the efficiency of access to information recorded on it.
With its help, you can also defragment the registry and separate files, the list of which opens at separate tab"List of files".
In addition, the defragmenter program provides viewing detailed information about the progress of the process.
The first defragmentation will take longer than the next ones. However, during its execution, the computer can be used.
Although it is better not to do this, setting automatic shutdown PC and running Defraggler, for example, before leaving for work.
The advantages of the program are:
- Relatively fast work;
- Distribution is free;
- High defragmentation efficiency;
- Russian support, not available for all such applications.
PerfectDisk Professional
A fairly simple and easy-to-use program that can be used to defragment a partition, a RAID volume, and network drive.
Moreover, in latest version setup is made easier with special profiles network planning and logging the process.
The user has the ability to configure the scheduler to run defragmentation at any time convenient for him and set a fragmentation threshold, after exceeding which the files will not only be moved, but also optimized.
PerfectDisk operates in two optimization modes:
Taking into account the frequency of accessing files. In this case, most often launched applications are located at the beginning of the disk.
Regardless of how often the program is launched.
MyDefrag
IObit SmartDefrag
The high-speed Russian program ensures that files are placed in one of the best ways, since he uses the most effective scripts.
Data is placed on the fastest sections of the disk, and the system runs much faster.
The main advantages of the application include high degree file security, which is not threatened even by a sudden accidental shutdown of the computer while SmartDefrag is running.
In addition, defragmentation can be carried out in three modes (simple, deep and optimized).
O&O Defrag
Famous program– if not the best, then at least one of the most popular.
It is often used by advanced users to move parts of files to places where they can work with maximum efficiency.
With O&O Defrag performance can be restored and desktop computer, and laptop, and workstation.
The advantages of a defragmenter are:
- Special installers for embedding custom script;
- Automatic settings defragmentation mode;
- High speed analysis and optimization;
- Process charts;
- Expanded functionality when working on the network;
- Availability of a multilingual interface (there is also a Russian version);
- Support from everyone Windows types, starting from XP and Vista;
- Automatic selection of bit depth (32 or 64) for better work in the corresponding operating system;
- Special regime for mobile PCs (netbooks and laptops).
Hello, dear friends! Many people have probably heard more than once about such a thing as defragmentation computer disk
But on own experience I know that almost no one or very few users do it. The reason is simple - they don’t know why this long and tedious process is needed, that is, what determines the need to use it in general.
Today I will tell you why this defragmentation is needed and how (and with what programs) it can be performed, where and why.
So, let's get started.
Why is defragmentation of computer disks necessary?
How often should you defragment hard drives?
It all depends on how intensively you use it. HDD: copying, installing, deleting, transferring, etc., etc., information, but personally I recommend defragmenting at least once a month.
Sometimes this process should be set to use on a schedule, that is, a script (or program) does defragmentation on the fly, say, once a day. This may be necessary on systems where frequent work with files, for example, file servers large companies.
How to defragment a hard drive?
In the most Windows There is a built-in defragmenter, which, in general, can also be used. However, I do not recommend doing this for the simple reason that it copes with defragmentation rather poorly, which is why the final performance suffers. Therefore, I recommend using third-party programs, and there are quite a few of them.
What is the difference between defragmentation programs?
IN different programs, different analysis algorithms and, accordingly, the quality of subsequent defragmentation. Due to sometimes weak algorithms, not all defragmenters (as well as the built-in one) are able to well identify the fragmentation of files, the location of fragments of these files, and also adequately put them in order, collecting them together.
In general, it's not a matter of third party capabilities programs (such as scheduled defragmentation, etc.), namely in quality itself.
Personally, I use a powerful defragmenter O&O Defrag Free, or, when you’re too lazy to install, something simpler, like Defraggler. I wrote about both in detail in the articles “Program for defragmentation” and “”.
Afterword
Now you know why defragmentation is needed and how to do it. I will touch on this topic more than once, telling you about good (especially Russian and free) defragmentation programs.
As always, if you have questions, additions, or anything else like that, please write in the comments to this article.
Stay with me ;)
You've probably heard the expression - disk defragmentation? What is it and what is it for? As you know, all information on a hard drive is recorded in so-called clusters. A cluster is a cell certain size, in which some piece of the file is stored. Just a piece, because... the cluster is very small size. Cluster size varies depending on hard dimensions disk and the type of file system used.
At hard formatting disk is divided into clusters. Without this procedure, you will not be able to install an operating system on it, which means you will also not be able to work with such a disk.
Each cluster also has sectors. If the file is large, then it is written to clusters in parts. If the hard drive is new or just formatted, then writing to it occurs in a chain (in order).
And if you have been working with this disk for a long time, installing programs or creating new files, and then deleting them, then the chain of clusters is broken. Where particles of a file have been deleted, holes (empty clusters) are formed.
Therefore, the recording of the next file will be scattered across all these “holes”. One part of the file may be at the beginning of the disk, the second in the middle, and the third somewhere at the end of it. This state of the disk is called fragmentation .
In this case, when you open such a file, the hard disk head begins to intensively search for all parts of this file throughout the disk. Naturally, his work slows down, and Full time job in this mode leads to rapid wear of the read heads.
All this work resembles a turntable with vinyl discs. Only there the head goes in a spiral and the disc (they used to be called records) is played gradually from the outer edge to the inner.
And then the hard drive head jumps from one sector or turn to another, collecting the entire “song” in parts. And in this way the head can move first to the beginning, then to the end, then to the middle of the disk until it collects the entire file in order.
And if all the pieces of the file were in order, then the work would be much faster, and wear on the head would also be minimal. It turns out that as we delete, write and rewrite, our hard drive wears out, which has a very bad effect on its “health”.
Is it possible to help the disk work faster and not get sick? Can! To do this, at least once a month it is necessary to carry out preventive work with him, i.e. defragmentation disk . When defragmenting, all parts of files are collected in order and moved to the beginning of the disk. Therefore, the heads will not have to search for them for a long time and strain.
How to defragment a disk
If you are a novice computer user, you can initially carry out this procedure using the built-in Windows utilities Defragmentation .
IN Windows XP it is located at: Start – Programs – Accessories – System Tools – Disk Defragmentation .
On Windows 7 this program is located at: Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – Disk Defragmenter. The seven has the ability to set a time for automatic disk defragmentation.
Open this program, select your hard drive and click at the bottom big button Disk Defragmenter. And wait for the result. If you have done a lot of bloat on your hard drive, the first procedure may last several hours. Still depends on the disk space and speed of your computer. It is better to start this procedure at night or when you do not need a computer for work. But this is at your discretion.
In the future, it is better to use third-party programs for defragmentation, because They “treat” your disc much better, which means it will “live” longer. There are a lot of such programs on the Internet.
If you use third-party programs, you will be asked to indicate the cluster size. For file system NTFS is better specify size 4 kb.
I hope I was able to convey the necessary information to you.
Source
Defragmentation – the most important process, which consists in transferring data from several areas to one part of the disk. After defragmentation, system performance improves, writing and reading any type of file speeds up. In operating systems Windows family There is already a built-in defragmenter, but it has limited capabilities. That is why it is recommended to use third-party programs.
Every advanced user should have good program to defragment the hard drive. Of course, sometimes it can be difficult to make a choice. Therefore, it is recommended to carefully familiarize yourself with the functionality of each utility, and then choose what suits you best.
Defragmenters for Windows
While working, users create, copy and delete great amount files. After a few months, and sometimes even earlier, the OS slows down. To cope with the problem, it is recommended to pay attention to the following programs:
- Defrag Pro;
- SmartDefrag;
Whatever defragmenter you use, it is worth noting that it is not recommended for SSD drives. Otherwise, serious problems may arise.
Defrag Pro
This is the best program for high-quality hard drive defragmentation. Compared to many analogues, the utility is able to work with the file system:
- FAT32;
- NTFS;
- NTFS5.
The program works great on Windows XP, as well as more modern versions OS. The application can replace a standard defragmenter. At the same time, Defrag Pro can be launched on a schedule and also work in the background.
It is important to note that the defragmentation utility has not only a client version, but also a server version. Besides defragmentation hard drives, the program is able to work with the registry and the swap file.
SmartDefrag
The program was developed by IOBit. Software allows you to quickly, and most importantly efficiently, optimize the system through defragmentation. It is noteworthy that the application is perfect for Windows 10 and above earlier versions. Even an inexperienced user can manage the program.
It is important to note that the program for fast defragmentation disk is capable of working manually and automatic mode. You can change the way it works in the settings. It's best to take advantage manual mode. Besides standard procedure defragmentation, the application is capable of:
- Move data when the operating system boots. Thanks to the “Boot Time Defrag” technology, even those files that cannot be moved while the OS is running will be optimized;
- It is possible to launch the utility on a schedule;
- Disk analysis is performed only in certain moments. This reduces the load on the system.
It should be noted that it is difficult to find a better program than this one. In addition, the application is distributed in Russian.
Auslogics Disk Defrag
You can find it on the Internet free defragmenters, but not all of them are as good as . The application optimizes and organizes files scattered across hard drives. After completion of the work, the speed of the system increases several times.
The program uses several algorithms, thanks to which disk defragmentation is faster than when running a utility built into the OS. After optimization is completed, a report on the work done will be provided.
The main features of the defragmenter include:
- Organizing files and cluster structure;
- Disk map showing the defragmentation process in real time;
- Intuitive interface;
- A clear reporting system. Thanks to this, you can understand how well the disk was defragmented;
- Ability to optimize 2 or more hard drives simultaneously.
The program can be downloaded for free from the official website. For effectiveness, it is recommended to use the defragmenter 2 times a week.
Everyone knows that the best programs are those that fully cope with the assigned tasks. Defraggler, developed by Piriform Ltd., is just such a defragmenter. The utility can work not only with hard drive, but also with specific directories. This best defragmenter for Windows 7.
Unlike paid analogues, the application works several times faster and better. During the defragmentation process, the user has the opportunity to observe the transfer of data from one place to another. While the program defragments the disk, you can work on the computer (it’s better, of course, not to do this). After finishing the work, a report about the changes will appear.
The main functions of the program include:
- Creation information card fragmented files;
- Setting up a schedule;
- Supports all popular file systems, including exFAT;
- Setting the interface language.
To see all the benefits of a defragmenter, it is recommended to test it yourself.
UltraDefrag is the best defragmenter. Despite the fact that the utility is small, it does an excellent job of moving even complex clusters. Hard drive defragmentation is not the only feature of UltraDefrag; the program can also work with the registry and the page file. In addition to the main interface, there is a console interface, thanks to which the utility is launched on a schedule.
The application works with these file systems like FAT, FAT32 and NTFS. After completion of the work, a report appears in the form of an HTML file. It should be noted that the program has a function such as turning off the PC after optimization is completed. Even beginners can handle the controls.
Conclusion
The user downloads the program that best copes with the assigned tasks. This is why it is recommended to consider third party applications, since the defragmenter built into the OS does not cope well with transferring files. One of best programs, can be considered Auslogics Disk Defrag. Before downloading the utilities, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with all the advantages and disadvantages.
Video review of the defragmentation program
If your computer slows down and you have to wait a long time for it to come to its senses, perhaps one of the reasons may be that you have not done defragmentation for a long time. How? You don't know what defragmentation is? In this case, beginners begin to advise something like “reinstall Windows” or install a cleaner program - this is nonsense. Defragmentation can save your computer and your nerves from many problems.
Contents of the article
So, what is defragmentation, and what needs to be defragmented on the computer?
All the data on your computer (including Windows and programs) is stored on a device called HDD. Here's how a hard drive works from the inside: Attention! Never under any circumstances disassemble your hard drive, otherwise you may ruin it forever! Even just briefly removing the hard drive cover will destroy the sterility of the hard drive.
The smallest invisible dust particles that get inside will quickly ruin the “delicate” parts inside the hard drive. This is approximately the same as briefly exposing photographic film to bright light. It will instantly “light up” and become unusable.
If you imagine in a simplified way the organization of data on a hard drive in the form of a straight line, you will get something like this:
At the beginning of the disk you have a special table recorded (file allocation table) where data about all the files on your computer is located. When you want to watch a movie, the hard drive first “looks” at this table and looks for where your movie is located, and having found it, it returns “to the mountain.” Windows has one feature: when writing a new file, regardless of the size of the file, it begins to be written to the first available free space. Do you see it in the picture? There is almost no free space left on our schematic hard drive, since almost everything is occupied by files.
You want to burn a fresh new movie to disk, but there is no longer enough space. What are you doing? You delete what you no longer need, or dump it somewhere on a flash drive or other disk. Let's assume that the most large file on the disc is your old movie that you already watched and didn’t like. You deleted it, and this is what happened:
An empty space has formed. Now you can record your new movie, but it is slightly larger in size than your old movie:
How will Windows write this file? First, it moves the hard drive's heads to the beginning, to the file allocation table (FAT), to find out where the first free space on the disk is. Then the heads are moved to free space and file recording begins. But then it turns out that the free space has already run out, and then it begins next file. What does Windows do?
To do this, she again needs to move the hard drive heads to the beginning and look in the file allocation table where the next free space is. In fact, Windows splits your file into two parts - two fragments - and writes them to the following free places on your hard drive. For you, Windows shows the file as whole, and you don’t suspect anything. Here's how your file is actually written to disk:
How Windows reads a written file, yes exactly the same. First, the heads are transferred to the TRF, find out where the first part of the file is and read it, then again to the TRF, and again the next part. But in our example there are only two fragments. In a real situation, the file may be broken into several hundred thousand pieces. And instead of reading the entire file “in one fell swoop,” Windows “chases” head hard disk, and you sit and wait - when will it all “unwind”.
What does defragmentation do?
Pieces (fragments) of files, as well as small files, are physically rearranged and swapped until they form continuous files. No! They do not “throw” from folder to folder. It’s just that on the disk the fragments are assembled into a single whole, and the system’s operation is noticeably accelerated (This becomes noticeable already at the end of defragmentation. Itself defragmentation of hard the disk begins to pass faster). Here are the results of defragmentation on our “experimental” disk:
The result of defragmentation is the absence of fragmentation 😉
How do you know if your hard drive is fragmented and needs defragmentation?
Watch the indicator work hard disk while the computer is running (located on the front panel system unit). If it lights up almost continuously at the slightest load on the hard drive (starting any program) - and the program starts much slower than before, and if you listen, you can hear the characteristic quiet monotonous crackling of the hard drive - then most likely the disk is fragmented and needs defragmentation.
How to run the standard Windows defragmentation program?
Click "Start", open the "Computer" tab (in Windows XP - "My Computer"). On the icon of any disk - click right click mouse, go to “Properties”, and go to the “Service” tab, and “Run defragmentation”. In the launched program, click on the “Defragmentation” button.
Defragmentation can take up to several hours. And although you can use your computer while defragmenting, I would not recommend you do this. It is better to run defragmentation when your computer is idle (for example, at night).
How often should you defragment?
Do defragmentation no more often than once every two weeks, but no less than once every six months. Look at the possibilities. Some people say that defragmentation causes excessive wear and tear on the hard drive - this is a misconception. The disk wears out in any case, and if during defragmentation you put a load on the hard disk for only a few hours, then the fragmented disk is constantly subject to increased wear.
On a heavily fragmented disk, data errors may also occur, that is, due to inevitable failures, data fragments different files may mix. In addition, on a fragmented hard drive it is much more difficult to recover data if it breaks. A hard disks Unfortunately, they fail quite often.
Speaking of defragmentation in Windows 7 - under this operating system There is no need to defragment at all!
In any case, you don’t have to defragment drives other than C at all! Surprised? I was also pleasantly surprised when I downloaded and installed a third-party defragmenter program on my computer, since I didn’t like the very poor and uninformative interface of the standard program for defragmenting hard disks. Windows disk 7.
But installed by me third party program showed that in fact everything is “okay”. The fact is that when your computer has nothing to do, that is, when it is turned on, but you are not working on it, instead of running a stupid screensaver across the screen, your computer turns out to be doing something useful. Windows 7 defragments your hard drives on its own.
This is the answer why the standard defragmentation utility in Windows 7 is so “short” - it is attached just as an interface, just in case. What if you want to run defragmentation on your computer yourself.
Do defragmentation in a timely manner, and don’t let your computer “slow down”!
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