How Do I Defrag My Computer? How Often Should I Defrag My Computer?

Fragmentation of a file system could not be avoided, every time you use the computer, every time you create or delete a file, you are contributing to the slow fragmentation of your computer's file system. When your hard disk is so fragmented, your computer will become slow. Fragmentation comes about when your computer's operating system fail to apportion enough contiguous space to store a complete file as one unit and instead puts parts of it in the gaps between other files. If you defragment your computer regularly it will continue to run smoothly and will not show signs of slowing down. Defragmentation rearranges fragmented data so your hard disk can work more efficiently. It is advisable to do a defragmentation of your hard disk every two or three months, depending upon how you use your computer.

To defragment your computer, double click on My Computer folder to open it then right-click on the drive that you want to defragment. A menu will pop up allowing you to click on "Properties". After you click on "Properties" the Disk properties box will appear. In the Disk Properties box there are tab. Look for the "Tools" tab and click on it. When the Tools tab is clicked you will be presented with the three panes. One has the "Defragment Now..." button. Click on the Defragment now button and defragmentation will then start. It will take quite a time to finish defragmentation.

There is another method of going to Windows defrag. Just go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defrag. The Disk defrag dialog box will appear. Choose the Volume you want to defrag from the top pane. There are two buttons, "Analyze" and "Defrag". In second pane below, Just click Defrag. Defragmentation will start.

There are also some defragmentation software that can defragment your drive faster than Window's default defragmentation program. you can try Smart Defrag, it is a free software that you can download and use immediately. It is very easy to use. After downloading it just install it, the installation process is very straightforward. After installation is complete the software will launch. You will see a column of buttons on the left and two panes on the right. The top pane allows you to choose the drive to defrag. You just click on the radio button of the drive you want to defrag. The other pane below shows the defragmentation process when defragmentation is ongoing. After you choose the drive to defrag, just click on the top most button on the left which is the Degrag now button. You will then see the disk defragmentation progress in the defrag progress pane.

There are actually a number of good defragmentation tools that you can use. A simple Google search will reveal a lot of good utilities out there for defragmentation and maintenance of your hard disk.