When it comes to the performance of your Windows computer, the faster your drive can read and write files, the better. So keeping your drive in tip-top shape is essential.
If you own and use a PC, you must know that there are several steps you’ll want to take to ensure it is running up to speed. One of these steps is defragmenting (or defragging) your hard drive. In this lesson, we’ll show you the basics of defragging.
In this article, we will discuss “How To Defrag Your Hard Drive on Windows?”. But before that, you must know a little about Windows Hard Drive Defragmentation.
What Is Windows Defragmentation?
Fragmentation causes your hard disc to do extra work, which can cause your computer to slow down. USB flash drives and other removable storage devices can also become fragmented. Windows’ Disk Defragmenter reorganizes fragmented data so that your discs and drives run more effectively. Disk Defragmenter can be set to run on a regular basis, but you can also manually analyze and defragment your discs and devices. This is one of the tips to give your slow PC a speed boost.
How To Defrag Your Hard Drive In Windows 7, 8, 10, 11?
STEP 1: Open Disk Defragmenter by clicking the Start button. In the search box, type Disk Defragmenter, and then, in the list of results, click Disk Defragmenter.
STEP 2: Under Current status, select the disk you want to defragment.
STEP 3: To determine if the disk needs to be defragmented or not, click Analyze disk. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
STEP 4: Once Windows is finished analyzing the disk, you can check the percentage of fragmentation on the disk in the Last Run Column. If the number is above 10%, you should defragment the disk.
STEP 5: Click Optimize. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
If the disk is already in exclusive use by another program or is formatted using a file system other than an NTFS file system, FAT, or FAT32, it can’t be defragmented.
Network locations can’t be defragmented.
If a disk that you’re expecting to see under Current status is not showing up there, it might be because it contains an error. Try to repair the disk first, then return to Disk Defragmenter to try again.
Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows 10, and Windows 11 are also built with an updated Disk Defragmenter utility, which automatically performs periodic defrags. Unless you need to perform a manual defrag, you don’t have to do anything – just let it run.
If you want to change when Disk Defragmenter runs, follow these steps:
STEP 1: Click the Start menu or Windows button
STEP 2: Select Control Panel, then System and Security.
STEP 3: Under Administrative Tools, click Defragment your hard drive.
STEP 4: Click Configure schedule.
STEP 5: Select the schedule you want. Pick a date and time that the computer will be on but no one is typically using it. The computer can be asleep.
STEP 5: Click OK
Conclusion On How To Defragment Your Hard Drive
This is how you can optimize your hard drive for better performance. Defragmenting your hard disc isn’t difficult, but it’s another maintenance item to remember unless it’s set to run automatically. Consider upgrading your computer by replacing your hard drive with a solid-state drive to prevent headaches. SSDs, like Mac computers, do not require defragmentation. They store data in larger, successive blocks to avoid data fragmentation.
Hope you have learned how to defragment your hard disk. If you have any questions, you can leave them in the comment section below. We will be happy to respond to you.
