How to Defrag a Drive

Join
Categories: Technology | Consumer Electronics | Computers | How Tos

  • Regular hard drive defragmentation can promote efficiency in computing over time. Find out How to Defrag a Drive.

  • All In One

    You can also defrag and clean up old files by using free programs such as Advanced System Care. These types of programs perform multiple types of maintenance all at one time. Simply open the program from your desktop and click on Care.

  • Introduction

    Defragging your hard drive is de rigueur for Windows users. It is a necessary part of computer maintenance and will help keep your computer running faster and more efficiently.

  • Step 1: Prepare to Defrag

    1. To make the most of the defragmentation process, take the following measures:
    2. Close all applications.
    3. Turn off your screensaver.
    4. Delete all Temporary Internet Files.
    5. Delete files that are no longer of use to you.

  • Step 2: Set Up for an Automatic Start to Defrag

    • Once defragmentation starts, it may take hours to complete. It all depends on
    1. The severity of disk fragmentation
    2. The volume of your hard drive.
    • You can wait until you won't need your computer for a few hours and manually start a defrag (see Step 3), or you can schedule the process:
    1. Click Start
    2. Go to All Programs
    3. Choose Accessories
    4. Go to System Tools
    5. Click Task Scheduler
    6. Fill in the appropriate info

  • Step 3: Manually Start the Process

    • There are a couple of ways to begin defragmentation:
    • Method 1
    1. Open Windows Explorer
    2. Choose the drive for defragmentation.
    3. Right-click on that drive.
    4. Choose Properties.
    5. Under Tools, click Disk Defragmenter.
    • Method 2
    1. Click Start
    2. Go to All Programs
    3. Choose Accessories
    4. Click System Tools
    5. Choose Disk Defragmenter
    6. Choose the hard drives to defragment.
    • In Vista, you will not be able to track how the process is going.
    • In Windows XP, you can view time remaining in the process.

  • Conclusion

    Proper maintenance is vital to computer care. Regular defrags, whether scheduled or manual, will help ensure you system continues to run smoothly over time.



Featured Pages

Contact Mahalo | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Advertisers | RSS for this page | CC License 2.0
©2007-2009 Mahalo.com Incorporated.
Powered By EdgeCast