Speed up access to data

Disk fragmentation is a serious problem that will definitely slow down your computer. When the disk is fragmented, Windows has to search the entire hard drive to find pieces of the file you want to open. This causes performance issues and lack of responsiveness from you system.

If you want to maintain your computer’s performance and stability, you must use Microsoft Windows’s Disk Defragmenter tool. This little utility allows you to quickly defragment the hard drive so that the operating system can find the pieces a lot easier.

The Disk Defragmenter must be used periodically – once per month is recommended. However, there are times when you definitely need to use it. Below you will find a list of things that can cause disk fragmentation and require defragmentation:

The Disk Defragmenter is fairly easy to find and use. Here is Microsoft’s guide:

  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter
  2. Click Analyze to start the Disk Defragmenter
  3. In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, click the drives that you want to defragment, and then click the Analyze button. After the disk is analyzed, a dialog box appears, letting you know whether you should defragment the analyzed drives
  4. To defragment the selected drive or drives, click the Defragment button. Note: In Windows Vista, there is no graphical user interface to demonstrate the progress – but your hard drive is still being defragmented
  5. After the defragmentation is complete, Disk Defragmenter displays the results
  6. To display detailed information about the defragmented disk or partition, click View Report
  7. To close the View Report dialog box, click Close
  8. To close the Disk Defragmenter utility, click the Close button on the title bar of the window

Tip: You should analyze a volume before defragmenting it to get an estimate of how long the defragmentation process will take.

As you see, it is very easy to use. However, the defragmentation can take some time, even hours. It is best to leave the Disk Defragmenter tool do its job, before you start using the computer. It can save you from some errors and will give the utility the chance to do the best defragmentation possible. Just be patient and let it finish – you can even start the tool before you go to bed and leave it to work during the night.

Once the process is finished, your computer will work at increased performance, and you will experience increased speed. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk is significantly sped up. Remember to repeat the defragmentation every month or even twice a month so that your computer can stay in top shape. You can combine the Disk Defragmentation with the Disk Cleanup tool to speed your computer even further.

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