What does defragmentation of a hard drive mean? What is the purpose of this operation? Disk defragmentation using Windows
To speed up your work personal computer, it is not necessary to go to the store to purchase new expensive components - you need to defragment the disk using special utility, which will help bring each fragmented file to an orderly state, transfer important system components in more quick section and much more. Inexperienced users PCs neglect necessary maintenance, believing HDD a minor component, but the speed of access to various files, including Windows components.
What is disk defragmentation
When deleting programs, games, movies and other large files, individual elements remain on the hard drive, occupying a certain space, i.e. fragmentation occurs. The next time a new file starts recording, part of it will be written in one place, then the occupied space will be skipped, another part will be recorded, skipped, and so on in a circle. This will lead to the fact that to gain access, the HDD head will have to move from the beginning to the middle, then to the end, and back, and this significantly slows down the work.
What is it for?
Performing the procedure is necessary to assemble the file together - the parts will follow strictly one after another, being in sequential clusters. So the read head only needs to read a small part, making a small movement to read the entire file. The use of such utilities is especially important for those users who often overwrite files, install games and programs, and work with big amount small documents, etc. Thanks to the sequential arrangement, the opening and starting speed will increase by up to 50%.
Why is it useful?
The closer to the initial part of the hard drive the elements of one file are, the faster the opening will occur, and, in some cases, this becomes very noticeable. The same applies to system files - when they are located on the initial clusters, system loading is accelerated, as is the startup of programs, and overall performance. SSD drive does not need defragmentation, but rather the opposite - the service life will be greatly reduced, because There is a limit on the number of write-rewrite cycles.
How to defragment a disk
Windows OS has a built-in disk defragmenter, which does its job well. It is recommended to run weekly to maintain state of hard the disk of the personal computer is in good condition and does not allow unnecessary clutter with small parts of files. You can customize the mode automatic start when the computer itself turns on the program in right time. The speed of the program is directly affected by many factors, of which the following are worth highlighting:
- technical specifications hardware components of a computer;
- overall volume hard drive;
- amount of occupied space;
- number of write-rewrite cycles performed;
- period since the last defragmentation.
For Windows 7
The built-in defragmenter utility utility for Windows 7 performs defragmentation hard sections disk, but only files, and free clusters remain untouched, although computer performance will still be increased. Automatic mode is present and configured by date, time and frequency. Before starting, it is recommended to clean local disks of residual garbage, for which you can use the system one or one of free utilities and check system registry.
The function can be activated by following the path – Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools. Second method – Computer – right click on the logical drive – Properties – Tools tab – Run defragmentation. After clicking the start button, a program window will open where you can select one of the following:
- set up a schedule;
- analysis;
- defragmentation.
During the analysis they will be checked sectors of hard disk for the presence of fragmented files, and the report will be provided as a percentage. It is recommended to have at least 15% free space on your hard drive, because... in its absence, defragmentation can take a very long time for a long time, and the efficiency will decrease significantly. Have some not busy place on system disk and used for storing information is always necessary - if you fill it completely, you may encounter slower operation of the entire computer.
For Windows 8
The program in Windows 8 is practically no different in its functionality and capabilities from previous version. There is also the ability to set up a schedule, and the process takes a lot of time, much more than when using third-party quick utilities. To access it you need to press Win+E, click on logical drive left mouse button, top tab Management, item Optimize.
For Windows 10
This operating system installed on most modern laptops. Either an SSD drive is installed as a storage medium, which does not need to be defragmented, or small HDD, where the situation is completely opposite. A small hard drive undergoes fragmentation much more quickly, which reduces the speed of performing any tasks. It's hard to set up here automatic defragmentation, because the laptop turns off when no one is working on it to save battery power, and the best option will launch it every time manually.
To open Disk Optimization, you must do the following - Explorer - This Computer - right-click on the disk - Properties - Tools - Optimize. Here, again, you can analyze the disk for the presence of fragmented files and their percentage, start the optimization process itself or set up a schedule. The more often defragmentation-optimization is performed, the less time subsequent runs will take.
Disk defragmentation programs
There are also alternative programs with a more understandable and user-friendly interface and some additional features. The utilities are free, and to use them you only need to download the file and install. Some in automatic mode will replace the standard disk defragmenter, which is convenient because no need to turn it off yourself Windows Services, which not every beginner can do.
Defraggler
The utility can defragment the disk not only completely, but also separate folders and even files. This will help in cases where speed is important specific application, and not the entire computer. The program works with any file systems. I have an opportunity automatic transfer large files towards the end of the disk. The operating speed is very good, and all information about the hard drive is presented clearly.
Ashampoo Magical Defrag
The utility has a minimalist design - the elements are presented in a single window, with virtually no settings and a small amount information. There are no additional functions, and the work occurs in the background, turning on during those periods when the computer is idle, in sleep mode, etc. In some cases this is very convenient, because... computer resources are not always used 100%, for example, when watching a movie or working in office programs, you can use the HDD and processor to service the disk.
Auslogics Disk Defrag
The program has several key features, which distinguishes it favorably from other proposals. It not only defragments files, but also organizes the available free space, which takes a lot of time. Able to optimize itself system files, speeding up access to them. It is possible to configure a schedule or work in the background without loading all computer resources.
MyDefrag
Distinctive feature program - it replaces the screensaver, i.e., when the computer goes into standby mode, if necessary defragmentation of hard disk, then the process begins. The work will be optimized as much as possible, and the files will be in an orderly state. The program only requires initial setup, after which it will function automatically.
Smart Defrag
IObit's product is able to always maintain order in the files on your hard drive. The utility uses special algorithm, which performs partial defragmentation at system startup, and the boot time increases slightly and only if Windows is installed on it. There is a smart distribution function, where frequently used files are distributed closer to the beginning and are accessed faster. The work speed is good, even with large quantities files and their fragmentation.
Video
The hard drive is one of the most important components of a computer, but not all users pay due attention to it. If the processor, video card, random access memory and other components, they can be replaced quite simply, whereas if the drive breaks down, the computer owner will lose all his data, which obviously no one wants. To avoid leaving building a tough disk, you need to carefully monitor it and defragment it regularly.
What is disk defragmentation
The defragmentation process is very simple and very important, but many people forget about the need for it. It is the organization of files on the hard drive in such a way that the operating system can access them more easily and quickly when requested.
During work hard disk appears on it constantly new information. The user downloads files from the Internet, installs programs and games, creates new documents and performs a number of other tasks. When information is stored on a hard drive, it occupies a certain number of free clusters on it. At the time of deleting, changing, copying files, the clusters are cleared, but free space is formed between one and another file on the hard drive. Disk defragmentation is necessary to organize the files on the disk so that they follow each other sequentially, and there are no free clusters left between them.
Disk defragmentation on Windows is necessary because:
Some users know about the need to defragment, but do not do it. This is due to the fact that this process very lengthy, and organizing files on a large storage device can take up to ten hours. At the same time, the time of the procedure can be significantly reduced; for this it is enough to perform it monthly, as recommended manufacturers of hard disks. The more often you defragment, the less data on the drive will have to be moved, and therefore this process will happen faster.
Important: Defragmentation should only be performed on hard drives with a rotating head, whereas on SSD drives it is useless. Defragmentation process solid state drive will only lead to a reduction in the number of rewrite cycles on it, but will not provide a performance increase.
How to defragment a disk
To defragment a disk, you need to run the corresponding process. operating room Windows system contains a special tool that allows you to defragment your hard drive. Unfortunately, it is not perfect, and in most cases it is more convenient to use third party utilities. Various programs contain their own algorithms for defragmenting the drive. Below we will give an example of several such applications and tell you how to perform the work of arranging clusters using system tools.
Defragmenting a hard drive using Windows
If you are wondering how to defragment a disk in Windows 10 or more earlier versions operating system, this is quite easy to do. To start it standard tool defragmentation is necessary:
Please note that you can also configure “Schedule optimization” in this menu item. When selecting the appropriate item, you must specify the frequency of the process and the hard drive/drives that will be subjected to it. After this, the system will automatically defragment the drive according to the selected schedule.
Hard drive defragmentation programs
There are dozens of applications that allow you to defragment your hard drive. Each of them has its pros and cons. Some are better suited for working with large hard drives or drives that are installed on servers, while others are good for home use. Below we suggest considering a couple free programs to defragment the hard drive.
The simplest and convenient application to defragment the hard drive to home computer– this is Defraggler. The free version of the program, which can be downloaded from the official website of the developers, does not have wide functionality, but it copes with its main task.
The application is officially localized into Russian, and it allows you to defragment not only the entire disk, but also separate program or folders. The program also provides an option with fast defragmentation disk.
Auslogics Disk Defrag Free- This free version application of the same name from Auslogics. You can also download it from the official website of the developers. The application is slightly more functional than Defraggler, and it does not have a Russian language, which makes it more difficult to work with. At the same time, the program has a number of functions that are not available in the official tool. hard optimization disk from Windows company and in the Defraggler app.
Why do you need to defragment your hard drive?
Information on the hard drive is recorded in clusters. What the user sees on the computer as one file is actually a system of cell segments in the HDD memory. When files are frequently moved, copied, or deleted, the elements of one whole end up being far from each other, which affects the speed of the PC.
A clear illustration of the need for defragmentation.
Because cluster fragments are so remote, it takes the computer longer to read or run files. This affects the speed of its work. Simply put, the car begins to “slow down.”
For clarity, consider this example. Let's say you need to assemble a puzzle picture of 100 pieces. The state of randomness of image elements before assembly is the state of the disk before defragmentation. After the work is completed, the picture will appear in its original form. In other words, allows you to organize information in clusters, connect disparate elements of files, and write them on disk in adjacent cells.
Advantages of defragmentation
If you notice that your computer is starting to run slower, it means you need hard drive defragmentation. The procedure allows you to:
Increase the speed of opening/downloading files and programs,
Increase performance in 3D games and video editing programs,
Increase the speed of writing new data to disk,
Speed up OS loading ( we're talking about about operating system boot area defragmenters).
Defragmenting your hard drive assumes that fragments of files scattered across the hard drive are collected and transferred over a close distance. In this case, the data is concentrated at the beginning of the HDD. The end of the hard drive is freed up for writing new files, which also has a positive effect on increasing the speed of the PC.
About the nuances of defragmentation
The frequency of defragmentation depends on the intensity of work with files. According to general rule, it is carried out once a month. But when frequent copying and deleting objects, defragmentation is required more often. For example, on servers large companies it can be performed once a week.
The process of organizing files on a hard drive sometimes takes several hours. That's why it is often launched at night, so that by the morning you get a vigorous HDD with high performance when opening files.
How to defragment a hard drive
Windows OS has a built-in defragmenter that can be easily found in Properties local disk C on the Service tab. First, the mechanism performs an analysis of the hard drive, highlighting fragmented areas in color. Then the defragmentation procedure starts.
For undemanding users of this Windows tool enough, but there are many other proprietary programs that cope with the task of organizing files much faster and more efficiently. Each of them has its own operating algorithm and, accordingly, the quality of defragmentation. Choice suitable software remains yours.
Hello! Disk Defragmenter- many have heard about it, many know what it is, but almost no one performs this necessary operation.
This situation reminds me of smokers - they know that it is harmful and kills, but they do not quit smoking. Same with disk defragmentation. They forget to do it, they don’t attach any importance... Now we will look at why it is needed, how, with what and when to defragment the disk. As always - in detail, step by step and in pictures. As they say - “on the fingers”. I'll use a ruler...
Let's imagine that our hard drive (computer memory) is a ruler. A simple wooden ruler from my school childhood.
Let's “download” a couple of programs and a game onto this “line”...
We use them for a while, but then we realize that we don’t need program “B” and delete it from using CCleaner or Unlocker. We end up with this picture...
Without suspecting anything, we install another program, smaller size. And this is where the fun begins. A computer is a smart device. He is trying his best to help the system, speed it up, optimize it. And prescribes new program“C” is as close to the beginning of the “line” as possible. To the nearest free place.
As a result, we get a hole. It won't fit into anything. This is fragmented data. Why and why does he do this? I'm telling...
The fact is that information is read from our “ruler” using a special reading device located on the carriage. So this carriage is carried around with the reading device like a fool with a mortar over a “ruler”. And by the way, at “cosmic” speed.
Imagine a mother with ten children who crap themselves. Or a wolf with a basket from very popular game 80-90s(at the last level)…
Introduced? This is roughly how it happens in the iron insides of our computers. And this device (let’s call it a wolf) needs to monitor and view all programs and files on the “line”, and then there are these useless holes. He also reads them all the time.
And the more we use the computer, install and delete files, the faster the number of these holes grows. As a result, the system slows down, the “wolf” wears out, the mother of many children is in shock, the children are in... Oh, I can’t take it anymore! Wait a second!
That's it, he calmed down and crawled out from under the table. So what am I talking about here? Oh yes! About what disk defragmentation is.
And in order to reduce the number of movements of the “wolf” and speed up the search for files, the system places everything as close to the beginning of the disk as possible. Well, defragmenter programs are designed to bring order to all this mess.
Disk defragmentation allows you to organize the location of files on your disk. Remove the holes to the very end of the “ruler”. Thus, stop monitoring and taking them into account.
I hope you now understand the importance and necessity of periodically defragmenting the disk. "Wolf" is smoking, mom is sleeping, the children are bought.
Now let's install the defragmenter program. There are a lot of them on the Internet. Paid and free. I'll use the proven one reliable manufacturer free programs. Such as CCleaner, Speccy, Recuva...
Defraggler is a free disk defragmenter program. Simple, reliable and in Russian.
Disk defragmentation: download Defraggler 2.10 (3.17 MB)
Installed a defragmenter. If you are asked to reboot, do it. After it we launch Defraggler and highlighting required disk(it is advisable to select everything at once and click “defragment”, then in the settings set to turn off the computer after the operation and go to sleep), click “Analysis” to find out whether you need to defragment the disk today.
You can manage the process and put it in background mode and continue to do your business on the computer.
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 is no longer needed, 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:
Formed empty place. Now you can write down your New film, but it's a little bigger 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 (FAL), 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 TRF, find out where the first part of the file is and read it, then again to 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 “drives” the hard drive head, and you sit and wait for it all to “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 the fragments are assembled on the disk into a single whole, and the system’s operation noticeably speeds up (This becomes noticeable already at the end of defragmentation. The defragmentation of the hard drive itself begins to proceed 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?
Observe the hard drive activity indicator 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 (launching 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 - right-click, go to “Properties”, and go to the “Tools” 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 doing 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 regular program to defragment hard 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 - independently defragments your hard drives.
Here's the answer why standard utility Defragmentation 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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