The disk is not defragmented. Windows Disk Defragmentation - Everything you need to know. Defragmentation still not working? Go ahead

Windows 7, like other operating systems, organizes data on disks in units called clusters. A cluster is the minimum disk space that is allocated by the file system to store one file. Over time, files are written to the disk in a chaotic order, which leads to a decrease in computer performance. In order to increase the speed at which the hard disk heads access files by organizing them and increasing the performance of the computer, a disk maintenance tool called “Hard Disk Defragmenter” is used. After defragmentation, computer performance increases, according to various estimates, from 10 to 20%.

Why is disk defragmentation necessary?

During operation, the file is written to disk in sequential sectors. In the future, during intensive work with the hard disk, when some files are written and others are deleted, a situation is created that if there is free space on the disk, files can be written to sectors in different parts of this disk. Such files are called fragmented.

Working with fragmented files requires more time, since the disk read heads spend it moving to another position and reading the information. When working with files written in sequential sectors, the time it takes for the heads to move into them is significantly reduced. When the proportion of fragmented files reaches a large size, the computer's performance slows down significantly.

To rewrite files on a disk in the form of sequentially readable sections, special defragmentation programs are used, which allow you to transfer information in the form of continuous sequences of clusters.

The programs have three modes:

analysis. The program analyzes the fragmentation of all sections and, upon completion of the analysis, displays a full report;
Defragmentation of only fragmented files. The program offers this mode by default. The process of overwriting fragmented files does not take much time, and after it is completed, the files are located on the disk not as a continuous area, but with gaps. The program simply connects disparate pieces of one file, without paying attention to free space, which leads to the formation of fragmented files when writing new information. This option is suitable for weekly defragmentation;
complete defragmentation. All files on the disk are arranged in order. This mode is suitable if defragmentation is performed once a month. It is better to perform it at a time when other programs are not used. This will speed up the completion of a complete defragmentation.

The Hard Disk Defragmenter program runs in the background, so once launched, no further action is required. It must be remembered that when defragmenting, there must be at least 15% free space on the disk to transfer files.

How to start and perform disk defragmentation

Windows 7, unlike previous versions, has a built-in defragmentation utility developed by Microsoft. There are four ways to launch it.

Via the Start menu

Using Explorer

Using the Run window

Using the Command Prompt window

Video: how to defragment a disk on Windows 7

How many passes will defragmentation take?

By default, defragmentation is programmed for two passes:

pass No. 1 - used to defragment the disk;
passage No. 2 - combines free space.

It all depends on several factors:

volume of fragmented files;
hard drive capacity;
hard drive performance (writing, reading);
amount of occupied disk space;
distribution of information across the disk;
frequency of defragmentation.

The last factor is the most important. If the disk has a large volume and has never been defragmented, then the number of passes can reach ten or more. This happens because the file fragments are scattered throughout the disk, and they are so small that two passes are not enough to reassemble them completely.

What to do if disk defragmentation does not start

If, when starting defragmentation, there is a failure or does not start at all, then it is necessary to perform a number of operations that will eliminate the cause.

The first reason is that a defragmentation program or utility was installed on the computer from an unverified site, which did not work correctly. As a result, it was removed. After uninstallation, traces of the program remain in the system registry or system files, which prevent the standard utility from starting. What to do in this case:

The second reason is that the defragmentation service is not working. What to do in this case:

In the list of services, you should also check the status of services that affect the start of defragmentation:

“Module for launching DCOM server processes”;
"RPC Endpoint Mapper";
“Remote Procedure Call (RPC).”

All of these services must be enabled and running.

The third reason is a hard drive failure. What to do:

Launch the Run panel and enter the command “c: chkdsk /r”, where c: is the drive selected for scanning, and /r is the key to identify bad sectors and attempt to repair them.
The utility will scan the hard drive for failed clusters and restore them or close them.

If all this does not help, then you need to restart the operating system.

Defragmenting an SSD drive on Windows 7

Solid state drives (SSDs) have increased in popularity recently. They have a number of advantages over magnetic hard drives (HDD):

higher reliability;
quiet operation;
high-speed access to data.

Their volume is growing rapidly and already makes it possible to install an operating system on them, that is, to make them the main ones. But the issue of limiting the cycles of rewriting information on them has not yet been resolved. Therefore, the question arises: is it necessary to defragment them?

More and more computer experts are coming to the conclusion that solid-state drives (SSDs) do not need defragmentation. This will not affect the performance of the storage medium and may even harm it. Disk defragmentation is the process of frequently rewriting information, and SSDs have a limited number of rewrite cycles. Solid state drives have a built-in program that itself determines the amount of unnecessary information that is no longer used and deletes it.

Only HDDs need defragmentation, because with large fragmentation of files, the speed of the hard drive drops sharply. In an SSD, these actions do not occur, so files from different sectors are read at the same speed. Because of this, in Windows 7 it is necessary to disable automatic scheduled defragmentation.

Fast disk defragmentation

In addition to the “Hard Disk Defragmenter” utility built into Windows 7, there are third-party software products with similar functions. They are divided into two groups:

defragmentation programs;
defragmentation utilities.

The programs include several subroutines for maintaining hard drives. One such routine is the defragmenter. Its main difference from utilities is that it does not have a quick disk defragmentation function. First, analysis is carried out, and then defragmentation or complete optimization.

Defragmentation programs are less effective in combating file fragmentation than utilities. This is due to the fact that utilities are developed for the specific purpose of defragmenting a hard drive, and programs are used to perform comprehensive computer optimization, where one subroutine complements another from the kit.

Utilities are small programs with one single function - hard drive defragmentation. When installed, they can be built into startup and start working when Windows 7 starts. They have a quick defragmentation function without analysis.

Defragmentation programs

Defragmentation Utilities

Video: Disk defragmentation using Auslogics Disk Defrag

When using your computer intensively, when downloading a large number of files and deleting them, you need to remember that regular defragmentation of the hard drive will help get rid of problems in the future. With this mode of operation, it is recommended to carry out it once a week. When working only with text files, you can defragment once a month. But in any case, it must be carried out.

If you ask any computer geek you know about this, one of the items that will most likely be mentioned is disk defragmentation. It is about her that I will write today everything that I know.

In particular, we will talk about what defragmentation is and whether it needs to be done manually on modern operating systems Windows 7 and Windows 8, whether it is necessary to defragment an SSD, what programs can be used (and whether these programs are needed) and how to perform defragmentation without additional programs in Windows, including using the command line.

If you have Windows 7, 8 or 8.1

In the latest versions of Microsoft operating systems - Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, hard drive defragmentation starts automatically. In Windows 8 and 8.1 it occurs at random times, while the computer is idle. In Windows 7, if you go into the defragmentation options, you will most likely see that it will run every Wednesday at 1 am.

Thus, in Windows 8 and 8.1, it is unlikely that you will need to manually defragment. This can happen in Windows 7, especially if after working on the computer you immediately turn it off and on every time you need to do something again. In general, turning your PC on and off frequently is a bad practice and is more likely to cause problems than leaving your computer on 24/7. But this is a topic for a separate article.

But in Windows XP there is no automatic defragmentation, which is not surprising - the operating system is more than 10 years old. Thus, defragmentation will have to be performed manually regularly. How regularly? It depends on how much data you download, create, rewrite back and forth, and delete. If games and programs are installed and uninstalled daily, you can run defragmentation once a week or two. If all the work consists of using Word and Excel, as well as staying in contact and classmates, then monthly defragmentation will be enough.

In addition, you can configure automatic defragmentation in Windows XP using the task scheduler. Only it will be less “intelligent” than in Windows 8 and 7 - if in modern OS defragmentation will “wait” when you are not working on the computer, then in XP it will start regardless.

Do I need to use third-party programs to defragment my hard drive?

This article would be incomplete without mentioning disk defragmentation programs. There are a large number of such programs, both paid and those that can be downloaded for free. I haven't personally run any of these tests, but internet searches haven't yielded clear information about whether they're any more effective than Windows' built-in defragmentation utility. Just a few possible benefits of such programs can be noted:

Fast work, custom automatic defragmentation settings.
Special defragmentation algorithms to speed up computer booting.
Built-in additional features, such as defragmentation of the Windows registry.

However, in my opinion, installing, much less purchasing, such utilities is not a very necessary thing. In recent years, hard drives have become faster and operating systems have become smarter, and while slight HDD fragmentation ten years ago led to a noticeable decrease in system performance, today this almost does not happen. Moreover, few users with today's hard drives are filled to capacity, so the file system has the opportunity to place data in an optimal way.

Free disk defragmenter Defraggler

Just in case, I will also include in this article a brief reference to one of the best free disk defragmentation programs - Defraggler. The developer of the program is Piriform, which you may know from its products CCleaner and Recuva. You can download Defraggler for free from the official website http://www.piriform.com/defraggler/download. The program works with all modern versions of Windows (since 2000), 32-bit and 64-bit.

Installing the program is quite simple; in the installation settings you can configure some parameters, for example, replacing the standard Windows defragmentation utility, as well as adding Defragler to the disk context menu. All this is in Russian, if this factor is important to you. Otherwise, using the free Defragler program is intuitive and defragmenting or analyzing the disk will not pose any problems.

In the settings, you can set defragmentation to start automatically on a schedule, optimize system files when the system boots, and many other parameters.

How to defragment using built-in Windows tools

Just in case you don't know how to defragment in Windows, I'll describe this simple process.

Disk defragmentation in Windows using the command line

You can do everything that was described just above and even more using the command defrag at the Windows command prompt (the command prompt must be run as an administrator). Below is a listing of reference information on using defrag to defragment a hard drive in Windows.

Microsoft Windows (c) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\WINDOWS\system32>defrag Disk Optimization (Microsoft) (c) 2013 Microsoft Corporation Description: Optimizes and consolidates fragmented files on local volumes to improve system performance. Defrag syntax<тома>| /C | /E<тома> [<задачи>] ] Where<задачи>either not specified (normal defragmentation), or specified as follows: /A | | /O | /X Or, to track an operation that is already running on the volume: defrag<том>/T Parameters Value Description /A Analyzes the specified volumes. /C Performs the operation on all volumes. /D Standard defragmentation (default). /E Performs the operation on all volumes except those specified. /H Start an operation at normal priority (low by default). /K Optimizes memory on selected volumes. /L Re-optimize selected volumes. /M Runs an operation simultaneously on each volume in the background. /O Optimize using a method appropriate for the media type. /T Monitor an operation that is already in progress on the specified volume. /U Displays the progress of the operation on the screen. /V Display detailed fragmentation statistics. /X Consolidates free space on the specified volumes. Examples: defrag C: /U /V defrag C: D: /M defrag C:\mountpoint /A /U defrag /C /H /V C:\WINDOWS\system32>defrag C: /A Microsoft Disk Optimization (c ) Microsoft Corporation, 2013. Calling analysis on (C:)... The operation completed successfully. Post Defragmentation Report: Volume Details: Volume Size = 455.42 GB Free Space = 262.55 GB Total Fragmented Space = 3% Maximum Free Space = 174.79 GB Note: Fragmentation statistics do not include file fragments larger than 64 MB. There is no need to defragment this volume. C:\WINDOWS\system32>

That's probably almost all I can tell you about disk defragmentation in Windows. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments.

We are experiencing real fragmentation at work, new equipment was brought in, but there is nowhere to put it, and besides, we are moving to another floor, and the elevator is not working. Can you imagine? As a result of all this, our performance and performance dropped significantly and we began to urgently need good optimization.

Defragment Windows 7

The content of our article: I scare you with fragmentation, I explain how to deal with it for free using the built-in tools of Windows 7, as well as for a fee, using third-party programs. What happens at work happens to our hard drive. In the course of its lifeWindows 7accumulates many data files, then naturally some of them are deleted and replaced with new ones, but they are replaced and located not sequentially, as on a free hard drive, but it’s easier to say - as it happens. For example, a large file will be written on the hard drive in different areas in parts, since it simply will not fit in one continuous place. When there are a lot of data files written on the disk in this way, performance drops, since the reading head of the hard drive has to make a lot of additional movements to read the data. This state of the hard drive is called fragmentation. What then?defragmentation?

All this can be very difficult to explain to a simple user; they may answer you ironically, but we thought Windows 7 is the best and there are no problems with it. I notice in such cases, have you read the instructions for use?Defragmentation in Windows 7should be done once every two weeks. Oil in the car after 10 thousand km. are you changing? It's the same with computer maintenance, love your electronic friend, love defragmentation.

Note: Defragmentation is arranging files on the hard drive in a strict sequence using a special defragmenter program. Manufactured to increase performance. Defragmentation in Windows 7 occurs in the background, while all your running programs have a higher priority; you can start defragmenting your hard drive immediately or, if you want, on a schedule, as well as on the command line.

Run the built-in disk defragmentation Start->All programs->Standard->Service->Disk Defragmenter. Or easier, type Start menu in the search field defrag.

The program's working window opens. Personally, I never conduct any analysis, I immediately press the button Defragmentation.

You can defragment any disk if you wish and interrupt the process at any time. Click on the Set up schedule button, you can select the time when you will work on the computer and defragmentation of hard drives will go unnoticed in the background.

In Windows 7, you can run defragmentation in the command line Start->Run->cmd, using the defrag.exe utility. For example, we defragment drive C, type in the command line defrag /C and the defragmentation process occurs.

Unfortunately, in regular defragmenter Windows 7 there is no reflection of the ongoing defragmentation process, such as in a free program Auslogics Disk Defrag, website

http://www.auslogics.com/ru/support/?product=disk-defrag

Setting up the program is very simple, you can easily handle it. We need to check the boxes on the drives we need and press the button Defrag. You can observe the defragmentation process itself in the working window of the program, red squares are fragmented files on the hard drive, the program arranges them in a certain order and they become green or defragmented.

Most users have heard the phrase disk defragmentation, including on Windows 10, but they don’t know what it is and why. Actually, what a hard drive (screw) is needed for – everyone knows and remembers its volume by heart.

The hard drive architecture consists of clusters - these are small parts for storing information. Our data is sequentially divided into small fragments and each placed in a separate cluster. The smaller the file size, the fewer clusters it occupies, and vice versa.

To better imagine clusters and the principle of their operation, let’s compare them with cells in a table. By the way, this zone is a common file table in which records with full descriptions are stored. And files and directories smaller than 1500 byte are located entirely in MFT (Master File Table). By deleting files, you clear the clusters - but they were stored in a chaotic order (cell 1, 15 and 23, etc.).

For example, you downloaded a movie in very good quality - about 10 Gb - it is divided into clusters and they should take their positions sequentially. If there is a lot of workload, there may not be a full sequence of free space. And so it collectively finds free cells and writes there - this process is called fragmentation. When accessing a file, the hard drive begins to piece it together from different clusters - our cells - like a movie cut into pieces. Naturally this slows down the work.

One of the common questions is: “Disk defragmentation on Windows 10 and what is it.” This is the process of optimizing clusters by creating a continuous sequence. This is how the logical circuit is restored - .

Is disk defragmentation necessary on Windows 10?

Starting from version 8 of the OS, this process was called optimization. It is carried out independently by the system according to the planned schedule and does not require intervention. Defragmentation may be necessary if your computer's performance has dropped. Read how on our website.
Still, you need to know where to find disk defragmentation on Windows 10. You need to go to “Explorer” → “This_Computer” → select any disk → right-click “Properties” → “Tools” → “Optimize”.

The “Disk Optimization” dialog box will open in front of you, where you can see several buttons, including information about the previous launch and the current state. First, you need to know the state of affairs. Select the drive you need (if you don't select it, it will affect everyone). To do this, click “Analyze”.

The analysis will not take very long - if the hard drive is new or defragmentation was carried out earlier. Afterwards you will see what percentage of fragmentation. If it's small, there's no need to optimize.

How to Defragment a Disk on Windows 10

To do this, click on the “Optimize” button and a forced process will occur, it is worth noting that it is not always fast. The program runs in the background and does not require your presence.

As a result, you can see what the percentage of movement is, how many passes there were in defragmentation - it is almost impossible to predict its number, there can be either 27 or 15 - depending on:

computer specifications;
hdd or ssd size;
occupied volume;
how effectively information is posted;
number of file deletions and writes;
frequency of analysis and defragmentation.

What to do if it doesn't work

There are cases when disk defragmentation does not start in Windows 10. There may be several reasons.

One of the reasons is SSD. It does not need this procedure, since it is solid state and its operating principle is different from HDD. As for optimization, it is being done. The principle is that TRIM is enabled by default, a command that allows the OS to report that blocks in the file system do not exist and that they can be physically deleted, extending their lifespan. In some cases, SSD defragmentation is carried out automatically, if security settings are enabled.

Have you decided to disable automatic SSD disk defragmentation in Windows 10, but don’t know how? Select “Change parameters” → and in “Optimization schedule” uncheck “Run on a schedule (recommended)” → OK. By the way, the principle of disabling SSD and HDD disk defragmentation is the same; disabling it is also possible by stopping the service.

Another reason why the process may not work is the installation and subsequent removal of a third-party defragmenter. First, you should check the status of the system files: right-click “Start” → “Command Prompt (Administrator)” → enter “sfc /scannow”.

If system files are damaged, restore them and run disk defragmentation on Windows 10. Otherwise, we continue to look for the cause.

Let's check the status of the service: “Control Panel” → “Administration” → “Services” → in the list we find “Disk Optimization” → “Properties” → “Startup Type” → “Manual” → OK.

Still no way to defragment your disk on Windows 10? Let's check the associated services, the status is "Automatic" and they should be running:

“Module for launching DCOM server processes”;
"RPC Endpoint Mapper";
“Remote Procedure Call (RPC).”

Still having trouble defragmenting your disk? Check the paging file settings: “Control Panel” → “Advanced system settings” → “Advanced” → “Options” → “Advanced” tab → “Change” → the “Automatically select paging file size” checkbox should be checked → OK.