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How to defrag your computer?

Kurtis Avatar By: Kurtis | Last updated April 17, 2021

computer defrag blue key on white keyboard


As you use your computer continuously, it is only natural to install and uninstall applications along the way. While this can go on for long without causing a problem, it may eventually lead to fragmentation.

What is fragmentation?

Fragmentation is the result of having too much information stored and then deleted later on from your computer. The data on your computer is arranged as thousands of large grids. These are also called blocks. They have an assigned number to them that corresponds to unique data.

Whenever you install applications on your computer, your device will try to find a free space for new blocks to be stored. However, with frequent uninstallations, there may be gaps in between these blocks. These gaps will be the cause of a decrease in the overall performance of the computer because of the need of the processor to run over them. After all, the processor can only read one block at a time.

Aside from this, it may also take more time to process the loading of an application. This is because the processor will have to read even the spaces in between, leading to longer loading times.

Defragmentation

Defragmentation is the process of removal of these empty spaces in between the blocks. Through this, you will experience less loading times as data organization will be more efficient.

How often should you defrag your computer?

Since fragmentation happens all the time, you should defrag your computer regularly. This is because even simple things like moving files around on your computer can cause fragmentation to occur. It is recommended for the regular user to defrag the PC every two weeks as to ensure maximum performance of the computer.

How to defrag your computer

To defrag your computer, simply right-click the disk of the computer. This will lead you to the ‘Properties’ tab. From here, you can select the ‘Tools’ tab and then the ‘Defragment now…’ option. Click ‘Defragment disk’ to execute the defragmentation. To do this, you must have administrative access of your computer.

Benefits of defragging your computer

Defragging your computer has a lot of benefits, namely:

  • Faster computer performance– After defragging you will notice that the performance of your computer is increased by about one-fourth. This is because the programs you will run will be processed more effectively. Without the gaps in between data blocks, your hard drive can easily read information
  • Extended life of hard drive– Without the need to run through spaces of data that are empty, the lifetime of your hard drive is expected to be prolonged
  • Better security for your computer– The first thing that an antivirus or anti-malware program does is to scan your computer for any signs of malicious software. Without the need to scan parts of it that are empty, you can receive your results faster
  • Reduced chances of errors– Defragmentation can lessen the chances of having your hard drive corrupted. Thus, the data that you save on your computer is guaranteed to be safe

You should take note that defragging only applies to HDD and not SSD storage devices. This is because the latter automatically defrags its data blocks.

Recommended applications

The process of defragging your computer may be troublesome for some. This is because a wrong click may result to some files being corrupted. Having an application do this for you simplifies the process and ensures proper arrangement of your files. One of the recommended applications for doing this is Restoro. It is a computer-optimizing tool that uses different tools to improve the speed of your computer.

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