To improve your computer's performance, you should periodically clean up your computer. hard drives. Defragmentation utilities allow you to move files within one partition so that the components of one program are located in sequential order. All this speeds up the computer.
The best disk defragmentation programs
Today there are several popular defragmentation tools. computer disk. Each has its own advantages.
Defraggler
One of the best free utilities to restore order on computer hard drives. Allows you to optimize the operation of not only the entire disk, but also individual subsections and directories.
Smart Defrag
Another free application to defragment the disk. You can start the application while loading, allowing you to move system files.
There is free and paid version programs. The latter has more advanced functionality. The tool allows you not only to put things in order on the storage medium, but also to check it for errors.
Puran Defrag
It has all the functions of the programs described above. At the same time, it allows you to program a disk defragmentation schedule.
Disk Speedup
A free utility that works not only with disks, but also with files and directories. Has advanced functionality that allows you to set certain settings for defragmentation.
Thus, you can move rarely used program components to the end of the disk, and frequently used ones to the beginning. This significantly speeds up the system.
A program that optimizes your hard drive several times faster than a regular OS application. After starting the program, just select the desired partition and start defragmentation.
An optimization system that includes many functions, including disk defragmentation.
The program has a simple, intuitive interface, as well as the usual functions for such an application, including the ability to check the disk for errors.
The tool allows both beginners and experienced users to work, depending on the program settings. In the latter case, advanced functionality allows you to perform complex operations to optimize the system.
MyDefrag
This is an almost complete analogue of the previous program, created by a single programmer for himself.
Disk defragmentation programs can optimize system performance and improve computer performance. If you want your device to work for a long time, then you should not neglect system utilities and applications. In addition, there are many options for both experienced users and beginners.
If your computer thinks for a long time when accessing any files on your computer, you need to defragment HDD .
Defragmentation- the process of updating and optimizing the logical structure of a disk partition in order to ensure that files are stored in a continuous sequence of clusters. After defragmentation, reading and writing files speeds up, and, consequently, the work of programs, due to the fact that sequential read and write operations are performed faster than random accesses (for example, for hard drive no head movement required). Another definition of defragmentation is: redistributing files on a disk so that they are located in contiguous areas.
Okay, it has become clear that defragmentation is needed to speed up reading and writing files, but what program should I use? Which one is more effective? These are the questions this article will answer. 5 best programs For hard defragmentation disk.
Auslogics Disk Defrag (free)
Auslogics Disk Defrag This simple program disk defragmentation. You can defragment multiple drives or select separate files or folders for defragmentation. Auslogics allows you to set application priority and can shut down your computer after defragmentation is complete if you want to defragment hard disks While you're sleeping, but you don't want to leave your computer on all night. Auslogics Disk Defrag is a free and portable application.
MyDefrag (Formerly JKDefrag) (free)
is an effective tool for defragmenting disks. You can run it in default mode and get not only a defragmented disk, but also an optimized file placement; or you can configure it via scripts and further enhance your disk optimization for your specific tasks. Even without setting up a script, MyDefrag does an excellent job of defragmenting files and moving them to get the optimal location on your hard drive. Files that are frequently used are grouped to improve performance. MyDefrag scans the space allocated for the system and moves files from that space back to more suitable locations.
PerfectDisk Enterprise Suite (paid)
PerfectDisk One of PerfectDisk's biggest claims is its "Space Restoration Technology" feature. In addition to optimizing disks during defragmentation, PerfectDisk controls disk writes to ensure that files are subsequently written in the most efficient manner to reduce subsequent disk defragmentations. PerfectDisk also analyzes your data usage and creates templates that are optimized for your file usage and work style. Can be scheduled or configured to run the program when the computer is in standby mode for continuous defragmentation.
(for free)
From the same company that produces popular apps CCleaner and Recuva, is a portable defragmentation tool. It can scan multiple drives, as well as individual drives, folders, or individual files for some quick, specific defragments. When Defraggler scans a drive, it shows you all the fragmented files and allows you to either choose normal defragmentation or batch defragmentation.
Diskeeper (paid)
Like PerfectDisk, Diskeeper comes with additional features that usually require you to pay for. In addition to basic defragmentation functions, Diskeeper can quickly defragment system files at boot, without loading operating system. Diskeeper, like PerfectDisk, has a system for continuously defragmenting files and optimizing new files for disk memory while working. When defragmenting multiple hard drives,Diskeeper chooses different algorithms based on the disk, for example, optimizing the operating system in ways other than for storing information.
Order in the computer and in life, friends!
Defragmentation- few people use this procedure and there are even those who are reading about it for the first time now. Meanwhile, defragmenting disks can significantly improve the performance of the computer as a whole. Today we will talk in particular about disk defragmentation on Windows and what it is in general. If you want to give examples of using programs on Linux systems in the following articles, then write in the comments.
In this article you will learn: What is defragmentation and why is it needed?; What happens during defragmentation?; How often should you defragment your computer hard drive?; ; .
Let's start with terminology.
Defragmentation- the process of updating and optimizing the logical structure of a disk (partition), in which files (file fragments) in disk cells are redistributed so that they are stored in continuous sequence. When writing data to a hard drive, files are not always written to cells sequentially. If the disk is new, then, as a rule, data is written sequentially. If the disk does not have a sufficient number of sequentially free clusters (cells), then fragments of data from one file can be written to different areas. It is called fragmentation. 
When a hard disk is fragmented, the speed of reading data from it decreases, since in order to read scattered (fragmented) data, the head has to move across the entire surface of the disk, which also takes time.
What happens when HDD defragmentation?
We learned that a highly fragmented hard drive significantly slows down the system. Defragmentation is intended to correct this situation. In its process, special programs they try to rewrite fragmented data belonging to one file into clusters located one after another. Open the picture below by clicking on it and you will see an approximate defragmentation process. 
With this arrangement, the head does not have to move across the entire disk to search for the necessary fragments, which increases the speed of reading information. Defragmentation increases the speed of writing to the disk, improves the performance of some resource-intensive programs and games, etc.
Attention: Solid-state drives (SSDs) should never be defragmented. This can significantly shorten their lifespan.
How often should you defragment your disk?
Programs that perform defragmentation are able to determine the fragmentation of a partition in percentage terms. But the question is whether they define it correctly. Based on what is correct, defragmentation should be carried out if the fragmentation of the partition file system exceeds 12-15%
Judging by the time interval, I recommend optimizing once every 3-4 months, or even six months. Much depends on the intensity and nature of computer use. The more often you write and rewrite information to your hard drives, the more often you should defragment them.
How to defragment a disk?
Defragmentation of the hard drive can be done using a program from Windows itself. 
But the quality leaves much to be desired. Therefore, I recommend that you use third party programs, which cope with the task significantly better. I'll tell you about a couple of them below.
Disk defragmentation programs
There are many programs for defragmenting disks on Windows. There are both paid ones, which are suitable for large companies and people professionally involved in server maintenance and other things, and free ones, which are suitable for ordinary users. I will not write in detail about each of the programs in this article, but I will have to mention it.
In my subjective opinion, the best free program for disk defragmentation at the time of writing this article is . I put it in first place not because of any functions, but precisely for the quality of defragmentation.
For quick defragmentation, you can use other programs Defraggler And Auslogics Disk Defrag Free. Both programs also do a good job main task. In one of the following articles I will definitely tell you in detail about some of them.
Results:
After reading this article, I hope that all users will run to check their hard drives for fragmentation of the data recorded on them. Don't ignore this information and take advantage of the acquired knowledge and the necessary programs and your computer will thank you.
Content
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, move important system components to a faster partition, and much more. Inexperienced PC users neglect the necessary maintenance, considering the hard drive to be a minor component, but the speed of access to various files, including Windows components, depends on optimization.
What is disk defragmentation
When you delete programs, games, movies and other large files, they remain on your hard drive. individual elements, 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, work with a large number of 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 set up an automatic start mode, when the computer itself starts the program at the right time. The speed of the program is directly affected by many factors, of which the following are worth highlighting:
- technical parameters of the hardware component of the computer;
- total hard drive capacity;
- amount of occupied space;
- number of write-rewrite cycles performed;
- period since the last defragmentation.
For Windows 7
The built-in utility defragmenter utility for Windows 7 defragments hard disk partitions, 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. It is recommended to clean before starting local disks from residual garbage, for which you can use the system or one of the free utilities and check the 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, hard drive sectors will be checked for the presence of fragmented files, and a 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 unoccupied space 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, left-click on the logical drive, select the Management tab at the top, and select Optimize.
For Windows 10
This operating system installed on most modern laptops. The storage medium used here is either an SSD drive, which does not need to be defragmented, or a 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 is difficult to set up automatic defragmentation here, because the laptop turns off when it is not being used to save battery power, and the best option will launch it manually every time.
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 alternative programs with a clearer and more convenient interface and some additional functions. 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 not only the entire disk, but also individual folders and even files. This will help in cases where the speed of a specific application is important, and not the entire computer. The program works with any file systems. There is a possibility of 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 with a small amount of information. There are no additional functions here, and the work takes place in background, turning on during those periods when the computer is idle, in sleep mode, etc. In some cases this is very convenient, because... The computer's 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. It can optimize system files itself, speeding up access to them. It is possible to configure a schedule or work in the background without loading all computer resources.
MyDefrag
A distinctive feature of the program is that it replaces a screensaver, i.e., when the computer goes into standby mode, if the hard drive needs to be defragmented, the process begins. The work will be optimized as much as possible, and the files will be in an orderly state. The program requires only 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 a special algorithm that 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 performance speed is good, even with a large number of files and their fragmentation.
Video
Found an error in the text? Select it, press Ctrl + Enter and we will fix everything!There comes a time when a computer owner begins to notice that his assistant is starting to work slowly and ineffectively. The desire to fix this inevitably arises. It is possible to increase performance by almost 65%. And this is not fantasy. Developers software have already provided for this. For this you need hard drive defragmentation. Let's figure out together what it is and why it is needed.
Hard drive fragmentation
A new computer has data written to its empty hard drive. They are of different sizes, but the recording proceeds in order - from file to file. The moment comes, and several files are erased, for example, located in the middle. Where to sign up new file, especially if it is larger than the available space. It is clear that the old size will not be enough. Of course, you can write it at the end of the queue, and the empty space remote file leave unused. But the system is configured in such a way that subsequent recordings use any free space located closer to the beginning. If a big data piece does not fit into the empty space, it is moved to the end of the full space.
The operating system of any computer itself analyzes the free space and divides the new large volume into logical parts. Actually, the process of dividing data into separate parts is called fragmentation.
If the data on a hard drive is highly fragmented, it takes a certain period of time for the computer to find the individual pieces and put them back together. It is this process that slows down the operating system.
Databases, protocols (logs) of programs and films recorded on a computer are the most severely fragmented. The film itself is not damaged, but all the parts are scattered across different sectors. As a result, reading is slowed down due to the fact that the hard drive head makes multiple movements to “read” the entire file. And this negatively affects the overall performance of the system.
Defragmentation brings the system in order
Under defragmentation This refers to the process of collecting individual parts into one designated place. In this case, fragments of one file scattered across the hard drive are collected. In addition, all recorded data appears at the beginning, and free cells at the end of the disk. This allows:
- speed up data access;
- load programs and files faster;
- increase performance in resource-intensive programs;
- increase disk writing speed.
Experienced users have appreciated the performance gains in their system. Because disk defragmentation, when properly configured, can improve performance. Usually everyone sets this process to use it on a schedule. For example, once a day when the machine is not in use. On servers of large companies, this process is performed on the fly, when the file structure is continuously changing.
How to get the system in order
All versions of Windows have a built-in disk defragmenter program. And starting from Windows versions XP, it is stable and works well.
IN Windows Explorer, in order to start defragmentation, just right-click on the icon of any disk. IN context menu there is a tab " Properties" When it opens, you need to go to the “ Service"and select the button there Run defragmentation....
After this, the program window will open.
If this program has never been launched or it was done a very long time ago, you need to select the button Analyze disk.
It will be better if these actions are performed with administrator rights. Otherwise, you may be required to enter a password.
When the system completes the analysis, then in the line “ Last launch» data will appear in percentages that characterize the fragmentation of the selected disk. If they exceed 10%, you need to defragment the disk.
If before analysis in the section " Disk» required disk is not displayed, it means there is some kind of error in it. You will need to first restore it, then run the defragmentation program again.
Except software methods There is another one - copying. All information from the selected disk must be copied to third-party media, for example, to a portable hard drive, and then back. Then all data will no longer be fragmented. It seems simple. But there are problems:
- You need media with a capacity no smaller than the selected disk.
- This operation cannot be performed on the system disk.
- On network folders this operation is not covered.
Defragmentation speed
The duration of the process is influenced by several factors:
- Hard drive capacity. If it has only 10 gigabytes, then it will take 3 minutes to process it. On a terabyte disk, and even if it has never been cleaned, this may take all day.
- Amount of RAM.
- CPU frequency.
Also due to the fact that different programs use different analysis algorithms, the time and quality of the process itself can also differ significantly.
Defragmentation will fail if file system different from NTFS, FAT or FAT32.
But on the other hand, if the process is running, work on the computer can not be interrupted.
So, a full cycle can take a significant amount of time, so it is better to defragment the disk on a schedule at night when it is not in use.
What are the advantages:
- The divided data is combined into one partition and fills the empty partitions of the disk.
- Improves computer performance due to faster reading/writing from the hard drive.
This is, in fact, why a complete disk defragmentation is needed.
Program launch frequency
IN Windows system 7 this process is already initially configured for automatic start on a schedule that occurs once a week. While the user is sleeping, the system itself defragments the disk. Well, what if Calculating machine is used to process a large stream of data that constantly makes changes, then the setting can be set to run daily.
Flash drives and solid-state drives (SSD)
For flash drives This is not recommended at all. Since during defragmentation a large number of “write/read” cycles occur, and for flash memory the number of such cycles is strictly limited. That is why such a process can affect the service life of the flash drive, it will decrease.
Is it necessary to do this with SSD drives. Since SSD drives are based on the same technology as flash drives, it is better not to perform such an operation with them. And Windows 7 already provides for automatic disabling of defragmentation when the system recognizes the SSD drive.
If, when analyzing an SSD drive, a large percentage of fragmented files are still observed, then it would be better to do the following:
- Copy all data to third-party media.
- Format the SSD drive.
- Return all data to it again.
Conclusion
Now you are familiar with such a “complex” and incomprehensible process as defragmentation. It became clear why the system needed it and how to implement it correctly. Don’t forget to start this process in a timely manner, and the computer will only thank you!
Video on the topic
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