Most computers have a built-in system to defragment your hard drive to keep them healthy. Windows 10 also comes with Defragmentation feature. Windows Defragmentation is a process to optimize and update the logical structure of a disk partition.
With the latest update of the Windows version from 7 to 8 or 10, many features change their name. One such function in Windows 7, “Disk Defragmenter” is now known as “Driver Optimizer.”
In this article, we are going to find out how to defrag Windows 10, 8, and 7. We will also get to know about the process of “defragmenting” and why is it useful for your system. Let’s get started.
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What is Defragmenting?
Before starting right away, let’s understand the process of Defragmenting first. Defragmenting is a process of file rearrangement for faster access and PC optimization. It is a straightforward method which helps you improve the performance of the computer system.
Although the defragmentation process sounds like a process of old times, it is still ideal for optimizing the performance of a slow computer system. But how does this work? Let’s find out.
How does defragmentation work?
A hard drive residing on your computer consists of mechanical components with multiple discs stacked up over each other. It rotates via a spindle. These discs, known as a platter, contains our data. The computer assesses the drive using read/write heads.
We move, copy, and delete files regularly. When a file grows due to data addition, it can no longer fit into its original space and eventually creates a gap. The defragmentation process helps in optimizing these empty gaps and increase the performance of your system.
Also Read Format Hard Disk in Windows 10 guide if you want to clean your hard drive in Windows.
Why do we need to defrag Windows OS?
Windows OS performs disk defragmenting regularly. But if you are always on your system, it doesn’t get much for this background task. If the system doesn’t defragment disk for around 12 days or more, it may slow down the system. It could cause several adverse effects on PC performance, and therefore, manual defragmenting is needed.
We have mentioned a stepwise guide of how to defrag Windows 10, 8, and 7, respectively. Let’s have a look!
How to defrag Windows 10
Follow the steps as explained below to defrag Windows 10.
Step 1: Click on Start and type defragment or optimize.
Step 2: Defragment and Optimize Drives link will pop up.
Step 3: OR go to My Computer > (choose a drive) >Manage tab > tap Optimize button.
Step 4: The Optimize Drive dialogue box will be displayed. A list of drives and their current status (%age fragmented) will be displayed.
Step 5: The defrag manual process will start. You can also click the Analyze button to update the percent fragmented value quickly.
How to defrag Windows 8
If you have a Windows 8 system, here’s how you can defrag it.
Step 1: In the bottom left corner of the screen, tap the Start button, and type defrag.
Step 2: From the options listed, choose Defragment and Optimize drives.
Step 3: Next, tap on Optimize. It will analyze the defragmentation level and launch the process.
Step 4: This process will take some hours and let the process finish without interrupting it.
Once it is done, the OK status will be shown.
How to defrag Windows 7
The stepwise guide given below will guide you through the process to defrag Windows 7 efficiently.
Step 1: In the bottom left corner, click on Start and type defrag.
Step 2: From the search results, choose Disk Defragmenter.
Step 3: Now click on the disk defragment to launch the stated process.
Step 4: It can take some time depending on the number of files on your system.
FAQs
Do We Need to defrag Windows 10?
If you are facing hard disk related issues on your Windows then system checking is required to identify the issues. Defrag Windows will improve your PC performance.
Does defragging speed up computer?
Yes, we noticed that the Defragmentation process will remove junk files from your system and it will clean your hard drive. This will increase startup time and boost the performance of your system.
That’s all about defragmentation in Windows from our end. You can also try third party disk defragmenter tools like Avast Cleanup to do your job quickly and easily. We have mentioned a manual defragmentation process for Windows 10, 8, and 7, respectively.
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