what is disk defragmentation?

Question

i have just found an option of disk defragmentation my external hard drive and my local drives.

What does this mean and what will it do?

Answer 1

Windows has a tendency to dump files all over the hard drive , so one programme might be spread over the hard disc hence the term fragmentation , it will improve the speed the hard drive reacts and will speed the machine , run the test first and it will tell you wether it is required or not...

Answer 2

ya talking about the windows disk defrag right



Disk Defragmenter is a system utility for analyzing local volumes and locating and consolidating fragmented files and folders. You can also defragment disks from a command line using the defrag command.



Volumes become fragmented as users create and delete files and folders, install new software, or download files from the Internet. Computers typically save files in the first contiguous free space that is large enough for the file. If a large enough free space is not available, the computer saves as much of the file as possible in the largest available space and then saves the remaining data in the next available free space, and so on.



After a large portion of a volume has been used for file and folder storage, most of the new files are saved in pieces across the volume. When you delete files, the empty spaces left behind fill in randomly as you store new ones.



The more fragmented the volume is, the slower the computer's file input/output performance will be.



thats the overview from the disk defragmenter help screen once you have the defragmenter up just click help and about disk defragmenter



i recomend a 3rd party defragmenter JKdefrag rather than microsofts installed defrager

Answer 3

It's important to defrag your internal (local) drives, and less so for external drives.



Windows often splits up files into fragments when it writes to the drive. This is fragmentation and causes a decrease in performance. A disk defragmenter collects file fragments from across the the disk and rearranges them contiguously to improve performance, extend drive life etc.



Automatic defragmenters are the best to keep the fragmentation drive 'disease' at bay. Unlike scheduled defrag, the user does not have to spend time running a defrag; the auto defragger does it automatically in the background. Good automatic defragmenters can also defrag with less than 5% free disk space. Google for 'fully automatic defragmenter'.

Answer 4

When you start storing files on your hard disk, the operating system finds first appropriate size and stores it there. Over time you delete stuff out and the space that is left may or may not be used for storing a new file. You may end up with "gaps" in the drive. As a result, you have "fragments" in your hard drive. The operating system storing and retrieving from hard disk will slow down and some of your space on the hard disk is effectively wasted. Running the defragmenter from time to time will make the operating system rearrange your files contiguously and remove the fragmented portions. It is a good idea to run it from time to time.

Answer 5

From Wikipedia: Defragmentation: In the context of administering computer systems, defragmentation is a process that reduces the amount of fragmentation in file systems. It does this by physically reorganizing the contents of the disk to store the pieces of each file close together and contiguously. It also attempts to create larger regions of free space using compaction to impede the return of fragmentation. Some defragmenters also try to keep smaller files within a single directory together, as they are often accessed in sequence. Fragmentation: In computing, file system fragmentation, sometimes called file system aging, is the inability of a file system to lay out related data sequentially (contiguously), an inherent phenomenon in storage-backed file systems that allow in-place modification of their contents. It is a special case of data fragmentation. File system fragmentation increases disk head movement or seeks, which are known to hinder throughput. The correction to existing fragmentation is to reorganize files and free space back into contiguous areas, a process called defragmentation.

Answer 6

when files are saved to a hard drive, sometimes they can't fit in the next available slot, so the hard drive splits them up into "fragments". Defragmenting means that the drive reorders the files so that all information is in one continuous location. That way when the files are read, they can be read faster, cuz the drive doesn't have to move to get the next part of the file. It's a good idea to do it every once in awhile

Answer 7

This is about disk management. each file is though of as sheet of paper and a document may be many sheets of paper. Windows tends not to keep files together but puts them in the nearest available free spot then tries to remember the order it has to get them back.



this means a single file ends up in many locations and is fragmented mean ding the disk has to seek for it and take longer to download.



fragmentation forces the files into a single location or series of locations speeding things up bu basically re-filing the file locations.



this is something not needed on Unix as it keeps files in a continuous location automatically.



This will speed up your disk if done regularly, as well as making more space available.

Answer 8

think of your hard drive like a filing cabinet



over time, the files (paper) in the cabinet get put in the wrong order



it re-arranges the files so they can be found faster, by grouping them together.



it's good to defrag your hard drive the odd time..

Answer 9

some of the files on your hard drive can become fragmented...whatever that means. anyway, they take up more space than they should, and de-fragmenting the drive will probably give you a few more MB. yes, i would do it.

Answer 10

defragging a hard drive simply compresses ant old information and frees up space on the drives...defragging is very hard on the heads of a hard drive....always analyze the hard drives first..if it says to defrag them ,,,go ahead,,if it says they don't need to be ..don't...defragging is usually done on a need to only basis...cheers

Answer 11

Yes, do it.



It will make the PC run faster

Answer 12

it moves your files around to make them get to their destination quicker do it it will make your system run quicker