What is disk defragmentation and what is it for. What is disk defragmentation and why is it needed For what purpose is disk defragmentation used?

How a hard drive works

Good afternoon friends! Today we will talk on the topic "Why do you need to defragment your hard drive?". Disk Defragmenter is the optimal connection of the disparate structure of the hard disk into a single unit. For convenience, users break HDD into several parts, disks. Each of the discs has its own tracks. Tracks are subdivided into sectors. The size of one sector is 512 bytes. The tracks themselves are clustered.

The first track contains file tables, it is called zero. When a file is requested, the PC first looks for it in the table, then determines the track number. After that, it checks in which sector the file is located. After that, the file is copied. After that, it will be processed. Just in case, a copy of the file table is made.

Why defragment your hard drive

Each file takes a whole cluster for itself, no matter how much this file It has. Clusters are often scattered around the disk chaotically. When you remove or add new file, some of its elements are recorded in clusters far from each other. The result is something that looks like a barcode, empty clusters interspersed with busy ones.

What do we get as a result? The file can be scattered all over the disk. The PC will take a lot of time to read it.

Before defragmenting the disk, the system must analyze it. How widely the file fragments are scattered. Then the operating system reads these files and places them in a buffer. After that, files are overwritten in adjacent clusters. After the performed manipulations, the magnetic head of the hard disk spends much less time and as a result, the operation of the entire OS increases significantly.

In addition, the analysis of the disk is necessary to identify errors in it. The analysis allows you to determine how fragmented the disk is. Disk errors can be physical or logical.

Physical errors are essentially damage to the hardware itself, in some part of the hard drive, wear, or other damage. The hard drive is very delicate. Falling it even from a small height of 10 cm can lead to irreversible consequences. In addition, the hard drive deteriorates when the computer is turned on. Therefore, you cannot turn the computer on and off frequently.

Logic errors occur when a disk is not working properly. For example, such errors occur when there is an unexpected power outage. The system detects such errors and, if possible, corrects them.

How to defragment your hard drive

In order to perform disk defragmentation, no special work is needed. The system has a built-in defragmentation program. It is enough to type "Disk Defragmenter" in the search bar and you will open this program. You can also find it through the start.

Open start, select "all programs", then look for "Standard", then "Service", and in fact, "Disk Defragmenter".

Next, click on the disk defragmentation line and it will start. We will consider this in more detail in another article "". In this article, I will tell you in detail about this defragmentation software and how to carry it out.

In addition to it, disk defragmentation can be carried out by a number of programs and utilities that can carry it out. One of them - Glary utilities... In addition to it, there are a number of programs that can defragment.

You can defragment the disk yourself once a month. I hope you now know exactly what disk defragmentation is and why you need it? I wish you smooth operation of your computer.

Few of our readers know, let alone used such a useful procedure as disk defragmentation. In this article we will try to tell you about why you need to defragment and how to do it.

What is disk defragmentation for?

Before talking about the defragmentation process, first a few words should be said about why you need to defragment the disk at all. As you know, data on the hard disk partitions is written sequentially, it would seem that everything is fine, but there is one problem. When you delete files, there is empty space in the sequentially recorded areas. When creating and copying new files, they are partially copied to the "empty areas" in which the files that we deleted were located. The recorded files do not completely fill the empty areas, and as a result, in each such area there is a lot of empty and “useless” space, which is displayed as occupied. Considering that the deletion and recording of new files happens very often, then you can imagine how much free space is wasted.

Disk defragmentation "pushes" the recorded files on the hard disk to each other, thereby freeing up free space on the partition. It is important to note that defragmentation is a data-safe procedure. The site experts recommend defragmenting every 2-3 months or every time when you do not have enough free space on a certain section of your hard drive. Now let's look at how to defragment a disk in pictures, with step by step description this process.

How to defragment a disk

Defragmenting your disk is easy enough. Consider an example of defragmenting a disk in Windows 8. Before defragmenting, remove unnecessary files from the partition you want to defragment and empty the trash. To defragment, right-click on the required partition of the hard disk and select "Properties".

In the window that opens, select the "Service" tab and click on the "Optimize" button in the "Optimize and defragment the disk" section.

You will see a window with disk optimization settings. Select the required section and click on the "Analyze" button.

After analysis, click on the "Optimize" button to defragment this section.

The duration of this process will depend on the fullness of the disk and the number of free areas.

The process status will be displayed as a percentage on the line “ Current state". After you have defragmented, close the windows and continue working on the computer.

In this material, you will become familiar with such an important maintenance operation as defragmentation. Many novice users (and not only) often neglect this function, which over time leads to an increase in read / write time, and, accordingly, a decrease in computer performance. But before answering the question, what is disk defragmentation and how to do it, let's look at the principle of writing files to disk.

How are files written to the hard drive?

To put it simply, it is not recorded entirely on the disk, but is “decomposed” into clusters, which represent the minimum space for storing information on the hard disk. Those. the file is split into pieces corresponding to the size of the cluster.

Disk structure: (A) track (B) geometric sector (C) track sector (D) cluster

Initially, as long as there is enough free space on the disk, the file is written to the clusters sequentially - one after the other. As the media fills up, there may be a shortage of sequential clusters, (especially in the case of writing large files) in this case, the system starts looking for free cells and distribute parts of the file over them, which takes longer. Likewise, when reading a file written in disparate clusters - it takes time to find all parts of the file on disk and reassemble it. It turns out that the fragments of the file are scattered here and there - it is fragmented, and there can be many such files. When a fragmented file is deleted, empty scattered clusters remain in its place, into which other files will again be scattered when they are written. All this significantly reduces the performance of the computer and the resource of the hard disk.

What is Disk Defragmenter?

Disk Defragmenter is designed to collect scattered pieces of files into contiguous sequential clusters as much as possible. We can say that the system will try to reassemble the fragmented file into a single whole. Empty scattered clusters will also be chained together in this process. In addition, defragmentation will move most of the data closer to the beginning of the disk. The defragmentation operation speeds up the launch of programs and the loading of data. Before starting the process, it is recommended to delete unused programs and data.

How often should you defragment?

Defragmentation frequency depends on the size of your hard drive, the intensity of its use, how full it is, how often you install and uninstall programs.

How do I defragment my disk?

Consider the defragmentation process using the example of Windows 7, as the most common operating system at the time of publication of the article. The Windows system has a standard program with which you can analyze the selected local disk for the need to defragment it and directly start the process itself. The fastest way to run it is:

Open folder " A computer". Start—> Computer.

Select local disk... By clicking on it with the right mouse button, call context menu, in which select the item " Properties". At the top of the Properties window, select the " Service"And click on the button" Defragment»

In the defragmenter window that opens, click on the " Analyze disk”, After which the process of checking the disk for the degree of fragmentation will begin. After the end of the analysis, the program will show how fragmented the disk is. If the degree of fragmentation is higher than 15%, you must press the button " Disk Defragmenter»And wait for the end of the program.

The defragmentation program can also be started from the Main Menu. To do this, click on the button " Start", Choose from the menu" All programs«, « Standard«, « Service"And left-click on the icon" Disk Defragmenter»

Do not forget to carry out this procedure regularly, and your hard drive will delight in the speed of its work. In conclusion, it should be noted that for high-speed solid state SSD defragmenting disks is unnecessary. in them the principle of storing information is different. SSD drives will be discussed in the following articles.

The hard drive is one of the most important components of a computer, but not all users pay due attention to it. If the processor, video card fails, random access memory and other components, they can be replaced quite simply, while with a breakdown of the drive, the owner of the computer will lose all his data, which obviously no one wants. To avoid damage to your hard drive, you must carefully monitor it and regularly defragment it.

What is disk defragmentation

The defragmentation process is very simple and very important, but many people forget about the need to carry it out. It organizes the files on your hard drive so that the operating system can access them more easily and quickly when requested.

During the work of the hard disk, new information constantly appears on it. The user downloads files from the Internet, installs programs and games, creates new documents and performs a number of other tasks. When information is stored on a hard disk, it occupies a certain number of free clusters on it. At the moment of deleting, changing, copying files, the clusters are cleared, but there is free space between one file and another on the hard disk. Disk defragmentation is necessary in order to organize the files on the disk, and they were sequentially going one after the other, and there were no free clusters between them.

Disk defragmentation on Windows must be performed because:

Some users are aware of the need for defragmentation, but do not perform it. This is due to the fact that this process very long, and it can take up to a dozen hours to organize files on a large drive. At the same time, the procedure time can be significantly reduced, for this it is enough to perform it on a monthly basis, as recommended by the manufacturers. hard drives... The more often you defragment, the less data on the drive will have to be moved, and therefore the process will be faster.

Important: Defragmenting is only necessary on rotating head hard drives, whereas it is not needed on SSDs. Defragmentation process solid state drive will only lead to a decrease in the number of rewriting cycles on it, but will not give a performance gain.

How to defragment a disk

To defragment a disk, you need to start the appropriate process. Operating room Windows system contains a special tool that allows you to defragment your hard drive. Unfortunately, it is not perfect, and in most cases it is more convenient to use third-party utilities. Various programs contain their own algorithms for defragmenting the drive. Below we give an example of several such applications and show you how to do the job of organizing clusters using the system tools.

Defragmenting your hard drive using Windows

If you are wondering how to defragment a disk in Windows 10 or more early versions operating system, it is quite easy to do this. To run the standard defragmentation tool, you need to:

Please note that in this menu item you can also configure the "Scheduled optimization". When choosing the appropriate item, it is necessary to set the frequency of the process and the hard disk / disks that will be subjected to it. After that, the system will automatically defragment the drive according to the selected schedule.

Hard disk defragmentation software

There are dozens of applications that allow you to defragment your hard drive. Each of them has its own pros and cons. Some are better suited for large hard drives or storage devices that are installed on servers, while others are better for home use. Below we propose to consider a couple of free programs for defragmenting your hard drive.

The simplest and most convenient application to defragment your hard drive on home computer Is Defraggler. The free version of the program, which can be downloaded from the official website of the developers, does not have wide functionality, but it copes with its main task.

The application is officially localized into Russian, and it allows you to defragment not only the entire disk, but also a separate program or folder. The program also provides an option with fast disk defragmentation.

Auslogics Disk Defrag Free is free version application of the same name from Auslogics. You can also download it from the official website of the developers. The application is slightly more functional than Defraggler, and it does not have a Russian language, which makes it more difficult to work with. At the same time, the program has a number of functions that are not available in the official tool. optimizing hard disk from Windows and in the Defraggler application.

Defragmenting a disk on Windows 7,8,10 is a mandatory and simple operation. Read on and how it will help speed up your computer. The following describes methods using built-in functions of the OS and third party utilities.

What is disk fragmentation and defragmentation?

Many Windows users you've probably heard that defragmenting your hard drive will speed up your computer. Let's take a closer look at what fragmentation and defragmentation means and why you should start this process on your PC now.

Fragmentation is the division of disk space into chunks. In simple words when on new HDD data is recorded, all information is divided sequentially (in clusters). After a while, the user copies, deletes, moves data. This provokes the release of space by some clusters and their replacement by others.

The data recorded on the disk can be distributed in “pieces” in different sectors of the drive. This usually happens with various executable files, videos and other media files. After deleting an object or moving it, the disk sector is freed. Over time, various types of information accumulate in neighboring sectors:

As a result, Various types data are chaotically scattered throughout the HDD. Reading files is slowed down, which affects the overall system performance. Also, a fragmented disk can cause deterioration in the hard drive.

You can fix the problem using the reverse process - defragmentation. The task of the operation is to match all the same type of data pieces and add them to common clusters. All data of the hard disk is distributed "on shelves" and it becomes "easier" for the reading head of the HDD to find information.

What does disk defragmentation do?

• Programs and files open faster;
• Free up hard disk space;
• The overall performance of the OS is improved.

When and how often to defragment?

Defragmenting a disk on Windows is a process that takes a long time. It should not be performed often, as it can negatively affect work hard disk.

The frequency of the process also depends on how often and how you use your computer. For example, if you are constantly installing new programs, downloading information, using disk space, doing defragmentation Windows disk recommended once every 1-2 months. This will maintain a good level of OS performance.

If you rarely run games, applications, do not store a large amount of data on the disk, you should start the process no more than 1 time in 3-4 months.

Note that there is a concept fast defragmentation disk on Windows. It works only "on the surface" of the HDD, that is, with those directories and partitions that you use most often. You can run this defragmentation using third-party utilities. They will start the operation every time the computer is turned on. This does not harm the device and keeps it running fast.

Defragmentation methods

There are two ways to start defragmentation of hard disk partitions:

• Using Windows services;
• Using third party applications.

The first case is the safest, but long-lasting. Special programs allow you to defragment faster or run it every time the system is turned on. Before installing the defragmenter utilities, we recommend scanning the executable file with an antivirus.

Instructions for Windows 7, 8, 10

Defragmentation process:

After the process completes, close the command line and restart your computer.

Using the Defragger utility (free)

Defragger is convenient program to defragment the disk. Suitable for everyone versions of Windows.

The utility will scan hard drives immediately after launch. To start defragmentation, select a disk from the list and click on the "Defrag" button at the bottom of the main window. main feature application is the ability to visualize the process of reclaiming disk space.

The program is distributed free of charge. Other features of Defragger:

• Simultaneous scanning of multiple disks;
• Analysis of folders, files and individual applications;
• Choice of batch or regular optimization;
• Disk defragmentation in Russian. You can change the application interface language in the Settings tab.

AusLogics Disc Defrag software (free)

Auslogics Disk Defrag is another popular free program for defragmentation Windows disk... With its help, you can simultaneously start defragmentation of several disks connected to the computer.

Also, you can set the priority in scanning and optimizing disks or set automatic defragmentation. If you are using old version Windows 7, we recommend ticking the "Turn off PC after task completion" box. As a rule, defragmentation of older OS versions can take several hours and it is better not to leave such a system on overnight or while the user is away.

Diskeeper Utility (Paid)

Diskeeper is a paid defragmentation utility that offers more disk optimization features and options.

Features of the program:

• Accelerated data processing;
• Defragmentation no load on operating system... This is possible due to the use of special algorithms of the program code;
• Creation of reports on the operation of HDD and viewing the history of generating error reports;
• Automatic removal of temporary files and other "garbage" to speed up the operating system;
• Possibility of optimizing the operation of connected USB and CD disks;
• Troubleshoot defragmentation problems.

Why on SSD drives defragmentation can not be done

If your computer does not work with HDD, but with SDD, you do not need to defragment. File processing speed solid state drive does not depend on how the data is written on it.

We recommend disabling defragmentation for such drives. This can be done in the "Optimize disks" window, the work with which is described in detail above. If you do not perform a shutdown process, the SSD will quickly fail, as such drives have a limit on the number of write cycles. Each defragmentation constantly overwrites partitions.

Resolving defragmentation errors

If you are unable to start defragmentation, or if you receive error messages while executing a task, follow these steps:

• Open up command line on behalf of the system administrator;
• Enter the command CHKDSK / С (change the letter to the desired one);
• Press Enter to execute. The scan may take several minutes. As a result, a detailed report on the drive parameters and detected errors in its operation will appear on the screen. Error processing and elimination will start automatically.

Also, a defragmentation error may appear due to lack of free disk space. We recommend that you remove unnecessary files and applications, and then restart the process again. The HDD must have at least 1GB of free space for normal operation.

Scan file system antivirus or boot the OS into safe mode and try defragmenting again.

Another type of error manifests itself not in stopping the process, but in the disappearance of files from the disk. This happens when several files are located in the same cluster at once. The problem is typical for older versions of Windows 7. In this case, the system simply deletes all copies of files and frees up memory. It is impossible to return data.

Outcome

For constant monitoring state of tough disk should check the "Optimize disks" window. Remember that the lower the percentage of fragmentation displayed in the window, the better the performance of your HDD. Also, before defragmenting the disk, scan it for errors using the Analyze button or using a third-party program.