How to Defrag Hard Drive in Windows.

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What is defragging?

When your computer is not saving files in the most efficient manner, you could say your computer’s memory is fragmented or in pieces. To defragment the computer (or defrag) means to take all the pieces and re-organize the files. This frees up memory on your computer and can increase its speed.
Let’s look at how to defrag a hard drive in XP, Vista and Windows 7, since they are very common operating systems used today. (Note – it’s best to close all programs before defragging. Also, depending on your computer, defragging can take a while. It’s best to do it when you aren’t busy working on your computer.)

How to Defrag in Windows XP

1. From the ‘Start’ menu, select ‘All Programs’, ‘Accessories’, ‘System Tools’ and then click ‘Disk Defragmenter’.
2. In the window that opens, you should see the following image. Click on the ‘Defragment’ button. Alternately, you can click the ‘Analyze’ button. It will scan the disk and give you an idea of how much space you would gain if you defrag.
3. A notification will pop up when the process is finished.
   
   

How to Defrag in Vista

Vista is slightly different. It doesn’t have much of an interface. Also, you can schedule the defragger to run. This wasn’t available in Windows XP.

1. Like, XP, you can find the defragger in System Tools. From the start menu, click ‘All Programs’, ‘Accessories’, ‘System Tools’ and then click ‘Disk Defragmenter’.
2. The following window will pop up. Click the ‘Defragment Now’ button.
3. Sit back and wait!
4. You can also schedule the defrag to take place at a future time by using the scheduling options.  Make sure the ‘Run on a Schedule’ check box is selected. Then click on the ‘Modify Schedule’ button and select the schedule that suits you. Select the disk to defrag and  click ‘Ok’.
   
   

How to Defrag in Windows 7

1. The easiest way to access the Disk Defragmenter is to click on the start button. In the search field, type ‘Disk Defragmenter’.
2. The following should pop up in your menu system.
3. Click on the ‘Disk Defragmenter’ option.
4. The following window will pop up. Notice the interface is completely different. In the middle of the screen, you can see a list of drives available to defrag.  Select the disk you wish to defrag. This will typically be your ‘C’ disk.
5. Click the ‘Defragment Disk’ button.  If at any time you need to stop the process, you can click the ‘Stop Operation’ disk in the window without damaging your PC.
6. Alternately, you can schedule the defrag like you can in Vista.  With the defragger open, click ‘Configure Schedule’.  Make sure the ‘Run on a Schedule’ option is checked, select your schedule and disk and click ok.

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