


Additionally, since most Windows users now have Windows 7, the focus of this article will be on defragmenting computers with the Windows 7 operating system, but we have included a link for users who may have Windows XP at the bottom of the article. It’s important to note that, generally speaking, Mac users do not have to defrag their hard drives because Macs store their data differently than PCs. This will improve your computer’s processing speed and help re-organize your hard drive space, giving you more room to store data. Right-click on the drive's icon to bring up the context menu, then select Format from the list. In the Devices and Drives section of the main window, you should see your external hard drive. Next, open File Explorer, navigate to This PC in the left-hand column and click on the shortcut. When you defragment your computer, your computer will shuffle the fragmented files around and re-sort everything so that similar files are again grouped more closely together. Wait for Windows to recognize the connected drive. Eventually, when you go to access fragmented files, it takes your computer longer because the information has to come from a number of places on your hard drive all at once. The longer you use your computer, the more data you add in, and these chunks get chopped up as more information is stored in and around them. When you save, create, or install a file, data is stored in chunks on your hard drive. Defragmenting a HDD on your computer will improve system performance.įragmented files occur the longer you use your computer. Make your boot drive lighter by reducing the number of bulky files, such as movies and other video files.
