Defragmentation - The Incredible Feature.

What is Defragmentation and what is the use of it?

Ø In the maintenance of file systems, defragmentation is a process that reduces the amount of fragmentation. It does this by physically organizing the contents of the mass storage device used to store files into the smallest number of contiguous regions (fragments). It also attempts to create larger regions of free space using compaction to impede the return of fragmentation. Some defragmentation utilities try to keep smaller files within a single directory together, as they are often accessed in sequence.

Ø I think many of you haven’t understood, so let’s see actually what it is.

Ø When you buy the computer, the hard disk may contain O.S only. Hard disk stores Data in Circular form. So, after filling one layer the data may be stored in another layer.

Ø Now you may install some videos, pictures, songs, games, software etc. These files occupy some space in the hard disk.

Ø  After sometime you may delete them like you may delete one video, one picture and one song. This creates some free space in the hard disk in some random place i.e.1 video, 1 pic and 1 song may be in different places in the hard disk. So free space is created in some random place.

Ø Let us assume the deleted files size is 500MB. Now if you want to store one large size file say 1GB. The 500MB may be stored in one place in the sequence in the hard disk and the remaining 500MB may be stored as a parts in another place in the hard disk.

Ø Now, when you want to read that data from hard disk the CPU takes more time because the data is stored at different places in the hard drive.

Ø It is easy to read when the data is stored in the sequence order. i.e. when the data is in sequence order the reading time is less when compared to the data stored in random order.

Ø To solve this problem Microsoft introduced a concept called Disk Defragmentation. Defragmentation is nothing but categorizing the similar type of files in some particular order for faster retrieval. i.e. storing all videos in one place, all pictures in one place and all audio files in one place which makes CPU to read or access faster from hard disk.

Ø Some operating systems automatically defragment storage periodically; others require that the user occasionally use a special utility for this purpose. Windows 98 comes with a built-in defragmenter as a "system tool" that the user can run. Windows NT did not come with a defragmenter because of its file system, NTFS, was designed to minimize fragmentation; however, NT users often find one necessary and several vendors provide defragmenters. Windows 2000 comes with a "light" version of the Diskeeper defragmenter; some users use Diskeeper or some other full-function defragmentation program to manage storage efficiency and performance. Windows XP comes with a utility called "Disk Defragmenter."

When to Defragment Your Hard Drive.

Ø Over time, files on your hard drive get fragmented, and your computer slows down because it has to check multiple places on your drive for those pieces. To have your computer run more efficiently, use the built-in tool in Windows to defragment those files.

Ø Microsoft Windows automatically defragments your files for you on a schedule (by default, once a week). However, it doesn't always run consistently, so if you notice files are taking longer to load or you just want to double-check every month, you can see how fragmented the drive is in Windows.

Ø  Solid State Drives (SSD) works differently than traditional mechanical hard disc drives (HDD). SSDs don't need to be defragmented and doing so can also wear down the drive. However, Windows does defragment SSDs if necessary because to extend your drive's life and performance.

How to Defragment Your Hard Drive in Windows 10 (Manually).

1)Search for Defragment and Optimize Drives (Desktop app) in the taskbar.

2) Select your hard drive and Click on Analyze button. Note that if you have a SSD, this option may not be available.

3) Check the percentage of fragmented files in the Current status column.

4) If you want to defragment your drive, Click on Optimize button.

5) When Optimization (Defragmentation) is done, your drive should say 0% fragmented in the Current status column.

Ø Note that  in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Defragmentation feature is removed for HDD because of it’s disadvantage.