How to Defrag a Mac Hard Drive
Defragging a Mac hard drive is a thing of the past because of the way that OS X manages files. After installing system updates or new applications, the computer will optimize itself. There are ways to periodically clean up your computer and defrag a Mac hard drive, but it can take a few hours and may not improve performance significantly.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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Defrag a Mac Hard Drive
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1
Open the Disc Utility program, which is located in the "Utilities" folder of your "Applications" directory. Highlight your hard drive from the list and have the program repair the permissions. This is an easy way to correct some common computer errors which could be slowing your hard drive down.
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2
Look for a program to defrag your computer. There are some free utilities that can work on your Mac hard drive, but you should seriously consider purchasing a program because of the stability and support that comes with a purchased product. Defragging programs include Disc Warrior and iDefrag (see Resources below).
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3
Take steps to back up your data before you defrag a Mac hard drive. Data loss is unlikely with well-respected programs, but defragging is a long and extensive process, and you can never be too safe.
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4
Plan to run your defragging program during a time when you won't need to use your computer. No matter which program you decide on, it can take up to several hours to defrag a Mac hard drive. Some companies even suggest running the program overnight.
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5
Notice whether defragging your Mac hard drive improved your computer's performance. Opening applications and large files should be faster if only by a few seconds. If your hard drive is more than 75 percent full, the performance increase may be more noticeable.
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Tips & Warnings
OS X automatically defrags files that are less than 20 megabytes. These files will make up the majority of your computer, unless you use it for specialized tasks such as software compiling or high-quality graphic design.
Backing up your documents and then erasing the computer's hard drive can be a crude, but inexpensive and effective way of defragging it.
Be sure that a defragging program can give you a detailed report of what was changed and how many files were affected by the process.
Clearing your computer's various caches, including those associated with your Internet browser, can also help speed up your machine.
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Comments
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Yes I do agree with you that you should seriously consider purchasing a program because of the stability and support that comes with a purchased product. Now a days a user has so many options with him. Although the latest version of Mac ie; Mac OSX doesn't need to be defragged but the earlier versions do. I have defragmented my Mac drive Stellar Drive defrag and its quite reliable.
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winlynxtp
Dec 18, 2010
Copying fragmented files does not automatically make them de-fragged. Copying your boot system then copying back is going to give you similar data, but you will also lose some in the transfer. So now you have fragmented files with missing pieces. Purchase the software and move on if your drive needs it. -
bboycost
May 25, 2010
my macbook harddrive is running out of space..i did not install anything i mean i did but only a few small files but its taking like 30gb...why is it like that?
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kirktalon
Oct 31, 2009
Unfortunately, Mac does not come with defragging software AND I have to still defrag using MacOS X. I don't know where that myth came from but it can't be true. SuperDuper is a free hard drive cloner that will defrag the copy your hard drive as it copies it to the other hard drive. Copy back to get a defragged copy on your Mac. Drive Genius and others are pro software to defrag
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Rob Pearce
Jul 23, 2009
Good one. I made the switch from PC to Mac, and just realized that the Macs don't come with defragmenting software. Looks like I gotta go shopping.
