How to Use the PC Disk Defragmenter to Clean Up Your Hard Drive

If your computer is running slow or you need to free up some space to store larger files contiguously on your PC, you can use the Disk Defragmenter utility to keep your computer in good health, and running more efficiently.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A PC Computer
• Windows Operating System (XP)

1. Close all programs.

2. Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools and select Disk Defragmenter.

3. In the pop-up window, select your hard drive. Usually it is “C”.

4. Click the “Analyze” button. This will prompt the computer to go through your hard drive and let you know the percentage of fragmented and will recommend whether or not you should defragment it.

5. Make sure you have at least 15% free space before using this tool. The Defragmenter uses this space as an area to sorting fragments during the file process.

6. If the Defragmenter recommends using the tool, click “Defragment.” This process can take awhile, so be patient and let the program run through the application.

7. Restart your computer before using after the utility is complete.

Tips & Warnings

• Analyze regularly and only use the utility when the Disk Defragmenter recommends it. A good guideline is to analyze volumes at least once a week.
• If a volume has less than 15% free space, Disk Defragmenter can only defragment part of the drive. To increase the free space on a volume, delete unneeded files or move them to another drive

[mchapman]

on 6/25/2008 great article kudos to you...........Mary