How to Defrag a PC

Defragmenting your hard drive should be done routinely.

If your computer is a little sluggish, you may want to defrag the hard drive. Computer hard drives get fragmented when programs are installed and uninstalled and files are added and removed. Files of some programs get scattered around the hard drive and the computer's processor is less efficient at accessing them. Windows operating systems contain a Disk Degramenter utility that organizes your hard drive and makes your computer run more efficiently.

Instructions

1. Click "Start" | "All Programs" | "Accessories" | "System Tools" | "Disk Defragmenter."

2. Choose the hard disk drive you want to defrag. For most PCs, the hard disk drive you will want to defrag is Local Disk (C:) because that is the primary hard drive and it contains the Windows operating system.

3. Click "Defragment Disk."

4. The process could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the size of your hard drive and the amount the disk is defragmented.

Tips & Warnings

• Defrag your computer weekly for optimum performance.

• The more frequently you defrag a PC, the less time the defrag process will take.

References

• Microsoft: Improve Performance by Defragmenting Your Hard Disk

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish