How to Use a Disk Defragmenter

When your computer becomes sluggish after a while, there is usually a mass of files on the hard drive that separates the information that's wasted and the information that's necessary. These bits and pieces are called fragments and the Disk Defragmenter tool can put the files back together so that the useful files are together and the waste is with the waste. Using the Disk Defragmenter is simple. All you have to do is start the tool and it does all the rest of the work in the background.

Instructions

1. Click on "Start," run your mouse pointer over "All Programs," and click on "Accessories."

2. Click on "System Tools."

3. Click on "Disk Defragmenter."

4. When the Disk Defragmenter opens, select the drive you want to defragment.

5. Before defragmenting, you can click "Analyze" to see how much space you have and an estimation of how much space you'll gain after defragmenting. The tool will also tell you whether you need to defragment the drive (volume) or not.

6. Once you've analyzed the volume you want to defragment, click on "Defragment" to start the tool. The defragmentation may take a while, depending on the condition of the information on the volume. If you've had the computer for a long time and you've never defragmented the drive, you may want to do the procedure twice.

7. When the defragmentation is complete, you can view a report to see the exact amount of space you gained.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the Task Scheduler to schedule the Disk Defragmenter to run regularly at a time when you're not using the computer.