How to Defrag Your Hard Drive in Windows Vista

Each time you use your computer, you complete various tasks; such as saving files, deleting files, or working within various programs. Over time, this can cause fragmentation on your hard drive that results in your computer running slower than it should. Defragging the system on a regular basis can help make your computer faster.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 

   Click on the Start button and go to All Programs
   Select the Accessories folder
   Select the Systems Tools folder
   Click on Disk Defragmenter

2. 

   Windows Vista allows you to set up your computer to automatically run the Disk Defragmenter at scheduled times. Check to see if Run on a Schedule is checked in the Disk Defragmenter options box. If it is, it should list the defrag schedule as well as when the last defrag took place.
   
   Nine times out of ten, if you do have your computer set to defrag at a scheduled time, running a manual defrag won’t help speed up your computer much.
   
   If your computer is not set to automatically defrag the system at scheduled times, click on the Defragment Now button.

3. 

   You should now be prompted to choose which partition you would like to have defragged. Place a check mark next to each partition you want the system to defrag and click on OK. Most people may only have a (C:) drive; however, if you have multiple partitions set up, you can opt to defrag them all.

4. 

   You should then be taken back to the Disk Defragmenter options screen. Notice that it will provide a message stating that it is defragmenting your hard disk(s). Be aware that this process can take anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours depending on how many partitions you are defragging as well as how fragmented the partitions are. However, you can still work within Vista while the defrag is running.

5. Once the defragmentation is complete, the Disk Defragmenter options screen should notify you it is completed. At this point, you can close the Disk Defragmenter.

Tips & Warnings

• It is recommended that you defrag your hard drive on a regular basis to help prevent fragmentation and help your computer run faster.

[MargaritaBobita]

on 11/23/2009 Very helpful! I find that tips for Windows Vista are harder to come across. Thanks for showing us Vista people how to defrag.