Just as your house needs cleaning regularly, so does your computer system.
You've probably noticed, Vikas, that when your computer is brand new, it
works really fast. However, as you add more applications and software, the
system slows down considerably.
When you repeatedly use a file stored on your computer (like writing,
deleting or saving the same file), it gets fragmented in the disk. Due to
this your system slows down and takes longer to retrieve information.
WEB RESOURCES:
Get a technical understanding of how files
are stored in clusters through the process of fragmentation. Another great tutorial explains defrag in detail, and has tips on keeping your hard disk in shape.
What does defragmenting exactly do? Let's take an example. You save a file
of 500 KB to your disk. The computer hunts for the nearest free space --
which on a properly defragged disk will be available only towards the end of
the used area of the disk. Now, you create another file and save it. The
computer will save this file sequentially after the first one.
The next day you open the first file and add another 100 KB to it. What will your
computer do? It will store the additional 100 KB only after the second file.
In simple terms, your first file has now fragmented.
Deframenting essentially joins all fragments of files and arranges them in
logical order, so your computer reads them faster. It also clusters groups
of files associated with particular applications together so that they load
faster.
Microsoft Windows comes with an inbuilt defrag utility. You can find it in
the Start > Programs > Accessories > System tools menu.
There are utilities called disk defragmenters that optimise file performance
by rearranging them Examples of this are the Diskeeper,
designed to keep your computer system speedy and optimized, Defrag Commander a tool that can defrag
every system on your network from just one PC, and Power Defrag 2.00 that improves the performance of the Microsoft
disk fragmenter tool and prevents common crashes.
There are also tools that keep
defrag in the background while your network is up and running.
Search here for more software. Also look up
cnet
and zdnet.
Eopinions and
howstuffworks also have
comprehensive information on disk defragmentation.
And if you are wondering how frequently you should clean up your system,
Bubbles has one piece of advice: Defrag often!
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Why Defrag? |
Tips on Defragmenting your Disk |
Defrag for Windows NT |
Microsoft Defrag |
Analysis, troubleshooting
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