When running programs that contains hundreds of files, fragmenting can degrade the performance of your computer. As the clusters of files on your hard drive become fragmented, they are store further apart and it takes longer for your pc to find and get all the pieces necessary to run your programs. That mean's is time to defragment your hard drive. It rearranges the files on your hard drive so they are back in order, which cuts down on access latency (the time it takes to access your files). Follow my guide to Defragment your hard drive using Disk Defragmenter on all Windows XP - 2000 based system.
1. To defragment your hard drive in Windows XP, first make sure you close all your program's before making a Disk Defrag open My Computer and right-click on the C: drive. Select Properties, then click on the Tools tab and select Defragment Now...
2. In the Windows Disk Defragmenter program will open and all drives are listed in the top window pane. Since the program is going to be arranging files on your hard drive, it is important that no files are being accessed during the process, or the program won't be able to move them. Close all open programs.
3. The C: drive is where operating system files and programs are installed by default, so make sure that it is selected, then click Defragment. While the program is running, it is recommend that you not use your computer. The time is takes to run the defragmenting process is dependent on the size of your hard drive and amount of fragmentation.
While the program is running you will see a graphical representation of the blocks of files on your hard drive being moved and the fragmented segments joined together. Usually the less gaps of free space between the contiguous segments the better, but as long as the fragmented files are put together into contiguous segments, it will help your computer's performance.
Return to Windows XP Support Center
Go back to Computer How to
Go back to Computer-Repair-tips.com