Before I start explaining what defragging is ask yourself when the last time you ran a defragging application. Okaay let me now explain to you the purpose it serves to your system and maybe you'll do it much more frequently.
Defragging optimizes the read and write time of a file to and from the disk by reducing head travel time and maximizes the transfer speed. When Windows installs a program, or creates data file it is chopped up into multiple pieces and stored across multiple locations on the hard drive. That's when you hear the term fragmentation.
As you install/uninstall software or create/delete files you start creating gaps. As new files are created they go into these gaps and they are not contiguous with there files causing the hard drive to take a longer time to access the files. The ideal scenario is having a contiguous block without any gaps and with related data pieces side by side. The only exception is when system files are stored in a specific area.
An analogy I use quite frequently to help users understand fragmentation is to think of laundry. When your clothes come out of the dryer after it's been tossed like salad they are not going to be in a neat pile. You must agree it is harder find those lucky black socks you love so dearly. This is an example of fragmentation because the socks aren't paired together. (Yes I know this is very geeky but it's the only way you'll ever understand!!) So let's say you defrag your laundry, that's equivalent to folding your clothes so they are in neat piles and which allows you to find the clothes faster and easier. Defragging your drive will make it easier and faster for the hard drive head to find the files associated with the tasks you want your computer to do.
There are various solutions to defragment your hard drive. Windows XP has software built in to the Operating System. There is also third-party software such as DiskKeeper and OO Defrag which allow for more custom defrag schemes. The third-party software prices range from $20 to $100.
If you'd like to defrag your hard drive with the software in Windows XP, here are a couple of ways to do it:
First Method
Click Start > Programs
Accessories > System Tools
Disk Defragmenter
Second Method
Double click My Computer
Right click the Drive (eg. C:\) > Properties
Tools > Defragment Now
Third Method
Right click on My Computer
Click Manage
Click Disk Defragmenter
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Once you have the software up and running, click Defragment button to begin (Red = bad! Blue = Good!)
