What does defragmentation do?

[tamilvendan]

I want to know what exactly is defragmentation? will it erase data?

[i2blog]

When files are stored it is not stored continuosly in the media. Sometimes it gets arranged like how we manage our book self.

Defragmentation is one which arranges all files in sequence and makes pc a little faster. Since seek time is reduced. Like mom cleaning our self....

It doesn't delete any files.

Originally Posted by tamilvendan

I want to know what exactly is defragmentation? will it erase data?

[tuxfan]

No it will not erase data. It will only organise the files on your hard disk. It may increase speed because it collects the parts of files spread across the hard disk and puts them together so that the file can be accessed faster. Go ahead and do it. It is good for your system. I used to do it at least once in a month when I used to regularly use Windows.

[yehmeriidhain]

No! way it wont delete ne of ur files! .dunt worry!

I defragment my disc every week! It is rather much more useful ..

[rachitar]

Originally Posted by yehmeriidhain

No! way it wont delete ne of ur files! .dunt worry!

I defragment my disc every week! It is rather much more useful ..

Why do it so frequently?

[ujjwal]

Well firstly defragmentation depends on your OS and filesystem used. With DOS, windows 9x and other FAT based operating systems, defragmentation is quite essential, as these filesystems are not optimised for hard drives (huge storage), but for floppy disks (atleast, this is what I gather).

On Windows NT, and other NTFS based OS's, defragging is not that essential, though it is still a good idea to do it once a month or so.

For reiserfs, ext2 or other linux filesystems, defragmentation is almost of no use, as these filesystems use a completely different way for storing files.

Here is an interesting read - http://cbbrowne.com/info/defrag.html

[yehmeriidhain]

Why do it so frequently?

Bcz I use my drive very often delete..add... a whole lot of stuff ..

[koolbluez]

Defragmentation is arranging all similar items or items of same folder etc. together. When u keep some data into the disk & remove some.. there is an emptiness created in that place.. this increases as u go on... so it becomes more & more tough 4 the computer 2 get the required stuff as it has 2 search the drive.. then retrive...

Defragmentation arranges the data in an order, so that the computer can easily retrive it... indirectly speedin up programes & data accessing

Defragmentation & scandisk should b regularly done. This peps up the computer.

About losing data... defrag doesn't delete any data... but i think there will b data loss if power goes off while defraggin.. i.e. data which is gettin copied(defragged) might end up as lost clusters if power goes... better maintain a UPS.. then do...

There r many defraggers.. like Power Defrag, Disk Defragmenter.. try latest System Mechanic.. it has inbuilt defragger... GREAT

Some more links:

http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/de...php?defragment

http://www.ehow.com/how_3575_defragment-pc-hard.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default...305781&sd=tech

http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/...0-225-121.aspx

[suj_engico]

Whenever u store some data in ur Harddisk, the data gets stored in parts at ifferent locations.
This data is arranged in a sequence.
I am sure ur PC will work faster after Defragmentation.

[pradeep_chauhan]

Putting it in layman's terms:- if you clean your room its easier to find things the next time. Cleaning the room (putting things at there correct places) = defragmentation.

dexter does it everyday

[rachitar]

One thing that i would like to confirm
I have 2 partitions C,D with Win98 only.
If i am working with data thats on C like downloading,excel sheet etc and am defragmenting D,the defragmentation wouldnt restart with the saying"Disk write,restarting" and should have no problems and D should get Defragmented
Am i right?

[yehmeriidhain]

Rachitar! U r correct! ... :roll: It willn't restart! dunt worrY! abt tht!

[klinux]

In certain cases , if files , apps ur using is in the D drive itself , defrag will restart . situation could also be if ur have set virtual memory to run from D drive (mostly not the case , but some people do ) Best option is to do it in ur free time , that too from safe mode . remember to do a scandisk before running defragmentation . and make sure u have enuf space in the drive . in safe mode , not sure if anti virus might load , but if it does , disable it completely ie from tray icon exit / shutdown . same goes for any app

[godsownman]

Defragment is the name suggests is to DE-Fragement a fragmented disk.

When we store our data our disk is instructed to write data on the available sectors of the disk so as not to waste space

So some parts of our file are stored in sector A while the other may be stored in X,Y,Z.

When we wish to open the file the disk has to collect the data from all the different sectors before it finally opens it and that slows down our performance .

So when we fragment we are actually collecting all the file segments and saving them together.

This considerably improves the system access time and makes it speed .

I do very often generally once in 2 -3 weeks.

But the negative side is it takes time to perform and the system should be left idle when performing so that it is not disturbed.

[blacklight]

i wuld like 2 add a suggestion.
u culd make partitions 2 ur hard disk based on the type of data u store. for eg, os only on one drive,music ,games and data on different drives.since playing mp3's wont scatter data on that drive ,doesnt fragment it ,and even when fragmentation occurs in drives storing data,programs,,it is restricted to that drive only.So fragmentation is reduced and the time taken to defrag is also reduced.

[Charley]

Over time, the files on a computer's hard disk drive become disorganised. Running a defragmentation program restores order and speeds up the reading and writing of data. The process of rewriting parts of a file to contiguous sectors on a hard disk drive. Defragmentation is done to increase disk speed access and retrieval. For example, when files are updated, updates are typically saved on the largest continuous space on the hard disk, often on a different sector than other parts of the file. When files are fragmented like this, a computer must search the entire hard disk each time the file is opened to locate all of its parts, which slows down response time considerably. Routine disk defragmentation is recommended. The process of removing wasted space between fragments on a hard disk. As fragmentation occurs, small areas of wasted space are created on the hard disk between them. The process of defragmenting the drive moves all the fragments close together producing more usable disk space. desktop - Your workspace on the computer screen. The desktop is what appears when your computer first starts up but before you start any programs. It has icons on it, some of which are My Computer, the Recycle Bin, My Documents and/or Internet Explorer. Reorganizing the files on a hard drive so that all the parts of a file are next to each other, so it can be read faster. This also puts all the free space together.

[tamilvendan]

I tried defragmenting my system. Why is it taking such a long time? And it did not finish even. After a long time it went upto 50% then it started again from the beginning saying the disc's contents are changed. I dont work on the system while defragmenting then why this is happening?

[khattam_]

Originally Posted by tamilvendan

I tried defragmenting my system. Why is it taking such a long time? And it did not finish even. After a long time it went upto 50% then it started again from the beginning saying the disc's contents are changed. I dont work on the system while defragmenting then why this is happening?

Use a defragmentation program such as O&O defrag pro or such. Don't use Windows inbuilt one. It sucks............. And defrag process does take a long time dude..........

[hrishi47]

Will there be any problem, if I start the defragmentation and there's a power failure? I mean will there be loss of data or something like that in the hard drive?