Articles » Disk fragmentation - why is it useful and how does it work?

Disk fragmentation - why is it useful and how does it work?

Disk fragmentation - why is it useful and how does it work? download

You may have heard of disk fragmentation before, but why do you do it really and how to do it. This we will explain to you all about whether you have a Windows PC or a Mac with either a standard hard disk or the newer form SSD. Then you want to know more about disk fragmentation, and would like to give you a go at this, so read more below.

What is disk fragmentation?

Your individual files on your PC or Mac are divided into many small pieces on your hard drive. These bits are scattered all over the disk in these small pieces and therefore utilize the entire disk space, instead of producing small 'holes' on the disk that cannot be filled by larger files. This is generally a very smart solution, as the hard drive, as mentioned, is being utilized to the best possible extent. The disadvantage of this fragmentation of files is that it generally reduces the speed of the hard drive, as it takes longer for it to read and write the files you need or have used. An ordinary hard drive is a disk, just like a CD on which the parts, or pieces, are spread out. The key that then moves around this disk must find and read these bits, and the longer it is between these bits, the longer it takes for it to find and read the file you need.

What disk fragmentation enters and does on your hard drive is that it Defragments your individual files so that they are assembled in a single lump on your hard drive. This means that when your files are easier for your hard drive to find and thereby have faster reading this one file you would like to open. This results in your PC or Mac being faster and getting better performance. Disk fragmentation can thus improve the performance of your hard disk, and therefore your PC or Mac's basic performance. However, whether a disk fragmentation is needed on your hard drive also depends on the actual use of the disk and your file system on the disk itself, but on a regular PC it is a good idea to regularly disk fragment the hard disk. However, this may well take a long time and you should therefore also consider whether it can pay off at that expense.

The difference between Mac and a Windows PC

It is a basic recommendation to disk fragment your own regular Windows PC. However, it is another story when it comes to Mac, where on Windows PC you have a built-in disk fragmentation tool, because there is nothing on a Mac. But why? It is a little different in terms of disk fragmentation on a Mac, here the system manages it all by itself, so you will not find a built-in disk fragmentation tool on your Mac, and therefore it is not worth spending money and time downloading a tool this and embark on disk fragmenting his Mac himself. This is true if you have a Mac with a regular hard drive or one with an SSD. If you have one with an SSD, it is absolutely not necessary.

Disk fragmentation on SSD

It's a little different matter when it comes to SSDs. An SSD disk is constructed in a completely different way from the traditional disk with a disk that rotates inside. An SSD becomes more worn, and slower, the more you move around files and generally use it. We have previously excluded a disk fragmentation on Mac, so we will concentrate on Windows PCs. Although a Windows PC is not as good at keeping track of and even optimizing the drive as a Mac, it is not a good idea to make a disk fragmentation if you have a Windows PC with an SSD. The SSD is smarter than the traditional hard drive, and will therefore make sure to keep track of your files so they are always available quickly. Therefore, it basically does not benefit from disk fragmenting an SSD as it wears it unnecessarily. However, if you feel that your SSD has slowed down, it is a good idea to clean up your drive instead, completely manually.

Windows fragmentation guide

On your Windows PC, it is straightforward to make a disk fragmentation of your hard drive and thus get it Defragmented optimized for a higher performance. How to optimize your hard drive:

  1. Select the search bar in the taskbar and type Defrag.
  2. Select Defragment and Optimize Drive.
  3. Select the disk drive you want to optimize ilice over your hard drives.
  4. Select the Optimize button.