Microsoft Windows operating system has a utility called 'Disk defragmentation'
Disk defragmentation is the process of combining and rearranging files which are stored on hard disk in order to increase access time.
To understand what disk defragmentation is , first we need to understand the hard disk and how it operates and stores data , actually there are three facts for this article
Figure 1 : two components of hard drive
1) As shown , this figure shows the hard drive
It has the hard disk or platters : Which are a circular discs Each platter consists of tracks that store data in chunks and the number of tracks increases to the inner side.
Tracks is divided into smaller storage units called sectors and each sector can hold more than
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The defragmenter rearrange and consolidates fragmented files in the hard disk to improve files access time in the hard disk . so in the pervious example the defragmenter will make all of the sectors that store data related to file 4 next to each other .
Advantages of defragmentation:
1) Improve the performance and the speed of the computer : fragmentation causes adding additional work to the hard disk which slows down the speed of the hard disk and the computer.
2) Increase the level of security : If the files are less fragmented , anti-virus programs can scan the file , detect viruses and delete them in a short time.
Defrag in windows 7 and 8
In windows 7
Click the Start button. >> All Programs Then Accessories >> Choose System Tools, then select Disk Defragmenter. In windows 8:
Start >> settings >> Control Panel >> Administrative Tools
Then double-click Defragment and Optimize Drives >> select the drive to defrag it
Then select the Optimize button to start the defragmentation