So here you are, loading your computer up for the first time today. You open up your favorite program, or you start to get back to that memo thats due in 20 minutes. No big deal, right? Well seconds go by, then minutes, as the file you're trying to open takes forever to open up. Whats even worse is that there's a big open window on where your file should be. Frustrated, you keep clicking on the icon and the computer finally..finally opens up your file. by then, your coffee is cold, your head is fried, and your boss is yelling for that memo.. What a freaking nightmare!!!
There is a simple explanation for all of this. Some people will tell you its your system memory, and how you need more. While this may be a helpful solution, 9 times out of 10, it doesn't matter. What you really have my friend, is something called disk fragmentation. If you just asked yourself "What the hell is Disk Fragmentation?" then you already have taken the first step towards resolving the problem at hand.
When a disk loads or saves a file, it does its best the store it in clusters next to each other. A good example is a filing cabinet. At first, the folder in the cabinet, or clusters, are all nicely arranged and organized. However, once a file is removed, it leaves a big open space. You would think that the next file saved would go into that empty space, right? Nope!!! The computer will have the file stored right at the end of a line, leaving that big open space still intact. Now when you have that open space, it puts a lot of overhead on the disk when it has to go backwards to find parts of a file and they end up being all over the place, like chips on a choclate chip cookie. the more fragmented files, the more work the hard disk has to do. I have seen cases where the hard drive had to work so much it literally burned out the drive.
You want to turn that chocolate chip cookie into an Oreo, so it can be whole and not bits everywhere, but how do you do such a thing? Its quite simple really. You just have to look for a program that does disk defragmentation. Windows has one built into many of its operating systems, and is quite simple to use. It may take some time, depending on how big your hard drive is , and how badly fragmented it is. be aware it may even take up to a couple of hours if need be.
Another program that is good for disk defragmentation is called Auslogics Disk Defragmenter. it is a free software program that not only defrags your files, but also optimizes them as well. Personally i think it does a better job than the standard one that comes with Windows, but thats just me.
Also another tip: In order for your hard drive to benefit from the fragmentation, it should have about 15% of its free space cleared up. If you have less than that, it will still process, but it wont be as clean.
Disk fragmentation is like getting an oil change for your car. If the hard drive seizes, there goes your memories. Back up on a regular basis and disk defrag at least once a week/
Till next week,
Computertechie80
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