My hardrive is about 80% fragmented files. How do I clean? Is my hard drive failing? Virus? worm?

Answer 1

sounds like your operating system or os needs to be reinstalled
especially if it won't defrag.
if you have the os on disk you can go to dos mode in C drive and type format. you will be asked for the disk and this will reinstall windows but you will lose your programs that don't come with the os and all your documents etc...you can save all that info on disks before you format though

Answer 2

It is normal for a hard drive to get fragmented over time. Whenever you delete a file from your computer, the computer will use that space to save the next file. If it is not a perfect fit, then Windows has to split (or fragment) that file into multiple locations. Over time, all hard drives will just naturally get fragmented. It does not mean anything is wrong - not a virus, worm or bad hard drive. If anything is "at fault", it is poor housekeeping on the users part. (No insult intended).

All you need to do is run a Disk Defrag.
Right click on the C: hard drive, and select properties
Go to the Tools tab
Recommend that you run an error checking first by clicking on "check now"
Once that is done, click on "Defrag now"
Be warned that since your hard drive is badly fragmented, it may take several hours to complete a defrag. You can always stop and restart the defrag later without hurting the PC. It will just continue on from where it last stopped.

Answer 3

The best way is to download Ccleaner here http://bitly.com/UrALrK

Or you can go on Windows operating system locate the command prompt and go there to do the following:
Create a Recovery file of system and date it today.

Then begin by;
delete the 'Temp' folders..they have hidden subfolders so you need to set the attributes in order to bypass this. For each subfolder delete all cookies and rubbish left behnd after install-uninstalled programs. Do a 'dir' command to check your progress. Make sure the 'Temp' file is empty.

goto c:\windows\prefetch and delete everything in there..no exceptions

goto c:\windows folder and delete all the '$' files that have been installed by updates. They can all be succesfully deleted and just take up disk space.

Locate the Internet Temporary Files..Check to see how high the saving level is..some have it set at 30 days..but that stores faaaar tooo much data..though it slows down the system overal. Keep this to a minimum..suggest 2 or 5 at most.

Delete all 'cookies' all those you don't need.

Locate the windows directory and go through the folders you know and those you don't need. Check this once a week at least. Some programs will install under XP as NT and older systems where there is no check of systems weight.

Check to see that system files have not changed since last booting. Things like .ini files or .bat are important items.


Check for 'Hidden Directories' all over the disk...do this at the command prompt:

dir *.* /ah wil show these hidden directories

Check the 'dir' command for all parameters

Answer 4

This is not a virus problem it most likely means that you use the hard drive intensively. Go to start menu, accessories and then system tools and run the disk fragment and then defrag it. It will put all the files to at least 0% fragmented.

Answer 5

Start with Disk Cleanup. (pick everything for deletion, it only finds and deletes stuff that you don't need) Then use DEFRAG. Both of these are found in the System Tools folder. Just go to START, then Programs, then pick Accessories and you will see the System Tools folder.

Hey, you should check your anti-virus and anti-spyware solution regularly. But having fragmented files is natural. Run Disk Cleanup and Defrag regularly.

Answer 6

To defrag, Start, All programs, accessories, system tools then defrag. I would also recommend going to www.downloads.com and downloading CCleaner to get rid of some temp files. As for the HD test. Check and see if you PC has PCCheck built in. It's a decent diagnostic tool that you can use to test your systems health. If you are still worried try taking it to a Geek Squad location. I know if your system was bought at Best Buy and is still under warranty they will do a free diagnostic.

Answer 7

Left click on "Start", Then on "Programs", Then on Accessories, then on "System Tools", Then on Disk Defragmenter. Note: For Win XP After clicking on "programs", you must click on "All Programs", and then follow the above instructions.

Select Drive C: (Physical Drive) or the physical hard disk drive you wish to defragment. "Defrag" can take as long as 3-5 hrs. to complete.

Why defrag?

Windows comes with a collection of house cleaning tools, including ScanDisk, Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup, to help keep your disk in peak working order.

Why should you bother with the housework? A couple of reasons. First, disks are hard working, mechanical devices and, like all mechanical devices, prone to failure. A little preventative maintenance can warn you of potential problems and fix minor glitches before they can do damage to your data.

Second, the way files are organised on your drive has a perceptible impact on the performance of your computer. If your files are stored neatly, end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk is speedier.

What is file fragmentation?

Sometimes when you install a program or create a data file, the file ends up chopped up into chunks and stored in multiple locations on the disk. This is called fragmentation.

What makes this happen?

When you first install your operating system and programs on your hard disk, they are written to the disk, for the most part, in one contiguous block without any gaps. The exceptions are certain system files that must be stored in specific locations. Over time, as you create and then delete documents or uninstall programs, once-filled locations are left empty and you end up with files dotted all over the disk.

Now, when Windows is writing a file to the disk, it looks for a suitable piece of free space in which to store it. What happens, then, when you copy a 40M database or audio file to the disk and the biggest slice of free space is only 30M? Or say you modify an existing file, appending a whole bunch of data so the file now takes up more space on the disk. To accommodate the files, Windows writes the first part of the file in one section of the disk and then scouts around for other places to store the rest of the file. The end result is that a single file may be stored in several chunks scattered about the disk.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

right-click on drive select properties.
there in genral tab u can find disk clean-up.
u need to check with any anti-virus software for virus & worms.
But defragmenting boots up the speed. try it

Answer 10

Just defragment your files in your hard drive then it will be ok.