how often should you defrag a computer?

Question

my girlfriend said once a month I said once a day if you use the internet alot

Answer 1

Really it depends on your usage level and the size of your HDD. If you run defrag and it advises you defrag then do it and you will eventually figure out how often works for you. If you have a small or almost full HDD and you notice great speed increases then you will probably want to run it as frequently as weekly.

Answer 2

If you use the net a lot you should use the cleandisk feature as well so a simple routine is:

Start > right click "My Computer" > Properties > Clean Disk > (When this is done) Click "Tools" > Defrag and run the defrag programme.

If you do this reasonably often (say once a week) it won't take long to do, the longer you leave it the more defragging there will be. It is also a good idea to run the defrag programme twice.

If you are running peer to peer software or there is a particullarly active programme it is an idea you turn these off before you defrag as it can't move active files so the less you have running the better.

Asking how often you should defrag is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string so I would suggest for high to moderate user once a week and once a month for theoccasional dabbler.

Answer 3

Having used computers since they operated on vacuum tubes ...

I would suggest a maintenance schedule like this, if you use the computer often during the day:

1. Dump the cache frequently .

This helps your browser load faster. If you build web pages, browse lots of photos or videos or similar activity, it might be a good idea to do it every hour or so. Firefox has a great little feature on the tool bar .. click it and POOF! Cache empty. AOL has a similar feature, too.

2. Defrag at least once a week, more often if you install or remove programs, photos or music.

3. Scan Disk twice a month, if you use the computer frequently. It helps catch little errors on your hard drive, avoiding major heartburn later on.

Answer 4

well i have windows xp and in the disk defragmenter index/manual it says to deframent your hard disk(s) every two weeks or once a month. defragmenting has nothing to do with using the internet- it has to do with tightening up space from downloading files and deleting them. it crunches all the files on your drive together so you dont have all these random spots of free space, therefore the drive will run smoother and faster. i only defragment once every two months or so, because i am not always downloading files and/or deleting them. i have a friend who is a music and video freak and shes always downloading video and audio files keeping them for a day or two then deleting them. so she must defragment like every week. i dont think its ever necessary to defragment every day ever. unless your hard disks are TINY, and fill up quickly. plus defragmenting takes a lot of cpu usage and if your doing it every day i think it could kind of wear it out, especially if you have a cheaper computer like me.

Answer 5

I do mine once a week. That seems to do the trick for me.

Answer 6

if you have ntfs, once a month, fat16 or fat32, once a week. if you open my computer, right click on your c drive, select properties, it will tell you which file system you are using.

Answer 7

I do mine once a week.

Answer 8

I set mine to weekly, but monthly is fine, daily wouldn't hurt, but not necessary

Answer 9

i try to do it once a week

Answer 10

Your girl friend is right...................once a month.