I just defragmented my main hard drive and it has as much free space as it had before defragmentation. So what is the point to defrag your hard drive?
2007-05-16 04:58:06 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Other - Computers
The way a hard drive works is by breaking files into little chunks and then writing them to the hard drive. Over time, all the chunks that belong to one file or similar files get spread all over the place, so defragmentation basically puts them back in order. It makes it so you can access data quicker, but doesn't free up any space. Do disk cleanup or start deleting things if you need to free up some space
2007-05-16 05:04:45 · answer #1 · answered by Neilius 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As you use your computer, it is always saving and deleting files from the hard drive. Winodws always starts at the center of the hard drive, and saves files in the first empty space it finds. It may be a space that was just left empty by a small file, and you are going to save a large file. It will run out of space part way through, and then will move on to the next empty space and save the rest of the file. You have just "fragmented" that file. You have split it into two (or more locations). When Windows has to load a file that is fragmented, it takes longer because it has to stop and find the other piece(s) of the file. The more fragmented the files on your drive, the slower the PC runs.
When you defrag a hard drive, Windows moves everything around so it can put all the parts of a file together. This might give you a little more free space, but that is not its purpose. Its purpose is to get all the files back together so the PC can find them and run faster.
2007-05-16 12:02:34 · answer #2 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
De-fragmenting your hard drive is a way to put all the pieces of each file next to each other.
You can imagine the hard drive like a giant warehouse with lots of little boxes to hold information. When a file is too big to fit into a single box the hard drive breaks it up into as many boxes is necessary to hold it.
Over time - as files are added, modified, and removed - you can imagine how some files may need to be spread across boxes that aren't right next to each other. When it comes time to read/write to these fragmented files it takes a longer time for the hard drive to put all the pieces together.
When you defrag a hard drive the computer finds all of the files that are fragmented like this and tries to put the pieces as close to each other as possible. By doing this it decreases the time it takes to read and write files and, as a consequence, speeds up all operations on the computer.
2007-05-16 12:27:43 · answer #3 · answered by mc_barron 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Defragging doesn't necessarily give you more space it just organizes your hard drives data, defragmentation should help improve file access by your operating system and programs.
its in good practice to defragment after you have installed a lot of programs or delete a lot of files.
2007-05-16 12:05:04 · answer #4 · answered by mojo101178 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
After lot of use, file deletions & saving of new files make the empty space scattered over the HD. The new file which is to be saved is stored in fragments at different places on the hard disk. It takes time to access the fragmented file since it is stored at different sectors of HD & for accessing the file HD would have to rotate here & there. Defragmentation programs put all the fragments of a file in sequential sectors making it fast to access.
2007-05-16 12:03:17 · answer #5 · answered by Jain 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The point is to put all files in their proper place.
This would ensure that your computer would work faster.
Look at the little boxes during defragmentation. Some of the files are all over the place, right?
Defragmentation puts them back where they should be.
Just like we put files in their proper places in the filing cabinet...........
2007-05-16 12:05:26 · answer #6 · answered by winterlotus 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your hard drive has thousands of little "cells" on it. Each cell is like 3KB depending on the size of your hard drive. When you save something on it it saves it to where ever on the hard drive it is at at the at current moment. So there are gaps between files sometimes ( file 1...file2...file 1 con't) or (file 1.... blank... file2...). Defragenting moves these files in to aligment ( no broken files or blank spaces). this makes it eayser to access info on the drive so your computer runs faster (sorter retreaval)
2007-05-16 12:05:01 · answer #7 · answered by zspace101 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Theoretically it should reduce the time for the drive to access data since the files are not split up all over the place.
2007-05-16 12:05:56 · answer #8 · answered by XOUT 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It makes all the files required to boot next to each other, so the computer doesnt have to search for them (thus makin it quicker)
2007-05-16 12:06:40 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋