How to Defragment a Disk on a Windows Computer?

Defragmentation, or “defragging,” is the process of reorganizing the files on your hard drive so that they are stored in a more contiguous and efficient manner. When you save or delete a file, the hard drive may store the file in fragments that are scattered throughout the drive. Over time, this can cause your computer to take longer to access files, as it has to search for and retrieve fragments from different locations. Defragging can help to improve the performance of your computer by reducing the time it takes to access and read files from the hard drive. Most modern operating systems, including Windows, include a built-in defragmentation tool that can be used to optimize the performance of your hard drive. To defrag your hard drive on Windows, you can use the following steps:

Step 1: Open the start menu by pressing the [Win] key or clicking the bottom left section of the desktop

Step 2: Type defrag

Step 3: Select the Defragment and Optimize Drive app

Step 4: A new window called Optimize Drives would have appeared looking similar to this:

Step 5: Now select the drive you are willing to defragment. Based on the demonstration, we will be defragmenting the D Drive. Select the drive and click the Optimize button.

Step 6: The program will start analyzing the drive for possible fragmentation.

Step 7: After which the process of defragmentation will begin. This could take an Hour to complete (if defragging a large drive) so be patient.

Step 8: In the end, you will be acknowledged for the completion of the process by the Optimize Drive Program. Now your drive/disk has been successfully defragmented. 

Note: It should be noted that a disk may not be the same thing as a drive. i.e., If partitions of different sizes have been made out of a disk, then a disk would be composed of several drives. In that case to defragment a disk you have to defragment all the drives that have been made from it. In the prior example, the drive is of the same size as the partition (2 Terabytes) therefore defragging the drive, in that case, is equivalent to defragging the disk. 

In conclusion, defragmentation is a process that can help to improve the performance of your computer by reorganizing the files on your hard drive so that they are stored in a more contiguous and efficient manner.