MakeUseOf - Defragmentation

How to Defrag a Hard Disk Drive in Windows 11

Jack Slater — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 14:16:17 GMT

Adding and removing Windows software packages generates data fragmentation on your PC’s storage drive. The fragmented data gets scattered around across the drive, which reduces the overall storage efficiency. A hard disk drive gets slowed down when it has to read-write fragmented data more spread out across the storage.

8 Tools to Increase Hard Drive Performance on Windows

Dan Price — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 20:16:14 GMT

Windows has a reputation for slowing down your computer over time. Admittedly, Windows 10 is much better than its predecessors, but the problem still occurs.

9 Free Disk Defragment Tools for Windows 10/11

Anindra Z. Siqueira — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 14:25:13 GMT

Let’s face it: we all want our computers to run as efficiently as possible all the time. One way to achieve this is to defragment your drives, optimizing them for maximum performance. Defragmenting makes your files contiguous, allowing for quicker access.

8 PC-Saving Windows Tools You Must Not Overlook

Zainab Falak — Fri, 27 May 2022 14:15:14 GMT

We tend to take it for granted that our PCs "just work". It's easy to forget that (like any piece of technology) they need regular maintenance and fine-tuning to prolong their life and keep them working smoothly. A number of often overlooked Windows applications can help you keep your computer up to speed.

10 Common Computer Myths You Need To Stop Believing

Bryan Clark — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 15:00:15 GMT

For most tech enthusiasts, computers are relatively simple machines to purchase, operate, and (for the most part) understand. However, for the average non-tech-oriented consumer, they are scary devices made even more frightening by jargon, misconceptions, and outright falsehoods.

How to Set Up Disk Defragmenter Context Menu Shortcuts in Windows 11

Jack Slater — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 19:15:12 GMT

Windows 11 includes a built-in Defragment and Optimize Drives utility (formerly called Disk Defragmenter) for drive optimization. This tool defrags your hard drive by reorganizing fragmented data on it. As a result, it enhances data retrieval efficiency on your PC.

How to Clean Your Windows Computer: The Ultimate Checklist

Dan Price — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 17:07:47 GMT

Over time, computers slow down. Of course, aging hardware plays a part, but for most people, a more common cause is poor operating system maintenance. It's time to clean your computer.

How to Fix a Slow External Hard Drive in Windows 10

Christian Cawley — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 16:55:26 GMT

Plugged your external hard disk drive into your computer and noticed it's slower than it used to be? If you use the drive regularly, this could be easily explained: perhaps it's slowing down because it's old or needs defragging.

How to Manage Hard Drive Partitions and Volumes in Windows 10

Christian Bonilla — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 23:00:00 GMT

When you installed Windows, did you consciously manage the storage space on your hard drive? Is Windows slow because it's running out of space? Or do you have too little room for backups, while the system partition has many GBs to spare? It may be time to reorganize the free space on your hard drive.

7 Windows Maintenance Mistakes You Should Never Make

Ben Stegner — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 20:00:00 GMT

Every Windows user knows that you need to perform regular maintenance to keep your computer running smoothly. But what needs to be done has changed with recent versions, especially with Windows 10.

6 CCleaner Tips and Tricks to Effectively Clean Your Computer

Ben Stegner — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 22:00:00 GMT

Updated by Tina Sieber on 26 September 2017.

10 Quick Fixes to Make your Windows Computer Faster

Ben Stegner — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 17:41:56 GMT

A slow computer can throw even the most patient folks into a fit of rage. Whether your computer takes forever when booting up or freezes regularly, any time you wait for the system to get its act together amounts to wasted time.

Top Programs That Can Make Your Computer Run Faster

Ben Stegner — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 01:03:14 GMT

Windows users know all too well that over time, your system starts to slow down. Whether you're facing long boot times or waiting ages to switch between programs, poor performance is frustrating and detrimental to your productivity.

5 Simple Habits to Stop Your Computer From Running Slow

Christian Bonilla — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 17:00:00 GMT

We're a few months into the year and you're starting to enjoy that new laptop or desktop. Your new computer glides like a dream, but in a few months it's going to slow down; after all, there are only three things certain in life: death, taxes, and sluggish computers after hours of Internet browsing.

Catch up on PC Maintenance & Clear Your System With Glary Utilities Pro

Andre Infante — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:00:00 GMT

PC maintenance is one of those tedious chores that most people postpone until their machine is just barely limping along. You know who you are. Yes, you, with the five hundred desktop icons and ten minute boot time. Glary Utilities is designed for you.

Smart Defrag 3 Introduces Defragmentation Support For Windows 8 Apps

Saikat Basu — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:30:16 GMT

Smart Defrag 3 just introduced the feature to defrag Windows 8/8.1 Metro Apps. The Windows defragmentation freeware is a popular choice for many and the latest release matches it with the requirements of the current Windows operating system. IObit calls it “the first Disk Defragmenter that fully supports Windows 8/8.1 Metro Apps”. The new defrag engine is clothed in a dual skinnable (Classic and White) Windows 8 themed UI – some small alterations to the layout, and it now sports a flatter modern design.

IObit Advanced SystemCare 7: An Excellent All-In-One Utility

Matt Smith — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 20:00:00 GMT

Keeping your computer up to date and free of errors can be a real pain in the butt. In fact, if you don’t devote a few hours to the purpose every month, it may well be impossible. That’s where an all-in-one system utility comes in handy.

Improve Your Hard Drive's Health With Drive Genius 3 for Mac [Giveaway]

James Bruce — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 16:20:27 GMT

Is your Mac feeling bloated and suffering performance anxiety? Try Drive Genius 3 to get back that feeling of freshness. Drive Genius 3 is an all-in-one suite of hard drive utilities, including a defragmenter, drive slimming, and smart status notifier. It's a comprehensive power tool for pros - used by Apple Geniuses - and yet simple enough for even the most novice of users. But is it really worth it? After all - Macs don't even need defragmenting, do they?

IObit Smart Defrag: A Superb Hard Drive Defragmentation & Optimization Tool [Windows]

Aaron Couch — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 08:31:02 GMT

Do you defrag your hard drive? If not, you should and you must understand the importance before you read on. There are some excellent articles on MakeUseOf which discuss defragmenting, but perhaps the best and most recent article is 3 Excellent Defrag Utilities & Why You Still Need to Defragment In 2012 by Tina. IObit Smart Defrag wasn’t included in the "3 excellent defrag utilities" in her article, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t excellent.

Can't Stand The Slowness? The Top 10 Reasons for Poor PC Performance

Christian Cawley — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 23:01:28 GMT

Has your computer loaded this webpage yet? If it has, you’ll be halfway toward working out just why it seems to be running so slowly. There are many reasons for desktop and laptops to chug along at their own, slow pace, defying the system specs and performing more like a relic from the 1990s.

3 Excellent Defrag Utilities & Why You Still Need to Defragment In 2012

Tina Sieber — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 21:00:15 GMT

Accessing files from the hard drive is a speed limiting step in operating a computer. Hard drives used to be a major bottle neck and fragmentation of data slowed them down even further. With the New Technology File System (NTFS), terabyte sized hard drives, and solid state drives setting new standards, fragmentation has become a non-issue and defrag utilities are almost obsolete. Almost!

Piriform's Suite of Tools Puts You In Control Of PC Maintanence [Windows]

Craig Snyder — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 06:31:55 GMT

Individual tools such as CCleaner and Defraggler have received their fair share of attention here at MUO, and deservingly so. As a bigger picture, Piriform (the brains behind those two pieces of software and others) has really solidified their name in the world of PC maintenance and optimization, and they continue to push out awesome tools that remain updated. For years, these guys have kept our systems in top shape.

Don't Believe The Hype: Registry Cleaners Don't Make Windows Faster

Tina Sieber — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:01:16 GMT

Much advice has been given on how to keep your computer running smoothly, as well as how to fix it when it has become slow. We have even published a Windows on Speed guide, written by yours truly. One thing that hardly ever makes Windows faster, however, is cleaning the registry.

Optimize Your Disk Performance With Auslogics Disk Defrag Pro [Giveaway]

Chris Hoffman — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:30:39 GMT

File system fragmentation is a major cause of sluggish performance on Windows. The default Windows Disk Defragmenter does a passable job of the basics, but Auslogics Disk Defrag Pro ($29.95) goes above and beyond. It offers faster performance, boot-time defragmentation of system files, and all the information, features, and options you'd ever want. It can optimize the placement of files on your disks, placing frequently accessed files at faster locations and infrequently accessed files at slower locations.

A Spring Cleaning Checklist For Your PC Part 2: Delete Junk & Free Wasted Space [Windows]

Tina Sieber — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:31:40 GMT

Regular PC maintenance is often neglected, leading to lost hard drive space and a bloated operating system that runs increasingly slower. To avoid a dreaded Windows re-installation, you should perform a thorough cleanup at least once a year. In part 1 of this article, I took you through a physical cleaning checklist for your computer. For part 2 I have created a spring cleaning checklist for the digital environment, to remove obsolete files and regain storage space.

Defraggler: Better Defragmentation Software For Windows

Danny Stieben — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:01:56 GMT

Alternative defragmentation tools have been mentioned for years and years now, as most people deem the default defragmenter that comes with Windows to be insufficient. There are plenty of different solutions that try to out-do each other, some free and some paid. However, you can't just pick any free solution. You need to know which ones actually make a difference on your system.

8 Better Alternatives to Common Windows Apps

T.J. Berte — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:02:09 GMT

There is no doubt, Microsoft is going to dominate the operating system market through Windows 7. Who knows where we will be after that. At that point we will likely be looking at some type of open source product, such as Ubuntu? Maybe even we'll move to our smart phone(s) full time?

Best Programs to Keep Your Computer Secure

Will Mueller — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:42:37 GMT

There is far too much spyware, adware, malware in general. Unfortunately, all of this can be easily received involuntarily. Unfortunately as well, many people do not have sufficient enough programs to make sure these pieces of junk are removed properly and your computer is safely restored. Here I will show you the best free applications to keep your computer secure.

10 Most Downloaded Free Security AND PC Care Programs

Aibek Esengulov — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:30:32 GMT

While going through most popular software stats on Download.com, I decided to pull out top 10 most downloaded FREE security AND Windows optimization programs. Not surprisingly, I ended up with 10 excellent FREE programs. Check them out below, most of them seem to be really good. (Note: Program popularity was measured by the total number of downloads during the last week)