How to enable defragmentation on Windows 10. Which program is better? How to disable automatic optimization

Many people underestimate the importance of a process such as defragmentation. However, it is the presence of such a program that will save you from many problems associated with freezes and errors in system processes. The process of defragmentation is to organize files and system elements in such a way that the operating system has better access to the necessary data, which optimizes and speeds up all computer processes.

At active work On the computer there are constant changes in the file system: you download something, edit it, transfer it, delete it. And all these files occupy a certain space on the hard drive, measured in clusters. When you delete or edit content, some clusters may become empty, leaving empty space between files of the same destination or even the same program.

Thus, the operating system has to find connections between torn files of the same order, which can lead to slowdown of processes or even loss of any function if there are too many “shards” of the utility and they are located in different parts of the hard drive. The defragmentation process organizes items and files, moving them around so that there are no gaps or empty spaces between them. This qualitatively optimizes the operation of the operating system.

How to defragment

Defragmentation can be done using a program already built into the operating system by default. To use this function, you need to click “Start”, go to the “All Programs” section, find “Accessories” there, select “System Tools” from them and click on “Disk Defragmentation”. You can choose which drive you want to defragment or schedule defragmentation for a specific time or day to check regularly.

However, it is recommended to use third-party defragmenters, since the built-in program does not cope with the task very well, providing only minimal system optimization. We recommend downloading specially designed utilities, as they usually have advanced features such as defragmentation followed by optimization, white space defragmentation and many others. On our website you can download such popular and universal defragmenters as

When hard drives are used for a long time, disk fragmentation occurs during the process of writing and erasing data. Simply put, in some areas of the disk, empty space may appear, into which the system tries to write every time required by the user file. The problem is that if this file is too large, then part of it will be written to one place and part to another.

This article will tell you how to defragment a disk on Windows 10. We will also look in more detail at whether disk defragmentation is needed at all or why. This can be done both using the operating system itself and using third-party programs. Regardless of the method, the essence of the process itself remains the same.

To be honest, before performing defragmentation, users should figure out whether they need it. If you use hard drive it's been a long time since it's been done full formatting, then you definitely need to perform defragmentation. Since the user often deletes or changes files not in the order in which they were written to hard drive. Because of this, so-called memory gaps appear on the disk, where the system tries to write other files. If in that place there is not enough disk space the file will be located in several parts.

If you try to access such a file recorded on your hard drive this way, it will take you longer. Please note that the more full your hard drive is, the more file fragmentation zones it will have. The figure shows how the files before the defragmentation process were written on the hard drive in fragments (this is where the name of the process comes from), and after defragmentation everything was in perfect order.

The process itself is that all files that are not written sequentially will be overwritten. And all empty clusters will disappear, since in these places everything necessary files and will be overwritten. This will speed up the operating time of the system as a whole, since when running such files the system will not have to search for pieces throughout the entire file system.

How to run disk defragmentation

The disk optimization window can be found in the updated system search. Please note that defragmentation is set to automatic by default and runs weekly. background. In principle, it is convenient and should not slow down the system much, allowing you to work comfortably at the computer.

Defraggler

There are many programs that can help you with disk defragmentation automatically. We would like to draw your attention to free utility Defraggler. You can download it without problems from the official website of the developer Piriform. The program is compatible with all versions of the operating system Windows systems 10.

Command line

To be able to defragment disks in the command line window, just run just a few commands. For beginners, we recommend using the previous method, since the interface of the classic disk optimization tool is more understandable there.

Run the desktop command line application as an administrator. Next, run the commands below one by one to begin the process. Before executing, carefully read all the commands and the parameters specified for them.

• C:\WINDOWS\system32>defrag /?— Get help on the defragmentation process in a command prompt window. We recommend that you read additional parameters commands to be executed next;
• defrag C:/A— perform analysis of the specified local disk. Shows how fragmented the selected disk is (in this case, the specified system disk). You can find out the level of fragmentation of all computer disks;
• defrag /C /H /V— performing an operation for all volumes in advanced mode, displaying detailed fragmentation statistics at the end of the process.

While defragmenting disks using this method, do not close the Command Prompt window. Only after the defragmentation process is completed using the command line can you close the window.

Conclusion

Disk defragmentation is one of those basic conditions that ensures the smooth functioning of the operating system by reducing the time it takes to access and open the most frequently used files of services and applications. This process can be carried out both using the system and using third-party utilities. But it’s quite difficult to say which program for Windows 10 is the best. This is only due to the fact that all such applications have completely different operating algorithms, and their use can lead to failures in the system (it will be clear why later).

Why do you need a disk defragmenter program in Windows 10 or any other system?

Let's start with what the described process itself is. Any disk defragmentation program, even built into Windows 10, serves solely to organize scattered files on the computer.

Despite the fact that the user in the same “Explorer” sees an ordered tree structure of files and directories, in fact, it is not such. Files and folders in the manager are combined only according to some criteria, but are scattered throughout the hard drive.

(Windows 10 means or even any other type of hard drive, it’s not so important) is designed not only to organize files, but also to move them to the fastest areas of the disk to speed up access to them or launch programs. As analytical research shows, it is through defragmentation that the performance of the entire system can be improved. Not surprising, because it will take her less time to find the required component and related elements to start programs (in the process they are combined into blocks that are read from hard drive much faster).

10 with your own funds?

First of all, let's focus on the native tools of Windows systems. The built-in program for disk defragmentation in Windows 10 is called through the RMB menu (right mouse button) on the selected partition in Explorer and selecting the service tab.

The utility uses its own algorithm for moving files and folders, but optimal option All disk and logical partitions should be marked. Beforehand, in order not to waste time, you can analyze the disks (perhaps some of them will not require defragmentation). Alas, as practice shows, optimization of disks and partitions must be done at least once a month.

Why do problems arise with third-party utilities?

Now let's look at that moment why third party program Disk defragmentation in Windows 10 or any other modification of these operating systems can cause problems with applications or a decrease in the potential of the system itself.

The point here is not that many developers use advertising tricks to install such applications, such as the fact that their defragmenter can increase performance by almost 30-50%, but that completely different algorithms are used to perform all these processes. Some utilities, according to developers, can perform disk optimization in the background, which can cause increased CPU load and RAM. But the built-in system defragmenter is also not asleep. This results in repeated moving of files from place to place, which at best leads to decreased performance, and at worst to wear and tear on the hard drive itself due to constant spinning of the spindle and moving the read heads.

Which program is better?

However, many users do not trust the system’s own tools, but try to use third-party ones software. Well, that's their business.

However, several utilities can be distinguished, although they differ in operating principles, nevertheless they are not causing problems neither with hard drives nor with operating system. And, first of all, this should include optimizers like Advanced System Care, which have built-in modules for checking and optimizing the disk in one click.

Further, you can offer utilities like Smart Defrag from iObit, Disk Defrag from Auslogics, PerfectDisk Professional, Magical Defrag from Ashampoo, Vopt, etc. In general, it is worth noting that iObit and Ashampoo software products are so closely related to Windows systems that the appearance of extraneous conflicts is excluded at almost any level.

Regularly optimizing your disk drives is an important process that will help you keep your computer performing at peak performance. IN standard set Windows tools 10 includes utilities that can help you maintain and defragment your PC’s drives. Windows 10 itself automatically performs disk optimization once a week. The HDD is defragmented, and the SSD drives receive commands called TRIM.

Why is disk defragmentation necessary?

During active use of the drive, performance decreases due to fragmentation file system. This causes the system to spend more time gaining access to sectors of the media. SSD drives do not have this problem, since their access time to memory cells is tens of times less. However, the SSD needs the TRIM command to clear unused blocks. When it comes time to write information to these blocks, Windows spends less time executing the procedure.

Modern Windows versions know how to choose the right optimization methods and right time depending on the specifications and usage of your drive. However, you can manually defragment your disk at any time in Windows 10.

How to defragment a disk in Windows 10

There are several ways to do this. Windows 10 allows you to defragment drives through a menu in Explorer or using Command Prompt / PowerShell.

Note: All procedures in this instruction are performed on behalf of the Administrator. You must have an account with the appropriate level of access rights, or a password for account Administrator.

Disk Defragmentation via Explorer

Automatic defragmentation in Windows 10

As mentioned above, Windows 10 can conduct automatic maintenance installed drives and perform optimization/defragmentation on a schedule. If you wish, you can customize it to your own preferences.

How to disable disk defragmentation in Windows 10

Let us immediately note that it is not recommended to disable automatic defragmentation, since thanks to this function the system is able to maintain its drives in a healthy state without user intervention. If you still think that for some reason you need to disable automatic defragmentation in Windows 10, you can do this in the scheduled disk optimization settings interface.

After this, the system will stop automatically optimizing the drives installed in the computer. To enable the automatic defragmentation function back, follow the same procedure and check the box Run on a schedule (recommended).

Disk Defragmentation via Command Line

Run as administrator. To do this, enter in the search cmd and press right click mouse on the command line. Click Run as Administrator. Alternatively, you can for more quick launch on behalf of the administrator. With the arrival of Windows 10 Creators Update, PowerShell took its place.

Enter the command defrag. The command line will display all possible parameters for this command. /A - Analysis of the specified volumes.

• /C - Perform the operation on all volumes.
• /D - Standard defragmentation (default).
• /E - Perform the operation on all volumes except those specified.
• /G - Optimize storage levels on the specified volumes.
• /H - Start an operation with normal priority (low by default).
• /I n - Level optimization will be performed for no more than n seconds on each volume.
• /K - Optimize memory on selected volumes.
• /L - Re-optimize selected volumes.
• /M [n] - Perform an operation on each volume in parallel in the background. A maximum of n threads optimize storage tiers in parallel.
• /O - Optimize using the method appropriate for the media type.
• /T - Track an operation that is already in progress on the specified volume.
• /U - Displays the progress of the operation on the screen.
• /V - Display detailed fragmentation statistics.
• /X - Union free space on the specified volumes.

For example, the command for standard defragmentation of drive D via command line will look like defrag D: /D. You should select a letter for the team based on your own needs. After defragmentation is complete, the system will issue a report on the work done.

Disk defragmentation in PowerShell

Performing these routines on a regular basis will help your computer stay as productive as its drive can.

The computer's hard drive is divided into small fragments - clusters. The file saved to the hard drive is divided into parts, each of which is sequentially written to the cluster. Naturally, text files take up little space and use a small number of clusters. Movies in good quality large size located in a huge number of clusters. Deleted files free up previously occupied clusters. The larger the file size, the more difficult it is to find the required number of consecutive clusters, and the computer looks for empty clusters “wherever necessary” - the files become fragmented. If you imagine a hard drive in the form of a library shelf, then the harm of fragmentation becomes clear: in order to issue one book, the librarian will have to collect it piece by piece at different ends of the shelf. Disk defragmentation rearranges files so that their fragments are located next to each other. This increases computer performance. Starting with Windows 8, this procedure is called disk optimization.

In general, Windows itself monitors disk optimization and carries it out regularly. But no one is stopping you from checking the status of your disks and defragmenting them manually.

Changing the automatic defragmentation schedule

If you are not happy with the weekly defragmentation, or you find that defragmentation is not happening automatically, you can change the defragmentation schedule.