by Jade Stephen

Created on: May 02, 2008

You have the most up to date virus scanner, more ram than your operating system can recognize. Your system practically starts the second you push the "power button" and all your temporary files and caches have been resized just right. Everything is perfect, so why does your computer shoot smoke from its vents and sound like a jumbo jet every time you open a Microsoft office file?

A computer can be in great shape and still have some problems loading files. This is because files written to the hard drive are not always stored in one place. When you first write your operating system most of the files are written into a large block with very little gaps and free space between them. As you install new files some may be placed in different spaces on your hard drive leaving gaps. The problem with this is that when Windows attempts to write other files to the disk it may not be able to find a space large enough to fit the whole file. When this happens, Windows will write the file into large chucks on your system. The next time Windows will be delayed as it tries to open that file which is scattered all over your hard drive (fragmented).

There are a few options for defragmenting your files depending on your operating system. In both Windows XP and Vista, a quick and easy tool can assist you in analyzing your system and finding out if it needs to be defragmented.

Launch the command prompt. In Vista type CMD into the search and press enter. In XP press start, then run, type CMD. From here you can analyze your hard disk by typing "defrag c: -a". The system will tell you the current fragmentation of the system, and if it needs to be fragmented. Once you decide your system needs to be defragmented you can also use this tool from the command line. In both Vista and XP simply type "Defrag -V" and watch as your system becomes defragmented.

Windows XP and Vista have built in utilities stored under system tools that can analyze and defragment your system. In XP there is a easy to use visualization and progress bar with an "analyze" and "defragment" button. In Vista the tool has been greatly altered, allowing a scheduled defragmentation, and a button that says "defragment now". The Vista version of the defrag tool has no visual effects, and no status bar. Also, if you move your mouse it automatically shuts off without notification to the user.

For those who were a fan of Windows XP's defrag utility but now have Vista, there is a remedy. Some third party software companies are now stepping up to the plate building software that defragments your system in place of the Windows utility. The current highest rated and download software is Auslogics Disk Defrag. This system can be easily downloaded, and is completely free. The layout looks a lot like the Windows XP utility, however, it operates much faster.

Learn more about this author, Jade Stephen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.