Windows 7 disk defragmenter view report

When you erase files, you create holes where the file data was previously stored. It's because of these holes that there is a need to sometimes defragment an HDD. It's best is to erase files you don't need before you defragment. With a larger percentage of free space, the defrag software has more options to find alternative solutions and the more continuous free space will be directly available after the defrag.

The cost of fragmented file accesses is very much lower for an SSD, and the defragmentation process creates a lot of wear on the SSD flash media. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Prior to running a manual defrag, check the schedule within the main Disk Defragmenter window to see whether a defrag has recently been completed. The schedule will display the time and date of the most recent defrag process. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Click on "Analyze Disk" within the main Disk Defragmenter window prior to running a manual defrag. The Analyze Disk process will inform you whether or not your computer needs to be defragmented at that particular time.

If you are using a computer at a workplace or on a public network, you may need an administrator password to run the Windows 7 Disk Defragmenter. Schedule an automatic defrag process to run during times your computer is on, but not in use, such as during your lunch break or near the end of your work day.

Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. You Might Also Like How to. How to. Co-authors: 4. As we can see, the scheduled defragmentation is enabled by default and it will run at AM every Wednesday. We can also modify that schedule. Defragmentation can take a very short time if the fragmenation is small or it can take up to several hours if the disk is big and badly fragmented.

Also, network drives cannot be defragmented. Consequently, hard disk performance suffers. Of course, the answer to this problem is to defragment the hard disk on a regular basis in order to keep all of the related pieces of a file as contiguous as possible.

However, rather than attempting to keep every single piece of a file in one place, as Windows XP's Disk Defragmenter did, Windows 7's Disk Defragmenter uses a new algorithm that analyzes each piece of a fragmented file and determines its size. If a piece is larger than 64MB, then it is left where it is.

In other words, the benefit gained from leaving the 64MB fragment where it is far outweighs the benefit of moving it. For example, moving one 64MB piece closer to the rest of the file's other pieces could potentially involve moving hundreds or thousands of other file pieces in order to make room.

Doing so is a very disk-intensive operation that can cause other problems. Furthermore, Disk Defragmenter will hog system resources, and the system will be less responsive if you happened to need to perform some work while the hard disk was being defragmented. Another thing to consider is what happens to all those pieces that Disk Defragmenter was working on when it gets interrupted? Chances are that the fragmentation could get worse. As such, Windows 7's Disk Defragmenter is designed to recognize that a certain amount of fragmentation is acceptable and that it can finish its job more quickly and more efficiently.

In addition to its more efficient algorithm, Windows 7's Disk Defragmenter has several other new features that are designed to make it more powerful than its predecessors.

Based on user feedback it was found that the UI was too minimal. In Win7 the UI intends to make the defrag operations more transparent and match the task demands of the user.

Analyze and defragment each volume to improve disk performance. Monitor defragmentation progress and state for each volume. In Windows, defrag is scheduled on an entire volume. The type of disks that host a volume have an impact on automatic scheduling of defrag on the volume.