DEFRAGMENTATION:  

Why does my machine seem to be running slower than before?

Your computer needs a tune up every once in a while to run at its optimum much like tuning up an automobile.  However, a computer tune up is much less expensive and time consuming than one for you car.  The 2 most important things you can do to keep you machine running at its optimum are to run SCANDISK and DEFRAG on a regular basis.

Defrag
Defrag or Defragmentation is the process of rewriting parts of a file to contiguous sectors on a hard disk to increase the speed of access and retrieval.  Just as an oil change is probably the single most import, simplest and inexpensive maintenance for you vehicle providing the greatest return......so is DEFRAG for your computer.  When files are updated, the computer tends to save these updates on the largest continuous space on the hard disk, which is often on a different sector than the other parts of the file.  When files are thus "fragmented", the computer must search the hard disk each time the file is accessed to find all of the file's parts, which greatly slows down response time.  Later versions of DOS, Windows 95 and Windows 98 include Defragmentation utilities as part of the operating system. Defragmentation or defragging on a regular basis can greatly improve the performance of the computer.

The instructions below are for Windows 98.  Click HERE to see how to launch DEFRAG from newer Operating Systems.

1.  Click the START Button.

2.  Click RUN.

3.  Type DEFRAG.



4.  Defrag will default to just your C:\ drive however you can select any drive or all drives to be Defragged.  

5.  Click OK.

6.  Depending how frequently you run DEFRAG will determine how long it takes to finish.  The rule of thumb is "the more the merrier".  So you should run DEFRAG probably at least once a week.  Lunch time is a good time to run it or anytime that you are not using your computer for an extended period of time.

To launch DEFRAG in Windows 2000, XP or 2003:

1.  Click Start
2.  Click Programs
3.  Click Accessories
4.  Click System Tools
5.  Click Disk Defragmenter
6.  Highlight the drive you want to DEFRAG.  Note: DEFRAG will default to the C:\ drive automatically.
7.  Click the DEFRAGMENT button.

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