Defragmentation How To: Best Tools To Speed Up Your Hard Disk

Is your hard disk starting to slow down? Are videos and large files not loading up like they used to? The culprit here is probably file system fragmentation, also known as file system ageing, which simply means that files on the file system are scattered and the system has to do more work in order to access the files. Because of this phenomenon, users have to perform defragmentation in order to speed up their hard drives again and generally keep them nice and healthy.

Let’s face it, the built-in disk defragmenting tool in Windows is not that good. Even though some users might be happy with using it, it does not have some advanced features like single file/folder defragmentation or idle-system defragmentation and is basically not that fast. The best tools available today can defragment your hard drive regularly or on demand when your games experience slow downs or if users are facing troubles in loading up large files.

However, there are so many defragmentation tools available that choosing among them can be a tedious task, and that is why we are here to help you out. In this “Defragmentation How To“, we’ll introduce four of the best, free defragmentation programs to speed up your hard disk.

Defragmentation How To: Defraggler

Defraggler (listed on our Best Windows Software page) is a free defragmentation program that gives you some options that are not usually not available. The program gives you the choice to either defragment your entire hard drive, or just perform the defragmentation operations on specific files or folders, which is great for users who have specific folders for larger files such as games or high-definition videos. In addition, the program has a quick defrag feature, which allows users to speed up their hard disks much faster without having to go through the required full scan and defrag in the full process.

One of the best features you get it portability, which means that users can run the application from a thumb drive or portable hard drive if they need to work on multiple PCs. The application also allows users to schedule defrag sessions to defragment your drive at regular intervals, and the program can even clean up free space on the drive.

Defragmentation How To: MyDefrag

MyDefrag is sort of a mixed basket of goodies. This free defragmentation program is simple enough to use for the typical user who just wants to defragment their drive and the program does all the work, but, under its easy exterior, the application also offers multiple advanced scripts and a scripting engine that gives the users access to much more advanced features. It also offers a command-line interface and a screensaver that runs while the program works its magic on your hard drive.

Naturally, such a complex tool comes with its downsides, which in this case is speed – MyDefrag is a little slow compared to the competition, but it is for the better, because your drive will be much faster after the program has done its work.

Defragmentation How To: Auslogics Disk Defrag

Auslogics Disk Degfrag is ahead of the competition due to some advanced features that take matters above and beyond simple defragmentation. This free defragmentation program provides the users with options to optimize their file system for faster file reads and writes and generates a list of fragmented files rather than giving users a simple figure or a vague report on their hard disk’s fragmentation status or fragmentation rate. The program will even give the users options to defragment single files and folders in case they’re having some trouble with a particular file or application, and it also offers the usual defragmentation scheduling that allows users to defrag their systems at certain times or when their PCs are in an idle state.

Defragmentation How To: Smart Defrag

Smart Defrag is a free defragmentation program and jack of almost all trades with one great feature – speed! It is one of the fastest defragmenting tools available today. Going past its blazing speed, the application also supports boot-time defragmentation, so that the hard disk is optimized as soon as users turn on their your computers. It also allows users to schedule sessions for defragmentation at idle times or when users are not using their computers. Users also have the option to leave the software running in the background so that it can defrag your hard drive as they do their work. The program also has the option to defragment the hard drive and optimize the file system for speeding up daily activities, however, this option takes a bit more time than the usual defragmentation time for the software.

Conclusion

All these free defragmentation program are great for speeding up your hard drives and are simply the best defragmentation tools available anywhere, however, the ultimate choice is yours. So, test the tools out and choose the one that fits your needs. My personal recommendation would be Smart Defrag or Defraggler.

Have you ever used defragmentation to speed up your hard drives? Did any of these tools listed in this “Defragmentation How To” help you speed up your hard disk? Please give us your feedback and comments in the section below.