Defragment a Windows XP Computer

If your computer has started running slowly, it may be time to defragment the hard drive. Fragmentation can slow down your computer and take up your free space. Follow this guide to get your Windows XP hard drive defragmented.

Steps

Understanding Defragmentation

  1. Know why a hard drive gets fragmented. When a hard drive is freshly formatted, the system files are located at the beginning of the drive, and the rest is a large block of free space. This space is optimally filled as new data is added to the drive. As files are altered, deleted, and moved around the hard drive, pieces of data and small blocks of free space get left behind.
  2. Learn how fragmentation affects performance. As the amount of fragments increase in the drive, performance starts to deteriorate. The drive will take longer to find files, and free space on the drive will be misreported.
  3. Know how to prevent fragmentation. Many modern file systems are built to limit the amount of fragmentation that occurs. If you notice your system starting to slow down, defragmentation could increase your hard drive’s read speed.
    • Solid state drives (flash memory) do not require defragmentation, as there is no mechanical read mechanism. Defragmenting a solid state drive will actually cause it to fail sooner, because data can only be written a certain number of times.

Defragment in Windows XP

  1. Open the Disk Defragmenter utility. You can find this by clicking the Start menu, selecting All Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools. Select Disk Defragmenter from the list. You will need to have administrator access to run the Disk Defragment utility.
    • You can also open the Disk Defragmenter utility by clicking Start then Search. Type “disk defragmenter” into the field and click Search.
  2. Select your drive. There will be a list of drives that are attached to your computer. Select the drive that you would like to defragment. This is typically the C: or D: drive. Click the Analyze button to see if the drive needs to be defragmented.
    • You can compare the graphs below the list of drives to see how defragmenting the drive will affect its space allocation. If you see a lot of red lines, that means you have a significant amount of file fragmentation.
    • You must have at least 15% free space in order to defragment the drive. This is because files will be moved around in order to optimize the drive, and the system needs a place to temporarily put files that are being reorganized.
  3. Defragment the drive. Select the drive and click Defragment. Confirm that you wish to start the process in the pop-up window. After the process is complete, you will receive a report in a new window. This report will tell you which files were moved, and which couldn’t be moved, as well as your new free space readings.
    • Avoid using your computer during the disk defragmentation process. If you alter any files, the defragmenter may have to start over.
    • You can watch the process by following the status bar at the bottom of the window. This will show you how far the process is, as well as what is currently being moved. The “after defragmentation” graph will adjust during the process as well.

Defragment in the Command Line

  1. Open the command line. Click the Start menu and Select Run. In the new window, type “cmd” into the field and press Enter. This will open the command line interface.
  2. Analyze the drive. To see if a drive needs to be defragmented, enter the following command into the command line. Replace the “C” for whichever drive you would like to analyze:

    defrag C: /a
  3. Defragment the drive. To start the defragmentation process, enter the following command into the command line. Replace the “C”: for whichever drive you would like to defragment:

    defrag C:
    • You can force the defragmentation by adding the parameter /f to the end of the defrag command.

    • As the defrag process is working, the system will display a blinking cursor. After the process is complete, a report will be displayed. You can write the report to a text file by starting the defrag process with the following command:

      defrag C: /v >filename.txt..
    • You can interrupt the defrag process by hitting Ctrl+C.



Warnings

  • Do not defragment solid state drives. It will negatively affect their lifespan.
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