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Information about Microsoft Defrag
Microsoft defrag, or disk
defragmenter, is a software utility designed to help chronologically order the
data on the hard disk drive. The theory behind defrag is to place each program
together instead of scattered throughout the hard disk drive, allowing the
read-write head to access the data faster on the hard disk drive. Windows 98
includes an improved version of defrag that is said to place the most commonly
accessed data at the beginning of the drive, allowing the read-write head a
shorter distance to access the data, making the computer faster. Generally,
unless the hard disk drive is seriously fragmented, you will not notice a
significant difference after defragging the hard disk drive.
MS-DOS DEFRAG
Defrag was first available in
MS-DOS
6.0 and was available ever since. If you are running MS-DOS 6.0+ and would like
to run defrag, follow the below steps.
- If you are in Windows 3.x, click File and
then Exit to get to the MS-DOS prompt.
- From MS-DOS type CD\DOS and press enter.
- From the C:\DOS> type defrag and press
enter which should begin running defrag on the computer.
Finally, some computer manufacturers
have changed the installation directory of where defrag is located if you are
unable to run defrag from DOS directory, go to the WINDOWS directory by typing
CD\WINDOWS.
WINDOWS 3.X DEFRAG
If you are running Windows 3.x and
MS-DOS 6.0 or above, please refer to the
MS-DOS
defrag section for information on how to run
defrag.
WINDOWS 95/98 DEFRAG
Windows 95 improved the functionality
of defrag as did Windows 98; to run defrag from Windows, follow the below steps.
- Click Start
- Click Run and type defrag in the run box
- Click ok
- Within the defrag window, select the
drive that you wish to be checked and click ok.
WINDOWS ME DEFRAG
Just as in Windows 95 and Windows 98,
Windows ME includes the same steps to run defrag.
- Click Start
- Click Run and type defrag in the run box
- Click ok
- Within the defrag window, select the
drive that you wish to be checked and click ok.
WINDOWS NT DEFRAG
Windows NT is not shipped with
Microsoft defrag. However, various third-party companies offer utilities that
can defrag and check your hard disk drive for you.
Symantec, a well respected computer
company, offers such a program.
WINDOWS 2000 / XP DEFRAG
Keep in mind that Windows 2000 and XP
are network operating systems, and that if you are a user using Windows 2000 or
XP on a network, your network administrator may have restricted users from
running defrag or from having any direct disk access. To run defrag, we
recommend you follow the below steps.
- Double-click My Computer
- Highlight a local hard disk drive by
clicking on it once.
- Right click the highlighted local drive
- Click properties
Click the tools tab and
click the defragment now button.
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