When programs and files are saved to your hard drive they are saved in any space that is free. Individual files can be split up into many pieces and saved all over the hard drive. The only problem with this is that it takes a little longer to open files or start a program when it has to gather all the pieces. Windows XP has a program called Disk Defragmenter that reorganizes everything on the hard drive so that the files and programs are no longer broken apart, or fragmented. We recommend that you run this program about once a month or as your PC seems sluggish. To run the program follow these steps:
- Click on Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter
- Select the drive you want to have defragmented
- Click on the Settings button and select the options you want disk defragmenter to perform
- Click OK
Windows Vista does have a Disk Defragmenter program, but it runs automatically, in the background, so there is typically very little need to manually run it.
