What is disk defragmentation?
Imagine you have important papers randomly scattered all over your desk. In order to find something, you have to go through the entire pile each time. If you took the time to organize them into files, you could quickly and easily find what you’re looking for. Computers tend to save changes to a file to the largest continuous space on the hard disk, which can often be in a different place than where other parts of the file are stored. Over time, your hard disk can become “fragmented,” which means that your files are scattered in pieces across your hard disk. Every time you go to access a file, your computer must search the entire hard disk to find all the pieces related to that file. Excessive fragmentation slows down your computer’s response time, so it’s a good idea to defragment your hard disk regularly.
