One problem with mechanical hard drives is file fragmentation with use. This is something that is aggravated in the case of Windows by the way its file system works, and that makes our PC slower with each passing day. We present you 7 applications to defragment a hard drive more efficiently than with the Windows defragmenter.
Why defragment your hard drive?
The fragmentation of the data on the hard disk is something that can slow down our PC a lot. A very fragmented hard disk makes the read and write head have to move a lot to find the data, this means that the PC works much slower because it has to wait to receive the data from the hard disk.
It also means more work for the mechanical components of the hard disk, causing them to wear out faster, and increasing the chances of suffering a serious breakdown that causes us to lose all our stored files. This is why it is very important to defragment your hard drive regularly.
Something very important to note is that SSDs should not be defragmented . These lack mechanical parts, so data fragmentation does not affect their performance. Also, defragmenting an SSD increases it will write a large amount of data to the drive, reducing its useful life for nothing, since we will not be gaining performance with the process.
That is why it is very important that you understand that defragmentation should only be done with mechanical hard drives or HDDs , never in the case of SSDs. Once we have this clear, we can continue with the 7 most interesting applications to defragment a hard drive efficiently.
Defraggler
Defraggler is one of the most popular hard drive defragmenters . It is a small free tool from Piriform that can do a lot to improve the functioning of our PC.
Its interface is very simple and intuitive, showing all the data in a graphical way so that it is as easy to understand as possible. An advantage of this application is that it allows you to defragment the entire hard drive at once, or choose specific files to finish earlier. It has more complete paid versions.
Disk Speedup
We continue with Disk Speedup, another great tool to defragment our hard drive and make everything go faster. This program is one of the most complete that exists , so it is an option highly appreciated by the most experienced.
Disk Speedup will take care of regrouping all the data in your files contiguously on the hard disk to eliminate fragmentation, as well as checking that everything has been written correctly to avoid reading problems after defragmentation.
It includes a tool called Disk Doctor that will analyze the hard disk to find possible errors and fix them automatically.
MyDefrag
The important thing in a hard disk defragmentation program is not the look, but that it works correctly and does the best job possible. MyDefrag does not stand out for its visual appearance, but for the latter.
It is a very light application that is complete and functional at the same time . This tool is based on the use of scripts to defragment the hard disk, being somewhat more complex to use, but at the same time it allows for better performance and is more customizable.
Its characteristics make it ideal for users with somewhat more advanced knowledge , although if you are a beginner and want to learn, go ahead, you will not regret it.
Auslogics Disk Defrag
Auslogics Disk Defrag is committed to a very simple and very graphical interface when displaying the information. An analysis will be enough to know the state of fragmentation of your hard drive and thus proceed with its defragmentation.
The program will warn you if the hard drive needs to be defragmented or not, nobody can deny that it makes it very simple. If you proceed with the defragmentation, the file system of your hard drive will be optimized to allow a much faster reading and writing of the data.
It also offers a lot of information about the status of hard drives .
UltraDefrag
UltraDefrag is hard drive defragmentation software designed for beginners . This makes it extremely easy to use.
It has a free version with all the basic functions of a hard disk defragmenter, in addition to several paid versions for the most demanding users. Its paid versions allow you to automate the defragmentation process , so you don't have to waste time checking the status of your hard drive.
You can also use it portable , something ideal to defragment several computers without having to install it on each of them.
O&O Defrag
O&O Defrag is a paid hard disk defragmenter, although it has a free version that is quite complete.
If you decide to purchase its paid version, you will have access to many advanced functions that are not available in free defragmenters. Among the most important we can mention the backup of the files that are being defragmented to avoid problems , search and verify errors in the unit, and dynamic clusters that show the status of the defragmentation.
A very interesting function that it includes is the possibility to make the application start working automatically when the screen saver is displayed , so you won't have to worry about manually defragmenting.
Diskeeper
Diskeeper is another paid defragmenter with very advanced features. It has a RAM caching technology that guarantees the best performance on mechanical hard drives.
Its defragmentation algorithm is one of the most advanced on the market , making all the data stored on your hard drive remain much more contiguous, which translates into shorter access times and higher sequential speeds.
Another very cool feature of Diskeeper is that it checks the performance of the Windows system , and optimizes it to run as fast as possible with its advanced RAM cache technology.