Process

Defragmenting a file is the process of making all the file's sectors contiguous. Special software is needed to defragment files.

Significance

The more fragmented a file is, the longer it takes for the computer to read it. Hard drives have several speed ratings that include seek time and rotational delay. Fragmentation increases seek time as the disk needs to find each fragment of the file.

Features

Windows distributes defragmentation software as part of the operating system. This tool analyzes the computer hard drive and reports the amount of fragmentation. The tool also recommends actions to take based on the percent of fragmentation.

Function

Defragmentation software must find or create large blocks of contiguous memory to which to move file fragments. Some areas of the hard drive contain files that can not be moved without risking their integrity.

Considerations

Defragmenting an entire hard drive can take hours depending on how many files are stored there. Most defragmentation software will not recommend defragmenting the drive unless 25 percent or more of the files are fragmented.

Fun Fact

There is a master list of files that are on the hard drive, this is known as the FAT table. FAT stands for File Allocation Table and is one of the areas that can not be defragmented.