One of the easiest and most affordable ways to improve the performance of a personal computer is to optimize the hard drive. Such a procedure allows you to rationally distribute all available data on the hard drive and thereby increase its performance, as well as the speed of work.
Such prevention is completely useless for new hard drives, but the older the drive, the higher the likelihood of its incorrect operation. Especially when it comes to "workaholic", which is operated around the clock without rest.
The need for a procedure
When working with a PC, the hard drive has no less load than the same processor or video card. Files are constantly overwritten on the same sectors, and sometimes one part of the data is located in a completely different place from the bulk.
This makes it difficult to find the necessary information, and at the same time increases the launch time of programs and applications. In this case, the optimization (defragmentation) of hard drives just helps. Of course, such problems do not appear immediately, but only after some time. But advanced users always notice when computer performance drops. And the fault, as a rule, is precisely the non-optimized drive.
Optimization of the hard disk, it is also defragmentation, is a process in which individual parts of files are redistributed each in its place. That is, simply put, here we have the likeness of a bookshelf, where detectives are in their place, and fiction is in their place, and the reader can always, and most importantly - quickly, find the book he needs.
Windows hard drive optimization
The operating system "Windows" provides regular means to perform this procedure. Experts and advanced users respond to them not very and flattering, because the effectiveness of checking and optimizing hard drives is not implemented in the best way. Nevertheless, the result is still felt, albeit not as obvious as from more sensible third-party utilities. We will talk about the latter a little later.
So, what is the procedure for optimizing the hard drive in Windows 7, 8? The process looks as follows:
- Open the Start menu.
- In the search bar, type the word "defragmentation."
- Click on the first dropdown utility.
- In the program window, select "Analysis" or immediately "Defragment".
- We agree to the procedure and wait for its completion.
- Upon completion, the program will provide a report on the work performed.
There is nothing complicated here, even a beginner will understand the process. The procedure for optimizing the hard drive in Windows 10 is exactly the same, with the only difference being that the search button is already on the taskbar and the local process is called not defragmentation, but optimization.
But as mentioned above, regular tools have only basic functionality and do not work so efficiently. As a panacea, it is better to consider third-party programs for optimizing the hard drive in Windows 10, 8 and the younger "seven". But here, the choice of software must be approached with great care, because not every utility is equally useful, and some may even harm your computer.
We will consider the most sensible programs for optimizing the hard drive in Windows 10, 8 and 7. All of them distinguished themselves primarily by their efficiency, and only then by their convenience and other utilities.
Defraggler
This is the brainchild of the famous developers of Piriform. Many probably know him for their extremely efficient CCleaner disk cleanup utility. The program for optimizing the hard drive Defraggler turned out no worse and also boasts productive work.
In the process of defragmentation, the user can access detailed statistics that show all the tracks and sectors of the drive, as well as other information. All data can be presented both in the form of bare numbers, and more understandable for the analysis of graphs.
The first optimization of the hard drive will take considerable time, but subsequent regular defragmentation is much faster. It is also worth noting that the program’s functionality provides for automatic maintenance of the system according to the specified parameters: the indicated time, reaching a certain threshold for the volume of the hard drive, connecting new drives, etc.
Utility Features
In addition, this software for optimizing hard drives can be recommended to beginners. The utility interface is simple, convenient and intuitive. Even if you have any questions about the functionality, you can turn on the assistant wizard in the menu, which will guide you through all the hot spots in the application.
The product is distributed under a free license, its capabilities are quite enough to serve an ordinary PC. If you have more than three hard disks or several computers at your disposal, it makes sense to purchase an extended Pro-version. It will facilitate conveyor tasks and provide more detailed reports for each drive.
PerfectDisk Professional
This is a fairly popular program in professional circles, which not only performs routine optimization of your PC, but also properly manages partitions and RAID volumes, as well as network drives. All procedures will only benefit your computer, and after finishing work you will immediately feel the increase in productivity. Especially when it comes to old and hackneyed hard drives.
The utility interface is easy to learn, to get started, you just need to select the necessary hard drive and start the optimization process. For greater convenience, profiles are set up, where for each task you can configure your own list of processes and start them with a single click.
Program features
It is also worth noting the presence of an intelligent assistant machine that sleeps in the tray and, if necessary, starts a scan or selective defragmentation.
The product is distributed under a paid license, but it is not so expensive (about 100 rubles). If you have only one hard drive, then it makes sense to install a trial unlimited version. The functionality here is not limited, but only one hard drive is available for optimization.
PageDefrag
One of the remarkable features of the program is the ability to defragment directly while working with files. That is, the process runs in the background and it is not necessary to interrupt the current tasks for optimization.
On weak computers, such a “trick” can significantly degrade performance during the procedure, but on more or less powerful PCs, everything goes unnoticed. And at the end of the process, the operating system will start to work faster.
The utility is distinguished by a very simple interface and intuitive functionality. All that is required of the user is to select a disk for optimization and click on the "Start" button. After that, the program will be minimized to tray and you can go about your business without worrying about the progress of defragmentation. Upon completion, a detailed report on the work done and the percentage increase in the speed of the hard drive in a comparative ratio (before and after optimization) will appear on the desktop.
Distinctive features of software
Among the critical shortcomings, users note the lack of Russian-language localization. But as mentioned above, the whole process is intuitive, you can figure it out even without a dictionary. Of course, if foreign letters make you tremble, you can always find amateur crackers on thematic forums. In this case, the presence of the great and mighty is guaranteed to you, but here is the stable operation of the utility, alas, no.
The product is distributed freely, on an “as is” basis. That is, the developer does not bear any responsibility for any damage or unstable operation of the operating system when using its software. But the utility has a lot of praise from professionals, so that you can safely take it into service.
IObit SmartDefrag
The product is from the venerable and well-established professional community of the IObit developer. The latter is engaged in the release of programs for servicing PCs of any form factor and for almost all operating systems. Moreover, it optimizes the code as it should and not for show, so there are no problems with working on popular platforms and on Windows, in particular.
The utility was distinguished by a large number of sensible scripts that allow defragmentation to be performed as soon as possible. It is also worth noting the presence of three full-fledged modes to improve the hard drive - simple, deep and with optimization.
The first affects only the surface sectors and only partially improves the performance of the hard drive, but it is the fastest and most undemanding. Deep defragmentation puts everything on the shelves, but takes noticeably more time. The latter mode also includes working with the registry and other system files and provides maximum return.
The program interface is simple and straightforward, and also has competent localization into Russian. Judging by the reviews, even beginners in this matter do not have any problems with starting work, not to mention more advanced users.
Program features
As a fly in the ointment here is a demand for system resources. The program is voracious - for normal, as well as fast work, it requires at least 4 GB of RAM and a mid-range processor. Otherwise, optimization of the hard disk may take a long time.
The developer has provided two modifications of the utility - professional and amateur. The first with the prefix Pro is distributed under a paid license and is useful to those with more than two hard drives. The free version is enough for ordinary users with one or two hard drives.
Some complain about the abundance of advertising in a freely distributed modification, but it is not so annoying, because here it is enough to press the start button and send the utility to the tray and not pay any attention to it. But if you still get blocks and banners, then you can use applications such as Adguard, which block such spam. Well, or buy an extended version, where advertising does not even smell.
Summarizing
To optimize the hard disk, you can select any of the above programs. They are all quite effective and will greatly speed up your hard drive. Especially if you have not previously performed such optimization procedures.
It will also be useful to note that defragmentation is needed only for HDDs of the HDD class, but not at all a high-speed SSD. The last such procedure can only harm and reduce their service life. So you need to approach this matter wisely and not “optimize” everything that comes to hand.