1. Use the built-in defragmenter in Windows: Windows includes a built-in Disk Defragmenter program that can be used to help defragment your hard drive. To access it, open My Computer, right-click the drive you want to defragment, and then select Properties. Under the Tools tab, click “Defragment Now.”
2. Use a third-party defragmenter: There are several third-party disk defragmenters available, including Piriform’s Defraggler and Auslogics Disk Defrag. These utilities offer additional functionality, such as the ability to set up automatic defragmentation plans and view fragmentation levels for individual files.
3. Set up Windows defragmenter to run automatically: To get the most out of defragmenting, it’s best to set up Windows’ Disk Defragmenter to run on a regular basis. To do this, open the Disk Defragmenter program (via My Computer), click the Configure Schedule button, and then follow the onscreen instructions.
4. Run CHKDSK: Fragmentation isn’t the only issue that can slow down your computer. Corrupt or outdated files can also affect performance. To check your hard drive for errors, open an elevated command prompt window, type CHKDSK, and then press Enter.