Defragmentation utility
Defragmentation utility
When you save a file or program on your hard disk or other storage device, it is tempting to think that it is all saved together.
Unfortunately, that is not usually the case. When you save a file, the operating system looks at what space it has free on the hard drive and then breaks up the file into chunks. It then stores these chunks all over the hard disk, in whatever spaces are available. As long as the operating keeps track of where these chunks are, it isn't usually a problem because of the speed the CPU works at. Over time, however, if too many files are spread over a disk, it will start to take a long time to read those files back. The hard drive is a mechanical device that has moving parts. These moving parts have to move to collect each chunk of a file when you want to open it so that it can rebuild the file.The operating system has a defragmentation utility program that will reorganise these chunks so that they are next to each other or as close to each other as possible on the storage device. This will make it faster to get back files and also free up bigger spaces for files you save in the future.