- Apr 25, 2013
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When you start experiencing reduced performance and decreased efficiency while using your Windows 8 laptop, consider it the right time to defragment the hard disk drive, especially the system drive.
Since the files are fragmented before they are saved in the hard disk, due to regular storing and deletion of various data files on the disk, the files are stored in it in scattered form (technically – in non-contiguous clusters). This reduces the reading speed of the headers of the hard drive, which tends to the reduced performance of the overall computer.
When you defragment (a.k.a. defrag) your computer (technically a hard disk drive), Windows places all the fragments of all the files in their corresponding contiguous clusters, hence remarkably improving the system performance.
What is a System Drive?
A system drive in a Windows-based PC is the partition of the hard disk on which the operating system is installed. In most scenarios, since the operating system is installed on C: drive, it becomes the system drive of the computer. On the other hand, if a computer is configured to be a dual-boot machine (computer with two operating systems installed in its hard drive), the corresponding drive on which the currently used operating system is installed becomes the system drive for that OS.
For example, if your computer has Windows 7 and Windows 8 installed on drives C: and D: respectively, the system drive for Windows 7 will be C: (when you boot the computer with Windows 7). Likewise for Windows 8, the system drive will be D: (when you boot the computer with Windows 8).
Here is how you can defragment a Windows 8 laptop:
Note: You must leave the computer alone and must not use it during defragmentation in order get the most out of it.
Since the files are fragmented before they are saved in the hard disk, due to regular storing and deletion of various data files on the disk, the files are stored in it in scattered form (technically – in non-contiguous clusters). This reduces the reading speed of the headers of the hard drive, which tends to the reduced performance of the overall computer.
When you defragment (a.k.a. defrag) your computer (technically a hard disk drive), Windows places all the fragments of all the files in their corresponding contiguous clusters, hence remarkably improving the system performance.
What is a System Drive?
A system drive in a Windows-based PC is the partition of the hard disk on which the operating system is installed. In most scenarios, since the operating system is installed on C: drive, it becomes the system drive of the computer. On the other hand, if a computer is configured to be a dual-boot machine (computer with two operating systems installed in its hard drive), the corresponding drive on which the currently used operating system is installed becomes the system drive for that OS.
For example, if your computer has Windows 7 and Windows 8 installed on drives C: and D: respectively, the system drive for Windows 7 will be C: (when you boot the computer with Windows 7). Likewise for Windows 8, the system drive will be D: (when you boot the computer with Windows 8).
Here is how you can defragment a Windows 8 laptop:
- ■Log on to your Windows 8 laptop with an administrative account and go to the desktop window.
■On the desktop screen, hover mouse to the bottom-right corner.
■From the available options in the Charms bar, click Settings.
■From the Settings pane, click Control Panel.
■On the Control Panel window, choose the Small icons option from the View by drop-down list at the top-right corner.
■Click Administrative Tools from the available options.
■On the next window, from the available tools, double-click Defragment and Optimize Drives.
■Once the Optimize Drives box opens up, click to select the drive that you want to defragment.
■Click the Optimize button to start the defragmentation process for the selected drive.
Note: You must leave the computer alone and must not use it during defragmentation in order get the most out of it.
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