Number 200 - January 2000

Computer Maintenance, Part 2 - Defragging Demystified
by Jennifer Fulton, Computer Coach at iVillage
When it comes to file management, Windows is not particularly neat. The simple truth is, you would never hire Windows to clean your house, no matter how dirty it is and how busy you are--because if you did, Windows would not simply vacuum your carpets and get rid of the dirt. Instead, it would vacuum the carpets and then spread the dirt under them in case you might need it again at some later time. Then it would gather all your personal items, and organize them by tearing them into tiny bits and spreading them randomly around your house.     After about a month of using the computer every day, you should run a utility called Defrag (short for Defragmenter).     To be honest, the fault of this lousy housekeeping is not Windows, but DOS, which is the underlying file manager for any Windows 95 or Windows 98 computer. But as someone once said, 'A difference that makes no difference is no difference.' (Who was he? I dunno--doesn't make a difference.) In other words, it doesn't really matter who's to blame--all you need to know is that when it comes time for Windows to save (or resave) a file, it simply breaks it into tiny pieces and saves them wherever there seems to be some room on the hard disk. Later on, when it comes time for some program to retrieve that file, Windows has to scan the disk for all the pieces, then reassemble it. This process, quite understandably, takes a lot of time, especially if you've been using your computer for a while, creating and deleting a lot of files along the way.     So, after about a month of using the computer every day, you should run a utility called Defrag (short for Defragmenter) to reorganize your files into consecutive spaces on the hard disk, making it easier and faster for your computer to retrieve them when needed. Defragmenting a Disk     When you defrag a hard disk using Windows 95 and Windows 98, you can keep on working if you like, which is a good thing, since the process can take a while (several hours at a minimum, depending on the size of your hard disk and the amount of data on it.) However, even though you can keep working that doesn't mean you will want to. I usually start Defrag in the evening, when I'm done with the computer for the night. The reason is that Defrag slows the computer down and even starts completely over if I forget what I'm doing and try to save a file, and I just don't like working that way.	We Interrupt the Regularly Scheduled Instructions to Present a Reminder to All Windows 98 Users     As you learned last month, Windows 98 includes a utility called the Maintenance Wizard that can be used to schedule boring but otherwise necessary tasks such as Defrag. Be sure to check it out!     We Now Return You to the Regularly Scheduled Instructions     First, do yourself a favor and clear off as many old, unneeded files as you can before you start Defrag. That will save Defrag the silly task of reorganizing files you don't need, while giving it some elbow room to work. (You should have at least 10 percent of your hard drive space free before you attempt Defrag.)     Now, ready to begin? To start Defrag, choose Start/Programs/Accessories/SystemTools/Disk Defragmenter. Select the drive you want to defrag and click OK.     Defrag scans your hard disk and presents you with what it feels is the best way to reorganize it. If Defrag says that your hard disk is pretty well organized already, then choose Exit and skip on out of there. If it looks like your hard disk is about as organized as the average teenager's closet, then click Start to begin. (In its latest reincarnation under Windows 98, Disk Defragmenter will just start when you click OK, so you don't need to click Start to actually begin.)     At any time, you can click Stop to stop the defrag process. It won't stop immediately; it will finish the few blocks or so it was swapping on the drive, and then inform you it's stopped. You won't harm your files, but the disk may still be rather unorganized. You can also click Pause at any time to pause the defrag process temporarily. In any case, once Defrag is done, you see a message telling you basically, 'Defragmentation complete, you can go back to work now.' If you'd rather finish your magazine then go back to work, click No, select the hard disk, and click OK. Otherwise, just click Yes, and you forget about defragging for another month.     Next Month: Using ScanDisk
Number 200 - January 2000