About MAPP

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Disk Defragmenter

When to Use It

How to Use It

When:
As you save information to your hard disk, whether it be word processing files or new software, it becomes fragmented. In other words, parts of files that belong together are stored on different parts of your hard disk. Although this does not prevent your computer from working properly, it does waste space and reduce the overall performance of your computer. Disk Defragmenter reorganizes your files so that it is easier for your operating system to find the files that it needs when it needs them. Therefore it is a good idea to run defrag periodically. You should run the defragmenter at least once every other month. Depending on the frequency of your computer use, you may wish to run defrag more frequently, especially if you have been installing and uninstalling software.
Please note that Windows NT does NOT come with Disk Defragmenter

How:
To run Disk Defragmenter:

Left click on your Start button.
Go to Programs, Accessories, System Tools and click on Disk Defragmenter
A dialog box will appear asking “Which drive do you want to defragment?” The default setting should be “C” drive. Click “OK.” If the default is not “C,” change it to “C” and click “OK.”
Another dialog box may appear saying “Your drive is x% fragmented” (where x is a number) “You don’t need to defragment this drive right now.” Go ahead and click “Start” anyway. Even if your drive is only 1 percent fragmented, it is a good idea clean it up.
It will take a couple of minutes for the job to finish, maybe as long as a half hour if Defrag hasn't been run in a while. While it is working Defragmenter displays a dialog box that shows how much of the job is complete. The box also has a “Show Details” button which you may click to watch what the Defragmenter is doing.
When the job is done, a box will appear saying “Defragmentation of drive C is complete. Do you want to quit Disk Defragmenter?” Click “Yes”

For Further Assistance Call:

Joe Huggins
Coordinator of Technology
Colorado AHEC/MAPP
Phone: (303) 724-1131
Email: joe.huggins@uchsc.edu
Fax: (303) 724-0891

Send suggestions/comments about this site to:
Ellie.Greenberg@uchsc.edu