Fragmentation on 7200RPM HDD

[moveit124]

I have been having random delays on my PC when transferring large amounts of data (installing or downloading files). So I have been assuming my drive was going bad as its basically been running 24/7 for the last 2-3 years. I ran a fragment analyzation of the drive and it returned saying that it was 32% fragmented. Could this be causing all my issues? How much of a deal is fragmentation now-a-days? Will defragmenting increase performance at all?

 

[leo2kp]

Fragmentation is still an issue on mechanical disks. I would defragment.

 

[Chugalug_]

Defragmenting would greatly increase performance in your case, 32% is a large percentage of your drive! 😱
Just run the standard windows 'Defragmentation' process and let it run for a few hours, times depend on how big your drive is, and how bad the fragmentation is.

 

[moveit124]

Honestly I have had no luck with the windows defragmentation program. Windows defrag doesnt work on the main drive while the PC is running, and it wont run a boot-time defrag either. But I seem to be having luck with this application - UltimateDefrag.

 

[MeepsterNotchy]

Honestly I have had no luck with the windows defragmentation program. Windows defrag doesnt work on the main drive while the PC is running, and it wont run a boot-time defrag either. But I seem to be having luck with this application - UltimateDefrag.

Personally I use Smart Defrag 5, it's quick and efficient.
Link removed by Moderator.

 

[Chugalug_]

Some people in the past have mentioned Smart Defrag 5 actually being the source of a corrupted HDD.
I don't know if this is true or not, but I'd try to stick to a more reputable defrag program such as AusLogics defrag, which has a very good history, and has been used by people for years!