Simple Computer Tune-up: Speed Up Your PC- P17 doc

Figure 6-25: Accessing Disk Defragmenter Figure 6-26: Analyze the hard drive 3. During the analysis you should see a depiction of the hard drive’s estimated fragmentation status, such as Figure 6-27 shows. 62 Part II • Optimizing Your PC 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 62 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Figure 6-27: Estimated fragmentation status You can refer to the color codes on the program and the following descriptions of the codes to better understand the status: • Red This means most of the clusters are part of a frag- mented file. • Blue This means most of the clusters are contiguous files with clusters in the group that contain only free space and contiguous clusters. • Green This means most of the clusters are part of a file that cannot be moved from its current location. • White This means most of the clusters are free space and contiguous clusters. 4. At the end of the analysis, a pop-up message will appear, as Figure 6-28 shows. This lets you know it has completed and if you should continue with the defragmentation. Figure 6-28 shows an example of when a defragmentation is not recommended. Chapter 6: Other Ways to Optimize Your PC 63 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 63 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Figure 6-28: Example of a pop-up status message From this point you can do one of the following: • View a report for more details about your current fragmentation status You can simply click the View Report button, as shown in Figure 6-29. Figure 6-29: Accessing the fragmentation report You will then see the Analysis Report window, such as shown in Figure 6-30, which shows detailed information about the hard drive (or volume) that was scanned. Figure 6-30: Example of a fragmentation report 64 Part II • Optimizing Your PC 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 64 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. You can get a good indicator of the hard drive (or volume) fragmentation state by referring to your average number of fragments per file. As Figure 6-31 shows, this piece of information is located in the Volume Information list. Figure 6-31: Example of average number of fragments per file You can then compare your number to the following aver- age number of fragments per file ranges, which gives you an idea of how bad your fragmentation is at the time: • 1.00 Most or all files are contiguous. • 1.10 About 10% of the files are in fragments of two or more pieces. • 1.20 About 20% of the files are in fragments of two or more pieces. • 1.30 About 30% of the files are in fragments of two or more pieces. • 2.00 Most or all of the files are in fragments of two or more pieces. Chapter 6: Other Ways to Optimize Your PC 65 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 65 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. • Continue with the defragmentation Simply click the Defragment button, as Figure 6-32 shows, to begin the defragmentation, and then continue with Step 3 on the next set of steps. Figure 6-32: Starting the defragmentation • Close the window To close the pop-up window, for example if it recommends not performing a defragmentation, you can click Close, as seen in Figure 6-33. Figure 6-33: Closing the pop-up status message Here is how to defragment your hard drive using Windows XP: 1. Open Disk Defragmenter, which can be accessed by brows- ing to the following path on your Start menu: • Start • Programs (or All Programs) • Accessories • System Tools Then click Disk Defragmenter, as shown in Figure 6-34. 2. Click Defragment, as shown in Figure 6-35. The amount of time that defragmentation takes, which can take up to several hours, depends on several factors includ- ing the following: • Amount of fragmentation • Size of the hard drive 66 Part II • Optimizing Your PC 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 66 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. . Ways to Optimize Your PC 63 11_068557 ch06.qxp 12/13/06 6:13 PM Page 63 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Figure 6-28: Example of a pop -up status message From. of fragments per file You can then compare your number to the following aver- age number of fragments per file ranges, which gives you an idea of how bad your fragmentation is at the time: • 1.00 Most. window To close the pop -up window, for example if it recommends not performing a defragmentation, you can click Close, as seen in Figure 6-33. Figure 6-33: Closing the pop -up status message Here