Defragmentation of the hard disk (hard drive) will group all the used segments on the disk into one. This makes the hard drive more efficient because it spins less to get to different parts of the data. In Windows 8, defragmentation is called optimization, and is done using the Optimize Drives utility application. This article discusses how to defragment, or optimize, your hard drive in Windows 8.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Opening the Optimize Drives App
Step 1. Open Search
Press Windows key + S to open Search.
Step 2. In the Search field, type defragment, then press Enter
Step 3. Click on Defragment and optimize your drives
- The Optimize Drives application opens.
- You can also access the Optimize Drives application by going to Computer, selecting your hard drive by clicking on it, and then clicking the Optimize button.
Method 2 of 3: Optimizing Discs
Step 1. Analyze the disc
Click a disc to select it, then click Analyze. You may be asked to enter an administrator password.
- Windows analyzes the level of fragmentation on the disk in question.
- If you have more than one hard drive, you will need to do this for each one.
Step 2. Select a disc to optimize
Look for discs that are not solid, i.e. discs that are 10% or more split. Click the disc to select it, then click Optimize.
- If a disc is less than 10% split, you don't need to optimize it, but you can still do that if you want.
- If the disc is in solid condition, you don't need to optimize it. Optimizing, or defragmenting, a disc that is in a solid state can damage the disc.
Step 3. Click the disc you want to optimize to select it
Step 4. Click Optimize to start the defragmentation process
The defragmentation process may take hours.
You can still use your computer, but you cannot use programs or files on the disc that is being optimized
Step 5. After optimization is complete, click Close to exit Optimize Drives
Method 3 of 3: Scheduling Optimization
Step 1. Check the optimization schedule
By default, Windows 8 optimizes each disc once a week. If scheduled optimization is On, your disks are optimized on a regular schedule.
Step 2. To change the optimization schedule or to activate it, click Change settings
You may be asked to enter an administrator username and password at this stage
Step 3. In the Optimize Drives dialog box, next to Run on a schedule, click the checkbox to check and enable scheduled optimization
Optimization will be disabled if the check mark is removed
Step 4. Click the Frequency dropdown menu to change how often discs are optimized
The options are daily, weekly, and monthly.
Step 5. Select a specific disc for scheduled optimization
Next to Drives, click Choose. Place a check mark in the box next to the discs that you want to optimize on a scheduled basis. Uncheck the box next to the discs that you want to manually optimize. Click OK. Click OK again to apply the optimization schedule changes.
