Disk Defrag

The PC TuneUp Maestro Disk Defrag tool analyzes local volumes (hard disk storage areas), and it detects and consolidates fragmented sections to better optimize file and resource access.

 Performing some system modifications can cause unexpected results.  In the event that modifications will not be as desired, we recommend you  use the system restore functionality to return your system to a previous state. See: Backup & Restore.

Starting a Disk Defrag

Getting started is simple.

To start the Defrag process, do the following:

From the Optimize page, click the Disk Defrag link.

Select Volumes

To begin, you can scan your volume to assess the level of fragmentation.  External drives and storage media devices (such as flash cards, USB sticks, external hard drives, etc.), are not included in the list of identified volumes.

To begin analyzing your volume, do the following:

From the list provided, select one or more volumes.

In the case of Solid State Drives (SSD) - these are data storage devices that employ integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store data in a persistent manner.  They are also characterized by not having any moving mechanical parts and can often be found in laptops -  PC TuneUp Maestro does not differentiate these from other volumes.  These types of drives are not meant to be defragmented.  Defragmentation will cause wear as additional writes are made to the flash cells which have a limited cycle life.  Fragmentation for these drives is negligible.

Scan

To begin, you can scan your volume to assess the level of fragmentation.

To begin analyzing selected volumes, do the following:

Click the Start Scan button.

When the process is complete, a summary of the fragmentation is displayed.  Each volume you selected is listed along with a corresponding percentage of fragmentation.  You can select any of the volumes in the list to see a graphical display of the volume to better visualize the fragmented, non-fragmented, unmovable, empty, and other specified spaces.

Defrag

After the scan is complete and defragmentation has been identified you can now defragment the selected volumes.

To defrag one or more volumes, do the following:

PC TuneUp Maestro requires a minimum of 3%  available free space in order to defragment the disk.  We recommend 10% free space to be available to best perform this operation.  We also recommend that you consider cleaning files that are unwanted prior to defragmentation (including temp files, deleted files in the recycle bin, duplicates, etc.).

Defrag Start Options

You have more than one option to defrag your volume: Quick and Full.

Quick Defrag:

When performing a Quick Defrag PC TuneUp Maestro does not re-allocate free space on the volume in order to defrag items.  The best example to visualize is having 10 fragmented files and only three can be moved to areas where the free space already exists.  It would be like having a picture puzzle and only moving joined pieces to free space rather than shuffling empty space to create larger free space.

To perform a Quick Defrag, do the following:

Click the down arrow next to the Defrag Now button and select Start Quick Defrag.

Full Defrag:

When performing a Full Defrag PC TuneUp Maestro will re-allocate free space on the volume to defrag all identified items.  It would be like having a picture puzzle and efficiently organizing the free spaces so that all joined pieces can be moved to space that has been made available.  The time this process takes depends on many factors including how defragmented the files are, how large the defragmented files are, and the number of files.

 We highly recommend using the Disc Defrag Schedule so as to run a Full Defrag at a time when you are not needing to use your computer such as through the night.  You can access the Defrag Schedule directly from the Disk Defrag window by clicking the Options button.

To perform a Full Defrag, do the following:

Click the down arrow next to the Defrag Now button and select Start Full Defrag.

Default Button Action:

You can set the type of defrag action that occurs each time you click the Defrag Now button: Quick Defrag and Full Defrag.

To select the default action for the Defrag Now button, do the following:

Pause and Stop

You can pause or stop either the Scan or the Defrag procedures.  Both of these options become available as soon as you click one of the two buttons.

Pause:

To pause the process do the following:

Click the Pause button.

When you are ready to continue, you can click the "Resume" button.

Stop:

To stop the process and return to the previous window:

Click the Stop button.