Reduce your carbon footprint by regularly defragging your computer. It is a simple thing to do and it will also help to keep your system in good running order.
Apparently, defragging your computer can actually cut down on carbon emissions and help save the environment. If you use the defragmenter on your computer you will be enabling it to find what it needs a lot faster, so it will use a lot less power.
So, using this facility benefits you in terms of wear and tear on your machine, saves power and reduces your carbon footprint. Software companies are currently looking at ways to reduce the size of their programs with the same aim in mind.
Your hard drive has a file system which is similar to an office filing cabinet. Every piece of data should be stored in its correct file so that it can be accessed easily and quickly. When things get a little out of order, it takes longer to find the information you need. The same is true of your computer because bits of data and programs can get wrongly filed and then the computer has to spend time and energy trying to locate them.
When your hard drive gets clogged up with incorrectly stored files and loose bits of data which don’t seem to belong anywhere, it will operate more slowly and may behave oddly. You are also wasting space in your filing system, in the same way that an office filing cabinet will hold more files if they are carefully stored.
So, what can you do about it?
Window comes with a defrag facility which is accessed through ‘system tools’.
If you are using Windows Vista this is the way to defrag your computer.
Go to>>>Start Button
>
All Programs>>>Accessories
>
System Tools>>>Disk Defragmenter
Then follow the instructions. The program will tell you if you need to defrag your system and you can also choose to set it to do this automatically. Finding the defrag tool is very similar on all versions of Windows.
This is a very simple way of keeping your computer tidy and healthy, and it will improve its performance and save on power.
11 Responses
That reminds me……thanks for this!
Nice article, Louie. It’s a good idea, but anyone over 70 years old may not live long enough to see the end of the defragging process! LOL
Yes, George, it can take ages to complete.
I’ll own I’m slow to defrag thanks to the time it ties up my computer. I was aware that it made the thing work faster with fewer glitches. Didn’t know about the energy use aspect. Is it off-set by the time it takes to run, I wonder?
Thanks for the information Louie!! I think I may defrag my computer at home now!
Thanks for that info!
Inna
It seems like that’s all we do with ours anymore…is defrag it…especially since Jan downloaded a “Foo-Pet” onto the wallpaper. Geese, don’t ever do that! It really clogs up the works!
A very helpful article, Louie. I ask my husband to do this every so often. This reminds me that my computer is due another clean.
Earlier it was a pain to run the slow windows defragger. I now run Diskeeper09 in automatic mode and it defrags whenever required. Best defragger I have used.
Thanks for sharing this important informaion for us who don’t know much about computers and saving space. I find this very useful.
Thanks Louie for this article. Defragging is such a relief for the computer.