Many people are confused about file fragments with the concept of clusters. In fact, for windows systems that each partition on your hard disk formed with the smallest memory cell – clusters. Just like a wall is formed from bricks. The size of the cluster of a partition can be defined by the user when the hard disk is formatted, usually a few KB size, such as 8KB. Suppose I have a file that the size is 80MB and 1KB (in fact, 1MB = 1024KB, but the hard drive capacity is count by an integer, so 1M = 1000KB), then converted a moment that is 80,001 KB, which 80,000 KB exactly occupy 10000 clusters, the rest of 1KB may not have to occupy a cluster, but this is the last cluster which has 7 KB space for useless. Moreover, other file is not allowed to use this cluster. So this causes a bit of wasted space.
Many people think that this 7KB wasted space is file fragmentation, which is actually wrong.
Of course, perhaps you would think if set a cluster to 1KB, and even 1B would not be better? But you need to know the hard disk is read and written according as per clusters, and for the same document, the smaller the cluster is located the more clusters that the file occupied. Then the data reading and writing will be slower. Therefore, hard disk space utilization and documents to read and write time efficiency is a contradiction?
The disk fragmentation actually refers to a file occupies clusters which are not continuous, the equivalent of the files are separated, stored in each cluster on the unbroken paragraphs. Files are divided into several parts. Sometimes the order of the file fragmentation is in disorder.
Obviously the computers read and write data faster in a continuous order. Therefore, defragmented might greatly improve the system performance.
For example, at first a hard disk partition is empty, write three documents A, B, and C. Obviously, this time, three files are sequential segment occupied by three clusters. So obviously, three documents will not produce any debris.
Now suppose you remove the file B, this time there will between A and C makes a free section of the cluster. At this time, non-existent file fragmentation, because each file occupies clusters are continuous, no files are split. If now need to write a file D which is larger than file B just deleted. So the space between the A and C segment is not enough to store the file D, and let’s assume that the space behind the idle cluster C segment is not enough to store file D, at this time D is to be divided into two storage, one is between A and C, the other one after file C. As a result, the file fragments are produced. File D has two file fragmentations.
How disk Defragmenter is done is like this: forwarding the file C, and moved it to the cluster following the file A. There is no free cluster between A and C, and file D will be stored behind C. This file D will also occupy a contiguous cluster segment. Debris also eliminated.
So you do not need professional defragmentation software for disk fragmentation to be achieved. Cut out all files of a partition, and then copy back, because when you copy the files, they are written one after another to the new sector, so each file will be sequential stored, which also does not produce debris. However, this way you need sufficient space to store all files to be arranged. The disadvantage is that files have no debris were also cut and pasted, so the overall efficiency is not as good as some online professional software can achieves.
But compared to some of the software, there are certain advantages too, for example, the built-in software, when the partition occupancy rate is high, often could not finish the file transfer due to not enough free space.
And if you copy files of valuable first, which you never delete, and kept them in the front of the partitions, which will also help reduce disk fragmentation.
For the same reason you can also backup the partition through ghost, then restore them, by doing this you can eliminate disk fragmentation effectively at a high speed.
