The reaction most people have when they replace a slow computer is often one of relief, a thankful feeling that they will no longer have to endure the frustrating process of waiting for their drive to boot up, delays in retrieving files and software, sluggish Internet browsing, and other performance issues related to speed and reliability. Of course over time these new computers will become old and the computer user will find it necessary to dig deeper into their pocket and purchase another new computer, and the cycle will continue. The problem with this process is that it is usually unnecessary as most computers don’t need to be replaced; they need to be restored to health.
There is a general belief that the age of a computer determines how well it operates but the truth is age almost never has anything to do with these performance issues. Those speed and reliability issues that affect a computers performance are typically related to how well you have maintained the health of your computer.
In the same way a new car will break down quickly if the owner doesn’t perform routine oil changes, a computer will crash if the basic threats to its performance aren’t kept in check. On the other side of that there are car owners who brag about having several hundreds of thousands of miles on their car and they always credit it to proper maintenance and the same holds true with computer owners who take the time to keep their drive protected from potential harm.
Most people see that potential harm as being a virus and so they install anti-virus software to safeguard their drive from an external attack. Once they have done this they generally believe that their computer is now protected, this isn’t reality.
Installing anti-virus software is certainly necessary and will protect against virus attacks but it is not the only necessary defense that needs to be put in place. Just as damaging if not more is the computer disease known as fragmentation. Unlike a virus that comes from an outside source, fragmentation is naturally born on a computer’s drive and can spread at an unbelievable pace.
Fragmentation is caused by the manner in which a drive is designed to save and store files, making it a disease that is present on any unprotected computer. Because drive’s are designed to maximize free space they don’t take into account the common practice of modifying files so when a file is saved it is placed directly behind the last file saved. This leaves no space between the two files and so when a saved file is recalled, modified, and then resaved it will no longer fit in its original space, now you have a problem.
That problem becomes a fragmented file as the drive cuts the excess information from that modified file and stores it in the next available space. There is no limit to how many times a file can be fragmented so it is common for a single file to be broken into hundreds if not thousands of pieces, all strewn across the drive. This obviously causes problems for the drive as any time it needs to locate a file it is forced to sift through all of these pieces just to gather the ones that belong to the intended file. That process is noticed in the slowdown of the drive’s speed and is what causes those delays you experience.
The damage of fragmentation isn’t just about the speed of a drive but about the workload that it requires the drive to perform. Having to gather those pieces of a file is taxing on the drive and eventually that process becomes too much and the drive crashes, potentially wiping out everything that had been saved on the drive.
While fragmentation is a naturally occurring computer disease that doesn’t mean it’s something you have to live face. Companies like Diskeeper design defragmentation software to combat the problems presented by fragmentation and by installing this defrag you can address the issues that threaten to destroy your drive.
Because of the damage that can be caused by fragmentation installing defragmentation software is as important as installing anti-virus software. To continue operating on a computer that isn’t protected by defrag software is only inviting trouble and it will only be a matter of time before you find yourself dealing with a crash.
The reason defrag software is so valuable is that it is capable of not only repairing the damaged files that exist on the drive but also preventing fragmentation from returning. Installing defrag from the start will mean that you don’t have to encounter those painful experiences of slow performance, saving you from countless headaches and frustrating moments. If you have already begun to see signs that your computer is slowing now is the perfect time to install defragmentation software. By doing this you can reverse the damage that has been caused and extend the life of your computer.
