For most computer owners there are few things that are more rewarding than the ability to get things done in a quick and efficient manner. Whether it’s shopping online, paying bills, gathering information, or just sending an email, computers have afforded us the ability to complete tasks in a matter of minutes compared to the lengthy process involved in heading to a store, bank or library.
We become so accustomed to the speed offered by our computers that when there is the slightest delay we become agitated and impatient to such a degree that we begin to scream at a blank screen or pound the keyboard in frustration. Nothing brings the inner-fatalist out of a person quite like a slow computer and we all know it.
Convinced that the hardware sitting in front of us is plotting to drive us crazy, we often develop resentments against the computer and vow to replace it the first chance we get. Somehow slow computer performance has led us to abandon reason and act irrationally, leading to an unnecessary purchase of a new computer.
The sad truth is the people that do follow this path will often find themselves facing the same dilemma with their new computer because they never bothered to understand what happened the first time around.
What has failed to be understood by most computer owners is that their computers need to be protected from a variety of problems that could greatly affect the speed in which they operate. Of course most have heard about the dangers of viruses and excessive spam but few have paid any attention to computer diseases, most notably fragmentation.
There are few problems that your computer will encounter that have the ability to cripple speed like fragmentation and just like any disease it will inevitably get worse if it’s not treated.
Fragmentation is born from your computer and is not something that can be protected by anti-virus software or a spam blocker. At the root of the problem is the manner in which a computer’s hard drive saves and stores files, it has nothing to do with opening suspect emails or visiting questionable sites.
A computer’s hard drive saves files in a contiguous manner; meaning that each time a file is created it is stored directly after the last file saved. As a result, there is no room for modifications or additions to an existing file without that file becoming fragmented. Because each file created is only afforded the amount of space that its information requires any change to those files becomes stored in a new space on the hard drive, disjoining what is supposed to be a single file.
This fragmentation produces an adverse effect on your computer’s ability to operate at optimal speed because it is now forced to search for the pieces of information that make up a single file. What most computer owners don’t realize is how many files are actually created each time they turn on their computer. A hard drive will create thousands of temporary files each time we browse the internet or open our email. These files quickly become fragmented and lead to the hard drive resembling a hodgepodge of fractured files, making it extremely difficult to operate at a desirable speed.
It’s easy to recognize the symptoms of fragmentation; if its taking noticeably longer for you to boot up the system, lengthy delays in browsing the internet or accessing your email, difficulty in opening saved documents or loading applications and pages chances are your hard drive has become burdened by a heavy load of fragmented files. If left unresolved, this will ultimately end in your hard drive crashing and putting you at risk of losing any information that had been saved.
Fortunately there is an easy solution to the deadly disease. By installing defragmentation software on your computer you can eradicate any fragmentation problems that were present and protect the hard drive from future fragmentation problems. Defrag software will clean a hard drive of any fragmented files, taking the pieces and saving them as one unit. With a hard drive free of fragmented files the computer’s speed is restored and the sanity of the owner returns.
So before you think about dumping your computer because it no longer moves at a desirable speed, be sure to install defragmentation software. Chances are your headaches will be gone and you’ll have a lot more money in your pocket.
