Share this article

Improve this guide

How to Defrag Windows 11 [3 Ways]

Optimize your PC so that it runs with utmost efficiency

4 min. read

Updated onMay 24, 2024

updated onMay 24, 2024

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Defragmenting your drive will improve the performance of your computer. Fragmentation is unavoidable, but keeping it in check is key if you want your PC to run smoothly.

Find below step-by-step instructions on how to defrag Windows 11:

How can I defrag my Windows 11 PC?

1. Use the defragmentation tool from Windows

Click theSearchicon inTaskbar.
Typedefragin the search box and selectDefragment Optimize Drivesfrom the list of results.
When the window opens, you’ll see a list of all your drives and their current defragmentation status.
Select the drive that you want to analyze, and click theAnalyzebutton.
Wait for the process to finish.
If your drive is fragmented, select it and click onOptimize.
Wait for the process to finish. It can take a while depending on the fragmentation level.

Your Windows 11 PC has a built-in app that you can use to defragment your hard drive. It is called Defragment Optimize Drives and can be used to easily optimize your PC.

2. Use the Command Line

There are also a couple of hidden commands that might come in handy. To defrag all drives that are available on your PC, use the following command:

defrag /C

To defrag all drives except the specified ones, run this command:

defrag /E X:

How can I schedule defragmentation in Windows 11?

3. Use Command Prompt

What does disk defragmentation do?

Disk defragmentation reorganizes scattered data on your hard drive, placing it closer together. This reduces the time the hard drive takes to find and access files, improving your computer’s performance by making data retrieval faster and more efficient.

Should I defragment my SSD?

Solid-state drives don’t require defragmentation because of two reasons:

How can I optimize my SSD?

It’s not recommended to defragment your SSD but you can optimize it instead, with no risks. The procedure is called trimming, and you can access it just like on an HDD, by using the steps above.

The trim action identifies areas on the disk with unused data. In other words, the files that were deleted and are waiting to be overwritten.

That is because when you delete a file, it doesn’t get erased from the disk. They are only marked as free, available space. But after the trimming process, the data will be deleted.

It’s an active way of optimizing your SSD but it’s not as near as effective as the defragmentation procedure for an HDD.

Wrapping up

Knowing how to defragment your HDD is essential if you want good performance. It can prolong the lifetime of your hard drive and help your PC run smoother.

If you want to keep tabs on this practice, you can alsoschedule diskdefragmentation.

Take a look at our list including thebest SSD for your PCand consider the proper option for your system. Even more, you could also consider using alaptop with both SSD and HDD for increased performance and storage.

How often do you defrag your drive for performance improvements? Let us know in the comments below.

How to Defrag Windows 11 [3 Ways]#

How can I defrag my Windows 11 PC?#

1. Use the defragmentation tool from Windows#

2. Use the Command Line#

How can I schedule defragmentation in Windows 11?#

3. Use Command Prompt#

What does disk defragmentation do?#

Should I defragment my SSD?#

How can I optimize my SSD?#

Wrapping up#