1. Open the Start menu, search for “defragment” and select “Defragment and Optimize Drives” from the list of results.
2. Select the drive you want to defragment (typically your main hard drive, labeled as C:) and click the “Optimize” button. Before beginning the process, it is recommended you close any open programs and save any unsaved work.
3. Click the “Analyze” button to analyze the drive first. This will determine how fragmented the drive is and how much of an effect the defragmentation process will have.
4. If the percentage of fragmentation is above 10%, click the “Defragment” Button. The analysis will begin, and you can track the progress in the graphical display. This process may take some time, so plan accordingly.
5. Once the defragmentation process is complete, click the “Close” button to exit the Disk Defragmenter window.