Article ID: 314848 - Last Review: October 29, 2009 - Revision: 3.2

How to Defragment Your Disk Drive Volumes in Windows XP

View products that this article applies to.
System TipThis article applies to a different operating system than the one you are using. Article content that may not be relevant to you is disabled.
This article was previously published under Q314848

To continue receiving security updates for Windows, make sure you're running Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3). For more information, refer to this Microsoft web page: Support is ending for some versions of Windows (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/end-support-windows-xp-sp2-windows-vista-without-service-packs)

For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see 227463  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/227463/EN-US/ ) .

On This Page

Expand all | Collapse all

SUMMARY

This article describes how to defragment your disk drive volumes and describes the limitations of using Disk Defragmenter Microsoft Management Console (MMC) that is included with Windows XP.
Back to the top

MORE INFORMATION

Disk Defragmenter MMC is based on the full retail version of Executive Software Diskeeper. The version that is included with Windows XP and later provides limited functionality in maintaining disk performance by defragmenting volumes that use the FAT, FAT32, or NTFS file system.

To start Disk Defragmenter MMC, use one of the methods that is described in this article.
Back to the top

Method 1: Use the Properties of Your Local Disk

  1. Open My Computer.
  2. Right-click the local disk volume that you want to defragment, and then click Properties.
  3. On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now.
  4. Click Defragment.
Back to the top

Method 2: Use Computer Management MMC

  1. Start Computer Management MMC (Compmgmt.msc).
  2. Click Disk Defragmenter.
  3. Click the volume that you want to defragment, and then click Defragment.
Back to the top

Method 3: Use Disk Defragmenter MMC.

  1. Start Disk Defragmenter MMC (Dfrg.msc).
  2. Click the volume that you want to defragment, and then click Defragment.
The version of Disk Defragmenter MMC that is included with Windows XP has the following limitations:
  • It can defragment only local volumes.
  • It can defragment only one volume at a time.
  • It cannot defragment one volume while it is scanning another.
  • It cannot be scheduled. If you need to schedule disk defragmentation, use the Defrag.exe command line tool. For additional information about using the command line Defrag.exe tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    283080  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283080/EN-US/ ) Description of the New Command Line Defrag.exe Included with Windows XP
  • It can run only one MMC snap-in at a time.
The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
Back to the top

REFERENCES

For help with common system maintenance tasks in Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft Web page:
Fix problems with common system maintenance tasks (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/system_maintenance_for_windows)
Back to the top
APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Update Rollup 2
  • Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Back to the top
Keywords: 
kbenv kbhowto kbinfo KB314848
Back to the top