# PC defrag questions ,,,,,,,, **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2002, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256 "2002-09-06T08:15:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256/1 "2002-09-06T08:15:00Z")
I defragged my computer … .but the defrag that comes with win XP said i had parts that were fragmented… but it couldn’t fix them Is there say some share/free ware prog that could fix it or do I need to reformat my HD? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256/2 "2002-09-06T09:24:53Z")
Do you need to fix that area? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256/3 "2002-09-06T10:10:14Z")
Well one seems to be my desktop files , everything else not really … . I was having it freeze up when i tried to use the start menu occasionaly and since its a important file id perfer it to be defragged ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256/4 "2002-09-06T10:11:54Z")
Why? So long as most of the HD is defragged it shouldn’t make much of a difference to performance at all. I can only guess that you can’t defrag some files because they’re in use by Windows while you’re running the defrag process. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256/5 "2002-09-06T10:46:51Z")
ahh ok someone mentioned that to me i just wondered if it was important … ---
**Author:** ![partly\_warmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@partly\_warmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/partly_warmer)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2002, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256/6 "2002-09-06T11:26:56Z")
As noted above, disk defragmentation, when it involves only a few files, should not slow your computer noticably, or cause any unusual behavior. A file that’s fragmented just takes longer to read and write from disk … that’s all. You should look elsewhere for problems with the computer freezing. Consult one of the Internet troubleshooting sites, and get cracking. The first concern, of course, is that you are not infected with a virus, or something of that ilk. If that’s happening, you need to get rid of it ASAP. As to _why_ a file cannot be defragmented, some files cannot be moved, once they’re installed on your hard disk. If they were installed fragmented … they’ll stay that way. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256/7 "2002-09-07T20:28:14Z")
One thing to try: _right_ after defragging, _copy_ the file(s) in question and delete the originals. The copies will likely be unfragmented. But I agree that you probably have other system problems that need to be addressed. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-defrag-questions/127256/8 "2002-09-07T23:06:18Z")
Just buy a real maintenance program for your computer, they handle this sort of thing. I have such programs, they are great.