How to defrag partitions

Windows disk defragmenter rearranges fragmented data, reducing the size of partitions and improving disk and drive performance. It is recommended to defrag the disk before shrinking to further reduce the partition size. Defragmentation can be done in three ways.

Using Endpoint Central Disk Defragmenter tool

You can defrag partitions using the Defrag configuration in Endpoint Central:

1. Define the Scope of Management to include the computers that you wish to manage using Endpoint Central.
2. Select Tools → System Tools → Add Task.
3. Provide a name and description of the task.
4. Select the Disk Defragmenter tool and click Next.
5. Select the options for defragmentation of the disk and click Next.
6. Choose the computers on which you wish to perform disk defragmentation and click Next.
7. Specify the username and password for the account under which this process will run, and the interval at which it should be performed.
8. Click Finish.

Using Windows Command line

Verify if the partition is fragmented. To check this, execute the following command with administrative privileges:

• To check for a single partition - defrag.exe C: /A /V /U
• To check for all partitions - defrag.exe /C /V /U

If fragmented space is detected, you can defrag the partition by executing the following command with administrative privileges:

• To defrag a single partition - defrag.exe C: /V /U
• To defrag all partitions - defrag.exe /C /V /U

Using Windows GUI

1. Go to Control Panel → System and Security → Administrative Tools.
2. Select Defragment and Optimize Drives.
3. Select the drives that you want to defragment and click Analyze.
4. Once the drives are analyzed, click Defragment.