how to defrag an external hard drive on a mac

Thus, there is no need for Mac disk defrag. These drives have their own automatic process – TRIM, which performs all the debug process functions on the SSD. Moreover, Apple computers use SSD hard drives that have a different algorithm to eliminate fragmentation.

The main purpose of this component is to automatically prevent fragmentationof disk storage. Unlike Microsoft, Apple uses the HFS+ (Hierarchical File System), which provides a special function Hot File Adaptive Clustering, or HFC. The procedure can take quite a long time however, it helps to optimize the computer’s performance. That’s why the Windows OS requires defragmentation every few months. The Microsoft file systems use the classic FAT and the more modern NTFS, which do not provide built-in mechanisms to combat fragmentation. As a result, defragmentation allows you to speed up your computer. In short, defragmentation removes the gaps between the recorded parts of the files, collecting them into a single whole part. The files on the hard disk are reorganized in such a way that the parts of one large file are stored side by side. Also, the disk wears out quickly due to the need for accessing the disparate sectors.ĭefragmentation is the reverse process. The fragmentation has some flaws, for example, your computer needs more time to find and read the information on the disk. This happens when the free space on the disk is presented in the form of small scattered fragments and it is impossible to save a large file on it. In this article, we will dive into the Mac defrag questions and tell you how to defrag a Mac hard drive.įragmentation is the process of splitting a large file into “fragments,” which are written to different sectors of the hard disk. If you switch from Windows to a Macintosh computer, you may wonder whether you need defragging your Mac for disk optimization.

How to defrag an external hard drive on a mac