Windows has a reputation for slowing down your computer over time. Absolutely, Windows 10 is much ameliorate than its predecessors, merely the problem still occurs.

Thankfully, you tin can speed up a difficult disk using HDD optimization apps; a few different tools are bachelor.

In this article, nosotros're going to look at which utilities tin amend the speed and efficiency of a hard disk drive. Go along reading to learn more.

1. Windows Optimize Drives

windows 10 optimize drives

Let'south begin with a mention of a native Windows tool—Optimize Drives. Information technology can analyze your organization for defragmentation issues, then fix whatsoever problems information technology finds.

Unless you'd fiddled with the settings, it should already be running on an automatic schedule. To bank check, head to Commencement > Windows Administrative Tools > Defragment and Optimize drives.

Highlight the drive yous want to fix, then click either Analyze or Optimize, depending on the part you want to acquit out. To brand sure the scheduling is gear up correctly, click on Change settings and tick the box side by side to Run on schedule.

Performing disk defragmentation is less critical on SSDs than HDDs, but Microsoft still recommends running the tool one time per month. In fact, you shouldn't defrag your SSD, as information technology only increases wear and tear, and the SSD has built-in tools for file management.

2. Deejay SpeedUp

disk speedup hard drive speed

Disk SpeedUp is a 3rd-party tool that tin heave an HDD's speed. It will analyze, defragment, and optimize any drives that are continued to your auto.

It has a few more features than the native Windows tool. For example, Deejay SpeedUp can automatically shut down your figurer after the defrag process is consummate. You could fire it up before you get to bed and come back to a fresh computer in the morning.

Disk SpeedUp also has meliorate visuals than the Windows tool. The defrag map is more intuitive, and at that place are more graphs and data for you to dig into.

Anecdotally, many users have claimed that Disk SpeedUp is faster than the Windows tool. Naturally, your mileage may vary.

Download: Deejay SpeedUp (Free)

3. Windows Device Managing director

windows write cache

If you want to increment a disk's read/write speed, another Windows tool worth using is Device Managing director. You can utilize it to make sure Write Caching is turned on.

Write caching lets your computer shop data in a cache before information technology is written to the difficult bulldoze. Because a figurer can write data to a enshroud much more quickly than to a hard drive, the hard drive's overall read/write functioning is improved.

Think, nevertheless, that data in a cache is only temporary. If your estimator suffers from a sudden power loss and the data in the cache has not been transferred to your hard drive, you volition lose information technology.

To turn on write caching on Windows, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the Commencement menu and select Device Manager.
  2. Aggrandize theDisk drivesmenu.
  3. Right-click on the bulldoze you want to modify.
  4. Click on Properties.
  5. Select the Policies tab at the top of the new window.
  6. Marker the checkbox next to Enable write caching on the device.

4. IOBit Advanced SystemCare

iobit advanced care

An important aspect of giving your HDD a heave is to make sure your system stays "clean." That means yous need to stay on summit of temporary and indistinguishable files, make sure your RAM and CPU usage is optimized, and keep your registry every bit tidy as possible.

Ane tool that tin perform all those HDD optimization tasks is IOBit Advanced SystemCare. A free version and a paid version both exist. The costless version includes all the features we but mentioned. The $20 paid version adds deeper registry cleaning, real-time monitoring, browser optimization, and organisation boot optimization.

Download: IOBit Advanced SystemCare (Free, paid version bachelor)

5. Razer Cortex

razer cortex speed up hard drive

If you're wondering how to speed upwards a hard disk even further, check out Razer Cortex. The tool is specifically designed for PC gamers who want to squeeze every drop of juice out of their systems. It tin can help yous achieve higher frames per second and reduce game loading times.

The HDD optimizer is carve up into two parts—System Booster and Game Booster. They combine to give an HDD boost to all users.

The system part of the tool volition clean junk files, your browser history, and your arrangement cache. The gaming part will defragment game files (every bit long as they on an HDD rather than an SSD), optimize your arrangement'due south configuration for gaming, and disable background processes that tin can bear upon a game's operation.

Download: Razer Cortex (Free)

vi. Windows Disk Management

disk management partition manager windows

The last native Windows utility that can improve the speed and efficiency of a hard disk is Disk Management. You can use it to repartition your drives.

Using a greater number of partitions is 1 of the nearly often disregarded ways to speed up a hard drive. Broadly speaking, the more partitions you utilize, the more than organized your data is. Every bit a result, an HDD's caput does not demand to move as far to access the data, and thus, read times are reduced.

To repartition a difficult bulldoze using Disk Management, follow the steps beneath:

  1. Right-click the Offset menu.
  2. Select Deejay Management to open the tool.
  3. Right-click on a drive and select Compress Volume.
  4. Right-click on the freed-up space and choose New Unproblematic Volume.
  5. Choose how large y'all want to make the new volume.
  6. Select the bulldoze letter for the new book.
  7. Choose a file system for the new volume.
  8. Click on Finish.

The new book will appear in File Explorer > This PC.

vii. Ashampoo WinOptimizer

The last tool that can requite your hard disk drive a health increment is Ashampoo WinOptimizer. The tool brands itself as a "Swiss army for your PC." Information technology's a fair clarification.

In terms of improving hard drive health, it tin can schedule maintenance and optimization tasks, browse for junk files, set up broken registry entries, and clean your browser cookies. The tool offers both a one-click set up and user-controlled corrections.

Separately, y'all tin add together boosted modules to the app. There are 38 to choose from, covering tasks such as service management, beginning-up tuning, process management, privacy tuning, and much more.

Download: Ashampoo WinOptimizer (Free)

More Tips on How to Speed Up a Difficult Drive

The 7 tools we've explained in this article will become a long way towards speeding up your hard bulldoze. They can give both SSDs and HDDs a boost.

Permit us know on Twitter which tool works best for you.

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Nearly The Author

Dan Cost (1606 Articles Published)

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires virtually sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. Y'all can likewise detect him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hullo if y'all're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

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