When your computer starts to run slow, it almost always recommended to defrag your hard disks to make it run faster. Of course this applies if your computer isnt being slowed by any virus or trojans.

Many users have started using external hard disks to store their data and files. While Windows Vista and Windows Seven automatically start defragmentation of your internal hard disks when the computer is idle, it does not degfrag external hard disks. If you dont like the defrag program that comes with Windows, here is a list of 5 free defrag programs that can help you.

Top 10 free Defrag software of 2010

Auslogics Disk Defrag

Auslogics Disk Defrag is fast and easy and boasts an improved interface and other features that make the tool a pleasure to use. Auslogics Disk Defrag’s graphical representation of the defrag process makes things much easier to follow. There are plenty of settings that can be tweaked by advanced users.

MyDefrag

JKDefrag used to be considered as a very good defrag program but it used to run from the commad line. The software is back with a new name and a GUI to work with.

MyDefrag is a disk defragmenter and optimizer that is fast with low resource usage, multiple optimization strategies and support for external hard disks. It is extremely solid because it is based on the standard defragmentation API by Microsoft. It comes with scripts to help new users.

Defragler

The makers of the famous CCleaner have their own free defragmentation software. While soft defrag programs process entire hard disks, Defragler has the ability to defrag specific files. This can be useful if u have large amounts in data stored in a few files that is frequently accessed. Its smal light weight, has a quick defrag option, option to defrag only free space and offers scheduling.

Smart Defrag

The application has four main sections: Defrag Now, Auto Defrag, Schedule and Options. In the first, Smart Defrag allows you to choose a drive to defragment and what type of defrag you want. While defragmenting, Smart Defrag can also optimize your drive to further improve its performance, although this process takes longer.

SpeeDefrag
SpeeDefrag optimizes Windows XP defrag function. It restarts your computer, which refreshes the RAM and loads just the defrag.exe program. This imposes minimum load on the system and therefore defragmentation speed is increased. It also supports scheduling of defrag and multiple hard disks.

Always remember to defrag each hard disk atleast once in two weeks. This will ensure your hard disks perform well. Also not that the inbuilt Windows Defragmentation software for Vista and Windows 7 is pretty good. You wont really need any adddtional software unless u want to tweak around with the settings.