Can Defragmenting Cause File Corruption?
- Files most commonly become fragmented when they are accessed and edited multiple times. For example, if you create a text document then save and close it before creating a new file, the second file will be written onto the hard drive right next to the original. This means that if you add more information to the original document, the new information needs to be stored separately from the rest of the file. When you access the original document again, the computer must search the hard drive for each part and reassemble the file before opening it.
- Windows operating systems include a tool that can defragment your hard drive. This process not only unifies fragmented files, it also organizes them on the hard drive to optimize access speed. Keeping a hard drive properly organized also marginally increases hard drive life, because it reduces the amount the hard drive's internal components must work. A hard drive consists mainly of a magnetic disc and an arm that holds a special device that reads information stored on the disc. The arm must move rapidly over the disc to locate specific information and is generally one of the first parts to wear out through normal use.
- Some computer websites and blogs warn that defragmenting can cause file corruption if the tool fails to put the files back together in the proper way. Others are concerned that the computer's registry, which is the record of system settings and calibrations, can be confused or corrupted by the process, because old registry entries may refer to files not in their original locations.
- Microsoft's online magazine TechNet dispels any rumors of defragmentation causing file or registry corruption. While Microsoft recognizes the possibility, it refers to the concern as "not likely." Microsoft does warn, however, that defragmentation can make it difficult or impossible to recover previously corrupted or accidentally deleted files. This is because the information of the corrupted or deleted file is likely to be overwritten with newly organized, defragmented files.
