The latest Windows systems come equipped with high-performance SSDs and built-in defrag utilities, eliminating the need to undertake manual defrag tasks for system optimization. However, if you are running an older version of Windows or you are keen on improving your system performance to the optimum, there are several defrag tools available in the market to choose from.
Defraggler is one of the most popular defrag software known for its impressive set of features. In this review, we take a closer look at the tool’s functionality and offerings to help you understand if it is actually the best defrag software for SSDs.
Defraggler Review – UPDATED 2022
Defraggler is a defragmentation tool designed by Piriform, the company behind CCleaner, Speccy, and other popular software. This means you can rest assured about the developer and the program. Defraggler is a unique program as it comes loaded with advanced features that set it apart from other traditional defragmentation tools.
The defrag tool can be used on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8, and 10. It is quick and easy to install and takes only a few seconds to get started. However, it comes loaded with powerful disk defragmentation utilities and optimization services to improve the speed, efficiency, and performance of your PC.
The program features an intuitive interface for easy navigation to all the options available. Right on the main screen, you can find details of each drive like its capacity, type, free and used space, etc. Firstly, it scans the hard drive or SSD to show you its health, the fragmented files, and the percentage of fragmentation to decide whether it should be defragmented. It offers you an option to remove unused and unwanted files to optimize performance.
After a scan, the program lists all the files that contain fragments. The list is quite comprehensive, allowing you to sort files in several ways, by last modified date, size, or the number of fragments. You can sort by date to see all the fragmented files that haven’t been used recently and choose to move them to the end of the drive so that the more commonly used files come at the beginning and can be accessed quickly.
Is Defraggler The Best Defrag Software for SSDs?
Just like a hard disk drive, the performance of a solid-state drive deteriorates with time. Defraggler is advanced optimization software that can improve your SSD’s performance using its TRIM function. Whenever a file is deleted from an SSD, it doesn’t get removed instantly but occupies some space that the OS marks as ‘not in use’. The system overwrites this space whenever it requires.
The TRIM function works with the operating system to clean such marked blocks upon file deletion, allowing the SSD to access a completely blank block. This Defraggler function is supported on Windows 7 and later. Defraggler can also optimize an SSD with its Zero Filling function. It can overwrite the free space available on the drive with zeroes to give your SDD empty blocks always available for writing data.
Defraggler, with these unique features and powerful defragmentation functionality, proves to be one of the best optimization and defrag tools for SSDs.
Features
Defraggler is a simple solution that provides you with a host of useful features to optimize your HDDs and SSDs and accomplish system maintenance tasks.
Performance Improvement – Defraggler gathers all the fragments and arranges them close to each other to reduce the time taken to access the files, resulting in a faster-performing PC.
File Prioritization – Files on the hard drive which are at the beginning open quicker as compared to those at the end. It is a good idea to move unused, lesser-used files at the end and keep commonly accessed ones at the start. This would improve the speed at which your regular files open. Defraggler accomplishes this by moving large files at the end of the drive automatically.
When working with this functionality, you can specify the file size that the tool considers as ‘large’. Anything greater than the size will be moved to the end of the drive. You can also choose to move selected file types to the end. Defraggler even allows you to select the files and folders to move to the end regardless of their type.
Boot Time Defrag – Instead of the regular defragging, Defraggler can be run when the computer reboots. With this function, the defrag program can optimize more files than otherwise.
Safety and Security – This tool uses the same technology as the Windows system to cut, copy and paste files, so there is no chance of damage to your files.
Free Space – Unlike most other defragmentation tools, Defraggler collects chunks of freed space or empty blocks to prevent further fragmentation.
Scheduler – The software allows scheduling the defragmentation process so that you can complete it when the computer is idle. You can use the menu to have the program run automatically on specified days of the week, daily or weekly, or at custom hours. It can also be set to shut down the computer upon finishing the task.
Custom Scans – With this program, you can control the files, folders, and drives that get defragmented instead of the entire hard drive. As the process can take time, it is useful to get the ability to defragment the drive in parts. You can also choose to run a full-drive or quick scan depending on your needs.
Background Processing – The tool gives you an option to run normally or in the background so that it doesn’t slow down your system when working on important tasks.
Pros
- Support for defragmentation of free space
- Option to selectively move file or folder to the drive end
- Comes in a portable version
- Option to choose only files or folders
- Easy and quick to install
Cons
- Recent updates not available
- Registry scan function missing
Final Thoughts
With all the features you may find in a standard defrag tool along with some extras, Defraggler makes an excellent optimization software for Windows. It is simple to use, easy to install and comes with comprehensive settings that take no time to get started. The free version offers all the defragmentation and optimization features though you can always upgrade to the professional version to receive better support and features. Overall, Defraggler is one of the most reliable defrag software to optimize your SSDs and HDDs.
