1. How To Defrag Your Mac
2. Mac Defrag Software
3. I Defrag Mac Free Download
4. Free Mac Defrag Software
5. Defragmentation Software Mac Free

How long does it take your computer to solve different tasks? Sooner or later, every PC user wonders what they have to do to speed up the routine processes and improve its overall performance. When you ask a professional what moves can you make, there’s every likelihood that he will name the disk defragmentation.

What Is Disk Defragmentation After All?

Let’s stop here for a moment and explain what defragmentation is. Not every Mac user is aware of this process, which reminds of the apartment cleaning when people fit things into their places and get rid of junk along the way. The thing is, while being written to the disk, a file usually gets fragmented – divided into pieces to fit in the available free space. Later on, the data may be modified many times and/or moved from one folder to another.

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Over time, almost each computer suffers from the increasing fragmentation, which makes the system spend more time looking for separate pieces of the file in various areas of the disk. That’s why the need to rearrange data and clean some space appears. The core idea of defragmentation is that the pieces of information scattered on your hard drive are brought back together. Done right, it may help to fix many issues on your favorite computer.

How To Defrag Your Mac

Luckily, the users don’t have to defragment their drives manually any longer.

What Is Defragging Regarding Apple Computers?

OK, now you have the basic idea of what defragging means and why it needs to be done from time to time. In a nutshell, if you ask yourself “Why does my hard drive take longer to read certain files?”, think about defragmentation. It will put the block back in sequential order. The drive head will stop running around the whole platter to read just one file.

Some people believe there is no need to defrag HDD on Mac. Also, they often add that you can’t use this procedure on SSD (solid-state drive) because it may be harmful to it. Although these assertions are partly correct, it is still important to discuss what defragging is regarding Mac before making conclusions.

Unlike Microsoft, Apple uses another file system on their computers called HFS+. It provides a special function called Hot File Adaptive Clustering (a.k.a. HFC). The main purpose of this component is to prevent fragmentation of disk storage automatically. Defragmentation may be necessary in case a relatively old drive is installed in the machine. If the hard disk is occupied for a long time by the large multimedia files (more than 1GB), defragmentation is a solution. Such data is highly susceptible to fragmentation. Thus, it can be difficult to automatically avoid it.

On the other hand, not so many users still have old drives. That’s why you can’t find defragmentation tools among Apple’s onboard utilities. In case you believe optimization is necessary, mind some smart solutions from third-party companies (e.g., iDefrag). The good thing is you should not run the process manually: it happens automatically on OS X. Once your Mac’s ‘house’ is full, let the smart defragging app solve the issue.

Does Defragmentation Make Sense on Macs?

While most experts would call Mac’s defragmentation an optional activity, let’s talk about the exceptions. The application of this procedure may bring several benefits. Are you a multimedia developer with tons of large files? Then you will almost inevitably face file fragmentation issues, which will make you wonder how to manage thousands of 1GB video/audio items. Remember, that such applications as Adobe Premier and Photoshop tend to produce files of enormous size.

If you do have old, overloaded HDD (where, say, hundreds of 10GB files are stored), try defragmentation. A good third-party tool that really works for this purpose is iDefrag, which costs around $32. Please, note that before running defragmentation, it is highly advisable to back up the drive to keep your data safe.

Remember that defragmentation has nothing to do with compression or destruction of files. The physical storage blocks will be reorganized. The specific algorithms depend on the selected defragging app, so you might want to learn more details before choosing the application. The positive outcomes of defragmentation include:

• Shorter response time of data saved on your computer
• Faster performance of all apps
• Enhanced hard drive’s efficiency.

What about the negative consequences? As far as we are acknowledged, OS X defrag has no negative outcomes for your HDD.

How to Defrag HDD Step-by-Step

Let’s say you decided to use a specialized third-party tool to defrag your Mac. Back up your data not to lose it – it is critical to be able to restore necessary files in case something goes wrong. To rest assured, apart from Apple’s built-in Time Machine, turn to good old storages like Dropbox to protect your data from the potential threat. Then, select the most suitable utility and download it. Make sure the chosen software is compatible with your version of OS. Follow these instructions to defrag your hard drive on Mac safely.

• Thin out user files on the boot drive. Start with the largest files like videos. Mind that a full boot drive (more than 80% filled) won’t let your computer function at its best. Thus, you will have to sacrifice some files or store them elsewhere.

In case you count on the best performance, decrease the files’ size so that the boot drive is less than 50% filled.

• Choose a blank powered external drive. A Carbon Copy Cloner will help to clone the OS X boot partition (Mac hard disk) to the external drive.

• Reboot your device. Boot from the clone with the help of Startup Manager. If you happen to have some doubts, examine the clone for a while.

Make sure it is reliable and try to notice any undefined problems at this stage.

• Go to Disk Utility -> Security. Use “Zero” option to erase the internal Mac HD or the entire drive. Get rid of the bad sectors during the process.

Never move the machine during this procedure!

• Reverse clone once you’re finished. Launch Disk Utility and choose Repair Permissions on OnyX maintenance and cleaning aspects. Reboot the computer.

This process helps to cope with several issues:

• Corrupt caches
• Optimization problems
• Defragmentation problems
• Obstacles created by bad sectors
• Overall safety

Users create clones to allow them solving the same problem later when news apps fill the space. The lack of RAM, as well as some other problems, can be the only obstacles on the way to proper fragmentation.

Should You Defrag SSD on Mac?

Everything said above concerns all Apple computers equipped with the hard disks with moving parts. The thing is, the majority of modern Macs has SSDs. Their structure and recommended care vary. Many people wonder what happens to SSDs after the attempt to defrag them. Any tech person would say that traditional defragmentation for SSD is not acceptable. SSD defragmentation can lead to the active block overwriting. Plus, it will reduce the disk’s lifespan as it has the limited number of write/overwrite cycles. In the worst-case scenario, performing such procedures on Mac may simply disable SSDs. On the whole, the work of SSDs reminds of the way RAM modules function. The speed of reading/writing from different blocks has nothing to do with the file location.Also, keep in mind that third-party defragmentation apps are not supported by Apple. These instruments should never be launched on SSD flash storage drives. Thus, we can conclude that you do not need to defrag SSD as it makes no sense.

Will Defragmenting Speed up Computer and What Are Some Other Alternatives?

Are you tired of your Mac being as slow as a snail? Several methods exist to improve your device’s performance. A defragmentation may be a great option for older Macs, but as we’ve clarified, it does not always help or is actually needed to optimize the new device. Here’s the short list of other steps you can take to speed up your struggling Mac:

• Shut down running applications to have more free space. Keep in mind that the majority of slowdowns happens because of the RAM constraints. Another reason may be the more intense use of virtual memory.
• Update software on a regular basis.
• Clean your Mac from garbage files (temporary, duplicates, caches, etc.).
• Limit the number of apps that launch on startup without your permission.
• Reboot your Mac every time you want to free up memory and setup system updates.
• Remember that the latest OS X versions allow performing better as well as fixing bugs.
• Check whether there is a minimum of 10-20% of free space on the hard drive at all times.
• Apply “Verify Disk” function to detect a failing drive.

This way, you can speed up your Mac as well as eliminate several other gaps.

If you have ever used a computer, you would have heard about the defragmenting device. It consists of a set of instructions to improve your device’s performance. Microsoft Windows has this particular option for their customers to defrag their Mac device.

But if you are a Mac user, you will not find any such utility on your device to improve the performance. Maybe this is because the Mac is designed differently in comparison to the other devices, and it can defrag the files as well. But the ability of this feature is somehow limited. So, if you want to do better than that, you would help with some external tools. Therefore, if you are interested in how to defrag Mac, a detailed step by step guide is given below.

Here is a Basic Concept of Defrag

It is a process in which scattered files are put into order on your hard disk. This process will remove gaps between your recorded files by putting them back to a whole file. It is the usual function of the defragging to force everything back in order & removes any blanks that have been created during the use. So, after putting everything back in order, this will make it easier for the computer to find any file you are looking for.

Besides, click to find out how to fix disk write errors on Steam and how to Remove Dropbox from Mac.

Why Do We Need Defragment on Mac?

Basically, you need to know how to defrag Mac device to boost its performance. This will be done by putting the files back into the order on your device.

If you have an OS X lower than 10.2, then it would not be compulsory to begin the defragmentation procedure. Similarly, if you are using a lower version of Mac OS, it has built-in utilities to clean up the fragments. Then, in many cases, you wouldn’t have to use this tool as a built-in feature of your device will do it. But having said that, you will need manual defragmentation for better performance. If you are installing applications, uninstalling them, and upgrading your phone, then you would need to know how to defrag Mac.

PS: here, you will learn more about how to How to Get Text Messages on Mac on Mac and how to use an external hard drive, as well as how to fix Copy and Paste Not Working on Mac.

How Often is It Required to Defrag Mac?

First, check your hard drive if it is 90% full, and then there will be problems with your Mac’s automatic defragmentation program. Mostly, this issue is faced by multimedia creators, because it is part of their job to make large files via Photoshop or Adobe.

So, in case your Mac is full of large files, then the only way is either delete these large files or defrag Mac hard drive. And the defragmentation is very effective for improving that performance of your Mac, as it will make the response time better. So, you should know how to defrag Mac.

The solution to Defrag a Mac:

As Mac has not provided with any utility or built-in command to defrag it, there is only one way to do it by using a trusted 3rd party defragmentation tool. It is a very time-consuming process to defragment. Then during this process, you cannot use Mac in any way; otherwise, the data will be destroyed. You are strongly advised to backup all your data before you defragging the Mac. You just have to follow the instructions carefully and make sure first that it is compatible with the Mac device (Mac OS 10.2 is not compatible with most of the modern defragmentation tools).

Other Possible Methods to Defragment a Mac:

To achieve more free space for your device and organize files on the hard drive are the only purpose of defragmenting the Mac. It is very clear from our above discussion; it is difficult to defrag Mac. We should give it a try if there is a simple way to do it.

1. Utilization of an Easy & Powerful Software:

After deep research for such software on the market that tells you how to defrag Mac, the most popular and highly suggested is iMyFone Umate Mac Cleaner. This is specially designed for Mac management. If you wish to get more space for your Mac, it offers six main features

• i. Clean up your junk files
• ii. Delete your large files
• iii. Delete your duplicate files
• iv. Erase your private data
• v. Speed up your Mac
• vi. Manage apps & extensions

It can be used in the latest Mac OS 10.15 Catalina. Let’s find out why is it the best alternate option and what features do affect the performance directly.

Besides, if you are bothered with the macOS Big Sur slow or The macOS Installation Couldn’t be Completed issues, this tool can help you too.

i. Clean up your junk feature:

• It offers Deep Clean and Quick Clean modes to find and remove junk files on the Mac.
• That Quick Clean mode only intensifies the burden of the computer operation rather than improving its performance.
• It deletes the files like app junk, system junk, iTunes junk, files on the trash bin, downloaded files, outdated iOS backups, or unused disk images.

ii. Delete your large files:

• This will find all those files bigger than 50MB by scanning Mac and its hard drive and then delete them.
• All possible files in this would be images, audios, videos, archives, documents, or other.
• This can also delete the files that are hidden on Mac.

iii. Delete your duplicate files:

• It will give you the option to choose a file directory on the Mac to get and remove duplicates easily.
• All possible files would be videos, images, audios, archives, document, or other.
• It will also provide support to preview your files on the Finder.
• The good thing about it is that it will keep original files for you to avoid that you delete them by mistake.

iv. Speed up the Mac:

This option will really help your Mac to run faster. It will disable all login applications, remove apps that take too much space, and also deletes those launch agents. Some of its properties are here

• It will remove all startup items on your Mac automatically and deletes them with 1-click.
• Those programs that are taking most of the RAM & CPU space can be deactivated at one time. But there will also be the option to do it optionally.
• It deletes the launch agents.

Above mentioned are the abilities of iMyFone Umate Cleaner. It is quite handy for defragging your Mac & making it run fast. It is effortless to use. You should download it, scan it, and delete it.

2. Fixing up Disk Permissions:

Here is another method that will tell you how to defrag Mac, and it is to repair your disk permissions. It is actually troubleshooting way on Mac.

The method is very easy. Let’s have a look.

1: Turn on your Mac & go to ‘Disk Utilities.’

2: First, choose ‘Startup Disk’ and then ‘First Aid.’

3: Choose ‘Verify Disk Permissions‘ to check it.

4: Finally, choose ‘Repair Disk Permissions‘ to correct any irregular permission.

3. Update Mac OS Software:

If all methods are failed, and you don’t know how to defrag Mac, then your final option is to update your Mac OS software. The method is pretty simple.

1: Go to ‘Apple Menu‘ and choose ‘System Preferences.’

2: Then, choose ‘Software Update.’

Mac Defrag Software

If there are any updates, you will see them and then just download these updates & install them.

A Brief Conclusion on How to Defrag Mac

Now, if you are wondering how to defrag Mac? Yes, it is possible and straightforward. Mac is designed to defrag your hard drive, but sometimes it does not. In such cases, all you are required to do is to do it manually, also, we have also explained some other methods to fix your slow running Mac. If you want to do it fast and effectively, then the best option is using Umate Mac Cleaner.

A Few Realities About Defragging Mac

If your Mac is having some problems with speed and you are thinking about how to defrag Mac, then you have to consider some facts about it. The following are a few facts you should know.

For people who have a problem with your Mac and would like to try defragging Mac, please learn more about the facts below:

1. Always remember one thing that is only the hard drives need defragging. If there is any Solid State Drive in your Mac, no need for it.
2. You don’t have to defrag Mac daily. The OS X adds small files in one time, so don’t waste your efforts on defragmentation.
3. And the Hard drives work very fast when they are at the start, but then this slows down as data written to the bottom. So, don’t use all that available space because it will create holes in the hard drive.
4. After years of usage of Mac, your system will start slowing down due to the addition and deletion of the data. And that OS X upgrades also disorganize the data. Therefore, you will need to defrag your Mac.
5. Mac OS collects a bunch of the small files and organizes them in the large space.
6. Mac’s HFS + File system guarantees the space that is recently freed will not be utilized on that So, the system tries to find a larger free area that is present on your drive.
7. Whenever you opening a file, your Mac system verifies first whether those files are fragmented or not. And if they are fragmented, your Mac OS will defrag Mac files automatically.

Different Possible Methods to Defrag Mac

There are other possible methods instead of using the tools mentioned earlier if you are facing performance problems with your Mac and don’t know how to defrag Mac. The following are some ways that will make sure your Mac performance.

Method 1: Please Install Latest Updated of the MacOS:

If you install the latest updates of your macOS, this will offer stability, better security, and speed to your Mac. This is not only going to update the installed tools, but you wouldn’t need any defragging software to improve its performance. So, you don’t have to worry about how to defrag Mac.

1. Go to the ‘Open System Preferences‘ and click on the update option to check for any updates.

2. And if you found the update is visible, then choose the option of Update Now to install it.

After updating the software, be sure that the apps are also updated.

Method 2: Remove Large and Useless Files:

If you remove the large and unnecessary files, the performance of the Mac system will be improved. This is another method to avoid defragging the Mac drive. The following are the steps to delete those extra files.

1. Go to the drive and open the ‘Search Window.’

2. hoose the “+” icon and select the file size you would like to search.

3. After getting the results from the search, you can choose the files that you want to delete. You can delete the required files by moving them to Trash Icon after right-clicking the file. And don’t forget to empty your trash too.

Method 3: Now, Boot Mac in Safe Mode:

The final method to get rid of performance issues and steer clear of defragmentation on Mac is to boot your system in Safe Mode. In this way, there is no need to install any application, and also, it will also remove your cache files.

1. The first step is to restart the Mac, then press & hold the shift key immediately until your Apple Log becomes visible.

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2. Once you see that login window, release the shift key. You will have to log in twice, and then unlock the startup disk, after that, please log in to the folder.

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Safe mode will then remove the directory or cache issue when to start up again. To go back to normal mode, you will be requested to restart your Mac without pressing any key.

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“Now, whenever someone asks you how to defrag Mac, you can answer that with all the necessary details and methods. After reading the above article, you have all the information to improve the performance issue on your Mac. If by any chance, the data is deleted, then Recoverit Data Recovery will be able to help you get back those deleted files. You can share this step-by-step guide with your family and friends so that they can improve their Mac performance easily.”