OS X Tutorial: Clean up your Mac’s hard disk with iDefrag

As hard drives get older and more files are written to and from them, the information can become fragmented. This is where parts of a single file are split up and saved in different locations on the drive, so accessing them is slower than if they all existed together. This problem occurs regularly on Windows, but Mac OS X fairs much better because the system regulates itself – but that doesn’t mean that after a while fragmented disks can’t become a problem. Luckily, there are great tools like iDefrag that can perform the necessary repairs to your system. iDefrag has several powerful tools that are used offline and will completely compact and defrag the hard drive. We’ll be looking at the much simpler Quick (online) tool that you can use while your Mac is active. The system will identify fragmented files and free space, reorganising them so that the disk performs quicker.