Mac Os X Disk Defrag Software Rating: 8,9/10 1415 reviews

Modern Macs defrag files automatically, they’ve done this since OS X 10.2 launched in 2002. Defragging can damage a drive because moving files around wears the drive out. For Mac OS defragment disk, you can rely on iDefrag to work efficiently. It is a useful tool to defrag and optimize your computer. You just have to reboot your computer and the software will provide you options to defrag the system. With this software, you will be able to defrag the whole drive easily. It can even perform selective defragmentation.

Jun 08, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

At some point, it is common that your system becomes slow. Whether you have the latest Mac system or an old one, experiencing performance issues are common. Most of the people know how to defrag Windows system but Mac File system isn’t designed like Windows. Thus, if you feel like you need to defrag Mac, then you still have some other options.

Here, we will discuss in detail how you defrag a Mac and why do you need it. Along with the process, we will also look for some alternatives to defragging.

Part 1. Overview of Defragmenting Mac

Defragment is the process where scattered files from the storage are organized. It erases the gaps from the files and stores them as a single whole part in the same location. In simple words, defragging Mac hard drive moves everything in order and fills the holes which exist while using the files. Ultimately, defragmentation saves time to search and read the files thereby improving the performance of your system.

Do You Need to Defrag Mac?

In general, Mac doesn’t need defragmentation. It is due to the fact that the Mac OS X version after 10.2 has a different file system than Windows. Apple uses the HFS+ format which has a special function of Hot File Adaptive Clustering. This function works merely to automatically prevent fragmentation in the drive in the first place. As a result, there is not much need to defrag MacBook manually.

It is rare but maybe at some point, you might need it. Once in a few years, you might have to defrag Mac during the update, upgrade, installation, or reinstallation of some software.

When to Defrag MacBook Pro?

The one and only exception when you surely need to defrag MacBook Pro is when the storage space is left only 10%. Once that much storage space is occupied, the Mac OS won’t be able to perform automatic defragmentation. Thus, you will have to consider either removing extra and useless files or expanding the storage so that your Mac system performance won’t decline.

So, either you have to go through defragmentation or you remove some of the big files from your Mac.

Part 2. How to Defragment Mac?

This is a matter of concern as there is not a particular tool on the Mac system that can tell you how to defrag a MacBook. But you can rely on third party tools for that if you want to. Here, we are providing you top listed tools for defragmenting in case you need them.

Solution 1. MacKeeper:

This tool is specially designed so that the performance of your Mac system can be improved significantly. Even though it is popular for its cleaning features of removing unused and redundant files, it can also help to defrag Mac computer.

The performance improvement features make sure that the disk is fragmented to maximize the space. As a result, Mac works better. This tools also have other useful features like restore, undelete, backup, and remote tracking too in case your Mac gets stolen.

Solution 2. iDefrag:

For Mac OS defragment disk, you can rely on iDefrag to work efficiently. It is a useful tool to defrag and optimize your computer. You just have to reboot your computer and the software will provide you options to defrag the system. With this software, you will be able to defrag the whole drive easily. It can even perform selective defragmentation. Along with this, the software is simple, organized, and improved so you don’t have to struggle to learn how to operate it.

Solution 3. DiskTools Pro:

One of the best tools that can tell you how to defrag MacBook Pro is DiskTools Pro. The software has three main features, i.e. defrag, backup, and repair. This software makes the repair and maintenance of Mac system easy and fast. There is a bundle of tools for other tasks too which include creating a bootable disk, fixing bad sectors, test disk integrity, analyze drive capacity, and so much more.

There are lots of other tools too which can help you to defrag Mac as quickly as possible so you don’t have to compromise with your work.

Part 3. Some Facts About Defragging Mac

If you are experiencing performance issues with your Mac and you are considering defragging Mac, then you should know a few facts about it. Here, we are giving you proper knowledge and facts to begin:

  1. Keep in mind that only hard drives require defragging. If your Mac has a Solid State Drive, then there is no need of defragging Mac.
  2. There is no need to defrag Mac regularly. The OS X already writes the small files in one batch so that you don’t have to put in efforts for defragmentation.
  3. Hard drives work fast at the beginning of the drive and slow down as the data is written to the bottom. Data don’t take up the available space and it creates several hols which causes a delay in booting or loading of programs.
  4. Over the years of using Mac, the system slows down with addition and reduction in data. And the OS X upgrades and normal operation makes the data less optimized. Therefore, the defragging Mac becomes important.
  5. The Mac OS gathers a group of small files dynamically and then combines them in a large space. The automatic process of writing files defragments the files in a proper manner.
  6. Mac’s HFS+ File system make sure that the recently freed file space is not used on the disk. Therefore, the system looks for the larger free area which is present on the drive. Thus, there is no room left to defrag apple Mac just so your files fit into the available space.
  7. Even when you open a file, the Mac system checks the storage to verify if the files are fragmented or not. In case it is, the OS automatically defrag Mac files.

Part 4. Alternative Way to Defrag Mac

If yourMac has performance issues, then instead of using defrag tools for Mac you can try out the alternative ways. Here are some methods that would optimize Mac and make sure that is works efficiently.

Method 1. Install Latest Updates of Your MacOS:

The latest update will provide stability, better performance, and security to your Mac. It will not only update the installed software but optimize the system to work in an improved way without a Mac defragging software.

  1. Open System Preferences from the Apple Menu and tap on the Software Update option to check for updates.
  2. If the update is available, click on the Update Now option to install it. You can take a look at the specifics of the updates.

Once the software is fully updated, make sure that the applications are updated too.

Method 2. Clean Unnecessary and Big Files:

By deleting the files which are big and useless, you can improve the performance of your system. This way you don’t have to worry about defragging Mac drive. Follow the steps below to delete extra files.

  1. Open the drive that you want to search and open the search window.
  2. Click on the “+” icon at the bottom of the Save button and customize the file size that you want to search. You can tell Mac to look for files using the “Greater Than” column to find the files which occupy the maximum space.
  3. Once the results are listed on the screen, you can select the files which you don’t need. Right click on the file to move it to trash or click on the Trash icon in the Dock. And make sure that you empty the trash too

Method 3. Boot Mac in Safe Mode:

Another way to eliminate the performance issue and avoiding defragmentation on Mac is booting the system in Safe Mode. This way, no additional application will run automatically and it will erase the cache files too.

  1. Restart your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
  2. You can release the Shift key when you see the login window. You might have to log in two times, once to unlock the startup disk and second to log in to the Finder.

Safe mode will erase the cache or directory issue as you start up and you’ll have enough space left on your Mac. To exit the safe mode, you only have to restart Mac without pressing any additional key.

Part 5. More Tips to Speed Up Mac:

As you clean up the Mac, the need for Mac OS defrag will decrease and the system will start running smoothly. It is likely that your system will work fine now. But here are some additional tips that will speed up Mac:

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  • Update Software regularly as most of the issues happen due to the use of outdated software. The system update will also fix bugs and other reasons that are declining Mac performance.
  • Prevent Programs from Launching Automatically when you turn on Mac. There are lots of apps which run in the background. So, you need to filter the list to free up resources to make sure that no extra space is occupied by them.
  • Offload old data which is stored on online servers or external drives to make up space for new files.
  • Clear Regularly: Apart from the system, you have to clean the Trash too. Even though the files are deleted from Mac, space is occupied by the trash. So, you’ll have to empty the trash more frequently.
  • Upgrade RAM: This solution won’t help you to prevent fragmentation but it will improve the system performance.

Conclusion

So, now when anyone asks you can you defrag a Mac, you know that you can say yes. With every detail you have now, you can easily resolve performance issues with your Mac. And if somehow during cleanup or defragging Mac with third-party tools, the data gets deleted, then Recoverit Data Recovery can help you to retrieve the deleted files. Share the guide with your friends and family to let them know that there are easy ways of keeping up the Mac system.

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You might be experiencing some performance issues with your Mac and you knew from your PC days about defragging computers. Well, you won’t find any command or utility to do that on Mac. The point is that the Mac File System is designed differently than Microsoft's, and it defragments files automatically. However, there are still some situations when you may need to defrag Macbook once in a few years.

In this article, we’ll tell you how to defrag a Mac, all advantages and pitfalls of doing this, and what alternatives to defragging are out there. Anxious to find out? Then let’s start!

Do you need to defragment a Mac?

First of all, let’s find out why we do a Mac disk defrag. To cut a long story short, defragmentation is aimed at boosting a computer’s performance by reorganizing the data on your drive. As a result, the related bits are grouped together and loading files and programs takes less time. Simply put, Mac defragment moves everything back in order and can greatly speed up a slow system.

However, despite the obvious advantage, a Mac running any version of OS X later than 10.2 generally doesn’t need to be defragmented. The reason for this is that OS X and macOS have their own built-in Apple Mac utilities that clean up fragmented files from the hard drive. Therefore, for most users it eliminates the need to perform a regular defrag. But there is an exception to every rule and in a few rare cases a defrag for Mac can make a difference.

When do Macs need to be defragged?

If your hard drive is more than 90 percent full, the macOS may have problems with automatic defragmentation routines. This situation is common for multimedia creators who produce plenty of large files in pro tools like Adobe Premiere, Final Cut or Photoshop.

Therefore, if you have hundreds or even thousands of large (1GB and larger) movies, audio files or creative documents, you should consider removing them to free up the storage. Another alternative is defragging a Mac.

Concerning the first option, there is a fast and safe way to remove unnecessary files from your Mac — a powerful app CleanMyMac X. It finds above 74 GB of junk on an average computer, including old and large files, app leftovers and system clutter. It helps to boost computer performance, so you probably won’t even need to defrag a Mac.

However, if you still wonder “How do I defrag my Mac?” read on. We’ve prepared all essential guidelines for you.

How to defragment a Mac

One of the simplest and most user-friendly methods of a Mac defrag is to use a trusted third-party defragmentation program. But before choosing and installing the app, make sure to back up your data. Should something go wrong, you’ll be able to easily restore all necessary files. For this purpose, you can use Time Machine, iCloud, Dropbox or any other external storage at hand.

When choosing the defragmentation app, pay a special attention to the compatibility requirements. Macs running operating systems older than OS X 10.2 are not compatible with the latest modern defragmentation software, so finding a relevant tool is challenging.

Once you’ve installed the program of your choice, open the utility and follow the instructions of a disk defragmenter for Mac. Give the process plenty of time to complete and don’t move your computer anywhere until the defragmentation is finished. Usually, you’ll need to restart your Mac as well.

Will defragmentation harm my HDD?

You may not worry: OS X defrag will not harm your HDD. As you already know, disk defragmentation can greatly speed up the traditional hard drive. It’s because HDD fragments all the data and stores it in multiple locations. And it may take quite a time to read the file with its pieces situated in different places. The procedure of arranging the data is not harmful for your HDD and is aimed at boosting the computer’s performance. And while it is not advisable to turn to such extreme measures, defragmenting a hard drive disk is a safe procedure if, of course, performed accurately.

Why you should never defrag Mac’s SSD

The process described above is applied only to the hard drives. If you have a newer Mac that comes with SSD (solid state drive), you should never defrag its data. SSDs operate in a different way to a traditional HDD and already have a built-in automatic maintenance process. Therefore, it is not necessary to defrag a solid state drive to boost a Mac’s performance.

Furthermore, all defragmentation attempts can even hurt your SSD. Flash memory used by a solid state drive has a finite lifespan because of the limited write and read cycles. And disk defragmentation is a process of reading the data from one place and writing it to another. So if you defrag SSD, you will perform thousands of write operations each time on the drive. It can speed up the degradation of a solid state drive and lead to its wear and tear. And that’s not what you need.

What are alternatives to defragment a Mac?

If your Mac is running slowly, you don’t necessarily need to defrag Mac hard drive. Sometimes it’s not your HDD that’s having problems. Therefore, try some alternative methods that may help you speed up the system without disk defrag on Mac.

Repairing Disk Permissions

“Try repairing your disk permissions” is a standard Mac troubleshooting tip. Permissions are file settings that affect the ability to read, write and execute the file. And if they are no longer set correctly, software that uses the file may not work right.

In OS X Yosemite or earlier, the file permissions on a startup disk can be repaired with the help of Disk Utility. Note that beginning from OS X EI Capitan, disk permissions are automatically protected and there is no need to verify them with Disk Utility.

How do I repair my Mac startup disk?

Here are the steps for optimizing your Mac:

  1. Open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities).

  2. Choose your startup disk.

  3. Click the First Aid tab.

  4. Click Verify Disk Permissions to check permissions.

  5. Click Repair Disk Permissions to repair any inconsistent permissions.

If you don’t want to repair disk permissions manually, you can easily perform the action with an utility we mentioned above — CleanMyMac X. It has the Maintenance module that will help you optimize your Mac, including verifying startup disk and repairing disk permissions. Thus, you’ll ensure that your Mac’s operating system is functioning properly. You can download CleanMyMac here.

Therefore, before defragging your Mac, try to perform the Mac disk cleanup to increase the disk speed. It’s an easy and risk-free process that will not take more than a few minutes.

General speedup tips

Sometimes your Mac needs a good kick-start to run smoothly. Here are some tricks to speed up your computer.

How do I improve my Mac performance?

Mac Os X Disk Utility

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1. Update macOS software

Try to update your software to the latest versions as it performs better than the previous ones. Usually system updates include performance and bug fixes that could be the reason of slowdowns.

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2. Delete unnecessary files

Ensure that your Mac has at least 10 percent of total drive storage available at any time to perform background actions and provide enough space for temporary files, caches, and virtual memory. Once again, CleanMyMac X is a great solution for finding and removing useless and large files that take gigabytes of space on your Mac.

3. Stop programs from launching automatically

Defrag Mac Software

A large number of apps may launch simultaneously when you turn your Mac on. Some of them run in the background and are only visible in a menu bar, so it’s even hard to define if they’re actually running. You can stop them from loading by opening System Preferences, clicking on Users & Groups and then choosing Login Items. You’ll see a list of applications that launch during the startup. You can switch off the ones you don’t need by clicking the minus sign (-) button.

If you’re looking for some utilities that can help with all of that and even more, try Mac maintenance software like CleanMyMac X. It will optimize Mac performance safely and quickly.

We hope this article was helpful and you found the answers to all your questions here. Thanks for reading and share this article if you liked it!

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