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Your first optimization

Start with an analysis. It tells O&O Defrag how the selected drive is organized and gives the Optimization Advisor the information it needs.

1. Open O&O Defrag​

Start the application and wait for the drive list to appear. If you see a service connection message, allow it to finish. On a notebook, connect the power supply before a lengthy operation.

2. Select and analyze a drive​

  1. Open Drive Optimization.
  2. Select the drive you want to inspect, for example C:. Check its label and capacity.
  3. Choose Analyze.
  4. Wait until the drive returns to an idle state.

Analysis does not reorganize files. The drive list, dashboard, and block view update with the results. You can select several drives, but using one drive first makes the results easier to follow.

3. Review the recommendation​

  1. Keep the drive selected and open Optimization Advisor.
  2. Read the recommendation and explanation for that drive.
  3. Leave Best result selected for a general optimization, or choose Stay responsive if you need to keep working.
  4. If the Advisor says Analyze first, complete the analysis and reopen it.
  5. If it says Nothing to do, you can finish without running an optimization.

The Advisor considers the drive type, fragmentation, free space, and current activity. A high fragmentation value does not mean every available method is useful.

4. Start and follow the operation​

Choose Apply recommendations in the Advisor. Alternatively, use Optimize (recommended) when automatic method selection is enabled in the toolbar.

Watch the status in Drive Optimization. A complete method can have more than one pass. Let the operation finish; use the application's Stop control if you need to end it. See Manual optimization for method selection and run controls.

5. Check the result​

Review the updated fragmentation information and, if reporting is enabled, the new entry in Reports. A remaining fragmented file can be locked, excluded, or deliberately skipped because the ROI factor judges the benefit too small.

Repeated runs are not a useful way to force every statistic to zero. Read the result before choosing another operation.

6. Set up ongoing maintenance​

Open Automatic optimization and review the quick, thorough, and SSD TRIM intervals. For a fixed maintenance window, create a scheduled job instead.

Next: Understand the interface or configure automatic optimization.