Remember how it used to be? When you couldn’t buy your favorite song for a buck? Or “pause” your favorite TV show right in the middle for an extended snack break? With the introduction of conveniences such as iTunes and TiVo, home media technology has certainly come a long way. And now, with the introduction of Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, all your digital media can be enjoyed through the use of a computer. Of course, without the use of defrag software, you could find yourself back in the Stone Age.
The affects of fragmentation can be pretty shocking. Hard drive fragmentation is defined as pieces of files on hard drives that are not continuous but instead are scattered around the drive. Now, each time you access files, fragmentation continues to increase within them on even a larger scale. Eventually, the computer crashes, killing its entertainment value.
In the past, fragmentation wasn’t an issue when it came to music. As long as cassette tapes were kept clean and CDs protected from scratches, you could typically enjoy music contained on such items for many years to come. Of course, now, with the convenience of digital music that is maintained and listened to on a computer, the need to defrag is obvious. It’s a known fact; every computer is affected by fragmentation… even a brand new Media Center computer.
With video, we have the same scenario. As technology continues to push video viewing further away from our TV sets and onto our computer screens, the need to implement defrag has become vital. As fragmentation increases within video files, playback becomes increasingly choppy, impairing your video watching experience. Also, with today’s technology, entire feature length films can be purchased online with a simple download. With this technology, unfortunately, comes increased vulnerability. Protect your investment with good defrag software.
On top of all this, having ALL files stored in contiguous form on the hard drive is a key factor in keeping your Media Center computer performing at maximum efficiency. Though unavoidable, the moment a file is broken into pieces and scattered across a drive, it opens the door to a host of stability issues. Having just a few key files fragmented can lead to crashes, conflicts and errors…especially critical Windows system files.
Technology has definitely made our lives more enjoyable, but lack of defrag software can lead to your Media Center PCs final curtain call.
