What Happened to Disk Defragmenter in Windows 10 and 11?

Aseem Kishore
·
4 min read

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Person at a desk using a laptop with a disk defragment/optimize window on screen and an highlighted 'Optimize' callout, plus a coffee mug and plant nearby.

Disk Defragmenter no longer appears in Windows 10 or 11. Microsoft renamed it to Defragment and Optimize Drives (also called Optimize Drives) starting with Windows 8. The tool works the same way for HDDs, and Windows now also handles SSD optimization automatically. You can find more information on shouldn’t defragment a SSD.

Method 1: Open from Start Menu Search

This is the fastest route, and searching the old name still works. Windows redirects you to the right tool.

  1. Click Start or press Windows + S to open the search bar.
  1. Type defrag or optimize.
  1. Click Defragment and Optimize Drives in the results.
Windows 11 taskbar search with "defrag" typed, showing "Defragment and Optimize Drives" as the top result

The Optimize Drives window opens with a list of all your drives, their media type (HDD or SSD), the last optimization date, and current status. For more information on optimizing your Windows 11 PC, you can check out how to optimize your Windows 11 PC for gaming.

Method 2: Open from File Explorer

  1. Press Windows + E to open File Explorer.
  1. Under This PC, right-click the drive you want to optimize and select Properties.
  1. Click the Tools tab.
  1. Click Optimize under “Optimize and defragment drive.”
Windows 11 File Explorer showing a drive's Properties dialog open on the Tools tab, with the Optimize button highlighted under "Optimize and defragment drive"

On Windows 11, there’s a shortcut: select a drive in This PC, click the three-dot (…) menu in the command bar, and choose Optimize. You can also learn more about tips to improve your Windows 11 PC battery life.

Method 3: Open from Windows Settings

  1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
  1. Go to System > Storage.
  1. Scroll down and expand Advanced storage settings.
  1. Click Drive optimization.
Windows 11 Settings app showing System > Storage with "Advanced storage settings" section expanded and "Drive optimization" link visible

Method 4: Use the Command Line (Advanced)

If you prefer the command line or want to automate optimization, both Command Prompt and PowerShell work. For more information, you can visit Microsoft’s support page on defragmenting and optimizing drives.

Command Prompt (run as Administrator):

  1. Press Windows + S, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
  1. To optimize a specific drive: defrag C: /O
  1. To optimize all drives at once: defrag /C /O

The /O flag applies the appropriate optimization for the drive type: defragmentation for HDDs, TRIM for SSDs. You can also check out PCMag’s guide on how to defrag your hard drive in Windows 10.

PowerShell (run as Administrator):

  1. Press Windows + S, type PowerShell, right-click it, and select Run as administrator.
  1. Run: Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter C -Verbose

How to Analyze and Optimize a Drive

Once Optimize Drives is open:

  1. Select the drive you want to work on from the list.
  1. Check the Media type column, which shows whether the drive is an HDD or SSD.
  1. For HDDs: Click Analyze to check the current fragmentation level. If it’s above 10%, click Optimize to defragment.
  1. For SSDs: Skip Analyze and click Optimize directly. Windows runs the appropriate SSD optimization (TRIM), not traditional defragmentation.
Optimize Drives window showing the full drive list with Drive, Media type, Last run, and Current status columns, with an HDD selected and the Analyze and Optimize buttons visible at the bottom right

If you see a high pass count (such as “Pass 31”) while optimizing, that’s normal. It reflects how many passes the algorithm took, not a sign of a drive problem. You can learn more about how to defrag Windows 10 and if it’s worth it.

How to Change the Optimization Schedule

Windows automatically optimizes drives weekly by default. To adjust the frequency:

  1. In the Optimize Drives window, click Change settings.
  1. In the Optimization schedule dialog, set the Frequency to Daily, Weekly, or Monthly, or uncheck Run on a schedule to disable automatic optimization entirely.
  1. Click Choose to select which drives are included and whether newly connected drives are automatically added to the schedule.
  1. Click OK to save.
Optimize Drives "Optimization schedule" dialog showing the "Run on a schedule" checkbox checked, the Frequency dropdown set to Weekly, and the Choose button for selecting specific drives

HDD vs. SSD: Does It Matter?

Optimize Drives detects your drive type and applies the correct operation automatically. You don’t need to configure anything:

Drive TypeWhat “Optimize” DoesManual Runs Needed?
HDDRearranges fragmented file data to improve read speedOptional; Windows auto-schedules weekly
SSDRuns TRIM to clear invalid data blocks (not traditional defrag)No; Windows handles this automatically

If your drive shows as Solid state drive in the Media type column, you don’t need to run Optimize manually. Excessive manual runs on SSDs add unnecessary write cycles without improving performance. You can learn more about what defragging does on HP’s website.

Conclusion

For most people, the default weekly schedule handles everything, so you’ll never need to open Optimize Drives manually unless you’re troubleshooting a sluggish HDD or setting up a secondhand PC. If the tool keeps showing “Needs optimization” even after you’ve run it, the scheduled task in Task Scheduler is likely disabled or corrupted; resetting it, or running sfc /scannow in an elevated Command Prompt, clears it up in most cases.