Defragging and cleaning your hard disk drives is two of the best ways to improve the performance of your laptop. This guide is for HP users who own computers with Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). If you’ve already upgraded to a solid-state drive (SSD), then skip this article, because SSDs don’t need disk defragmentation.


How to defrag Windows 8 on HP laptops

Option 1 | Windows built-in Disk Defragmenter

1. Open Search box and type defrag in. Choose Defragment and Optimize Drivers.

2. Click Analyze to check how fragmented your HP hard drive is.

3. Hit Optimize to start defragmenting. Wait a while before it’s finished.


Option 2 | Use a more powerful defrag tool

Neptune SystemCare Ultimate is an all-in-one PC optimization utility including smart Disk Defrag. This optimizer easily scans and finds fragmented files out of the hard disk and arranges them in continuous memory sections. The tool works in read-only mode which ensures no damage is made to the HP data and disks.


How to clean Windows 8 on HP laptops

Option 1 | Windows Disk Cleanup

Windows 8 has a built-in tool called — Disk Cleanup. Cleaning out your PC on a regular basis frees up drive space and helps it run better. One of the easiest ways to clean up files you no longer need is by using Disk Cleanup.

1. Click the Start button and type Disk Cleanup in the search box. In the list of results, select Disk Cleanup.

2. Select the drive that you want to clean up, and then select OK.

3. Wait for the calculating and check boxes for the file types that you want to delete, and then select OK.


Option 2 | Try an advanced system cleaner

Neptune SystemCare Ultimate is capable of one-click scanning for obsolete junks files, browsing history and cache, invalid registry entries, useless system files and so on, and then fix all found issues.


Conclusion

A fragmented hard drive or cluttered Windows system will sure make your HP laptop sluggish. Disk defragmentation and deep cleaning are two of the best ways to fix such issues. I hope you find this answer helpful.