Do I need to defrag my new SSD?
QMy hard drive failed so I had it replaced with an SSD. I am told that defragmenting it is unnecessary and causes premature ‘wear’. Loads of admittedly unvalidated websites suggest it’s unnecessary. Please could you let me know what, if any, maintenance is necessary, and whether deleted documents need to be electronically ‘shredded’ to prevent recovery or not? Tony Hoy
AYou don’t need to defrag an SSD but no great harm is likely to arise if you did. Indeed, despite received wisdom, Windows will periodically enact some degree of defragging on an SSD if you have System Restore enabled (as is both sensible and the default). This is normal and quite safe, and Windows knows what it’s doing.
The background to all this is that, unlike traditional hard drives, an SSD uses memory chips for storage — and these are certified only for a limited number of read/write cycles. However, that number is enormous and reaching it would take very many years of normal use. Even then, the chip in question won’t automatically instantly die: it’s just a possibility.
Defragging involves lots of read/write cycles. As the process doesn’t speed up SSDS, it’s basically pointless. File- shredding is similarly fine, if you feel the need, but disable any multiple-pass options: they’re unnecessary on an SSD. Files deleted from hard drives can leave magnetic ‘residues’ that, in theory, could allow someone to resurrect the file.