The real and complete story - Does Windows defragment your SSD? — by Scott Hanselman

intermediatepageLink only (©)Windows 11Windows 10

A classic 2014 explainer, written with the Windows storage team, on why Windows occasionally defragments SSDs on purpose and what retrim does. It's an older post, but its main advice not to disable Optimize Drives is still commonly cited.

Read the full article on hanselman.com

Source: The real and complete story - Does Windows defragment your SSD? by Scott Hanselman. Licence: Link only (©).

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: 2026-11-02
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

ssddefragtrimstorage

More in Further Reading & Power Tools

Microsoft PowerToys documentation — by Microsoft Learn

beginnerpage

Official docs for PowerToys, Microsoft's free, open-source utilities: Text Extractor, File Locksmith, PowerRename, FancyZones, Peek, Registry Preview, Hosts File Editor, Command Palette and more.

Clean up the WinSxS folder — by Microsoft Learn

intermediatepage

The safe ways to shrink the component store: the StartComponentCleanup task, DISM /StartComponentCleanup (with an optional /ResetBase) and Disk Cleanup. It also warns why you must never delete WinSxS files by hand.

Deprecated features in the Windows client — by Microsoft Learn

intermediatepage

Microsoft's list of Windows features that are no longer being developed and may be removed, such as Steps Recorder. Check it before relying on an older tool or tweak.