How to Run Disk Defragmenter on a Remote Computer

With the help of PsExec and console defragmentation tool (defrag.exe), you can defrag a remote computer from any location on the network.

PsExec is a light-weight telnet-replacement that lets you execute processes on other systems, complete with full interactivity for console applications, without having to manually install client software. PsExec’s most powerful uses include launching interactive command-prompts on remote systems and remote-enabling tools like IpConfig that otherwise do not have the ability to show information about remote systems.

Running Disk Defragmenter remotely

1. Download PSExec and save it to the Desktop.

2. Unzip the archive and move PSExec.exe to your Windows directory.

3. Open a Command Prompt window (cmd.exe) and type:

PsExec -i -s \\<RemotePC> c:\windows\system32\defrag.exe c: -f

The above assumes that the name of the remote computer is RemotePC.

Since the -i switch is specified, the program interacts with the desktop of the specified session on the remote system. Therefore, the remote user will be able to cancel the defragmentation process at any time.

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3 Comments

  1. It-support
    said this on Thursday, October 29th 2009 9:16 pm

    cheers! makes things a lot easier for me

  2. Rajeev SR
    said this on Thursday, April 17th 2008 10:49 pm

    Our IT guys use a third party auto defragmenter in conjunction with a central administrative defrag console app for defragging the 300 workstations in the computing labs. They say they like this setup because their workload is significantly reduced compared to the scheduled defrags they previously used to conduct. Now, the auto defraggers defrag in real-time in the background using idle resources, so defrag occurs autonomously, with the option of centralized control if required.

  3. said this on Thursday, April 17th 2008 9:42 pm

    I was just looking for info on this, thanks!!

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