

NOTE: If you use an SSD (Solid State) please ignore my post and do not defrag. Files that are read/loaded by the sim from the drive will eventually become un-contiguous, increasing the time taken to find and load the required files when called by sim or upon initial load (Fly Now button). Defragmentation will make your FSX files contiguous once again, "Windows defrag" will do an adequate job unless you have a better one at hand, I use payware (O&O defrag (COMPLETE/name)) to defrag my FSX drive (1TB WD). Often after large installs and frequent simulator use files will become fragmented, thus placing new files or read files wherever there is freespace on the drive. Recommended action for improving load times, as well as load hangs, and keeping your FSX & OS install tidy.

In addition to John's post above, if you are using a HDD drive (Spinning Disk) you may find it helpful to defragment your FSX installation drive and/or OS drive.
