Fragmentation happens when a file is split up to fit on a hard drive. This naturally occurs because files are constantly being moved, deleted, and written to your hard drive. Defragmenting moves all the files closer together on the hard drive which can speed up read times and increase performance.
WARNING: DO NOT do this to Solid State Drives (SSD).
Note: Any game installed on an SSD Drive will run faster than games installed on a Hard Disk Drive (HHD).
To defragment your hard drive check out this Microsft article: Defragment your Windows 10 PC
Note: The same instructions can be used for Windows 11
If you are following the series of articles in How do I change the Power Mode for Windows PC? and this did not solve the issue try the next step in our troubleshooting: How do I change the Power Mode for Windows PC?