One solution is to reorganize or defragment the disk every so often--write all files to tape or another disk, and then write them back to the original disk, only using consecutive sectors and adjacent tracks. This takes time and must be done when the disk is not actually needed by programs.

Another method of reducing seek time is to keep all sectors of a given file close to each other. A cylinder is a group of all tracks on the several surfaces of a disk drive that are at the same distance from the edge. (see Fig. 17.6.3)