Does defragmenting in Windows.....

kill your datas? or crush your PC? I do defragment sometimes but I'm so scared each time I do it. So please tell me the answer. Because my external hard drive is being quite slower then usual nowadays, I think I have to defragment the ex hard drive. Or is there anyother solution??

All that said, one more hint: Get some good defragmentation software. That fully excludes any Symantec/Norton bullshit as well as Executive Software's Diskkeeper (the latter one being terribly inefficient). O&O Software's "O&O Defrag" works nice for me, fast, reliable and efficient. There are others around, just make sure you read some tests before getting them.