File system fragmentation: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:43, 5 February 2022

Revision as of 06:56, 26 April 2022

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{{Short description|Condition where a segmented file system is used inefficiently}}

[[File:FragmentationDefragmentation.gif|thumb|Visualization of fragmentation and then of defragmentation]]In [[computing]], '''file system fragmentation''', sometimes called '''file system aging''', is the tendency of a [[file system]] to lay out the contents of [[Computer file|files]] non-continuously to allow in-place modification of their contents. It is a special case of [[fragmentation (computer)#Data fragmentation|data fragmentation]]. File system fragmentation increases disk head movement or [[seek time]] (where it applies), which are known to hinder [[throughput (disk drive)|throughput]]. The correction to existing fragmentation is to reorganize files and free space back into contiguous areas, a process called [[defragmentation]].