Memory fragmentation occurs when a system contains memory that is technically free but that the computer can’t utilize. The memory allocator, which assigns needed memory to various tasks, divides and allocates memory blocks as they are required by programs; when data is deleted, more memory blocks are freed up in the system and added back to the pool of available memory. When the allocator’s actions or the restoration of previously occupied memory segments leads to blocks or even bytes of memory that are too small or too isolated to be used by the memory pool, fragmentation has occurred. Fragmentation can take a significant bite out of a computer’s free memory and it is often the cause of frustrating out-of-memory error messages. The problem of fragmentation does not apply to all operating systems equally. For Mac computers, defragmenting is not necessary because Mac OS X automatically optimizes disk space when files are written. Linux machines also do not require regular defragmenting because they assign memory in a scattered format instead of a contiguous one, giving the files room to expand. Linux users who see a drop in system performance should consider increasing the size of their hard disk. Finally, you should never defragment a solid state storage drive (such as a USB drive), since defragmentation can actually shorten the usable life of solid state drives. Writer Bio
