![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/FragmentationDefragmentation.gif/640px-FragmentationDefragmentation.gif&w=640&q=50)
File system fragmentation
Condition where a segmented file system is used inefficiently / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In computing, file system fragmentation, sometimes called file system aging, is the tendency of a file system to lay out the contents of files non-continuously to allow in-place modification of their contents. It is a special case of data fragmentation. File system fragmentation negatively impacts seek time in spinning storage media, which is known to hinder throughput. Fragmentation can be remedied by re-organizing files and free space back into contiguous areas, a process called defragmentation.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/FragmentationDefragmentation.gif/320px-FragmentationDefragmentation.gif)
Solid-state drives do not physically seek, so their non-sequential data access is hundreds of times faster than moving drives, making fragmentation less of an issue. It is recommended to not manually defragment solid-state storage, because this can prematurely wear drives via unnecessary write–erase operations.[1]