Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

New Products

The Fragmentation Disease: Slowing It All Down

When it comes to computing, there are problems that are more basic than others. Probably at the bottom are hardware problems; all hardware obviously has to be connected and operational for the computer to function. Next would be the operating system, which needs to be in place for any work to be performed on the computer. Once these things are in place, the next thing that must be addressed for optimum performance to occur is the tackling of the fragmentation disease, because file fragmentation–the breaking of files into pieces (fragments) to better utilize hard drive space–is going to affect every computer operation from there on out.

Fragmentation begins to be a problem right from the loading of applications, and continues to drastically worsen as work is performed and files are saved, modified and deleted. All functions are affected. A common example is something one might think wouldn’t be affected by fragmentation: web browsing.

Because web sites are not resident on the computer that’s being used for the browsing, it may seem that fragmentation wouldn’t affect web browsing at all. But the truth of the matter is that any web page accessed–including all graphics, text and design elements, and portions of streaming video and audio–are temporarily downloaded onto the computer being used for browsing. The worse the fragmentation, the more the free space on the hard drive is broken up, which means that all files temporarily saved as part of web browsing are saved in a fragmented fashion. Those files are immediately accessed so that the web page can be viewed, and if they have been saved in a fragmented state, access will take longer. The worse the fragmentation, the longer it will take. If a web page is revisited later, those same files will be retrieved from the hard drive to make access quicker. But again, if the fragmentation disease has run rampant, that access will be considerably slowed down.

The common solution to fragmentation over the years has been scheduled defragmentation–a defragmenter will run periodically, when scheduled, to clean up fragmentation on the drive. The problem with scheduled defragmentation is that in between scheduled runs, fragmentation continues to build and continues to impact performance. And with a function such as web browsing, fragmentation is always occurring as temporary files are saved and overwritten–hence scheduled defragmentation is only making a difference just after it runs. The rest of the time, web browsing runs slower in direct ratio to the fragmentation that is happening.

The best defragmentation solution for web browsing–or any of today’s applications for that matter–is a completely automatic solution, one that defragments invisibly, in the background, whenever otherwise idle system resources are available. Performance is consistently maximized and fragmentation is never a problem again, and operations such as web browsing are always smooth and fast.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Latest Products

TEAC HA-507 Analog Headphone Amplifier/Preamp Front Top Silver

Headphone Amps

At $1,999, the Technics HA-507 is a pure analog headphone amplifier and preamplifier with a balanced/dual mono configuration.

Ruark Audio R-CD100 CD Transport atop R410 Music System Ruark Audio R-CD100 CD Transport atop R410 Music System

CD Players

Add CD playback to the Ruark R410, R610 and R810 music systems for only $350 with the new R-CD100 CD Transport.

Wharfedale Super Linton Speaker Lifestyle Wharfedale Super Linton Speaker Lifestyle

Bookshelf Speakers

Wharfedale elevates its loudspeaker line with the Super Linton. Find out what the deal is.

Vizio MicMe Karaoke Soundbar Lifestyle with Singer Vizio MicMe Karaoke Soundbar Lifestyle with Singer

New Products

At $349, the Vizio MicMe soundbar comes with two wireless mics for karaoke to turn any evening into a party

Grado Signature HP100 SE Headphones Lifestyle on stand Grado Signature HP100 SE Headphones Lifestyle on stand

New Products

At $2,495, the Grado Signature HP100 SE are the company's new flagship open-back headphone that are hand-assembled in Brooklyn with newly engineered drivers, detachable...

beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO MKII and DT 1990 PRO MKII Headphones beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO MKII and DT 1990 PRO MKII Headphones

New Products

At $599 each, Beyerdynamic's 2nd generation studio headphones arrive in closed-back or open-back styles with new TESLA.45 driver and lower impedance at 30 ohms.

Gift Ideas?

Splurge Gift Guide for Hi-Fi Audio and Home Theater during Holiday 2024

Gift Guides

Share the love of music and movies with hi-fi audio and home theater gift ideas that are guaranteed to impress.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

ecoustics is a hi-fi and music magazine offering product reviews, podcasts, news and advice for aspiring audiophiles, home theater enthusiasts and headphone hipsters. Read more

Copyright © 1999-2024 ecoustics | Disclaimer: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.



SVS Bluesound PSB Speakers NAD Cambridge Audio Q Acoustics Denon Marantz Focal Naim Audio RSL Speakers