>I tried this in the CHATTER forum, but an absence of response prompts me to re-try here.
>
>Keeping in mind:
>1) Modern Windows systems are multi-tasking systems.
>2) Windows itself (and its components, like IE) make significant 'quiet' use of your HD space for all manner of files, large and small.
>3) Other applications (MS Word for example) can use HD space 'quietly' too.
>4) Modern HDs are fast, processors are faster yet, and RAM is plentiful.
>... what hard facts are there to back up the axiom (it is essentially an axiom today) that fragmentation is bad?
>
>That fragmentation is bad is so prevalent a concept that I must be missing something obvious. What is it?
>
>Thanks for any/all input on this issue.
>Jim Nelson

I just discovered a site with an excellent overview of hard drive technology and an overview of operating systems and file systems: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/