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# IOMalloc

Allocates the specified amount of general-purpose memory.

```
void *IOMalloc(size_t length);
```

## Parameters

`length`

The number of bytes to allocate.

## Return Value

A pointer to the allocated memory block, or `NULL` on failure.

## Discussion

This is a general-purpose utility to allocate memory. There are no alignment guarantees on the returned memory, and alignment may vary depending on the configuration. To allocate memory for use in I/O transfers, create an [`IOBufferMemoryDescriptor`](/documentation/DriverKit/IOBufferMemoryDescriptor) instead.

---

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