Storage Device is a device for recording (storing) information (data). Recording can be done using virtually any form of energy.storage device is a hardware device capable of storing information. There are two storage devices used in computers; a primary storage device such as computer RAM and a secondary storage device such as a computer hard disk drive.
Primary Storage: - Primary storage is a storage location that holds memory for short periods of times while the computer is on. For example, computer RAM (random-access memory) and cache are both examples of a primary storage device. This type of storage is the fastest type of memory in your computer and is used to store data while it’s being used. For example, when you open a program data is moved from the secondary storage into the primary storage. It is also known as internal memory and main memory.
Secondary Storage: - Secondary storage is a storage medium that holds information until it is deleted or overwritten regardless if the computer has power. For example, a floppy disk drive and hard disk drive are both good examples of secondary storage devices. As can be seen by the below picture there are three different types of storage on a computer, although primary storage is accessed much faster than secondary storage because of the price and size limitations secondary storage is used with today’s computers to store all your programs and your personal data.
It is also known as external memory and auxiliary storage. Off-line storage in Fig could be considered secondary storage, we’ve separated these into their own category because these types of media can be easily removed from the computer and stored elsewhere.
Floppy Disk : It’s a circular disk coated with magnetic oxide and enclosed within square plastic cover (Jacket). It’s available in different size, but the most commonly used floppy is 3½. Data up to 1.44 MB can be stored in it. Data is written as tiny magnetic spots on the dish surface creating new data or a disk surface eraser data previously stored at that location. Floppies are available in 2 sizes, 3.5 inch & 5.25 inch. The 3.5 inch size floppy is mostly used. The 5.25 inch floppy is kept in a flexible cover & it’s not safe. It can store about 1.2 MB data.
Hard Disk : Hard disks are made of aluminum or other metal alloys which are coated on both sides with magnetic material. Unlike floppy disks, hark disks are not removable from the computer. To remain the storing capacity several disks are packed together & mounted on a common drive to form a disk pack. A disk is also called a platter.
Magnetic Tape: Magnetic Tape can be used to perform both functions -input and output. Magnetic Tape is a secondary storage media. Magnetic tapes are used for large computers like mainframe computers where large volume of data is stored for a longer time. In PC also you can use tapes in the form of cassettes. The cost of storing data in tapes is inexpensive. Tapes consist of magnetic materials that store data permanently. It can be 12.5 mm to 25 mm wide plastic film-type and 500 meter to 1200 meter long which is coated with magnetic material. The deck is connected to the central processor and information is fed into or read from the tape through the processor. It similar to cassette tape recorder.
Advantages of Magnetic Tape:
• Compact: A 10-inch diameter reel of tape is 2400 feet long and is able to hold 800, 1600 or 6250 characters in each inch of its length. The maximum capacity of such tape is 180 million characters. Thus data are stored much more compactly on tape.
• Economical: The cost of storing characters is very less as compared to other storage devices.
• Fast: Copying of data is easier and fast.
• Long term Storage and Re-usability: Magnetic tapes can be used for long term storage and a tape can be used repeatedly with out loss of data.
Magnetic Disk: You might have seen the gramophone record, which is circular like a disk and coated with magnetic material. Magnetic disks used in computer are made on the same principle. It rotates with very high speed inside the computer drive. Data is stored on both the surface of the disk. Magnetic disks are most popular for direct access storage device.
Each disk consists of a number of invisible concentric circles called tracks. Information is recorded on tracks of a disk surface in the form of tiny magnetic spots. The presence of a magnetic spot represents one bit and its absence represents zero bit. The information stored in a disk can be read many times without affecting the stored data. So the reading operation is non-destructive. But if you want to write a new data, then the existing data is erased from the disk and new data is recorded.
Optical Disk : Information is written to or read from an optical disk or tape using laser beam. Optical disks are not suitable memory storage units because their access time is more than that of hard disks. Their advantage is that they have very high storage capacity.
Types of optical memory are: CD –ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R and DVD-RW. Information on a CD-ROM is written at the time of manufacture. CD-R/W of 700 MB are available. A DVD-ROM is similar to CD-ROM. It uses shorter wave length of laser beam and hence, stores more data than CD-ROM.
With every new application and software there is greater demand for memory capacity. It is the necessity to store large volume of data that has led to the development of optical disk storage medium. Optical disks can be divided into the following categories:
1. Compact Disk/ Read Only Memory (CD-ROM): CD-ROM disks are made of reflective metals. CD-ROM is written during the process of manufacturing by high power laser beam. Here the storage density is very high, storage cost is very low and access time is relatively fast. Each disk is approximately 4 1/2 inches in diameter and can hold over 600 MB of data. As the CD-ROM can be read only we cannot write or make changes into the data contained in it.
2. Write Once Read Many (WORM): The inconvenience that we can not write any thing in to a CD-ROM is avoided in WORM. A WORM allows the user to write data permanently on to the disk. Once the data is written it can never be erased without physically damaging the disk. Here data can be recorded from keyboard, video scanner, OCR equipment and other devices. The advantage of WORM is that it can store vast amount of data amounting to gigabytes (109 bytes). Any document in a WORM can be accessed very fast, say less than 30 seconds.
3. Erasable Optical Disk: These are optical disks where data can be written, erased and re-written. This also applies a laser beam to write and re-write the data. These disks may be used as alternatives to traditional disks. Erasable optical disks are based on a technology known as magnetic optical (MO). To write a data bit on to the erasable optical disk the MO drive's laser beam heats a tiny, precisely defined point on the disk's surface and magnetizes it.
Chapter : Memory & Input/Output Unit
• Computer Fundamental
• Computer Fundamental
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