STORAGE DEVICE

A 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 drive. Below, are some additional examples of storage devices.

Floppy diskette CD-ROM disc CD-R disc CD-RW disc DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW disc Jump drive and USB flash drive Hard drive LS-120 Tape cassette Zip diskette

PRIMARY STORAGE DEVICE Alternatively referred to as internal memory and main memory, primary storage is a storage location that holds memory for short periods of times while the computer running. For example, RAM and cache are both examples of a primary storage device. This storage is the fastest 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.

RAM
Short form for Random Access Memory, RAM, also known as main memory or system memory. It is a term commonly used to describe the memory within a computer. Unlike ROM, RAM is a volatile memory and requires power; if power is lost, all data is also lost.

Cache
Pronounced as Cash (like the money). Cache is a high-speed access area that can be either a reserved section of main memory or a storage device. The two main cache types are memory cache and disk cache. Memory cache is a portion on memory of high-speed static RAM (SRAM) and is effective because most programs access the same data or instructions over-and-over. By keeping as much of this information as possible in SRAM, the computer avoids accessing the slower DRAM. Most computers today come with L3 cache or L2 cache, while older computers included only L1 cache. Like memory caching, disk caching is used to access commonly accessed data. However, instead of using high-speed SRAM, a disk cache uses conventional main memory. The most recently accessed data from a disk is stored in a memory buffer. When a program needs to access data from the disk, it first checks the disk cache to see if the data is there. Disk caching can dramatically improve the performance of applications because accessing a byte of data in RAM can be thousands of times faster than accessing a byte on a hard drive.

Secondary storage device

Alternatively referred to as external memory and auxiliary 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 drive are both good examples of secondary storage devices. As can be seen by the below picture there are three different 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.

Finally, although off-line storage could be considered secondary storage, we've separated these into their own category because this media can be removed from the computer and stored elsewhere.

FDD A Floppy Disk Drive, or FDD or FD for short, is a computer disk drive that enables a user to save data to removable diskettes. Although 8" disk drives were first made available in 1971, the first real disk drives used were the 5 1/4" floppy disk drives, which were later replaced with 3 1/2" floppy disk drives. Today, because of the limited capacity and reliability of floppy diskettes many computers no longer come equipped with floppy disk drives and are being replaced with CD-R, other writable discs, and flash drives. CD-ROM Short for Compact Disc-Read Only Memory, CD-ROM drives or optical drives are CD players inside computers that can have speeds in the range from 1x and beyond, and have the capability of playing audio CDs and computer data CDs. Below is a picture of the front and back of a standard CD-ROM drive. CD-R Alternatively referred to as CD-WO (Write once) or WORM (Write Once Read Many) drive. CD-R is short for CD-Recordable and is a writable disc and drive that is capable of having information written to the disc once and then having that disc read many times after that. If the data is not written to the disc properly, has errors, or has the incorrect information that disc or portions of that disc cannot be erased. A CD-R disc is coated with a photosensitive organic dye that allows a user to record information. Once the CD-R disc is placed within the computer, the recording process begins. The laser inside the drive heats the dye to reveal areas that diffuse the light like a traditional CD pit. The CD-R drive does not actually create pits on the CD; instead the burner creates reflective sections on the CD causing the computer's CD-ROM laser to interpret it as a pit. Once a CD-R disc is finished recording, the CD will be able to be used in any standard CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, or DVD drive. Although, there were issues with the first revision DVD drives reading CD-R discs. CD-Rs are a low cost solution for backing up software. Each CD-R often only costs a few cents (as of 2010 around 17-cents a disc) and are capable of holding up to 650 MB (74 minutes of music) or 700MB (80 minutes of music). Although these are still a very popular solution for backing up data, more users are turning to USB thumb drives to backup and transfer their data.

Recordable DVD drives Alternatively referred to as a DVD writer, recordable DVD drives are disc drives capable of creating DVD discs. Unfortunately, unlike recordable CD drives, there are many different competing standards for creating DVD discs. For example, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL (DVD+R9), and DVD-RAM are all different competing standards. Below is a brief explanation of each of these standards and related links to each of these standards.

DVD-R Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable, DVD-R is similar to the idea behind CD-R, where the drive is capable or recording once to a disc and then read many times after it has been created. DVD-R is an approved standard by DVD Forum and the drives are capable of recording to DVD-R discs, also known asDVD-5 and DVD-10 discs. Note: DVD-R discs are compatible with most stand alone DVD players and computer DVDROM drives. DVD-RW (DVD-R/W) Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Read/Write, DVD-RW is an approved standard by DVD Forum and, much like CD-RW, is a technology that enables a user to read and write to a DVDRW or DVD-R disc several times. DVD-RW drives are capable of recording to DVD-R and DVDRW discs, also known as DVD-5 and DVD-10discs. Note: DVD-RW discs are compatible with most stand-alone DVD players and computer DVDROM drives. DVD+R Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable, DVD+R is an approved standard by the DVD+RW Alliance and, much like CD-R and DVD-R, is a technology that enables a user to read and write to a DVD+RW or DVD+R disc several times. DVD+RW drives are capable of recording DVD+R discs, also known as DVD-5 and DVD-10 discs. Note: DVD+R discs are compatible with most stand-alone DVD players and computer DVDROM drives. DVD+RW Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Read/Write, DVD+R is an approved standard by the DVD+RW Alliance and, much like CD-RW and DVD-RW, is a technology that enables a user to read and write to a DVD+RW or DVD+R disc several times. DVD+RW drives are capable of recording DVD+R and DVD+RW discs, also known as DVD-5 and DVD-10 discs. Note: DVD+RW discs are compatible with most stand-alone DVD players and computer DVDROM drives. DVD+R DL (DVD+R9) Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable Dual Layer, DVD+R DL is an approved standard by the DVD+RW Alliance and almost doubles the capacity of a DVD when compared with the DVD+R or DVD+RW discs, also known as DVD-9 and DVD-18 discs. Note: DVD+R DL discs are compatible with most stand-alone DVD players and computer DVDROM drives.

DVD-RAM Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Random Access Memory, DVD-RAM drives are an approved standard by the DVD+RW Alliance and are similar to CD-RW in that they enable users to read and write to a disc several times. Note: Unlike competing standards of DVD recordable discs, DVD-RAM discs cannot be read in the majority of stand-alone DVD players and computer DVD-ROM drives.

Hard drive Alternatively referred to as a hard disk drive and abbreviated as HD or HDD, the hard drive is the computer's main storage media device that permanently stores all data on the computer. The hard drive was first introduced on September 13, 1956 and consists of one or more hard drive platters inside of air sealed casing. Most computer hard drives are in an internal drive bay at the front of the computer and connect to the motherboard using either ATA, SCSI, or a SATA cable and power cable. Below, is an illustration of what the inside of a hard drive looks like for a desktop and laptop hard drive.

As can be seen in the above picture, the desktop hard drive has six components: the head actuator, read/write actuator arm, read/write head, spindle, and platter. On the back of a hard drive is a circuit board called the disk controller. How is data read and stored on a hard drive? Data sent to and from the hard drive is interpreted by the disk controller, which tells the hard drive what to do and how to move the components within the drive. When the operating system needs to read or write information, it examines the hard drives File Allocation Table (FAT) to determine file location and available areas. Once this has been determined, the disk controller instructs the actuator to move the read/write arm and align the read/write head. Because files are often scattered throughout the platter, the head will often need to move to several different locations to access all information. All information stored on a traditional hard drive, like the above example, is done magnetically. After completing the above steps, if the computer needs to read information from the hard drive it would read the magnetic polarities on the platter. One side of the magnetic polarity is 0 and the other is 1, reading this as binary data the computer can understand what the data is on the platter. For the computer to write information to the platter, the read/write head aligns the magnetic polarities, writing 0's and 1's that can be read later. External and Internal hard drives Although most hard drives are internal hard drives, many users also use external hard drives to backup data on their computer and expand the total amount of space available to them. External drives are often stored in an enclosure that helps protect the drive and allow it to interface with the computer, usually over USB or eSATA. A great example of a backup external device that supports multiple hard drives is the Drobo. External hard drives come in many shapes and sizes. Some are large, about the size of a book, while others are about the size of a cell phone. External hard drives can be very useful for backing up important data and taking with you on the go. They can store a lot of information, including music and movies.