Secondary Storage and Media
Secondary Storage and Media
Secondary Storage and Media
Storage terms
Media is the material storing data
Storage devices manage the media
Magnetic devices use a magnet
Optical devices use lasers
Magnetic Storage Devices
Hard Disk
Tape
Magnetic Storage Devices
Platter is divided
into tracks and
sectors
Tracks are
divided into
blocks (minimum
read size)
Tracks and Sectors
Cross Section
How does the hard disk store data?
Seek Time - The seek time of a hard disk is the average time it
takes for the disk to find the data you need on the platters. A
fast spinning, highly accurate and responsive disk will have a
shorter seek time and will perform much better, especially when
the data is scattered around the disk.
How it adds up
Simply put, when you format a hard drive, you wipe off any
existing information and files from that drive in order to
prepare it for either an operating system, or to store files.
It creates the organization for the drive.
Formatting a storage medium
CD Regrettable (CD-RW)
Create a reusable CD
Cannot be read in all CD players
Can reuse about 100 times
Recordable Optical Technologies
Photo CD
Developed by Kodak
Provides for photo storage
Photos added to CD until full
Original pictures cannot be changed
Recordable Optical Technologies
DVD Recordable
Several different formats exist
None are standardized
Allows home users to create DVDs
Cannot be read in all players
Recordable Optical Technologies
DVD-RAM
Allow reusing of DVD media
Not standardized
Cannot be read in all players
Advantages of CDs and DVDs
Environmentally friendly
On your own
Zip Disk
Jaz disk
USB