Module 01

Computer Hardware
Storage Devices

What good is a computer without a place to put everything? Storage media hold the data being accessed, as well as the files the system needs to operate, and data that needs to be saved. When everything is done and information needs to be stored, where should it be kept? The many different types of storage differ in terms of their capacity (how much they can store), access time (how fast the computer can access the information), and the physical type of media being used. Storage devices hold data, even when the computer is powered off. The physical material that actually holds data is called storage medium. The hardware that writes or reads data from a storage medium is called as a storage device. Storage devices would include magnetic, optical and Chips

Magnetic Storage Device Disk Drives A disk drive is an encasement which accomodates a disk and hepls to read and write data on the disk.There are different types of disk drives for different types of disks :- Hard disk drive ( HDD )- Floppy disk drive ( FDD )

Hard Disk Drives Hard disks actually contain several disks called platters, stacked together and mounted through their centers on a small rod called a spindle The disks are rotated about this rod at a speed between 2,000 and 10,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). As the disks rotate, one or more read/write heads float approximately 10 microinches (about one-tenth the width of a human hair) above the disk surfaces and make, modify, or sense changes in the magnetic positions of the coatings on the disks. Several heads are moved together as one unit by an actuator arm. There is usually one head for each side of a platter. This entire mechanism is enclosed in a hard disk case. These disks are also called fixed disks because the mechanism is not designed to be removed. The disk platters, though perfectly free to revolve at high RPM, are otherwise fixed in place.

Floppy Disk Drives

The floppy disk drive is the most commonly used magnetic storage device.. Floppy disks have only one platter encased in a plastic shell and are available in different capacities. A floppy drive has either one or two read/write heads. Each head moves in a straight line on a track over the disk rather than on an angular path as with fixed disk systems. When the disk is placed into the drive, a motor engages the center of the disk and rotates it in 3600RPMs speed. This action moves the tracks past the read/write heads.

5 1/4-Inch Floppy Disk

3 1/2-Inch Diskette

The 5 1/4-inch floppy disks are made from a polyester disk coated with iron oxide and a flexible outer covering. The disk has a large hole in the center, called the drive hole, which the motor in the disk drive uses to spin the disk. In addition, a 11/2-inch oval window is cut into the case to allow the read/write heads access to the disk media. A small round hole cut into the disk shell next to the drive hole lines up with an even smaller hole cut into the disk media. When this smaller hole spins past the slightly larger hole in the shell, it allows a light to shine all the way through the disk system. In this way, the floppy drive can tell how fast the disk is rotating by how many times per second that hole appears. Finally, a notch is cut in one side of the disk. This notch is called the write protect tab. When a disk is inserted into a floppy drive, a small lever places itself into this notch. When the lever is in the notch, the disk can be written to. You can write-protect the disk (which prevents it from being written to) by covering this hole. Capacity 360KB 720KB 1.2MB 1.44MB Form 51/4" 31/2" 51/4" 31/2" Factor FH HH FH or HH HH Density Sides Double Double Double Double High Double High Double

The other type of floppy disk media is not really floppy at all. Some people mistakenly call it a hard disk. Its real name is a 31/2-inch diskette (to differentiate it from a full-grown disk, I suppose). The 31/2-inch diskettes are also made from a polyester disk coated with a layer of iron oxide. This disk is enclosed in a durable, plastic case. This case is an improvement over the 51/4-inch variety, because the 51/4-inch floppies are easily creased or damaged. The 31/2-inch diskettes also have a metal shutter over the media access window. Again, this is an improvement over 51/4-inch media - people often grasp the disks inadvertently by this edge of the disk, pressing their fingers onto the media and thus contaminating the disk, making it difficultto read.

Tape Drives The final type of magnetic media drive is tape drive.The tape cartridge uses a long polyester ribb.on coated with magnetic oxide wrapped around two spools. As the tape unwinds from one spool, it passes by a read/write head in the drive that retrieves or saves the information. It then proceeds to the other spool where it is kept until needed again. Tape media is great for large-capacity storage, but it is relatively slow because it uses sequential readwrite operation.The best application for tape media is making backups. Current tape technology uses 4mm or 8mm Digital Audio Tape (DAT) or Digital Linear Tape (DLT) for its storage medium. With these technologies, it is possible to store up to 70GB of data on a single tape cartridge.

Optical Storage Device CD-ROM Drives A CD- ROM (CD-ROM stands for Compact DiscRead-Only Memory) is an optical storage device which is accomodated by a CD-ROM drive.These drives are slightly different from other storage media in several ways. First, they read information differently than magnetic media disk drives do. CD-ROM drives use laser light to read the information from the media, they are described as optical drives. Another difference between magnetic media and CD-ROM drives is that CD-ROM drives are read-only devices ( Compact DiscRead-Only Memory). The only way to write to a CD-ROM is during manufacture time, when the pits are burned into the substrate of the disc. Once written, they cannot be erased.Today, using the latest writable and re-writable CD's we can write new data as well as erase existing and re-write new data. When reading information from a CD, the drive basically reads a lot of pits and lands (lands are the spaces between the pits) in the disc surface. The pits are etched into the CD at production time. The laser reflects off the CDs surface and onto a sensor. The sensor detects the pattern of pits and lands as the disc rotates and translates them into patterns of 1s and 0s. This binary information is fed to the computer that is retrieving the data. A CD-ROM disc has a single track that runs from the center to the outside edge, exactly the reverse of the groove on a record. A CD-ROM uses basically the same technology as the audio compact discs used in most homes today. When a CD-ROM is placed into a CD-ROM drive, a motor spins the CD at a specific rate. A laser that reads the CD is then activated.Due to these basic similarities, several compatibilities exist between the different compact disc technologies. For example, it is possible to play audio CDs in a computers CD-ROM drive. Also, some computer CDs have audio tracks on them and are made to be used in either type of CD drive (home audio or computer).