By Hasan Shah

National University of Modern Languages

Department of telecommunication
Lecture notes from telecommunication semester 1

Secondary Storage Devices

It is important to know the difference between secondary storage and a computer's main
memory. Secondary storage is also called auxiliary storage and is used to store data and
programs when they are not being processed. Secondary storage is more permanent than
main memory, as data and programs are retained when the power is turned off. The needs
of secondary storage can vary greatly between users. A personal computer might only
require 20,000 bytes of secondary storage but large companies, such as banks, may
require secondary storage devices that can store billions of characters. Because of such a
variety of needs, a variety of storage devices are available. The two most common types
of secondary storage are magnetic tapes and magnetic disks.

Magnetic Tape Storage

Magnetic tape is a one-half inch or one-quarter inch ribbon of plastic material on which
data is recorded. The tape drive is an input/output device that reads, writes and erases
data on tapes. Magnetic tapes are erasable, reusable and durable. They are made to store
large quantities of data inexpensively and therefore are often used for backup. Magnetic
tape is not suitable for data files that are revised or updated often because it stores data
sequentially.

Magnetic Disk Storage

Magnetic disks are the most widely used storage medium for computers. A magnetic disk
offers high storage capacity, reliability, and the capacity to directly access stored data.
Magnetic disks hold more data in a small place and attain faster data access speeds.
Types of magnetic disks include diskettes, hard disks, and removable disk cartridges.

Diskettes

The diskette was introduced in the early 1970s by IBM as a new type of secondary
storage. Originally they were eight inches in diameter and were thin and flexible which
gave them the name floppy disks, or floppies. Diskettes are used as the principle medium
of secondary storage for personal computers. They are available in two different sizes: 3
1/2 inch and 5 1/4 inch.
By Hasan Shah

DISKETTE STORAGE CAPACITY

o Before you can store data on your diskette, it must be formatted. The
amount of data you can store on a diskette depends on the recording
density and the number of tracks on the diskette. Commonly used diskettes
are referred to as either double-density or high-density (single-density
diskettes are no longer used). Double-density diskettes (DD) can store
360K for a 5 1/4 inch diskette and 720K for a 3 1/2 inch diskette. High-
density diskettes (HD) can store 1.2 megabytes (G) on a 5 1/4 inch
diskette and 1.44 megabytes on a 3 1/2 inch diskette.

CARE OF DISKETTES
o You should keep diskettes away from heat, cold, magnetic fields
(including telephones) and contaminated environments such as dust,
smoke, or salt air. Also keep them away from food and do not touch the
disk surface.

Hard Disks

Hard disks provide larger and faster secondary storage capabilities than diskettes. Usually
hard disks are permanently mounted inside the computer and are not removable like
diskettes. On minicomputers and mainframes, hard disks are often called fixed disks.
They are also called direct-access storage devices (DASD). Most personal computers
have two to four disk drives. The input/output device that transfers data to and from the
hard disk is the hard disk drive.

HARD DISK STORAGE CAPACITY

o Like diskettes, hard disks must be formatted before they can store
information. The storage capacity for hard drives is measured in
megabytes. Common sizes for personal computers range from 100MB to
some Gigas of storage.

Disk Cartridges

Removable disk cartridges are another form of disk storage for personal computers. They
offer the storage and fast access of hard disks and the portability of diskettes. They are
often used when security is an issue since, when you are done using the computer, the
disk cartridge can be removed and locked up leaving no data on the computer.

Backup
Backup means creating a copy of important programs and data. To backup diskettes,
copy the data from one to the other. Diskettes are frequently used to backup important
files on hard drives of personal computers.