How Computers Store Information

When you use a telephone, it does not store information. You speak into the
phone, the person on the other end hears what you say and then your words
are gone. An answering machine is different. It answers the phone and stores
the information given by the caller.

Computers store all kinds of information. They store the information you give
them, instructions from the software you're using, plus the instructions they
need to operate. To store all this, they use two basic kinds of storage.
Temporary storage is for information actively being used for processing.
Random Access Memory (RAM) accepts new information for temporary
storage. Long-term storage is for information computers use again and again,
such as the instructions the computer prepares itself with every time you turn it
on. These instructions are stored in read only memory (ROM), a type of
memory that does not accept new information.

Computers also use a variety of devices to store information that isn't actively
being used for processing. Hard drives, CD-ROM, storage, and floppy disk
drives.