Computer Hardware

Ministry of Secondary Education Republic of Cameroon
Progressive
&
Comprehensive High School Peace – Work – Fatherland
PCHS Mankon – Bamenda School Year 2014/2015
Department of Computer Studies
COMPUTER HARDWARE DEVICE

Class: Comp. Sc A/L By: DZEUGANG PLACIDE
The computer system essentially consists of three components: input devices, central
processing unit and output devices. In the computer terminology, a device can be referred as
a unit of hardware, which is capable of providing input to the computer or receiving output or
both. The input devices are used to provide data to the central processing unit (CPU) for
processing. After processing, the input data are converted into meaningful information and
this output is presented to the user with the help of output devices. When the term 'device' is
used, it includes keyboard, mouse, display monitors, printers and other hardware units.
The aim of this chapter is to familiarize you with various types of output and output devices
along with their advantages, disadvantages and applications.
Learning objectives.
At the end of this chapter, student will be able to
- Describe common input and output devices and their functioning

- Describe common primary and secondary storage devices and their functioning
- Classify primary and secondary storage devices in order of performance and capacity
In this topic
I. INPUT DEVICES ........................................................................................................................... 2

II. OUTPUT DEVICES ....................................................................................................................... 6
III. GENERALITIES ON COMPUTER MEMORY ...................................................................... 12
IV. PRIMARY STORAGE DEVICE ............................................................................................. 15
V. SECONDARY STORAGE DEVICES ......................................................................................... 20
EXERCISE ON HARDWARE............................................................................................................. 27
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Topic: Input, Output and Storage devices Par DZEUGANG PLACIDE
I. INPUT DEVICES
An input device can be defined as an electromechanical device that allows the user to feed data into
the computer for analysis and storage, and to give commands to the computer. The computer
accepts input in two ways; manually and directly. In the case of manual data entry, the user enters
the data into the computer by hand, for example, by using the keyboard and the mouse. A user can
also enter the data directly by transferring information automatically from a source document (like
from check using MICR) into the computer.
Some of the commonly used input devices are keyboard, pointing devices like mouse and joystick,
speech recognition system, digital camera, scanners and so on.
I.1 Keying devices
These are devices that convert typed numbers, letters and special characters into machine readable
form examples: keyboard and keypad
I.1.1 Keyboard
A keyboard is the most common data entry device. The keyboard is designed like a regular
typewriter with a few additional keys. The data are entered into the computer by using various keys.
There are different types of keyboard layouts such as QWERTY, DVORAK and AZERTY, but the
most common layout is the QWERTY.
I.1.2 Keypad
This is a small keyboard used with hand held devices i.e. cell phones, calculators, notebooks, etc.
I.2 Pointing Devices
These are devices used to control the pointer/cursor on the screen. Some commonly pointing
devices are: mouse, trackball, joystick, light pen, touch screen and trackpad.
I.2.1 Mouse
A mouse is a small rectangular-shaped hand-held pointing device, it usually contains two or three
buttons, which can be used to input commands or the data. The mouse may be classified as a
mechanical mouse or an optical mouse, based on the technology it uses.
→ A mechanical mouse uses a rubber ball at the bottom surface, which rotates as the mouse is
moved along a flat surface to move the cursor.
→ An optical mouse uses a light beam instead of a rotating ball to detect the movement across
a specially patterned mouse pad.
I.2.2 Trackball
A trackball is another pointing device that resembles a ball nestled in a

square cradle and serves as an alternative to a mouse. In general, the
trackball is like a mouse turned upside down. It has a ball, which can be
rotated by fingers in any direction, and the cursor moves accordingly.
I.2.3 Joystick
A joystick is a device that moves in all directions and controls the movement of
the cursor. The basic design of a joystick consists of a stick that is attached to a
plastic base with a flexible rubber sheath. This plastic base houses a circuit board
beneath the stick.
I.2.4 Light Pen
A light pen (sometimes called a mouse pen) is a hand-held electro-optical

pointing device, which when touched or aimed closely at a connected computer
monitor will allow the computer to determine the position of the pen on the
screen. It facilitates drawing images and selects objects on the display screen by
directly pointing to the objects. It is a pen-like device, which is connected to the
machine by a cable.
I.2.5 Touch Screen
A touch screen is a special kind of display screen device, which is placed on the computer monitor
to allow direct selection or activation of the computer when the user touches the screen.
I.2.6 Trackpad
A trackpad (also referred to as touchpad) is a stationary pointing device that works by sensing the
movement of fingers across a small sensitive surface and translating them into the pointer
movement on the screen. It is generally used in laptops, but can also be connected to the PC through
a cord.
NOTE: The device manufactured by Apple is referred to as trackpad while the device
manufactured by others is known as touchpad.
I.3 Scanning devices
These are devices that capture data directly into the computer. They can also be defined as devices
that use a magnetic or photo-electric source to scan and convert images into electric signals that can
be processed by an electronic apparatus, such as a computer. They are commonly used to:
- Convert a text document into an electronic file;

- Convert a photograph into an electronic graphic file;
- Sense an image to be sent over a voice frequency
- Circuit, such as a fax machine;
- Reproduce text and images, as with a copier.
Scanners are classified according to technology used to capture data namely: optical and magnetic
scanners.
II.3.1 Optical scanners
These scanners capture data using optical or light technology. Examples of optical scanners
a) Bar Code Reader
A bar code is a machine-readable code in the form of parallel vertical lines

of varying widths. It is commonly used for labelling goods that are available
in super markets and numbering books in libraries. This code is sensed and
read by a bar code reader using reflective light. The information recorded in
the bar code reader is then fed into the computer, which recognizes the
information from the thickness and spacing of the bars.
b) Optical mark recognition
Optical mark recognition (OMR) is the process of detecting the

presence of intended marked responses. A mark registers
significantly less light than the surrounding paper. The optical
mark reading is done by a special device known as optical
mark reader. Generally, this technology is used to read answer
sheets (MCQ tests).
c) Optical Character Recognition
A scanner converts an input document into an electronic format that can be stored on the disk. If the
document to be scanned contains text, optical character recognition (OCR) software is needed to
translate the bitmap image of the text to the ASCII codes that the computer can interpret as letters,
numbers and special characters.
d) Scanner
A scanner is an input device that converts a document into an electronic format that can be stored
on the disk. Moreover, they can store images in both gray scale and color mode. The two most
common types of scanners are hand-held scanner and flat-bed scanner.
→ Hand-held Scanner: A hand-held scanner consists of light-

emitting diodes, which are placed over the document to be
scanned. This scanner performs the scanning of the document very
slowly from the top to the bottom with its light on.
→ Flat-bed Scanner: A flat-bed scanner is similar to a photocopier
machine. It consists of a box containing a glass plate on its top and
a lid that covers the glass plate. This glass plate is used for placing
the document to be scanned.
II.3.2 Magnetic scanners
These scanners use magnetic technology to capture handwritten and magnetic strip data. Some
examples of optical scanners are:
a) Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition (MICR):
You must have seen special magnetic encoding using characters, printed on the bottom of a check.
The characters are printed using a special ink, which contains iron particles that can be magnetized.
To recognize these magnetic-ink characters, a magnetic-ink character reader (MICR) is used. It
reads the characters by examining their shapes in a matrix form and the information is then passed
on to the computer.
The banking industry prefers MICR to OCR as the MICR gives extra security against forgeries such
as colour copies of payroll checks or hand-altered characters on a check. If a document has been
forged, say a counterfeit check produced using a colour
photocopying machine, the magnetic-ink line will either not
respond to the magnetic fields or will produce an incorrect code
when scanned using a device designed to recover the
information in the magnetic characters.
b) Digital camera:
Also known as a digicam, A digital camera stores images digitally rather than recording them on a
film. Once a picture has been taken, it can be transferred to a computer system and then
manipulated with an image editing software and printed.
c) webcam
Short form of web camera, is a portable video camera, which captures live video or
images that may be viewed in real time over the network or the Internet. It is just a
small digital camera that is either in-built in your computer (in most laptops) or can
be connected through a USB port.
I.4 Other input devices
Other input devices of computer include:
 Touch screen: It is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a
touch within the display area
 Interactive whiteboard (IWB): This is a large interactive display that connects to a
computer and projector. A projector projects the computer's desktop onto the board's surface
where users control the computer using a pen, finger, stylus, or other device. The board is
typically mounted to a wall or floor stand.
 Speech Recognition System: Speech recognition is one of the most interactive systems to
communicate with the computer. The user can simply instruct the computer with the help of
a microphone (along with speech recognition software) what task to be performed. It is the
technology by which sounds, words or phrases spoken by the individuals are converted into
digital signals, and these signals are transformed into computer-generated texts or
commands.
II. OUTPUT DEVICES
An output device is an electromechanical device, which converts machine-readable information into

human-readable form. The basic functioning of output device is just the opposite of the input
device, that is, the data are 'fed into' the computer system through the input device, while the output
is 'taken out' from the computer through the output device.
II.1 Types of Output
Output is the data that has been processed into useful information. It can be displayed or viewed on
a monitor, printed on a printer or listened through speakers or a headset. Generally, there are two
basic categories of output: Hard copy output and soft copy output
→ Hard Copy refers to the recorded information copied from a computer onto the paper or
some other durable surface such as microfilm. Hard copy output is permanent and a
relatively stable form of output.
→ Soft Copy is the electronic version of an output, which usually resides in the computer
memory and/or on the disk. Unlike hard copy, soft copy is not a permanent form of
output and is not tangible, that is, it cannot be touched.
II.2 Printers
A printer prints information and data from the computer onto a paper. The quality of a printer is
determined by its resolution. Resolution is used to describe the sharpness and clarity of an image.
The higher the resolution, the better the image. For printers, the resolution is measured in dots per
inch (dpi). The more dots per inch, the better will be the quality of image. Printers are divided into
two basic categories: impact printers and non-impact printers. Impact printers use some sort of
physical contact with the paper to make a mark onto it, while non-impact printers use techniques
other than to transfer ink onto it.
II.2.1 Impact Printers
An impact printer uses pins or hammers that press an inked ribbon against the paper to make a mark
on the paper. Some impact printers can print only one character at a time, while others can print an
entire line. The three most commonly used impact printers are dot matrix printers, daisy wheel
printers and drum printers.
Some characteristics of impact printers are as follows:

• In impact printers, there is physical contact with the paper to produce an image.
• They are relatively cheap. The primary recurring costs for these printers are the ink ribbons
and paper.
• Due to being robust and low cost, they are useful for bulk printing.
• They can withstand dusty environment, vibrations and extreme temperature.
• They are ideal for printing multiple copies (i.e. carbon copies) because they can easily print
through many layers of paper.
• Due to its striking activity, the impact printers are very noisy.
• Since they are mechanical in nature, they tend to be slow.
a) Dot Matrix Printers
Dot matrix printer (also known as the wire matrix printer) uses the oldest
printing technology and it prints one character at a time. It prints characters
and images as pattern of dots. The speed of dot matrix printers is measured in
characters per second (cps).
b) Daisy Wheel Printer
Daisy wheel printers produce high-resolution output and are more reliable than
dot matrix printers. They can have speed up to 90 cps. However, daisy wheel
printers give only alphanumeric output. They cannot print graphics and cannot
change fonts unless the print wheel is physically replaced. Daisy wheel printers
are slower and more expensive than dot matrix printers.
c) Drum Printers
The dot matrix and daisy wheel printers are character or serial printers, that is,
they print one character at a time. However, drum printer is a line printer; it can
print a line in a single operation. Although such printers are much faster than
character printers, they tend to be quite loud, have limited multifont capability
and often produce lower print quality than most recent printing technologies. Line printers are
designed for heavy printing applications.
II.2.2 Non-impact Printers
In this printer, the print head does not make any contact with the paper, and no inked ribbon is
required. Ink can be sprayed against the paper and then heat and pressure are used to fuse a fine
black powder into the shape of a character. The major technologies competing in the market of non-
impact printers are ink-jet and laser.
Some characteristics of non-impact printers are as follows:
• They are faster than impact printers because they have fewer moving parts.
• They are quieter than impact printers
• They possess the ability to change typefaces automatically.
• They produce high-quality graphics.
• They cannot print carbon copies.
a) Ink-jet Printers
An inkjet printer is a printer that places extremely small droplets of ink onto paper
to create an image. Ink-jet printers are costlier than dot matrix printers, but the
quality is much better. These printers can print any shape of character, which a
user can specify as they produce printed output as pattern of tiny dots. Ink-jet
printers typically print with a resolution of 600 dpi or more. Due to the high
resolution, these printers produce high quality graphics and text printouts.
b) Laser Printers
A laser printer provides the highest quality text and images for personal computers today. It is a
very fast printer, which operates on the same principle as that of a photocopy machine. They are
also known as page printers because they process and store the entire page
before they actually print it. Today, the resolution of most printers is 600 dpi.
They are quiet and fast, able to print 4–32 text-only pages per minute for
individual microcomputers and up to 200 pages/min for mainframes (more than
2000 lines/min). Laser printers are often faster than ink-jet printers but are more
expensive to buy and maintain than the other printers.
c) Hydra Printer
Hybrid document reproduction apparatus (HYDRA) printer,

popularly known as all-in-one printer, is a device that
consolidates the capabilities of multiple devices in one machine.
It may include some or all of the devices like printer, scanner,
photocopier and fax machine. Following are the features that
must be considered while evaluating these printers: Print speed,
Maximum resolution, Memory card compatibility, Scanner
resolution, Fax speed
II.3 Plotters
A plotter is a pen-based output device that is attached to a computer for making vector graphics,
that is, images created by a series of many straight lines. It is used to draw
high-resolution charts, graphs, blueprints, maps, circuit diagrams and
other line-based diagrams. It is similar to a printer, but it draws lines using
a pen. They are mainly used for computer aided design (CAD) and
computer aided manufacturing (CAM) applications such as printing out
plans for houses or car parts.
II.4 Monitor
The monitor is the most frequently used output device for producing soft copy output. A computer
monitor is a TV-like display attached to the computer on which the output can be displayed and
viewed. Monitors are available in various sizes like 14, 15, 17, 19 and 21 inches. The larger the size
of the monitor, the more expensive it is. The size of the display is described based on two
parameters: aspect ratio and screen size. Aspect ratio is the ratio of the width of the display screen
to the height, that is, the ratio of vertical points to the horizontal points necessary to produce equal-
length lines in both directions on the screen.
The screen clarity depends on three basic qualities, which are as follows:
• Resolution: It refers to the number of pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions on the
screen. A pixel (px) is the smallest portion of an image or display that a computer is capable
of printing or displaying. In medium-resolution graphics, pixels are large, whereas in high-
resolution graphics, pixels are small.
• Dot Pitch: It is the measurement of the diagonal distance between the two like-coloured (red,
green or blue) pixels on a display screen. It is measured in millimetres and common dot
pitches are 0.51, 0.31, 0.28, 0.27, 0.26 and 0.25 mm. Smaller the dot pitch, sharper will be
the image when displayed on the monitor. Generally, a dot pitch of less than 0.31 mm
provides clear images.
• Refresh Rate: It is the number of times per second the pixels are recharged so that their glow
remains bright. A refresh rate of 60 Hz means the image is redrawn 60 times a second. The
higher the refresh rate, the more solid the image looks on the screen, that is, it does not
flicker.
II.5.1 Cathode Ray Tube Monitors
CRT is the electron beams within a monitor that move across your screen either
interlaced or non-interlaced hitting phosphor dots on the inside glass tube. Within
the CRT are three electron guns, red, green, and blue. Each of these guns streams a
steady flow of electrons, left to right, for each line of your monitor.
II.5.2 Liquid Crystal Display Monitors
LCD is a flat display technology used in laptops, cell phones, calculators

and, flat screen displays. The LCD is made of two sheets of a flexible
polarizing material with a layer of liquid crystal solution between the two.
The LCD does not refresh like a traditional CRT monitor, Instead, the
display is created by sending various voltages of electricity to cells of liquid
crystal causing the liquid crystal to untwist at the rate of electricity applied,
generating 64 different shades per cell.
Comparison between LCD and CRT
• Size: An LCD is lightweight and compact, which saves desktop space as compared to a CRT.
• Resolution: An LCD is designed to work in a single resolution, while CRT is designed for
many resolutions.
• Pixel Density: Pixel density of LCD is generally not as tight as the dot pitch in CRT, but for
most applications, the density is acceptable.
• Brightness: The illuminated phosphor of a CRT is not nearly as bright as what the LCD can
produce with its florescent backlight.
• Power Consumption: An LCD consumes significantly less power than CRT and has a low
emission risk. Typically, the LCD consumes approximately half of the power of a typical
CRT.
• Cost: Prices for LCD screens are quite high but they are coming down. They are still much
more expensive than a CRT.
• Viewing Angle: A CRT can be viewed at almost any angle, but an LCD is best viewed 'head
on'.
• Viewing Area: The frame around the glass screen of the monitor causes the viewable area of
the screen to be smaller than an LCD.
• Weight: A CRT monitor can weigh 40 pounds or more depending on the size of the monitor.
II.5.3 Other Types of Monitors
Although CRT and LCD displays are the most commonly used, other kinds of displays also exist.
Some of them are as follows:
• Plasma Display: A plasma display (also known as thin-panel) is constructed by filling a gas
(neon or xenon) between the two glass plates. One glass plate consists of vertical conductors and
the other consists of horizontal conductors. The advantage of plasma display is that it has the
capability of producing more than 16 million colors and is lighter and less bulky than CRT.
However, it is heavier than LCD display and requires more power.
• Thin-film Electroluminescent Display: This display is similar to the plasma display except the
fact that the space between the glass plates is filled with phosphorescent substance (usually zinc
sulfide doped with manganese) instead of gas. The main problem with thin-film electroluminescent
displays is that they require more power.
II.5. Projectors
projector is an output device, which is used to project information from a

computer onto a large screen, so that it can be simultaneously viewed by a
large group of people. Projection display is commonly used for classroom
training or conference room or for multimedia presentations with a large
audience. Like monitors, projectors provide a temporary, soft copy output.
II.6 Electronic Whiteboard
Electronic whiteboard is an interactive presentation device

that works electronically to display digital images, drawings
and text in different colors. The whiteboard is generally
mounted on the wall and is connected to a computer and a
projector. The projector projects the computer desktop on the
whiteboard and the user can interact with it using
electromagnetic pens, fingers or other pointing devices. The
electromagnetic pens can be configured to any color or
width. A user can activate programs, applications and menus,
as well as can enter text using either onscreen keyboard or handwriting recognition utility.
II.7 Headphones and Headsets
Headphone is an audio device equipped with a pair of speakers, which are attached to a headstrap
worn by the users. For such applications, headset is used instead of headphone. A headset is a
combination of one or two speakers and a microphone with both the speaker and the microphone
attached to a headstrap
II.8 Terminals
Computer terminal is a special unit that can perform as both input and output. A terminal is an I/O
device that uses a keyboard for input and a monitor for output. Hence, a terminal is also known as
video display terminal (VDT). The terminals can be categorized into the following types
• Dumb Terminal: It refers to a terminal that has no processing or programming capabilities.

It is designed to communicate exclusively with a host computer. Usually, it consists of a
screen and keyboard used to access a host computer.
• Smart Terminal: Smart terminal has built-in processing capability and memory, but does
not have its own storage capacity. In comparison to the dumb terminal, smart terminal can
communicate and retrieve the data and can perform a limited processing of its own, that is,
editing or verification of the data.
• Intelligent Terminal: An intelligent terminal has memory and in-built microprocessors,
hence also known as user-programmable terminal. This terminal can independently perform
a certain number of jobs without even interacting with the mainframe. Although they are
intelligent terminals, some workstations are designed without disk drives. Due to this, the
restricted data cannot be downloaded or copied.
III. GENERALITIES ON COMPUTER MEMORY
III.1 What is a computer memory?

Computer memory is any physical device capable of storing information temporarily or
permanently.
III.2 Memory representation

For measuring computer memory, a standard unit is required. Although the smallest unit of data that
a computer can deal with is a bit, the computers generally do not deal with a single bit. Instead, they
deal with a group of eight bits, which is referred as 'byte'. Various units used to measure computer
memory are as follows:
• Bit: It is the smallest unit of data on a machine and a single bit can hold only one of two
values: 0 or 1. Bit is represented by lower case b.
• A nibble is a collection of 4 bits.
• Byte: A unit of eight bits is known as a byte. Hence, a byte is able to contain any binary
number between 00000000 and 11111111. It is represented by upper case B.
• Kilobyte: In a decimal system, kilo stands for 1000, but in a binary system, kilo refers to
1024. Therefore, a kilobyte is equal to 1024 bytes. It is usually represented as KB.
• Megabyte: It comprises 1024 kilobytes or 10,48,576 bytes. However, since this number is
hard to remember, a megabyte can be thought of as million bytes. Megabyte is the standard
unit of measurement of RAM and is represented as MB.
• Gigabyte: It consists of 1024 megabytes (10,73,741,824 bytes). It is the standard unit of
measurement for hard disks and is often represented as GB.
• Terabyte: It refers to 1024 gigabytes and is often represented as TB. Terabyte memory is
usually associated with only super computers
NOTE: In modern computers, groupings of bytes (usually 2 or 4) called computer words can
represent larger 'chunks' of information.
III.3 Memory characteristics

Computer memories can be differentiated by evaluating certain core characteristics. These core
characteristics are volatility, mutability, accessibility, and addressability.
III.3.1. Volatility
→ Non-volatile memory will retain the stored information even if it is not constantly supplied
with electric power. It is suitable for long-term storage of information.
→ Volatile memory requires constant power to maintain the stored information. The fastest
memory technologies of today are volatile ones.
III.3.2. Mutability
→ Read/write storage or mutable storage allows information to be overwritten at any time.

→ Read only storage retains the information stored at the time of manufacture
→ Write once storage (Write Once Read Many) allows the information to be written only
once at some point after manufacture. These are called immutable storage. Examples
include CD-ROM and CD-R
→ Slow write, fast read storage : Read/write storage, which allows information to be
overwritten multiple times, but with the write operation being much slower than the read
operation. Examples include CD-RW and flash memory.
III.3.3. Accessibility
Access Mode: Access mode refers to the way the data are accessed from the memory.
→ Random access: Any location in storage can be accessed at any moment in approximately
the same amount of time. Such characteristic is well suited for primary and secondary
storage.
→ Sequential access: The accessing of pieces of information will be in a serial order, one after
the other; therefore the time to access a particular piece of information depends upon which
piece of information was last accessed. Such characteristic is typical of off-line storage.
→ Direct access: In some cases, the data are accessed neither in a random nor in a sequential
fashion, but using a combination of both the modes.This type of semi-random mode exists
in the magnetic disk.
III.3.5. Addressability
→ Location-addressable: Each individually accessible unit of information in storage is

selected with its numerical memory address.
→ File addressable: Information is divided into files of variable length, and a particular file is
selected with human-readable directory and file names. In modern computers, secondary,
tertiary and off-line storage use file systems.
→ Content-addressable: Each individually accessible unit of information is selected based on
the basis of (part of) the contents stored there. Content-addressable storage can be
implemented using software (computer program) or hardware (computer device), with
hardware being faster but more expensive option. Hardware content addressable memory is
often used in a computer's CPU cache.
Other characteristics of computer memory involve
• Access time: Access time is the time required between the request made for read/write
operation and the time it takes for the completion of the request. Generally, the access time
is measured for read operations only. Disk access time depends on the following three
parameters:
→ Seek Time: It is the time required to position the read/write head over the
desired track, as soon as a read/write command is received by the disk unit
→ Latency: It is the time required to spin the desired sector under the read/write head,
once the read/write head is positioned on the desired track
→ Transfer Rate: the transfer rate is the number of characters or words that a device can
transfer per second after it has been positioned at the beginning of the record. As the
transfer rate is negligible as compared to seek time and latency,
Average access time = Average seek time + Average latency
• Storage capacity: Storage capacity refers to the size of the memory, that is, the amount of
data that can be stored in the memory.
• Cost: The cost of memory is valued by estimating the cost per bit of storage, that is, the cost
of a storage unit for a given storage capacity.
III.4 Types of Memory

These are the fundamental types of memory in a computer system:
a) Primary storage device: The primary memory allows the computer to store data for
immediate manipulation and to keep track of what is currently being processed. There are
two main types of primary storage:
- Main memory (RAM and ROM) and
- Internal processor memories (Cache memory and registers).
b) Secondary Memory: This is also known as auxiliary memory. It differs from primary
storage in that it is not directly accessible by the CPU.
c) Tertiary Storage: Tertiary storage is very large storage which is separate from the
computer. The most obvious example of tertiary storage is an automated storage facility
where mechanical arms retrieve media and load it into large computers. Other tertiary
storage may simply be off-grounds locations which allow vital data in various mediums to
be safe-guarded for security purposes- fire, theft, etc.
d) Off-line Storage: Offline storage is storage media which can be inserted into the computer
and used but which can then be removed from the computer and stored elsewhere. Floppy
drives, CD drives, and DVD drives might also alternately be considered secondary storage
because their drives are usually installed in the computer but the key here is the media the
data is stored on.
III.5 Storage technologies

Most commonly used data storage technologies are semiconductor, magnetic, and optical, while
paper still sees some limited usage. Some other fundamental storage technologies have also been
used in the past or are proposed for development.
 Magnetic storage media: Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetization on a

magnetically coated surface to store information. In modern computers, magnetic storage
will take these forms: Magnetic disk (Floppy disk, Hard disk drive) and Magnetic tape data
storage.
 Optical storage media: The typical optical disc, stores information in deformities on the
surface of a circular disc and reads this information by illuminating the surface with a laser
diode and observing the reflection.
 Semiconductor storage media: Semiconductor memory uses semiconductor-based
integrated circuits to store information. A semiconductor memory chip may contain millions
of tiny transistors or capacitors. Both volatile and non-volatile forms of semiconductor
memory exist.
 Magneto-optical disc storage media: Magneto-optical disc storage is optical disc storage
where the magnetic state on a ferromagnetic surface stores information. The information is
read optically and written by combining
magnetic and optical methods.
III.6 Memory hierachy

A "memory hierarchy" in computer storage
distinguishes each level in the "hierarchy" by
response time. Since response time, complexity,
and capacity are related, the levels may also be
distinguished by the controlling technology. The
figure below illustrates the memory hierarchy.
IV. PRIMARY STORAGE DEVICE
The primary memory allows the computer to store data for immediate manipulation and to keep
track of what is currently being processed. There exist two main types of primary storage device:
Main memories and internal processor memories
II.1 Main memory
Broadly primary memory can be of two types RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read
only memory). Every computer comes with a small amount of ROM, which contains the boot
firmware called BIOS (Basic Input Output System).
II.1.1 Random Access Memory (RAM)
1. What is RAM?
RAM is the place where the computer temporarily stores its operating system, application programs
and current data so that the computer's processor can reach them quickly and easily. RAM allows
the computer to store data for immediate manipulation and to keep track of what is currently being
processed. RAM is much faster to read from and write to than the other kinds of storage in a
computer (like hard disk or floppy disk). The major limitation of this type of memory is that it is
volatile. It means that when the power is turned off, the contents of the primary memory are lost
forever.
NOTE: Random access memory is also called read/write memory because, unlike read-only
memory (ROM) that does not allow any write operation, random access memory allows CPU to
read as well as write data and instructions into it.
2. Types of RAM
There are two types of random access memory, which are as follows:
a) Dynamic RAM (DRAM):
This RAM must be continually refreshed (pulse of current through all the memory cells) to
maintain the data. This is done by placing the memory on a refresh circuit that rewrites the data
several hundred times per second. DRAM is used for most system memory because it is cheap and
small. Some of the most popular DRAM technologies are briefed as follows:
 Fast Page Mode DRAM (FPM DRAM): It is also called as page mode DRAM. It is the
original form of DRAM. FPM DRAM is slow and has an access time of 60–120 ns. Due
to its slow speed, FPM DRAM is replaced by EDO RAM.
 EDO (Extended Data Output) RAM : In an EDO RAMs, any memory location can be
accessed. It is 10–15 per cent faster than FPM DRAM and is usually found on 66 MHz
motherboards. EDO memory further enhances the method of access.
 Burst Extended Data Output DRAM (BEDO DRAM): Original EDO RAM was too
slow for the newer systems being developed at that time. Therefore, a new method of
memory access, known as bursting, had to be developed to speed up the memory access.
 SDRAM (Synchronous DRAMS), It is the most common type of RAM used in systems
today. This implies that the data stored in the memory is refreshed at system speed.
Also, the data are accessed in memory at system speed. SDRAM employs the bursting
technology to improve the performance.
 DDR-SDRAM (Double Data Rate – SDRAM) : This DRAM is similar to SDRAM
except that it has higher bandwidth, which means greater speed. Therefore the transfer
rate of the data becomes doubles.
 Rambus DRAM (RDRAM): It was developed by Rambus, Inc. and endorsed by Intel as
the successor to SDRAM.
b) Static RAM (SRAM):
This RAM retains the data as long as power is provided to the memory chip. It need not be
'refreshed' periodically. It is very fast but much more expensive than DRAM. SRAM is often used
as cache memory due to its high speed. SRAM comes in following types:
• Asynchronous SRAM (ASRAM): It is an older type of SRAM used in many PCs for L2
cache, which works independently of the system clock. Thus, the CPU must wait for data
requested.
• Burst SRAM (BSRAM): Burst SRAM (also known as SynchBurst SRAM or synchronous
SRAM) is synchronized with the system clock. This allows it to be more easily
synchronized with any device that accesses it and the access time is also less. However, it is
expensive.
• Pipeline Burst SRAM (PB SRAM): PB SRAM requests are pipelined; larger packets of
data are sent to the memory at once and acted on very quickly. This type of SRAM is often
used because it can operate at speeds higher than 66 MHz.
3. Main memory organisation
The main memory of computer system is organized into an array of small storage areas known as
cells, which are serially linked together. Each cell is indexed by a unique number, called the
address of the cell and is capable of storing a fixed number of bits, called the word length of the
memory.
The word length is an important architectural factor, which typically relates to the CPU and is
usually the size of its registers in bits. The word lengths typically range from 8, 16, 32 bits to 64 bits
and accordingly the computers are termed as 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit and 64-bit computers. The higher
the word length, the more powerful a computer is.
The total number of memory cells that can be uniquely addressed by CPU depends on the total
number of address lines in an address bus. If there are n lines in the address bus then there are 2n
addressable locations in the memory.
4. Fixed and Variable Word Length Memory
The main memory of a computer can be designed in two ways: fixed word length and variable
word length.
→ In fixed word length memory system, each memory location stores a fixed number of
characters, which are equal to the word length of the computer. The computers that employ
fixed word length memory approach are called word-addressable computers. In such
computers, the storage space is always allocated in multiples of word length.
→ In variable word length memory system, the memory is designed in such a way that each
memory location can store only one character. Hence, the word 'HI' will occupy only 2
bytes, 'MIKE' will occupy 4 bytes, and 'COMPUTER' will occupy 8 bytes of memory. The
computers that employ variable word length memory approach are called character-
addressable computers
II.1.2 Read Only Memory
1. What is ROM?
Short for Read-Only Memory, ROM is a type of "built-in" memory that is capable of holding data
and having that data read from the chip, but not written to. Unlike Random Access Memory
(RAM), ROM is non-volatile which means it keeps its contents regardless if it has power or not.
NB: The term ROM is used to describe any type of memory or media that is read only. For
example, a CD-ROM
2. Types of ROM
Memories in the ROM family are distinguished by the methods used to write data on them and the
number of times they can be rewritten. There are different types of ROMs, which are as follows:
• Masked ROM: The very first ROMs, known as masked ROMs, were hard-wired devices
that contained a preprogrammed set of data or instructions.
• Programmable ROM (PROM): This form of ROM is initially blank. The user or
manufacturer can write data/program on it by using special devices. However, once the
program or data is written in PROM chip, it cannot be changed.
• Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM): An EPROM is programmed in exactly the same
manner as a PROM. However, unlike PROMs, an EPROM can be erased and reprogrammed
repeatedly. It can be erased by simply exposing it to a strong source of ultraviolet (UV) light
for a certain amount of time.
• Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM): This type of ROM can be erased
by an electrical charge and then written to by using slightly higher-than-normal voltage.
EEPROM can be erased one byte at a time, rather than erasing the entire chip with UV light.
Hence, the process of re-programming is flexible, but slow.
• Flash ROM: flash ROM, also called flash BIOS or flash memory, is a type of ROM that can
be erased and re-programmed in blocks.
II.2 Internal Processor Memories
These memories are placed within the CPU (processor) or is attached to a special fast bus. Internal
memory usually includes cache memory and special registers, both of which can be directly
accessed by the processor. This memory is used for temporary storage of data and instructions on
which the CPU is currently working. Processor memory is the fastest among all the memories, but
is most expensive also.
II.2.1 Cache Memory
Cache memory is used by the central processing unit of

a computer to reduce the average time to access memory.
The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores
copies of the data from the most frequently used main
memory locations. As long as most memory accesses are
to cached memory locations, the average latency of
memory accesses will be closer to the cache latency than
to the latency of main memory.
The advantage of cache memory is that the CPU does not have to use the motherboard’s system
bus for data transfer. Whenever data must be passed through the system bus, the data transfer speed
slows to the motherboard’s capability. The CPU can process data much faster by avoiding the
bottleneck created by the system bus.
Cache memory is sometimes described in levels of closeness and accessibility to the

microprocessor. There are three main types of cache memory:
→ L1 cache: It is small and is built inside the CPU. It is fast as compared to L2 cache
→ L2 cache: It is large but slower and is mounted on the motherboard
→ Most computers today come with L3 cache which is built out of the CPU
II.2.2 Registers
The central processing unit (CPU) contains a number of memory locations which are individually
addressable and reserved for specific purpose. These memory locations are called registers. CPU
instructions operate on these values directly. Registers are at the top of the memory hierarchy, and
provide the fastest way for a CPU to access data. On RISC processors, all data must be moved into
a register before it can be operated. On CISC (Intel) chips, there are a few operations that can load
data from RAM, process it, and save the result back out, but the fastest operations work directly
with registers.
The number of registers that a CPU has and the size of each (number of bits) help determine the
power and speed of a CPU. For example a 32-bit CPU is one in which each register is 32 bits wide.
Therefore, each CPU instruction can manipulate 32 bits of data.
Some characteristics of CPU registers are:
 Very fast (access times of a few nanoseconds)

 Low capacity (usually less than 200 bytes)
 Very limited expansion capabilities (a change in CPU architecture would be required)
 Expensive (more than one dollar/byte)
Types of register
Types of Registers are as Followings
→ Memory Address Register(MAR) : This register holds the memory addresses of data and
instructions. This register is used to access data and instructions from memory during the
execution phase of an instruction.
→ Program Counter (PC): It holds the address of the memory location of the next instruction
when the current instruction is executed by the microprocessor.
→ Accumulator Register: This Register is used for storing the Results those are produced by
the System. When the CPU will generate Some Results after the Processing then all the
Results will be Stored into the AC Register.
→ Memory Data Register (MDR) : MDR is the register of a computer's control unit that
contains the data to be stored in the computer storage (e.g. RAM), or the data after a fetch
from the computer storage.
→ Index Register (IR) : Also known as base register. An index register in a computer's CPU is
a processor register used for modifying operand addresses during the run of a program.
→ Memory Buffer Register (MBR): This register holds the contents of data or instruction read
from, or written in memory. It means that this register is used to store data/instruction
coming from the memory or going to the memory.
→ Data Register: A register used in microcomputers to temporarily store data being
transmitted to or from a peripheral device.
V. SECONDARY STORAGE DEVICES
This is also known as auxiliary memory. It differs from primary storage in that it is not directly
accessible by the CPU. The secondary memory provides backup storage for instructions (computer
programs) and data. The instructions and data stored on secondary storage devices are permanent in
nature. They can only be removed if the user wants it so or the device is destroyed.
III.1 Magnetic Tape
Magnetic tape is a recording medium consisting of a thin tape with a coating of a fine magnetic
material, used for recording analogue or digital data. Data is stored in frames across the width of the
tape. The frames are grouped into blocks or records which are separated from other blocks by gaps.
Magnetic tape is a serial access medium, similar to an audio cassette, and so data (like the songs on
a music tape) cannot be quickly located. However large amounts of information can be stored
within magnetic tape. This characteristic has prompted its use in the regular backing up of hard
disks.
Advantages and disadvantage of Magnetic Tapes
The following are advantages and disadvantages of magnetic tape
Advantages of magnetic tape Disadvantages of magnetic tape

Probably the cheapest form of storage
Serial access so can be quite slow to access data
per megabyte of storage
Can store large amounts of data - up to Need a special piece of equipment to record and read the
1 Terabyte per tape cartridge data on the tape
Can be set up to do the back up The data may be corrupted if the tape is placed near a
overnight or over the weekend strong magnetic field e.g. a large speaker or magnet
They are portable because they are
the data on such devices are difficult to recover even if a
compact in size, lightweight and
minor bit error occurs.
removable.
They are not flexible as compared to other media types
when file updating requires record insertion or deletion.
III.2 Magnetic Disk
III.2.1 What is a Magnetic Disk?
The magnetic disks are the most widely used and popular medium for direct access secondary
storage. They offer high storage capacity and reliability and have capability to access the stored data
directly. A magnetic disk comprises a thin piece of plastic/metal circular plate/platter, which is
coated with a magnetic oxide layer. The data are represented as magnetized spots on the disk. Data
are recorded on the disk in the form of tiny invisible magnetized and non-magnetized spots
(representing 1s and 0s) on the coated surfaces of the disk
III.2.2 Storage Organization of a Magnetic Disk
A disk’s surface is divided into a number of invisible concentric circles called tracks The
tracks are numbered consecutively from outermost to innermost starting from zero. The
number of tracks on a disk may be as few as 40 on
small, low-capacity disks, to several thousand on large,
high-capacity disks. Each track of a disk is subdivided into
sectors
There are 8 or more sectors per track. A sector typically

contains 512 bytes. Disk drives are designed to read/write
only whole sectors at a time.The track sectors are grouped into a collection known as cluster. It
refers to the basic allocation unit for storage on a disk, consisting of one or more track sectors. The
number of track sectors that make up one cluster depends on the type and size of the media. The
term 'cluster' also refers to the minimum amount of disk space used by a single file. Even if the file
occupies only part of a cluster, the entire cluster is allocated to the file and marked as used space.
III.2.3 Disk formatting
Disk formatting is the process of preparing a new disk by the computer system in which the disk is
to be used. There exist two type of formatting:
a) Low-level disk formatting

- Disk drive’s read/write head lays down a magnetic pattern on the disk’s surface
- Enables the disk drive to organize and store the data in the data organization defined
for the disk drive of the computer
b) OS-level disk formatting
- Creates the File Allocation Table (FAT) that is a table with the sector and track
locations of data
- Leaves sufficient space for FAT to grow
- Scans and marks bad sectors
III.2.4 Master Boot Record (MBR)
The Master Boot Record, created when you create the first partition on the hard disk, is probably
the most important data structure on the disk. It is the first sector on every disk. The location is
always track (cylinder) 0, side (head) 0, and sector 1.The Master Boot Record contains the
Partition Table for the disk and a small amount of executable code. The Master Boot Record then
finds the system partition's starting location on the disk, and loads a copy of its Partition Boot
Sector into memory. The Master Boot Record then transfers execution to executable code in the
Partition Boot Sector.
III.2.5 Storage Capacity of a Magnetic Disk
Several parameters must be considered while finding out the capacity of a magnetic disk. These
parameters include number of recording surfaces, number of tracks per surface, number of sectors
per track and number of bytes per sector. Therefore, one can define storage capacity of a disk as a
multiple of all the above parameters.
No. of disk platters = 4, No. of usable surfaces = 6. A set of corresponding tracks on all the 6
surfaces is called a cylinder.
Storage capacity of a disk system = Number of recording surfaces

x Number of tracks per surface
x Number of sectors per track
x Number of bytes per sector
III.2.6 Advantages of Magnetic Disks
→ More suitable than magnetic tapes for a wider range of applications because they
support direct access of data
→ Random access property enables them to be used simultaneously by multiple users as
a shared device.
→ Suitable for both on-line and off-line storage of data
→ the cost per bit of storage is low for magnetic disks.
→ An additional cost benefit is that magnetic disks can be erased and reused many times
→ Floppy disks and zip disks are compact and light in weight. Hence they are easy to
handle and store.
→ Very large amount of data can be stored in a small storage space
→ Data transfer rate for a magnetic disk system is normally higher than a tape system
III.2.7 Limitations of Magnetic Disks
→ A disk crash or drive failure often results in loss of entire stored data. It is not easy
to recover the lost data.
→ Some types of magnetic disks are not so easily portable like magnetic tapes
→ the cost of magnetic disks is low, but the cost of magnetic tapes is even lower
→ Must be stored in a dust-free environment
→ They possess slow data access speed as compared to the magnetic disks.
III.2.8 Types of Magnetic Disk
All magnetic disks come in the form of round platters. These disks are available in different sizes,
shapes and designs. Some are attached to the read/write head assembly, whereas some are available
in the form of removable disks. Broadly, magnetic disks can be classified into three types: floppy
disk, hard disk and zip disk.
1) Floppy disks
A floppy disk, or diskette, is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible
magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust
particles. Floppy disks are read and
written by a floppy disk drive (FDD).
Floppy diskettes are small, inexpensive,
readily available, easy to store and have a
good shelf life, if stored properly.
The two types of floppy disks in use today are:
→ 5¼-inch diskette, whose diameter is 5¼-inch.It is encased in a square, flexible vinyl

jacket
→ 3½-inch diskette, whose diameter is 3½-inch.It is encased in a square, hard plastic
jacket
Size N° of N° of tracks N° of N° of Capacity in Approximate

(Diameter surfaces sectors/tracks bytes/sector bytes capacity
in inches)
5¼ 2 40 9 512 368640 360 KB
3½ 2 80 36 512 2949120 2.88 MB
3½ 2 80 18 512 1474560 1.44 MB
2) Hard disk
A hard disk drive (HDD) is a data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital
information using rapidly rotating disks (platters) coated with magnetic material. An HDD retains
its data even when powered off. Data is read in a random-access manner, meaning individual blocks
of data can be stored or retrieved in any order rather than sequentially. An HDD consists of one or
more rigid ("hard") rapidly rotating disks (platters) with magnetic heads arranged on a moving
actuator arm to read and write data to the surfaces. Depending on how they are packaged, hard disks
are of three types: Zip/Bernoulli disks, Disk packs, Winchester disks
3) Zip disk
A Zip drive is a small, portable disk drive used primarily for backing up and archiving personal
computer files. Zip drives and disks come in two sizes. The 100 megabyte size actually holds
100,431,872 bytes of data or the equivalent of 70 floppy diskettes. There is also a 250 megabyte
drive and disk.
III.3 Optical Disk
III.3.1 What is an Optical Disk?
An optical disk is a storage medium from which data is read and to which it is written by lasers. The typical
optical disc, stores information in deformities on the surface of a circular disc and reads this
information by illuminating the surface with a laser diode and observing the reflection. The optical
disk storage system consists of a rotating disk coated with a thin layer of metal (aluminum, gold or silver)
that acts as a reflective surface and a laser beam, which is used as a read/write head for recording the data
onto the disk. There are three basic types of optical disks:
 CD-ROM : Like audio CDs, CD-ROMs come with data already encoded onto them. The data is
permanent and can be read any number of times, but CD-ROMs cannot be modified.
 WORM : Stands for write-once, read -many. With a WORM disk drive, you can write data onto a
WORM disk, but only once. After that, the WORM disk behaves just like a CD-ROM.
 Erasable: Optical disks that can be erased and loaded with new data, just like magnetic disks.
These are often referred to as EO (erasable optical) disks.
III.3.1 Types of Optical Disks
a) Compact Disk
Compact disk is the most popular and the least expensive type of optical disk. It was originally intended only
for storing music (in the form of digital audio) and can record about 80 minutes of uninterrupted playing
time. A CD is capable of being used as a data storage device along with storing of digital audio. Compact
disks are available in various formats: CD-ROM (compact disk-read-only memory), CD-R (compact disk-
recordable) and CD-RW (compact disk-rewritable) disks.
- A CD-ROM disk comes with pre-recorded data by the manufactures and can be read but cannot be
altered.
- CD-R is a type of WORM (write once-read many) disk that allows you to record your own data.
Once written, the data on the CD-R can be read but cannot be altered.
- A CD-RW disk is rewritable version of CD-R, which means, it allows writing, erasing and rewriting
of the data several times.
The data recorded on all CD formats can be read using the CD-ROM drive; however, to write data on CD-R
and CD-RW disks, one needs a special peripheral device known as CD-writer (or CD-burner)
b) Digital Versatile Disk

DVD, initially called digital video disk, is a high-capacity data storage medium.
NOTE: Like CDs, DVDs are also available in different formats: DVD-ROM, DVD-R and DVD-
RW.
c) Blu-ray Disk
A Blu-ray Disc is a high density optical disc storage medium, which is used
for the storage of all high-definition digital formats like audio, video, and
play-station games and so on. They have the same physical appearance as a
DVD. The name “BLU-RAY” is actually a combination of the colour “blue”
and “ray”. Here blue refers to the blue colour of the laser that is used for its
reading and ray refers to the optical ray.
Like CDs and DVDs, Blu-ray disks are also available in different formats:
• BD-ROM: It comes with pre-recorded content that can only be read.

• BD-R: It is a WORM type of disk on which you can record data only once.
• BD-RW: It is similar to BD-R disk, but the difference is that it is rewritable. This means
that the data can be erased and recorded a number of times on the same disk.
• BD-RE: It is also a rewritable disk, but is used only for high-definition audio/video and
television recording
Blu-Ray Disc (BD) vs DVD
• Both of them have the same physical appearance. [Thickness = 1.2 mm]
• The single layer Blu-ray disc can store up to 27 GB data. A singe layer DVD can hold only
4.7 GB of data.
• A DVD needs two substrates and they should be bonded. But a Blu-ray disc requires only
one substrate.
• The production cost of Blu-ray is lesser than that of a DVD because there is no need for
bonding of substrates..
• The Blu-Ray disc uses violet-blu laser with improved lens specifications, while a DVD uses
red laser.
III.4 Magneto-Optical Disk
As implied by the name, these disks use a hybrid of magnetic and optical technologies. A magneto-
optical disk writes magnetically (with thermal assist) and reads optically using the laser beam. A
magneto-optical disk drive is so designed that an inserted disk will be exposed to a magnet on the
label side and to the light (laser beam) on the opposite side.
III.5 Memory Stick
Memory Stick also known as 'Memory Card' is a digital storage device, which is designed to be
used with portable electronic devices such as mobile phone, digital camera, PDA, iPod and so on. It
was launched in 1998 by Sony and immediately gained popularity due to its support for fast data
transfer speed and large storage capacity.
Nowadays, several different standards or formats of Memory Stick are

available in the market, which are as follows:
• Memory Stick PRO (SP): It supports marginally higher data transfer

speed than the original one and provides theoretical storage capacity of up to 32 GB
• Memory Stick Duo (SD): It is a small size Memory Stick for small, pocket-sized devices
such as mobiles, music players, digital cameras, and so on.
• Memory Stick PRO Duo: Although Memory Stick Duo fulfils the need of smaller memory
card for pocket-sized devices, it is superseded by Memory Stick PRO Duo because of its
slow transfer rate and limited storage capacity of 128 MB. Memory Stick PRO Duo provides
larger memory space (up to 32 GB) and high speed of data transfer to/from the card.
• Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo: Unlike Memory Stick PRO which has a parallel interface of
4 bits, Memory Stick PRO HG Duo has 8-bit parallel interface. In addition, the clock
frequency has increased from 40 to 60 MHz in the Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo.
• Memory Stick Micro (M2): It is a light and compact storage medium, which comes in the
dimension of 15 × 12.5 × 1.2 mm3. It offers large storage capacity ranging from 16 MB to
32 GB and transfer speed of 160 Mb/s.
III.6 Universal Serial Bus
Universal Serial Bus (USB) (developed by Intel) is a set of connectivity specification that
establishes communication between personal computers and devices such as
mouse, keyboard, pen drive and external hard disk drives.
a) Pen Drive
The flash drive is a high storage (ranging from 1 to 512 GB) capacity device
and is physically small enough to fit into a pocket. In addition, it is fast, robust and reliable, and
requires very less power to operate, which it gets through USB port and hence no battery is
required.
b) External Hard Disk Drive
External hard disk drive is a type of hard drive that resides in its own
enclosure (called hard drive cage) outside the computer case and is
connected to the system through interfaces like USB.
The internal structure and functioning of external hard disk drive is similar to the internal hard disk
drive. Hence, external hard disk drive is a reliable and high-capacity storage media. In addition, it is
portable and provides plug and play feature.
III.7 Mass Storage Devices
To get a vast amount of storage capacity in a computer system, a different kind of storage system is
used. In such type of system, multiple units of similar kinds of storage media are associated together
to form a chain of mass storage devices. These storage media may include multiple magnetic tape
reels or cartridges, multiple arrays of magnetic disks or multiple CD-ROMs as storage devices.
However, they have huge amount of storage capacity and possess minimum cost per bit storage.
Mass storage devices are cost-effective option to the online tapes and disks storage in situations
where large storage capacity is required and where prompt data access is not essential. When used
as offline storage, they are referred as an archival storage.
Broadly speaking, mass storage devices are categorized into three types:
• Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID): The basic idea of RAID is to

combine multiple hard disks into an array of disk drives to obtain high
performance, large capacity and reliability. These arrays of drives appear to the
host computer as a single logical drive.
• Automated Tape Library: An automated tape library comprises numerous sets of magnetic tapes
along with their drives and controllers mounted in a single unit. The unit comprises one or more
tape drives to perform read/write operations on the tapes in the tape library.
• CD-ROM Jukebox: A CD-ROM jukebox comprises numerous sets of CD-ROM disks along with
their drives and controllers mounted in a single unit. The unit comprises one or more CD-ROM
drives to perform read/write operations on the CD-ROM in the jukebox. In the multiple CD-ROM
drive environments, these CD-ROMs can be simultaneously read or written, resulting in the speedy
rate of data transfer.
EXERCISE ON HARDWARE
1. When referring to storage devices name the two types of access and describe how they
operate?
2. A mail order company keeps details of transactions stored on magnetic disc. A backup copy is
also held on magnetic tape.
i) Why does the company make a backup copy of the transactions?
ii) Why can the company hold the back up on tape and not need to use disc?
3. Fred saves his report to disc and decides to print it out using the school’s laser printer. The
school has the same type of pc as Fred and uses the same type and format of disc. However,
Fred finds he cannot load his report on the school computer. Why is this?
4. Describe the differences between hard disc, CD ROM and WORM as methods of backing
store?
5. Staff in a store carry out a stock check every week and input the data using OCR. The store is
considering using palm top computers for the stock checks. Suggest 2 advantages palm tops
have over OCR forms?
6. Sandie buys a new computer. It is described as a multimedia computer. Suggest one input and
one output device it may have to warrant this description?
Question [Special mock 2 Feb 2014 PCHS Bamenda]
1. The diagram bellow shows coded data that could be input into a computer
76143072497
3
(a) What is the name of the above method of input
(b) Where would the above method of input be applied?
(c) For the application you have given in the above question, state two items of information this
type of input may represent.
2- with reasons, briefly describe the most appropriate type of printer or output device for the output
of:
(a) customer invoices on multi-part stationery
(b) letters to customers
(c) detailed engineering designs
3- What is a terminal? Name two types of terminal with short description of each
4- State what is meant by each of the following and give an example of where each is used.
(a) Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
(b) Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
5- Distinguish LCD monitor and CRT monitor

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Ministry of Secondary Education Republic of Cameroon

COMPUTER HARDWARE DEVICE

At the end of this chapter, student will be able to

- Describe common input and output devices and their functioning

I. INPUT DEVICES ........................................................................................................................... 2

I.1 Keying devices

I.2 Pointing Devices

A trackball is another pointing device that resembles a ball nestled in a

rotated by fingers in any direction, and the cursor moves accordingly.

I.2.4 Light Pen

A light pen (sometimes called a mouse pen) is a hand-held electro-optical

I.2.5 Touch Screen

I.3 Scanning devices

- Convert a text document into an electronic file;

II.3.1 Optical scanners

a) Bar Code Reader

A bar code is a machine-readable code in the form of parallel vertical lines

b) Optical mark recognition

Optical mark recognition (OMR) is the process of detecting the

c) Optical Character Recognition

→ Hand-held Scanner: A hand-held scanner consists of light-

II.3.2 Magnetic scanners

a) Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition (MICR):

I.4 Other input devices

Other input devices of computer include:

II. OUTPUT DEVICES

An output device is an electromechanical device, which converts machine-readable information into

II.1 Types of Output

II.2.1 Impact Printers

Some characteristics of impact printers are as follows:

a) Dot Matrix Printers

b) Daisy Wheel Printer

II.2.2 Non-impact Printers

Hybrid document reproduction apparatus (HYDRA) printer,

II.5.1 Cathode Ray Tube Monitors

II.5.2 Liquid Crystal Display Monitors

LCD is a flat display technology used in laptops, cell phones, calculators

Comparison between LCD and CRT

II.5.3 Other Types of Monitors

projector is an output device, which is used to project information from a

II.6 Electronic Whiteboard

Electronic whiteboard is an interactive presentation device

II.7 Headphones and Headsets

• Dumb Terminal: It refers to a terminal that has no processing or programming capabilities.

III. GENERALITIES ON COMPUTER MEMORY

III.1 What is a computer memory?

III.2 Memory representation

III.3 Memory characteristics

→ Read/write storage or mutable storage allows information to be overwritten at any time.

→ Location-addressable: Each individually accessible unit of information in storage is

Other characteristics of computer memory involve

III.4 Types of Memory

III.5 Storage technologies

 Magnetic storage media: Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetization on a

III.6 Memory hierachy

IV. PRIMARY STORAGE DEVICE

II.1 Main memory

II.1.1 Random Access Memory (RAM)

a) Dynamic RAM (DRAM):

b) Static RAM (SRAM):

3. Main memory organisation

4. Fixed and Variable Word Length Memory

II.1.2 Read Only Memory