Hard Drive and Cloud Storage

Intro
• All computers have a hard drive installed in
them, which is used to store files for the 
operating system, software programs, and a
user's personal files.
• A computer cannot function without a hard
drive installed, as it requires one to function
properly.
• A hard disk drive (sometimes abbreviated as hard
drive, HD, or HDD) is a non-volatile memory hardware
 device that permanently stores and retrieves data on a
computer. A hard drive is a secondary storage device
 that consists of one or more platters to which data is
written using a magnetic head, all inside of an air-
sealed casing. Internal hard disks reside in a drive bay,
connect to the motherboard using an ATA, SCSI, or SATA
 cable, and are powered by a connection to the PSU
 (power supply unit).
 Hard drive
• A hard drive is a secondary storage device
that consists of one or more platters to which
data is written using a magnetic head, all
inside of an air-sealed casing. ... All computers
have a hard drive installed in them, which is
used to store files for the operating system,
software programs, and a user's personal files
 Motherboard
• Alternatively referred to as
the mb, mainboard, mboard, mobo, mobd, backpla
ne board, base board, main circuit board, planar
board, system board, or a logic board on Apple
computers. The motherboard is a printed 
circuit board that is the foundation of a computer,
located on the back side or at the bottom of the
computer chassis. It allocates power and allows
communication to the CPU, RAM, and all other
computer hardware components.
Below is a picture of the ASUS P5AD2-E motherboard
 ATA

• Short for Advanced Technology Attachment, ATA was

approved on May 12, 1994, and is an interface that
connects hard drives, CD-ROM drives, and other
drives. The first ATA interface is now commonly
referred to as PATA, which is short for Parallel AT
Attachment after the introduction of SATA. Today,
almost all home computers use the ATA interface,
including Apple computers, which use SATA.
 SCSI

• Short for Small Computer System Interface, SCSI is pronounced

as "Scuzzy"and is one of the most commonly used interface for disk
drives that was first completed in 1982. Unlike competing standards,
SCSI is capable of supporting eight devices, or sixteen devices with
Wide SCSI. However, with the SCSI host adapter located on ID number
07 and boots from the ID 00. This leaves the availability of six device
connections. In the picture below, is an example of a SCSI adapter
expansion card with an internal and external connection. Once
installed in the computer, this adapter would allow multiple SCSI
devices to be installed in the computer. More advanced motherboard
may also have available SCSI connections on the motherboard.
 SATA
• Short for serial AT attachment, SATA 1.0 was
first released in August 2001 and is a
replacement for the parallel ATA interface used
in IBM compatible computers. SerialATA is
capable of delivering 1.5 Gbps (1500 MBps) of
performance to each drive within a disk array. It
has the benefit of being backward-compatible
with ATA and ATAPI devices, and offers a thin,
small cable solution, as seen in the photo on the
right. This cable helps make a much easier cable
routing and offers better airflow in the
computer when compared to the earlier ribbon
cables used with ATA drives.
 PSU
• PS, P/S, or PSU are abbreviations
for power supply or power supply unit.
A power supply is a hardware
 component of a computer that supplies
all components in a computer with
power. The power supply converts a 110-
115 or 220-230 volt AC(alternating
current) into a steady low-voltage DC
(direct current) usable by the computer
and rated by the number of watts it
generates. For example, the image to the
right is an Antec True 330, a 330 Watt
 power supply.
 Cable
• There are two main types of computer cables, a data
cable and a power cable. A data cable is a cable that provides
communication between devices. For example, the data cable
(i.e., DVI, HDMI, or VGA) that connects your monitor to your
computer and allows your computer to display a picture on
the monitor. Other popular examples of data cables include
the CAT5, IDE/EIDE, SATA, and USB cables. A power cable is
any cable that powers the device. For example, the power
cord that connects to your computer and a Molex style cable
inside the computer are both good examples of power cables.
Below, is a listing of the most common types of cables found
with computers and electronics and examples of devices that
use them.
 Cloud
Storage
 Cloud Drive
• A cloud drive is a Web-based service that
provides storage space on a remote
server. ... Cloud drives make it possible for a
small business or individual to store and sync
documents and other electronic media
without having to purchase or maintain
external hard drives or file servers.
 Storage
• So, if you have 100 GB of files, it will use 100
GB of local storage and 100 GB of cloud
storage. Data compression may be used to
compress files to use less storage space. ... If
you need more space on your hard drive,
you can buy a larger hard drive, or move some
files to an external hard drive or flash drive.
 Local Storage –vs-Cloud Storage
• However some would argue that local
storage is a lot safer than cloud storage, citing
a number of risks that cloud services pose,
they include: No connection then no data, it's
true that if you can't connect then your data is
not there. ... There is the risk of theft or a
virus.
 Cloud providers
• We highlight the best cloud providers for
consumers and businesses
• IDrive.
• pCloud.
• Mega.
• OneDrive.
• iCloud.
• NextCloud.
• SpiderOak.
 One Drive
• Yes, it does take up space but it is hard to say
how much space it uses. Onedrive stores your
files in the cloud freeing up space On your
internal storage. When you access a file stored
in the cloud then one drive downloads it to
your internal storage. Changes will be
uploaded to the cloud.
 One Drive settings.
• When you save your files to One Drive,
they're stored in the cloud on Microsoft's
servers and--sometimes, but not always--
locally on your PC. It's a bit confusing because
where your files are stored depends on the
version of Windows you're using and your One
Drive settings.