LESSON – DATA STORAGE

Chapter 5 - Form 2
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STORAGE
• Why do computers need to store data?-

• They need to store and retrieve data for processing. Think about this: you are using the table
right now to hold (store) your books and pens until you leave. When you are finished you
pick up your stuff and leave.

• The same way, you need to store the progam and instructions that you currently need

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STORAGE
• Storage can be grouped into two kinds: primary and secondary

• Primary memory is also called Main memory, immediate Access Store

• This is necessary since the central processing unit (CPU) can only act on data and
instructions that are held in primary storage. There are two kinds of memory chips: RAM
(Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory)

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HOW MEMORY WORKS

• If your computer's CPU had to constantly access the hard drive to retrieve every piece of
data it needs, it would operate very slowly. When the information Is kept in memory, the
CPU can access it much more quickly.

• All of the components in your computer, such as the CPU, the hard drive and the
operating system, work together as a team, and memory is one of the most essential
parts of this team. From the moment you turn your computer on until the time you
shut it down, your CPU is constantly using memory

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HOW MEMORY WORKS

• When you open an application, it is loaded into RAM. To conserve RAM usage,
many applications load only the essential parts of the program initially and then load
Step 1 other pieces as needed

• After an application is loaded, any files that are opened for use in that application are
loaded into RAM.
Step 2

• When you save a file and close the application, the file is written to the specified
secondary storage device, and then the file and the application are removed from
Step 3 RAM.

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 • RAM
Primary 6

storage • ROM

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THE RAM AND CPU

• Every time something is loaded or opened, it is placed into RAM. This simply means that it has been put in the
computer's temporary storage area so that the CPU can access that information more easily.

• The CPU requests the data it needs from RAM, processes it and writes new data back to RAM in a
continuous cycle.

• In most computers, this shuffling of data between the CPU and RAM happens millions of times every second.
When an application is closed, it and any accompanying files are usually purged (deleted) from RAM to make
room for new data. If the changed files are not saved to a permanent storage device before being purged, they are
lost.

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RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY

• Ram is only filled after a computer has been turned on and is given something to do.
• The contents of RAM are controlled by the computer/ operating system, NOT the user
• Ram is volatile and is temporary, this means when power has been turned off whatever is stored in
Ram will be lost.
• Think about this: you are using power point right now to watch this presentation, therefore you are
using Ram right now!!

• Ram is expensive are limited in storage capacity to your PC

• What other programs do you think is being used right now?

• Hint – Anti Virus, ??

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READ ONLY MEMORY

• Rom chips hold data sn instructions necessary for the start up of the computer. This
information is fixed by the manufacturer and we say it is hard wired and cannot be
changed.
• Information in ROM is permanent and cannot be changed or deleted. It can only be
accessed or read, Hence the term Read Only

• Other variations of ROM:

• PROM – programmable Read Only memory – you can program it once then it becomes a ROM
• EPROM – erasable Read Only memory – you can reprogram the Prom chips numerous times
using special equipment.

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EPROM

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UNITS OF STORAGE
Bytes?
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STORAGE
• Storage devices can hold data in two States. The technology used to store data in memory
can be set to one of these two states at any given time

• Electrical impulses are used to achieve this – for example a pulse of current can represent a 1
– one state
• 0 – represents no electrical current is running
• A bit is the smallest unit of storage and can hold either a 0 or 1

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HOW DO WE MEASURE IN
COMPUTER TERMS?
• The amount of data and instructions that can be stored in memory of a computer or any
secondary device is measured in bytes.

• A byte is made up of a combination of eight bits can represent one character.

• A character can be a letter, number, symbol or blank space

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SECONDARY STORAGE DEVICES

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Used to store data and information on a
permanent basis. It can include: optical
disks, flash and magnetic media

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MAGNETIC TAPE
Or tape storage provides a large amount of
surface area, tightly wrapped into a reel. It is
used for backing up data for security NOT for
quick, random regular access

Tape storage offers only serial access which

means that data can only be accessed in the
which it was stored on the tape

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MAGNETIC TAPE
• The Magnetic Tape is a sequential device.
• The tape has a beginning and an end, and to move the tape to another
song later in the sequence of songs on the tape you have to use the fast
forward and rewind buttons to find the start of the song, since the tape
heads are stationary.
• For a long audio cassette tape it can take a minute or two to rewind the
whole tape, making it hard to find a song in the middle of the tape.

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FLOPPY DISK OR
DISKETTE
The floppy disk drive (FDD) was the primary
means of adding data to a computer until the
CD-ROM drive became popular.

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A floppy disk, like a cassette tape, is made from a thin piece of plastic coated
with a magnetic material on both sides.

However, it is shaped like a disk rather than a long thin ribbon. The tracks are
arranged in concentric rings so that the software can jump from "file 1" to
"file 19" without having to fast forward through files 2-18.

The diskette spins like a record and the heads move to the correct track,
providing what is known as direct access storage.

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WHAT IS FORMATTING A DISK?

Disk formatting is the process of preparing a data

storage device for initial use

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HARD DISKS
• A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive or fixed disk is a
data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information
using one or more rigid rapidly rotating disks (platters) coated with
magnetic material.

• Hard Disks provide Direct access which means you can go directly to
any piece of data

• Hard disks can have a fixed read/write head or a moving head

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ZIP DRIVES

• A high-capacity floppy disk drive developed by

Iomega Corporation. Zip disks are slightly larger
than conventional floppy disks, and about twice
as thick. They can hold 100 or 250 MB of data.
Because they're relatively inexpensive and
durable, they have become a popular media for
backing up hard disks and for transporting large
files.

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OPTICAL DISKS

Optical disks are read and

written by lasers

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DVD

Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc, a

DVD or DVD-ROM is a disc capable of storing
large amounts of data on one disc the size of a
standard Compact Disc.

A DVD is capable of holding any data and are

most often used to store movie data, games, and
install data for programs.

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BLU RAY
• This format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition
video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data.
• The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can
hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc.

• This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer
consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

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WHY CHOOSE BLU RAY?

• While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM
rely on a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead,
hence the name Blu-ray.

• The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405nm) is that it has a shorter wavelength than a red
laser (650nm), which makes it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision.
This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it's possible to fit
more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD.

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FLASH MEMORY
• Flash memory is used for easy and fast information storage in computers, digital cameras
and home video game consoles. It is used more like a hard drive than as RAM. In fact, flash
memory is known as a solid state storage device, meaning there are no moving parts --
everything is electronic instead of mechanical.

• Flash memory is a type of EEPROM chip, which stands for Electronically Erasable
Programmable Read Only Memory. Flash memory is a solid-state chip that maintains
stored data without any external power source.

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HOW DATA IS STORED ON A DISK

• Track - Concentric ring of data on a side of a disk.
• Sector - A subset of a track, similar to wedge or a slice of pie.

On a computer diskette or hard disk, a sector is one of the "pie slices" the
diskette or disk is divided into.

Dividing the circular medium into pie slices is a way to organize it so that
data can be located by the read/write heads of the drive.

The diskette or disk is also divided into a number of concentric circles.

Data can be located by knowing the number of the sector and the concentric
track that passes through that sector

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