CHAPTER 6

Storage
Objectives:
 Discuss the various types of media storage.  Understand the characteristic of the hard disk & floppy disk.  Understand how the data is stored, fragmentation & defragmentation.  Differentiate among CD1 ROM, CD-RW, DVDs

 Storage holds data, instructions and information for future use. Inside your computer there are two types of data storage: Permanent - stay in the system even when the computer's power is turned off. Temporary - when the system is turned off, data in temporary storage disappear.

What is storage?
 Holds data, instructions, and information for future use  Storage medium is physical material used for storage
 Also called secondary storage

4.1 Criteria for rating secondary storage

 Storage capacity / size
High capacity storage devices are required for many sophisticated programs and large databases.

 Speed
People prefer whichever that is fast, but the problem is, it will cost more. The fastest storage is RAM Hard Disk CD USB Flash Drive, Floppy and Magnetic Tape. The speed is usually measured by access time.

 Access time
Refers to the average time needed to locate data on the medium. Measured in ms for secondary storage, ns for RAM.

 Cost
The faster the storage device , the more expensive it is. RAM Hard Disk, CD, USB Flash Drive, Floppy.
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4.2 Magnetic Disk Storage

 Based on the technology of representing

data as magnetized spots on the disk.  With a magnetized spot 1 bit and without such spot 0 bit.  To open a file means:  read data from the disk by converting the magnetized data to electrical impulses that are sent to the processor.  Saving means:  writing data to disk by sending electrical impulses from the processor to be converted to magnetized spots on the disk.

4.2.1 Diskettes
shutter

A removable round, flat piece of Mylar plastic that stores data and programs as magnetized spots. Sizes of diskettes
 3 -inches
magnetic coating metal hub flexible thin film

shell liner

4.2.1 Diskettes
 Disk drive - device that holds, spins and reads data from and writes data to a diskette.  A diskette is inserted into a slot, called the drive gate or drive door.

4.2.2 Hard Disks

What is a hard disk?  High-capacity storage  Consists of several inflexible, circular platters that store items electronically  Components enclosed in airtight, sealed case for protection
hard disk mounted in system unit

4.2.2 Hard Disks

4.2.2 Hard Disks

What is a head crash?  Occurs when read/write head touches platter surface  Spinning creates cushion of air that floats read/write head above platter Clearance between head and platter is approximately two-millionths of an inch A smoke particle, dust particle, or human hair could render drive unusable

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 What are tracks and sectors?

Track is narrow recording band that forms full circle on disk

Sector stores up to 512 bytes of data

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DOS keeps track of the various portions of a file with a device called a File Allocation Table (FAT). The FAT is a directory of sectors; it serves as a guide in locating all the clusters in which portions of a file are stored. Formatting prepare a track on floppy so that the operating system can write information on it. The most common reasons to format a hard disk are: 1) Due to virus that cannot be removed without destroying the boot sector. 2) Due to bad sectors. 3) You are changing from one operating system to another and wish to remove everything from the drive. Write-protect features - protect a diskette from being written 12 to.

Sectors and Clusters

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4.2.2.3 Fragmentation and Defragmentation

Defragment your own pc: Start > program files > accessories > system tools > disk defragmenter
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4.3 Optical Disk Storage

Is a removable disk on which data is written and read through the use of laser beams. A high-power laser beam is used to represent data by burning tiny pits into the surface of a hard-plastic disk. To read data, a low-powered laser light scans the disk surface Main types of optical storage are :CD-R, CD-RW and DVD.

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4.3 Optical Disk Storage

disc label

lens

pit 0 Step 2.

land
If light strikes a pit, it scatters. If light strikes a land, it is reflected back toward diode.

lens Step 3. 1
Reflected light is deflected to a light-sensing diode, which sends digital signals of 1 to computer. Absence of reflected light is read as digital signal of 0.

prism Step 1.
Laser diode shines a light beam toward disc.

prism lightsensing diode laser diode

lightsensing diode laser diode

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CD-R (compact disc - recordable) Permits writing on optical disk where CD-R drive, CD-R disks and accompanying software are required. Once written, data can't be modified CD-RW (rewritable) Erasable disc allows you write on it multiple times. To write on CD-RW, you must use CD-RW drive DVD-ROM (Digital video disc-ROM) Looks like an audio compact disk but can store 4.7 to 17 GB, allowing great data storage, studio-quality video images, and theater-like surround sound.

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4.3 Optical Disk Storage

How is data stored on an optical disc? Typically stored in single track Track divided into evenly sized sectors that store items
single track spirals to edge of disc

disc sectors

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4.4 Magnetic Tape Storage

One of the first storage used with mainframe computer. It's a thin plastic tape that has been coated with substance that can be magnetized Mainly used for backup  not used for primary method of storage because it is a sequentialaccess media (slow to access data)

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4.4 Magnetic Tape Storage

How is data stored on a tape?  Sequential access  Reads and writes data consecutively, like music tape  Random access  Used on hard disks, CDs, and DVDs which can locate particular item immediately

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4.5 Online Storage

 What is online storage? Service on Web that provides storage for minimal monthly fee Files can be accessed from any computer with Web access Large files can be downloaded instantaneously Others can be authorized to access your data

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