SECONDARY STORAGE DEVICES

Computers are useful and efficient because of its fast processing, diligence, and large storage capacity. When we say storage capacity of computers we mean the ability to recall all information feeded into the computers storage devices. Computer stores its data & information in its memory. The computers possess two types of memory: Primary Memory & Secondary Memory. The primary memory of the computer is also known as RAM i.e. Random Access Memory. The computers micro processing chip randomly accesses this memory immediately when we start the computer. But this memory is very small and limited. So we cannot store large information in this memory. This memory stores all the information in the form of electric signals. So whenever power fails or you switch off the computer all the information that has been stored is lost. Therefore there was requirement of some other memory medium where large data and information can be stored permanently. This requirement of memory generated the secondary storage devices or Secondary Memory of the computers. The secondary storage devices where used to overcome the problems with primary memory. The Secondary Memory is also known as Auxiliary Memory or Backup Memory.

UNITS OF MEMORY STORAGE

Bit is the smallest unit of storage. The storage capacity of any secondary storage devices is evaluated by the amount of data stored in them. The units of memory storage measures these data stored. The following table shows the different units of memory storage and their equivalence:
1

M2 - Learning Computers

1 2 3 4 5 6

4 bits 8 bits 1024 byte 1024 kilobyte 1024 megabyte 1024 gigabyte

1 nibble 1 byte 1 kilobyte (KB) 1 megabyte (MB) 1 gigabyte (GB) 1 terabyte (TB)

Examples: Convert the following into their byte equivalents: i. 240 KB = 240 X 1024 bytes. ii. 4.2 GB = 4.2 X 1024 MB = 4.2 X 1024 X 1024 KB = 4.2 X 1024 X 1024 X 1024 bytes iii. 1.44 MB = 1.44 X 1024 KB = 1.44 X 1024 X 1024 bytes iv. 20 GB = 20 X 1024 MB = 20 X 1024 X 1024 KB = 20 X 1024 X 1024 X 1024 bytes v. 10 TB = 10 X 1024 GB = 10 X 1024 X 1024 MB = 10 X 1024 X 1024 X 1024 KB
2

Secondary Storage Devices

= 10 X 1024 X 1024 X 1024 X 1024 bytes vi. 1.2 MB = 1.2 X 1024 KB = 1.2 X 1024 X 1024 bytes

FLOPPY DISKS
A floppy disk is a secondary storage device. It is a circular piece of plastic material coated with particles, which are magnetized. This thin plastic sheet is protected from outside by a plastic cover to prevent the sensitive data stored on them. The commonly used floppy disks are of 3.5 diameter. Floppies are used to store data and transfer them from one computer to another. Due to their size and portability they are the most popular storage mediums in offices and at homes.

Floppy Disks

The data inside the floppies are stored in tracks and sectors. The entire floppy is divided into circular segments called tracks. Each track is given a unique number. The outermost track is referred as 0 and the track inner to them is 1 and so on. Each track is further divided into segments called sectors. The number of segments in each track has the same capacity. In a typical 3.5 floppy disk the number of tracks and sectors and their storage capacity is denoted below:
1.44 MB = 1.474560 bytes = 512 bytes X 2 sides 3

M2 - Learning Computers

= 80 tracks X 18 sectors

Thus these floppy disks are called high-density disks as they can hold 1.44 MB data. The outer plastic cover has read / write hole covered by a metal sheet. This metal cover automatically opens when the floppy is inserted inside the floppy disk drive. If we wish to protect our floppy and dont want anyone to write his or her data then this read/write notch on one edge of the floppy disk should be closed. After this the floppy becomes write protected. The following guidelines should be taken care off while handling with floppy disks: Magnetized items should be kept away from them. Never bend or fold them. The touching of its surface must be avoided. The floppies should not be heaped/stacked one over the other. Heavy objects should not be kept on the floppies. Floppies should be kept away from heat & moisture. Floppies must be kept in cases to prevent them from dust. Very often formatting of floppies should be avoided.

HARD DISKS
A hard disk is fixed inside the cabinet of CPU (Central Processing Unit). It is made up of many rigid metal platters coated to store data magnetically. The hard disk rotates while recording data. This rotation speed is measured in the unit Disk of revolutions per minute (rpm). The Disk Head normal speed of hard disks is 3600 revolutions per second. The read/write head of the hard disks moves across its Sealed surface. Container The storage capacity of the hard disks is many times more than the floppy disks.
4
Tracking Arms

Secondary Storage Devices

The normal storage capacity of hard disks installed inside the Pentium-IV machines now a day is 40 Gigabytes. Due to large storage capacity it is preferred to store all important data into the hard disks of the computers. The data stored in the hard disks are retrieved faster as compared to the floppy disks as they are installed inside the computers. Try to find out the storage capacity of the hard disk installed in the computers of your computer lab. Ask the hard disk capacity of your fathers computer at office or your computer at home. Make a comparative chart of different hard disks capacities & find the highest capacity out of them.

CD-ROM (COMPACT DISK READ ONLY MEMORY)

Compact Disks most popularly known as CDs are the most attractive storage device these days. They are Read only memory device as without the CD writers we cannot store our files and folders on them. The diameter of the CD ranges from 10 cms to 30 cms. A typical CD is of 13 cm diameter. One CD can store 600 MB to 750 MB data on it. Laser reads the normally used CDs. So once the data is stored into the CD ROM it cannot be erased. Recently writable CDs are also introduced in the market but they are not so common. The read/write speed of a CD-ROM is average access tune is 125 milliseconds. CD comprises of a transparent thin layer of aluminium covering the pitted surface for reflectivity. The data may be in the form of text, image, sound, video clips, animated movies or their combinations. The CD Rom drive are mostly used to keep back ups & access the data for reading. Now a days the audio CDs are used for listening music albums at home & the video CDs are used to watch movies. The reception of the both forms is excellent.

M2 - Learning Computers

Lets Revise The primary storage devices are used to store information only when the computer is on. So secondary storage devices were developed to store data and information permanently on them. The different units of memory are bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes. The floopy disks are simplest and most popular secondary storage device. The commonly used floppy disks are of 3.5" diameter and 1.44MB storage capacity. Hard disks are the secondary storage device installed inside the CPU of the computer. The speed of harddisks is 3600 revolutions per second and the storage capacity of the hard disks ranges from 10 GB to 40GB. Compact discs commonly called CDs are used to store 60MB to 750MB of data. The CDs are also available as audio CDs to listen music and video CDs to watch movies. Try Yourself 1. 2. 3. What do you understand from primary storage device & secondary storage device in computers. Name any five secondary storage device used in computer. What is the storage capacity of the following devices: Floppy Disk, Hard Disc, Compact Disc, Magnetic Tape. 4. Why the secondary storage devices replaced the already available primary storage device.