Magnetic storage

Question 1

What are the characteristics of hard disk drives?

Answer 1

• Each bit of data is represented by a -ve or +ve charged magnetic particle. Stored on a disk called platter.
• Data could be stored anywhere on the disk, and so to read/write data we first need to find the location on the disk. A magnetic read/write head is used to access the data while the platter spins.
• Not robust, can be damaged by shocks.
• High capacity
• Tends to last a very long time
• Low cost
• Slow to access because of the moving parts

Question 2

What are examples of magnetic storage?

Answer 2

• Hybrid drives use both SSD and HDD, this way they have both characteristics of both memories.
• Magnetic tape (now used for backups and some video cameras).
• HDD are used as the main secondary storage device in a computer.