Memory Flashcards
What are the two types of primary storage?
ROM, RAM
What does (or can) the RAM do?
It can be read from and written to. It is much faster than a hard drive. It is available to be (randomly) accessed at any time by the CPU.
What does the RAM typically store at any one time?
The operating system (or the part in use), the software currently in use, the data being used by the software.
What does it mean that RAM is volatile memory?
The RAM is cleared upon turning of the computer.
What is virtual memory?
Virtual memory is a section of the hard drive that is used as an extention to RAM.
What are the advantages of virtual memory?
Uses cheap, secondary storage on the hard drive. Prevents errors occuring to do with not having enough memory. The programs still stay open.
What are the disadvantages of virtual memory?
Virtual memory is very very slow. To access the data, the existing data in RAM needs to be copied to Virtual memory. Then the old data needs to be copied back to the RAM.
What is typocally stored on the ROM of a modern computer?
The bootstrap (the program run when the computer is booted). The location of the operating system on the hard drive. The BIOS (basic input/output system).
What is the computer BIOS?
The BIOS controls basic technological configuration of the computer such as processor speed and system time. The BIOS can be run without any secondary storage being present.
What is the typical ROM size?
4 - 8MB. In modern home computers, the ROM has vastly less memory than the RAM. However this is not always the case in industry.
How does price relate to bytes stored?
The slower a component is, the less money it will cost for each byte of data.
What type of storage is ROM?
Non volatile, read only memory. It cannot be changed and can only be read by the computer.
