Cambridge Storage devices
IGCSE Unit 3
Computer Science Hardware
Paper 1
5
Objectives
• Understand secondary storage types such as Solid
State, Optical, Magnetic
• Show an understanding secondary and off-line
storage
• Describe the principles of operation of a range of
types of storage devices
• Describe how these principles are applied to available
storage solutions
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Secondary storage
• What do you already know about secondary storage
and its role within computer systems?
MAIN MEMORY
CENTRAL
INPUT OUTPUT
PROCESSING
DEVICES DEVICES
UNIT (CPU)
SECONDARY
STORAGE
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Storage devices
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Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Secondary storage – what’s it
for?
• Are secondary storage devices volatile or
non-volatile?
• Why do we need secondary storage?
• Why are there so many different types of secondary
storage?
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Uses of secondary storage
• Secondary storage is non-volatile – it keeps its
content when the power is switched off
• It has many different uses – for example:
• Programs and data are stored on hard disk
• CDs may be used to distribute software, music, e-books etc.
• Memory sticks may be used to transport data from one place
to another
• Magnetic tape or external hard drives may be used for backup
• What other uses are there for secondary storage devices?
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Storage types
• Primary storage
• RAM and ROM
• Secondary storage
• Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
• Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Offline secondary storage
• Compact Disc (CD) or Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) or BluRay
• USB Flash memory
• Removable HDD
• Magnetic tape
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Off-line storage
• Any device which can permanently hold data that is
not permanently connected to a computer
• These storage devices are often used for backing up
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Storage methods
• Magnetic: Mechanical parts move over the disks
surface to read and write data magnetically
• Optical: Lasers read and write data using light
• Solid State: Data is recorded onto solid memory
chips without any moving parts
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Magnetic tape
• Magnetic tape is a serial access medium. This
means it has to be read starting at the beginning of
the tape
• It has a large capacity but is slow to transfer data
• It is mainly used for “cold storage” for storing large volumes of
data offline which will seldom be accessed
• It is very cost-effective for large volumes of data and doesn’t
take up much storage space
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Magnetic disks
Basic features:
• Disk contains
concentric circles
called tracks
• Each track is divided
into sectors
• Disk heads mounted
on mechanical arms
read and write the data
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Unit 3 Hardware
Inside a hard disk
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Unit 3 Hardware
Magnetic storage: hard drives
• Fixed hard drives are built into virtually all PCs and
laptops
• They have a very large storage capacity, up to 2 TB or more
• Portable hard drives can be connected to a
computer via a USB port
• They are used for backing up or transporting data
• Some portable music players have tiny hard drives
no bigger than a small coin
• They can store several
GB of data
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Magnetic storage
• Advantages:
• Cheap, vast storage capability, fast write speed
• Disadvantages:
• Lots of mechanical parts, durability an issue, sealed unit due
to disk head and platter precision and not very portable
• Uses:
• Personal computers, storage of vast quantities of data
• Capacity:
• 500GB - 6TB or greater
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Optical storage
• Basic features:
• Data is stored as pits and
lands burnt into a spiral
track circulating outwards
from the centre
• A laser beam passes over
the pits and lands the level
of reflection is measured
• From this signal, 0s and 1s
can be derived from
reflections or no reflections
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
How CDs work
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Optical storage
• Advantages:
• Cheap, very easily portable, takes up little space physically
• Disadvantages:
• Less storage capacity compared to other types
• Easily damaged / scratched, requires a CD reader
• Slow write speeds
• Uses:
• Songs, videos and other multi-media storage, backup and
archiving of data
• Capacity:
• CD-ROM – up to 720Mb
• DVD – up to 8.4Gb
• Blu-Ray – up to 50Gb
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
CDs, DVDs and BluRay
• Why are the capacities of these discs different given
they are all the same physical size?
• Microscopic view of the surface of a CD Rom
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Pit size and laser wavelength
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Rewritable disks (RW)
• Rewritable disks use various methods to change and
fix the data on a disk
• DVD+/-RW use a dye that changes between a transparent to
an opaque state when heated by a laser
• DVD-RW or DVD+RW use a special alloy that can change
between two states when heated
• DVD-RAM disks
• DVD-RAM disks have concentric tracks like magnetic disks
rather than one spiral track
• This makes it possible to read and write data simultaneously
and extends their reliability, speed and lifetime
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Solid State Drives (SSD)
• Basic features:
• Solid-state disks use
non-volatile flash memory to
store information
• Very fast burst read/write
speeds due to data being
physically close and easy to
recover
• No mechanical or moving
parts
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Unit 3 Hardware
How flash memory works
• Large electric current used to force electrons
through a barrier and trap them on the other side
Electrons detected
here
Barrier Electrons trapped in this layer
Current applied and
electrons forced
through barrier
• They remain on the other side until “flashed” with a
new current, hence the name
• Trapped (charged) or not trapped = 0 or 1
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Solid State Drives
• Advantages:
• Highly durable, no moving parts, very fast read/write speeds,
no noisy fan, faster start up times
• Disadvantages:
• Expensive at present, less storage capacity / physical size
than traditional hard disks
• Uses:
• Hand held computers
• Military usage
• Capacity:
• 100GB – 16TB
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Flash memory
• Low cost, portable, no moving parts, durable
• This makes them ideal for a range of offline devices:
• Cameras
• Mobile phones
• USB memory sticks
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
Worksheet 5
• Secondary storage devices
• Use the ASCII Codes sheet to help you
Storage devices
Unit 3 Hardware
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