1.3 Storage

1.3 Storage

1. Primary Storage

   • Made up of RAM and ROM, stores programs and instructions for the CPU to process

2. Secondary Storage

   • Secondary storage permanetely stores programs and data whilst they are not in use by the CPU
   • Examples: Hard Drive Disk, USB, CD/DVD
   • Stores backups of data if the originals are damaged and destroyed
   • Hard Disk Drives are read and write
   • Magnetic storage = Hard Disks, floppy disks
   • HDD = low cost per GB, USB = reasonable cost per GB
   • USB, memory sticks and SD cards = portable
   • Hard Disk Drives = robust
   • Magnetic tape offers very high capacity, good durability and a very low cost per GB, making it ideally suited to long-term backup storage.

3. Optical Storage and media

   • Laser light
     • CD, DVD OPTICAL MEDIA
       • Optical discs are cheap and quick to produce in large numbers. They are also small and very portable.