Computer
Storage Devices
Unit 6
Copyrighted Material 64
Name: Tiago Rivera Green Date: Nov 17 2023
Computer Storage Devices
A storage device is any hardware capable of holding information either
temporarily permanently. There are two types of storage devices used
with computers: a primary storage device, such as RAM and a secondary
storage device, like a hard drive.
Copyrighted Material 65
65
Name: Tiago Rivera Green Date: Nov 17 2023
Types of Computer Storage
Ø Primary Storage
Primary storage device is a medium that holds memory for short periods
of time while a computer is running. Although it has a much lower access
time and faster performance, it is also about two orders of magnitude
more costly than secondary storage.
Random Access Memory (RAM) and cache are both examples of a primary
storage device.
Ø Secondary Storage
Secondary storage device is a non-volatile device that holds data until it is
deleted or overwritten. Hard drives (a prime example of secondary
storage) are the go-to solution for nearly all data kept on today's
computers.
Ø Tertiary Storage
Tertiary storage or tertiary memory provides a third level of storage.
Typically, it involves a robotic mechanism which will mount (insert) and
dismount removable mass storage media into a storage device according
to the system's demands; this data is often copied to secondary storage
before use. It is primarily used for archiving rarely accessed information
since it is much slower than secondary storage stores, accessed without
human operators.
Ø Offline Storage
A term used to describe any storage medium that is non-volatile and
whose data cannot be accessed by the computer once removed. A good
example of off-line storage is a USB thumb drive. Off-line storage is used
for transport as well as backup protection in the face of unpredictable
events, such as hardware failure due to power outage or files corrupted by
a computer viruses.
Copyrighted Material
66
Name: Tiago Rivera Green Date: Nov 17 2023
Computer Storage Devices
Magnetic storage devices
Today, magnetic storage is one of the most common types of
storage used with computers and is the technology that many
computer hard drives use.
Some examples are:
• Floppy diskette
• Hard drive
• Magnetic strip
• SuperDisk
• Tape cassette
• Zip diskette
Optical storage devices
Another common storage is optical storage, which uses lasers
and lights as its method of reading and writing data.
Some examples are:
• Blu-ray disc
• CD-ROM disc
• CD-R and CD-RW disc
• DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW disc
Copyrighted Material 67
Name: Tiago Rivera Green Date :Nov 17 2023
Computer Storage Devices
Flash memory devices
Flash memory has started to replace magnetic media as it becomes
cheaper as it is the more efficient and reliable solution.
Some examples are:
• Jump drive or flash drive
• Memory card
• Memory stick
• SSD
Fun Fact:
Today, we find hard
Online and cloud drives up to 1TB, but
Storing data online and in cloud storage is did you know, the first
hard drive was created
becoming popular as people need to in 1979, and could hold
access their data from more than one just 5MB of data!
device.
Some examples are:
• Cloud storage
• Network media
Copyrighted Material
68
Name: Tiago Rivera Green Date: Nov 17 2023
Computer Processing Device
Alternately referred to as a processor, central processor,
or microprocessor, the CPU (pronounced sea-pea-you) is the Central
Processing Unit of the computer. A computer's CPU handles all
instructions it receives from hardware and software running on the
computer.
In the CPU, the primary components are the ALU (Arithmetic Logic
Unit) that performs mathematical, logical, and decision operations
and the CU (Control Unit) that directs all of the processors
operations.
Copyrighted Material 69
69
Name: Tiago Rivera Green Date: Nov 17 2023
Review: Storage Devices
Find one picture of each of below listed storage devices and
paste them under the correct name.
Magnetic Storage Devices
Floppy diskette Hard drive
Optical Storage Devices
Blu-ray disc CD-ROM disc
Flash Memory Devices
Jump drive Memory Card
Copyrighted Material 70
Name: Tiago Rivera Green Date: Nov 17 2023
Computer Storage Devices
Use the words from the word bank below and place them under the
correct category.
Floppy diskette Flash drive Hard drive
Memory card CD-ROM disc DVD-R
Memory stick Magnetic strip Blu-ray disc
Off-line Storage Magnetic Tape Optical Disk
DVD R
memory stick magnetic strip
memory card floppy diskette Blu ray disc
flash drive Hard drive CD-ROM disc
Copyrighted Material
71
Name: Tiago Rivera Green Date: Nov 17 2023
Review: Computer Hardware
Use the words from the word bank below to label the correct computer storage
devices.
CD-Rom SD Card External Hard Drive
Hard disk Flash Drive Floppy Disk
external hard drive floppy disk cd rom
sd card Hard drive flash drive
Copyrighted Material 72
Copyrighted Material 73
