Storage
Storage devices are hardware used to carry out the storage action. Storage media are the
physical objects used to store the data.
Magnetic e.g. hard disk drive, tape
HDD has moving parts
Generally reliable, but subject to wear-and-tear
Not robust – can be damaged by shocks
High num of moving parts so slow to access
High capacity
Tends to last for long time
Cheap
Optical e.g. DVDs, CDs
Low speed – moving parts
Slow to access data
Reliable – waterproof, shockproof
Portable
Low capacity
Cheap
Easily scratched, damaged or broken
Storage Devices
Medium Type Capacity Typical use
Hard Disk Magnetic 500GB – 12 TB Long term storage of
programs + data
CD-ROM/R Optical 640 MB Backups, archives,
copies of data,
distribution of
programs and music
CD-RW Optical 640 MB Copies of data,
transferring files
between computers
DVD-ROM/R Optical 4.7 GB Backups, copies of
data, distribution of
games, TV
programmes and
movies
DVD-RW Optical 4.7 GB Backups, archives,
copies of data
Blu-Ray Optical 50 GB Distribution of TV
shows and movies
Solid State Drive Flash 256 GB – 4 TB Long-term storage
of programs and
data where high
performance is
reGuired
USB memory stick Flash 2 GB – 2 TB Copies of data,
Storage devices are hardware used to carry out the storage action. Storage media are the
physical objects used to store the data.
Magnetic e.g. hard disk drive, tape
HDD has moving parts
Generally reliable, but subject to wear-and-tear
Not robust – can be damaged by shocks
High num of moving parts so slow to access
High capacity
Tends to last for long time
Cheap
Optical e.g. DVDs, CDs
Low speed – moving parts
Slow to access data
Reliable – waterproof, shockproof
Portable
Low capacity
Cheap
Easily scratched, damaged or broken
Storage Devices
Medium Type Capacity Typical use
Hard Disk Magnetic 500GB – 12 TB Long term storage of
programs + data
CD-ROM/R Optical 640 MB Backups, archives,
copies of data,
distribution of
programs and music
CD-RW Optical 640 MB Copies of data,
transferring files
between computers
DVD-ROM/R Optical 4.7 GB Backups, copies of
data, distribution of
games, TV
programmes and
movies
DVD-RW Optical 4.7 GB Backups, archives,
copies of data
Blu-Ray Optical 50 GB Distribution of TV
shows and movies
Solid State Drive Flash 256 GB – 4 TB Long-term storage
of programs and
data where high
performance is
reGuired
USB memory stick Flash 2 GB – 2 TB Copies of data,
