Computing

Fundament
Reg#
Topic:
2016-CH-431

S u b m i t t e d To:
Secondary Storage Devices
als
Sir Umair Furqan

Class:
Submitted By:
Hanzla Imran
Chemical Engineering
(1st Semester)
 Computing Fundamentals

Secondary Storage Devices

Definition:
Secondary memory or external memory, is a non-volatile
memory (does not lose stored data when the device is powered down)
that is not directly accessible by the CPU, because it is not accessed via
the input/output channels (it is an external device).

Types Of Secondary Storage Devices

Floppy disks
Hard disks
Optical Disks
Magnetic Tapes
Solid State Devices

1
 Computing Fundamentals

Magnetic Disk
Definition:

A magnetic disk is a storage device that uses a

magnetization process to write, rewrite and access data. It is covered
with a magnetic coating and stores data in the form of tracks, spots and
sectors.

Examples:

1. Hard Disks

2. Zip Disks

3. Floppy Disks

Introduction:
In 1956 the first magnetic hard drive (HD) was
invented at IBM; consisting of 50 21-inch (53-cm) disks, it had a storage
capacity of 5 megabytes. By the 1990s the standard HD diameter for PCs
had shrunk to 3.5 inches (about 8.9 cm), with storage capacities in excess
of 100 gigabytes (billions of bytes)

Magnetic disks support direct access to a desired

location

Simplified structure of a disk

Disk aim
- Disk blocks \/

Arm movement

2
 Computing Fundamentals

- Tracks
- Platters
- Cylinder
- Sectors
- Disk heads
- Disk Controller
- Seek Time
- Rotational dela

3
 Computing Fundamentals

Working:
Data is read and written by a disk drive which rotates the discs and positions the
read/write heads over the desired track(s). The latter radial movement is known as "seeking".
There is usually one head for each surface that stores data. To reduce rotational latency it is
possible, though expensive, to have multiple heads at different angles.

The head writes binary data by magnetising small areas or "zones" of the disk in one of two
opposing orientations. It reads data by detecting current pulses induced in a coil as zones with
different magnetic alignment pass underneath it.

Hard Disk
Definition:
It is a data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information using
one or more rigid rapidly rotating disks (platters) coated with magnetic material.

How is data read and stored on a hard drive?

Data sent to and read from the hard drive is interpreted by the disk controller, which tells the hard drive
what to do and how to move the components in the drive. When the operating system needs to read or
write information, it examines the hard drive's File Allocation Table (FAT) to determine file location and
available write areas. Once they have been determined, the disk controller instructs the actuator to move
the read/write arm and align the read/write head. Because files are often scattered throughout the platter,
the head needs to move to different locations to access all information.

4
 Computing Fundamentals

All information stored on a traditional hard drive, like the above example, is done magnetically. After
completing the above steps, if the computer needs to read information from the hard drive, it would read
the magnetic polarities on the platter. One side of the magnetic polarity is 0, and the other is 1. Reading
this as binary data, the computer can understand what the data is on the platter. For the computer to write
information to the platter, the read/write head aligns the magnetic polarities, writing 0's and 1's that can be
read later.

Floppy disk
Definition:
It is a type of disk storage composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage
medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic enclosure lined with fabric that removes dust particles. Floppy
disks are read and written by a floppy disk drive (FDD).

History:
The first floppy disks, developed in the late 1960s.
8 inches (200 mm) in diameter in size.
They became commercially available in 1971 as a component of IBM products and then were
sold separately beginning in 1972 by Memorex.

Working:

Read/Write Heads: Located on both sides of a diskette, they move together on the same
assembly. The heads are not directly opposite each other in an effort to prevent interaction
between write operations on each of the two media surfaces.

Drive Motor: A very small spindle motor engages the metal hub at the center of the diskette,
spinning it at either 300 or 360 rotations per minute (RPM).

5
 Computing Fundamentals

Stepper Motor: This motor makes a precise number of stepped revolutions to move the
read/write head assembly to the proper track position. The read/write head assembly is fastened to
the stepper motor shaft.

Mechanical Frame: A system of levers that opens the little protective window on the diskette to
allow the read/write heads to touch the dual-sided diskette media. An external button allows the
diskette to be ejected, at which point the spring-loaded protective window on the diskette closes.

Circuit Board: Contains all of the electronics to handle the data read from or written to the
diskette. It also controls the stepper-motor control circuits used to move the read/write heads to
each track, as well as the movement of the read/write heads toward the diskette surface.

Optical Disk
Definition:
An optical disc drive (ODD) is a disk drive that uses laser light or
electromagnetic waves within or near the visible light spectrum as part
of the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs. Some
drives can only read from certain discs, but recent drives can both read
and record, also called burners or writers.

History:
The first laser disc, demonstrated in 1972, was the Laservision 12-inch video disc.
The first digitally recorded optical disc was a 5-inch audio compact disc (CD) in a read-only
format created by Sony and Philips in 1975.
The CD-ROM format was developed by Sony and Denon.
Sony introduced a Laser Disc data storage format, with a larger data capacity
of 3.28 GB.

Working:
Digital optical discs such as CDs and DVDs store binary data as microscopic variations in the height of the disc's surface, known
as pits and lands. Bits are encoded as transitions between raised lands and etched pits, which are lined up in a spiral like the
groove of an LP. On a mass-market replicated CD, this pattern is stamped into a 1.2-mm clear polycarbonate disc, which is then
covered with a superthin coating of reflective metal (usually aluminum or gold) and a label.

To read the data, an infrared laser is beamed through the CD's polycarbonate substrate. The light that bounces off the mirror-like
reflective backing is then measured. Because pits and lands pass different amounts of light, an optical pickup can read the
stamped pattern by detecting fluctuations in the reflected beam as the laser scans the groove. These measurements can then be
translated back into the original ones and zeros.

(DVDs use a similar methodology but employ a shorter-wavelength red laser that permits a narrower beam. This allows tracks to be spaced
closely enough to shoehorn 4.37GB (4.7 billion bytes) onto one stamped data layer, more than six times the CD's 700MB capacity .)