Tip #3769 - Computer Storage Devices
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Computer
Storage Devices
Awhile back, we covered
the different types of hardware used with computers. You know, basic hardware
and the extra hardware you can buy separately, etc. (You can read here
for that article).
So, I thought it would
be nice to cover the different kinds of computer storage devices that
are available as well. And that's exactly what I'm going to do today!
Knowing what kinds
of storage devices are available can keep you from using up too much space
on your computer's hard drive. They can also help keep your computer's
hard drive from crashing, along with keeping it running at top speed.
The most common storage
devices are:
- Floppy Disks
- Zip Disks
- CD + RW
- CD + R
- DVD + RW
- DVD + R
Floppy Disk
- They are plastic square disks, usually with a silver or black sliding
piece going across the top. These disks come in a variety of colors and
they hold about 144 million bytes. (Bytes are characters, symbols and
letters).
Zip Disk
- They look like a floppy disk, but they are a little thicker. This disk
also comes in a variety of colors and holds about 200 MB of data.
CD + RW Disc
(Compact Disc Rewriteable) - This disc looks like a regular CD. The only
difference is that you can write on this disc and erase it as many times
as you want. It works just like a floppy disk or a zip disk. A CD + RW
disc holds about 650 MB.
CD + R Disc
(Compact Disc Recordable) - This one is a CD that you can record on. It’s
mostly used to record audio and once it's been written on, you cannot
rewrite or erase anything off of it. This compact disc comes in different
sizes, but they are usually silver in color. (Some CDs are black in color
and they actually don't get as many scratches on them as the silver ones
do. They are also a lot less fragile).
A DVD –
R Disc (Digital Video Recordable) - These discs hold the space
of about 4.7 GB and are used to record movies on.
The more uncommon
storage devices are:
- Removable Hard
Drive
- Internet Hard
Drive
- Flash
- PC Cards
- Smart Cards
- Storage Tapes
- Memory Sticks
- Smart Media
Removable
Hard Drive - This is a disk drive in which a plastic or metal
case surrounds the hard drive. It can be inserted and removed just like
a floppy disk. It holds about 2 GB of data.
Internet Hard
Drive - This one is a service on the Internet that provides
storage space to computer users. This service offers about 25 MB of space,
but it could be more, depending on the service type.
Flash Drive
- This a storage device that comes in many colors and has a stick shape
to it. They are very small in size, but they can hold anywhere between
256 MB and 3 GB of material on them.
PC Card - This is a thin credit card size device that
fits into a PC card slot, usually on a notebook computer. This card simply
adds storage to most notebooks.
Smart Cards
- These are the size of an ATM card. When inserted into a smart card reader,
they can read and update data for you.
Storage Tape
- This one is a magnetically coated ribbon of plastic, capable of storing
large amounts of data at a very low cost. Usually, storage tapes are a
little bigger than audio tapes. Older computers used tape and tape drives,
but even today, some people still back their systems up with storage tape.
These tapes hold between 20 GB to about 110 GB of data. An external tape
drive can be purchased separately as well, but those are even harder to
find.
Miniature
Mobile Storage Media - This is used mostly with handheld computers
and digital cameras.
Memory Stick
- This is a rectangular shaped disk that is used mostly with digital cameras
and notebook computers. They hold approximately 128 MB as well.
Micro Drive
- This is a square disk that has 1 GB of space and is used with digital
cameras and handheld computers.
Smart Media
Disc - This is a square disk that has 2 MB to about 128 MB of
space on it. It’s used with digital cameras, handheld computers
and photo printers.
There you go! These
are just some of the storage devices that are available today. So, the
next time you want to save something that takes up a large amount of space
on your hard drive, think twice about it and consider using one of these
storage devices instead. One of these devices could save you a lot of
space on your hard drive and keep your system running at its best!
~ Tweety Dimes
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