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Hard Drive

What is a hard drive? What are my computer storage drives options?

The hard drive (HDD) is your computer's long term memory. It stores the operating system, applications, and any document, photo, or music files. It is considered long term memory because your computer can be turned on and off without worry of losing these files. We'll go into more detail about how hard drives work and how much you need.

How does a hard drive work?

Traditional hard drives have moving parts that read and write data. There is a small arm that moves across a platter or small disk that spins. The speed of the hard drive is determined by how fast these parts move against each other. The platter or small disk holds the data and the arm reads or writes data as necessary.  

These moving parts are very sensitive so they have to be covered in a metal case for protection. This can prevent damage to the hard drive. Any hard fall can break the moving parts inside of the hard drive and make it stop working. This can affect the files you have saved on that hard drive.

 

It can be very expensive to repair the hard drive because it depends on the hard drive damage itself and the files you have saved on it.

How much hard drive storage do I need?

The amount of storage you need on your computer depends on you. For the most part there is no definite perfect amount for every user. Most retailers sell laptops that have 500+ GB of hard drive storage which is enough for the average user.

 

Since hard drives are more common now, the amount of storage they feature has increased over the years. That is why there are so many laptops that have a large hard drive (like 1 or 2 TB of storage). Large hard drives can easily store documents, photos, and videos files.

 

There are external hard drives that can be plugged into a laptop or desktop. These external hard drives work the same, but have a housing that has more protection than if they were inside a computer. It does not replace the internal drive, but it does give you more storage space.

 

 

External hard drives are also portable. They have many uses for different people. Most people use external hard drives when they want to back up existing files they have on their computer. They also use them to transfer large amounts of data files from different devices.

Are there other types of long term memory?

Hard drives are just one type of long term memory. Another common storage drive is a solid state drive or SSD. Solid state drives are significantly faster than a hard drive. They are also more reliable than a hard drive because they do not have any moving parts.*

 

*From Crucial, one of the largest memory manufacturers.

 

 

Solid state drives are better than hard drives in every way. They are now considered the standard for internal storage in computers. Solid state drives perform better in speed, but have less storage. Hard drives have more storage, but are slower than a solid state drive.


The solid state drive performs better in speed, but has less storage. The hard drive has more storage, but is slower than a solid state drive.

 

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