Lecture-15

The Secondary Memory

Secondary Memory
Storage devices hold data, even when the
computer is turned off.
The physical material that actually holds data is
called a storage medium. The surface of a
floppy disk is a storage medium.
The hardware that writes data to or reads data
from a storage medium is called a storage
device. A floppy disk drive is a storage device.
The two primary storage technologies are
magnetic and optical.

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Secondary Memory
Nonvolatile
Slow compared to primary memory
Less costly & high capacity

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Magnetic Storage Devices
Most common form of storage
Magnetic storage and magnetic recording are terms from
engineering referring to the storage of data on a
magnetized medium. Magnetic storage uses different
patterns of magnetization in a magnetizable material to
store data and is a form of non-volatile memory. The
information is accessed using one or more read/write
heads.
Example:
Hard Disk
Floppy Disk
Magnetic Tape

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Magnetic Storage Devices

Floppy Disk
Hard Disk

Tape

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Magnetic Storage Devices
Data storage and retrieval
Media is covered with iron oxide
Read/write head is a magnet
Magnet writes charges on the media
Positive charge is a 1
Negative charge is a 0
Magnet reads charges
Drive converts charges into binary

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Magnetic Storage Devices

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Magnetic Storage Devices
Data organization
Disks must be formatted before use
Format draws tracks on the disk
Tracks is divided into sectors
Amount of data a drive can read

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Tracks and Sectors

Tracks

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Floppy Disk
Used to transfer small files between computers and
make backup copies to protect against lost work.
As file sizes are becoming larger and other, more
reliable storage media become increasingly common,
people are using floppy disks less frequently.
3.5 disk can store up to 1.44 MB of data which is
approximately equivalent to 300 pages of A4 text.
Spins at 300 RPM
Takes 0.2 second to find data

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Floppy Disk

1. Write-protect tab (open=protected)

2. Hub
3. Shutter
4. Plastic housing
5. Paper ring
6. Magnetic disk
7. Disk sector

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Advantages of Floppy Disk
Portable - small and lightweight.
Allows random access of data - (unlike tape which
is serial).
Can provide a valuable means of backing up data.
Inexpensive.
Useful for transferring files between computers or
home and school.
Private data can be stored securely on a floppy
disk.
Security tab to stop data being written over.

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Tracks and Sectors

Tracks

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Storage capacity of a Disk
Storage capacity of a disk
= No. of recording surfaces x No. of tracks per
surfaces x No. of sectors per track x No. of
bytes per sector

For a standard 3.5 floppy disk,

Capacity =2 sides/disk x 80 Track/Side x 18
Sectors/Tracks x 512 Bytes/Sector
= 1474560 Bytes/Disk
= 1.40625 MB

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Disadvantages of Floppy Disk
Not very strong - easy to damage.
Data can be erased if the disk comes into
contact with a magnetic field.
Quite slow to access and retrieve data
compared to a hard disk drive, but it is faster
than tape.
Small storage capacity, especially most
graphics files cannot be stored.
New computers are starting to be made
without floppy drives.

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Magnetic Tape
Magnetic tapes come in two forms:
Tape reels - these are fairly large and are
usually used to back up data from mainframe
computers.
Cassettes or cartridges - these are fairly small
in size but able to hold enough data to back up
the data held on a personal computer or a small
network.

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Magnetic Tape

Magnetic Tape Cartridge Magnetic Tape Reel

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Advantages of Magnetic Tape
Relatively cheap.
Can hold in excess of 20GB of data (it is
possible to get devices that will back up over
200 GB of data).
Backup capacity is easily expanded by simply
using more tape.

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Disadvantages of Magnetic Tape
Serial access - In order to get to something on
the tape, we need to go through everything that
comes before it.
Slow - Because of serial access, it is relatively
slow to find the data that.
Specialist hardware is needed to read the
tapes. Most standard PCs do not come with the
hardware required to use them.
Not suitable for heavy use - They are a bit
fragile with a tendency to stretch and tangle! Tape
is best suited for back-up purposes.

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Hard Disk
The hard disk drive is the main storage device
within a computer.
It is where all the applications software and
data is kept.
Data stored on a hard disk can be accessed
much more quickly than data stored on a
floppy disk.
A hard disk spins between 5,400 to 15,000
RPM inside its metal casing, which is why it
makes that whirring noise.

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Hard Disk

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Hard Disk

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Storage capacity of a Disk
Storage capacity of a disk
= No. of recording surfaces x No. of tracks per
surfaces x No. of sectors per track x No. of
bytes per sector

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Storage capacity of a Disk
A disk pack has 10 disk plates, each having 2655
tracks. There are 125 sectors per track and each
sector can store 512 bytes. What is the capacity of
the disk?

Solution:
Disk capacity = (2 * 10 2) x 2655 x 125 x 512 bytes
= 3058560000 bytes
= 3058560000 / (1024 * 1024 * 1024) GB
= 2.8485 GB

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Speed of a Disk
Seek time
The time it takes to position the head at the track
is known as seek time.
Rotational Delay or Rotational Latency
The time it takes for the beginning of the sector
to reach the desired sector is known as rotational
delay.
Access time = Seek + Latency
Transfer rate
The time it takes to transfer the data is known as
transfer time.

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Advantages of Hard Disk
Large storage capacity.
Stores and retrieves data much faster than a floppy
disk or CD-ROM.
Data is not lost when you switch off the computer.
Usually fixed inside the computer so cannot get
mislaid.
Cheap on a cost per megabyte compared to other
storage media.
Hard disks can be replaced and upgraded as necessary.
Can have two hard disks in a machine, one can act as
a mirror of the other and create a back up copy.

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Disadvantages of Hard Disk
Hard disks eventually fail which stops the
computer from working.
Regular 'head' crashes can damage the surface
of the disk, leading to loss of data in that
sector.
The disk is fixed inside the computer and
cannot easily be transferred to another
computer

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