Magnetic , Flash , Optical Storage

• What are the two main components of a storage device system?

  The drive and the media
• Why did Blu-ray become popular compared to DVD?

  Because it has the greatest storage capacity
• What was the primary use of CD-Rs?

  Storing and distributing music
• What is the main advantage of DVD-RW over CD-R?

  Greater storage capacity
• How do read-only optical drives store data?

  By burning pits and lands into the disk surface
• What happens to the surface of a read-only disk after data is written?

  It cannot be changed
• How does the data storage capacity of DVDs compare to CDs?

  DVDs store more data because pits and lands are smaller and closer together
• What is a disadvantage of optical media?

  It is prone to scratches
• What type of disks do most hard disks in computers use?

  Magnetic disks
• What is the role of the drive head in magnetic hard disks?

  It physically moves over the surface of the disk to read and write data
• Why are magnetic tapes considered slow for data storage?

  Because they can only be read and written sequentially
• What is a key advantage of solid-state drives over magnetic hard disks?

  They operate without noise
• How do solid-state drives store data?

  By forcing electrons into floating gates between oxide layers
• What is a limitation of solid-state media over time?

  They have a limited number of read/write cycles
• What type of storage would be best for a helmet-mounted camera capturing real-time video footage?

  • Solid-state drive
  • Needs to be portable and durable
  • Requires quick data access
• What storage solution is ideal for a desktop computer in an office with high data capacity needs?

  • Magnetic media for the main hard disk
  • Possible addition of a smaller solid-state drive for faster OS access
• What storage option would be suitable for backing up 800 gigabytes of data in a travel agency?

  • Magnetic media, possibly using tape
  • Needs to be portable and reliable
  • Medium cost solution