Types of Memory
What are the types of memory on a computer?
There are several types of memory in a computer. The most basic of memory types is the RAM or Random Access Memory. RAM takes the form of several transistors in an integrated circuit or IC. Data can be accessed in any order, hence the term random. RAM comes in the form of chips that are inserted into the memory slots on the motherboard.
Universal Serial Bus drives or USB drives are also a way where information can be stored in your computer. USB drives are also known as flash drives or memory drives. All you have to do to access, write, and manipulate the data on the drive is to simply plug it in one of the USB ports on the motherboard. Flash drives have memory capacities from several megabytes to several gigabytes.
Discs are also great ways to store information. The most important of all the disks in a computer is the hard disk or the hard drive. Some may even call it the hard disk drive or the HDD. Normally, hard drives are not supposed to be removed from the motherboard but recent external hard drives have made it to the market already. The operating system of a computer is normally installed on the primary hard drive of the computer. If you are running on Windows, Mac O/S, Linux, or whatever operating system you have out there, the operating system is likely to be installed in the hard drive. The hard disk is made up of several rotating platters that have magnetic surfaces. Information is written, erased, or manipulated through these magnetic platters.
www.seagate.com, one of the best hard disk manufacturers of today is Seagate. Shown above is an inside look on one of their hard disks. You can see the rotating magnetic platters .
A popular type of disk that has made its way to homes is the DVD. DVD stands for digital versatile disc or digital video disc. They have a diameter of 4.72 inches, just like a normal CD, but DVDs are recorded at a much higher density. DVDs come in several types. A general purpose DVD is a DVD-ROM. A DVD that is used specifically for video is a DVD-Video. A DVD that is used specifically for audio is a DVD-audio.
The more primitive and less costly version of the DVD is the CD. CD stands for Compact Disc. It is also 4.72 inches in diameter like the DVD. The only drawback of the CD is that it stores much less data than a DVD. Data is less dense on a CD than on a DVD. CDs are still widely used nowadays but they will sooner or later be phased out when DVDs become much cheaper.
Floppy drives are worth mentioning here since sometimes you may see one once in awhile. They are close to being obsolete since they hold only a limited amount of data. They can only hold up to one and a half megabytes. The only upside of the floppy disk is its durability. Even if you drop it, nothing much will happen to it. If you have data on a floppy disk, the only things that you should avoid are magnetic items since the disk inside the floppy disk is magnetic in nature. Exposing it to magnets will simply corrupt the data.
