How Hard Drives Work

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What is a Hard Drive

 

Almost all desktop computers have a hard drive inside say, But do you really know what They are? Many people When They Hear the word hard drive, think That it Refers to the computer as a whole. In reality, though, the hard drive is just one of Many Different pieces That compris a computer. The hard drive is one of the Most Important parts of your computer Because It Is Used as a long-term storage space for your dates. What That Means, is Regardless of Whether or not the computer is on, or you lose power, the date Will stay still stored on this drive keeping it safe. On the other hand, it Tells you how! Important is backing up your data, f Because the hard drive malfunctions there is a good chance you will lose it all.

 

A hard drive is an integral piece of equipment for your computer or your operating system and all your data are stored Typically there. In the Majority of the Situations, the if you did not have a working hard drive, or the hard drive malfunctions, you wouldn't swear Able to boot your computer Into the operating system and Would get an error. If you Opened your computer case and wanted to find your hard drive, Would you look Similar to the image below:

 

 

How hard drives work

 

If You Were to open your hard drive, Which Would immediately void your warranty and potentially Damage it, Would you see something like the image below:

 

 

A hard drive consists of the Following:

 

Magnetic platters - are the round platters plates in the image above. Each platter Holds A Certain Amount of information, so a drive with a lot of storage platters Will have more than one with less storage. When information is stored and Retrieved from the platters it is done so in concentric circles, called tracks, Which are further broken down Into segments called Sectors.

Arm - The arm is the piece sticking out over the platters. The arms Will Contain read and write heads Which are Used to read and store the information onto the magnetic platters. Each platter Will Have Its own arm Which is Used to read and write data off of it.

Engine - The engine is Used to spin the platters from 4,500 to 15,000 rotations per minute (RPM). The faster the RPM of a drive, the better you Will Achieve performance from it.

When a computer wants to retrieve the data off of the hard drive, the engine Will spin up the platters and the arm Itself Will move to the position above the platter Appropriate Where the data is stored. The heads on the arm Will detect the magnetic bits on the platters and tell convert Dried Dates Into The Appropriate Can Be Used by the computer. Conversely, When data is sent to the drive, the heads Will this my item at the platters magnetic pulses changing the magnetic properties of the platter, and THUS storing your information.

 

It is Important to note, That SINCE the data stored on your hard drive is magnetic, it is not a good idea to play with a magnet near your hard drive

 

 

Hard Drive Interfaces

 

A hard drive Connects to your computer through a specific type of interface. The interface on your hard drive must match the corresponding interface on your motherboard. If you purchase a new hard drive interface That has a That your motherboard does not support, it won't work in your computer. Currently there are three interfaces That Have Become the standard for connecting your computer to your hard. Some information about Each of These interfaces are below.

 

IDE or ATA - This is currently the Most common soft interface is Quickly Becoming Used Overcome by the newer SATA interface. Hard drives using this type of interface have speeds up to 100 Mbps.

SATA - A newer That uses less bulky interface cables and has speeds starting at 150 Mbps for 300 Mbps for SATA and SATA II. Almost all computer MANUFACTURERS Have Started using SATA drives.

SCSI - This type of interface is Typically used in a business environment for servers. Hard Drives Designed for a SCSI interface Your Own to have a faster RPM Which Provides therefore better performance.

When buying a hard drive

 

When Purchasing a hard drive there are Some Characteristics you want to keep in mind That will help you Determine the right drive for your needs. Characteristics These are:

 

Seek Time - The Amount of time required to move a drive's read / write head to a Particular location on the disk. The lower the number, the better.

My Access - The actual Amount of Time from When a date is requested from a drive and delivered. The lower the number, the better.

RPMS - How fast the platters spin. The Higher the number, the faster the drive Will Be.

Capacity - The Amount of storage space available on the drive. Most drives today Typically Purchased Will Be 80 Gigabytes or Greater. An 80 GB hard drive Will on average cost around 60 USD.

Interface - How the hard drive Connects to your computer. Make Sure That the hard drive's interface is supported on your computer Before you purchase it.