Chapter Seven: Storage Devices

• The hard disk along with the floppy disk and CD-
ROM is a secondary storage device that provides
permanent storage for the user’s data, programs,
and other objects, even after the power goes off.
 Hard-Disk Storage
• A hard disk drive contains rigid, disk-shaped platters
• Unlike floppy disks, the platters can’t bend or flex—
hence the term hard disk.
 Basic components of a Hard Disk
• A hard disk is comprised of four basic parts:
– platters,
– a spindle,
– read/write heads, and
– integrated electronics.
• Platters are rigid disks made of metal or plastic. Both sides of
each platter are covered with a thin layer of iron oxide or other
magnetizable material.
• The platters are mounted on a central axle or spindle, which
rotates all the platters at the same speed.
• Read/write heads are mounted on arms that extend over
both top and bottom surfaces of each disk. There is at least
one read/write head for each side of each platter. The
arms jointly move back and forth between the platters’
centers and outside edges; this movement, along with the
platters’ rotation, allow the read/write heads to access all
areas of the platters.
• The integrated electronics translate commands from the
computer and move the read/write heads to specific areas
of the platters, thus reading and/or writing the needed
data.
 Preparing a hard disk drive for use
• The two major steps to preparing a disk drive to receive an
operating system and to store data are partitioning and
formatting.
• Consequently preparing a hard disk drive, for data storage
involves three steps:
1. Low-level formatting (LLF)
2. Partitioning
3. High-level formatting (HLF)
• The most basic form of disk organization is called formatting.
Formatting prepares the hard disk so that files can be written to
the platters and then quickly retrieved when needed.
• Hard disks must be formatted in two ways: physically (low
level) and logically (high level).
 Physical Formatting
• A hard disk must be physically formatted before it can be
logically formatted. A hard disk’s physical formatting (also
called low-level formatting) is usually performed by the
manufacturer.
• Physical formatting divides the hard disk’s platters into
their basic physical elements:
– tracks,
– sectors, and
– cylinders.
• These elements define the way in which data is physically
recorded on and read from the disk.
 Tracks, Sectors and Cylinder
• Hard disks and floppy disks organize into logical divisions:
cylinders, tracks, sectors, and clusters
• Tracks are concentric circular paths written on each side of a
platter, like those on a record or compact disc. The tracks
are identified by number, starting with track zero at the
outer edge.
• Tracks are divided into smaller areas or sectors, which are
used to store a fixed amount of data. Sectors are usually
formatted to contain 512 bytes of data (there are 8 bits in a
byte).
• A cylinder is comprised of a set of tracks that lie at the same
distance from the spindle on all sides of all the platters. For
example, track three on every side of every platter is located
at the same distance from the spindle. If you imagine these
tracks vertically connected, the set forms the shape of a
cylinder.
 Partitioning
• After a disk has been physically formatted, it can
be divided into separate physical sections or
partitions.
• Each partition functions as an individual unit, and
can be logically formatted with any desired file
system.
• Why Use Multiple Partitions?
– Install more than one OS on your hard disk;
– Make the most efficient use of your available disk
space;
– Make your files as secure as possible;
– Physically separate data so that it is easy to find files
and back up data.
 Partition Types
• There are three kinds of partitions:
– primary,
– extended, and
– logical.
• Primary and extended partitions are the main disk
divisions; one hard disk may contain up to four primary
partitions, or three primary partitions and one extended
partition.
• The extended partition can then be further divided into
any number of logical partitions.
• A primary partition usually contains an operating system
along with any number of data files (for example, program
files or user files).
• Logical partitions can exist only within an extended
partition and are meant to contain only data files
 Logical Formatting (HLF)
• After a hard disk has been partitioned, it must be logically
formatted.
• Logical formatting places a file system on the disk, allowing
an operating system (such as DOS, Windows, or Linux) to
use the available disk space to store and retrieve files.
• High-level formatting is not really a physical formatting of
the drive, but rather the creation of a table of contents for
the disk.
• The DOS FORMAT command can perform both low-level
and high-level format operations on a floppy disk, but it
performs only the high-level format for a hard disk.
• Each partition can be formatted with a different file system,
allowing you to install multiple OSs.
 Physical Installation
The step-by-step procedures for installing a hard drive are as follows:
1. Check your computer for an unused ATA/IDE connector.
2. Double-check the pin configuration and cable type. The colored
(normally red or red-flecked) stripe on one edge of the cable goes
to pin 1 of the hard drive’s data connector. Most cables and drive
connectors are keyed to prevent improper (backward) installation,
but many are not.
3. Configure the drive jumpers or you must set the drives on the cable
as either master or slave.
4. Attach the data cable connector to the back of the drive and the
appropriate power connector to the drive. Most hard drives use
the larger, or “Molex,” four-wire power connector.
5. Turn on the computer and listen for the new hard disk to spin up.
Restart the computer and access the BIOS setup screens to
configure the new hard disk.
 The most common drive errors
• Abort, Retry, Fail or Abort, Retry, Fail, Ignore Errors
• The most common drive errors begin with "Abort,
Retry, Fail," or "Abort, Retry, Fail, Ignore."
• When you see any of the following errors, you have
a drive problem.
– Sector not found reading drive C: Abort, Retry, Fail?
– Data error reading drive C: Abort, Retry, Fail, Ignore?
– Read fault reading drive C: Abort, Retry, Fail, Ignore?
– Invalid media type reading drive C: Abort, Retry, Fail?
• CMOS Errors
• At times, the system CMOS becomes unstable,
this can result in the following error messages:
– CMOS configuration mismatch
– No boot device available
– Drive not found
– Missing operating system
• Connectivity Errors
• Connectivity problems (when something is not
connected or plugged in) usually appear when
you boot up a computer. Look for the following
messages:
– HDD Controller failure
– No boot device available
– Drive not found
• Lost Boot and Partition Information
• It is possible for a drive to lose partition
information. Look for these errors:
– Invalid partition table
– Corrupt boot sector
– Non-system disk or disk error
• Boot and partition information is stored on
sectors and can fail. If the partition table or boot
sector is corrupted, the best solution is to restore
the data on the drive from a backup copy after
repartitioning the drive and reloading the
operating system.
 Troubleshooting a hard disk drive

• Here are a variety of problems (and the

troubleshooting steps used to solve them) that can
show up after a new hard disk is installed in a PC.
– If the PC won’t boot, check the following:
• If you have only one disk drive, make sure that it’s configured
as a master. This isn’t a problem on most systems with only
one disk drive, but on some, a single drive must be configured
as a master.
• If you have two drives on a single IDE/ATA channel, check the
jumpers on the drives to verify that one is a master and one is
a slave.
 … Troubleshoot
• Check the power connection on each disk drive to make sure
that the connectors are properly fitting and that there are no
bent or broken pins. If you suspect that the power connector is
the problem, try using a different power connector from the
power supply.
• Verify that the red or blue edge of the data cable is aligned to
pin 1
• You might need to partition and format the hard disk. If you get
a drive C: boot failure even after formatting the C: drive and
copying the system files to it, you could have a corrupted boot
sector. If the drive continues to have problems, try a different
hard disk drive to see whether the device interface is the
problem. If so, acquire a new adapter card. If the new drive
works, the problem is the original disk drive itself
 … Troubleshoot
• Use the Windows Device Manager to verify that the hard disk
drives of the primary and secondary device controllers don’t
have system resource conflicts.
 Optical Storage

• There are basically two types of disk storage for

computers: magnetic and optical.
• Magnetic storage is represented by the standard
floppy and hard disks installed in most PC systems,
where the data is recorded magnetically on rotating
disks.
• Optical disc storage is similar to magnetic disk
storage in basic operation, but it reads and records
using light (optically) instead of magnetism
 Installing and Operating a CD-ROM Drive

• A CD drive typically fits in a PC’s 5.25" half-height

drive bay
• A drive or a drive bay with a height of 1.75 inches
is considered a half-height device or bay, which is
the standard on virtually all newer PC cases.
• CD-ROM drives have a sheet metal enclosure that
surrounds the drive, and screw holes are tapped
into the sides of the enclosure that allow for
mounting it directly into a standard drive bay
 … Installing and Operating
• It has both data cable and power cable
• CONNECTING THE AUDIO CABLE
– A CD-ROM drive also has a thin audio connector that’s
used to connect it to a sound card.
– The audio connector is either a three- or four-wire cable
that sends the CD’s audio output directly to the sound
card so it can be recorded on the PC or played back on
the PC’s speakers.
 Install the Optical Drive

• An optical drive is a drive that reads and writes

information to CDs and DVDs.
• A Molex power connector provides the optical drive
with power from the power supply.
• A PATA cable connects the optical drive to the
motherboard.
 Follow these steps for optical drive installation:

• Position the optical drive so that it aligns with the

5.25-inch drive bay.
• Insert the optical drive into the drive bay so that the
optical drive screw holes align with the screw holes
in the case.
• Secure the optical drive to the case using the proper
screws
 Troubleshooting CD-ROM drive

• You don’t have many physical things to check on an

CD-ROM drive when it begins performing badly or
not at all.
• Problem: The CD-ROM/DVD drive light is on all the
time — or the tray is extended or retracted when
the system starts — but the device does not
respond.
• Solution: The problem is likely with the cabling.
• Do this: With proper ESD protection, remove the
case cover and check the cables on the CD-ROM
drive to make sure they’re correctly oriented and
correctly connected.
 …Troubleshoot
• Problem: No lights show at all, and the system
doesn’t see the device (it doesn’t show up in the
Device Manager list).
• Solution: The CD-ROM drive probably doesn’t have
a power connection. It could be that there was not
one to use, and it was forgotten.