Basic Concepts of IT
CHAPTER 1
Activity
Q. What is the
difference between
RAM and ROM and
why is it called primary
memory?
Secondary Storage
• Secondary storage or secondary memory
also referred as backing storage is used to
supplement the capacity of main storage.
• It is the auxiliary storage of computer
system where large amount of data can be
stored permanently.
• The memory stores a bulk of information.
• It is also called auxiliary storage or mass
storage.
• The information stored in this memory is
used by the CPU by first bringing it to main
memory.
• Sometimes this memory also supplements
the main memory during the processing of a
data or program.
Classification of Secondary storage devices
Secondary
Storage
Devices
Magnetic Optical Solid State
Storage Storage Storage
Devices Devices Devices
Magnetic Flash
Hard Disk Floppy Disk CD-ROM DVD-ROM Smart card
Tape Memory
Magnetic Storage Devices
oA magnetic disk is a storage device that uses a magnetization process to
write, rewrite and access data. It is covered with a magnetic coating.
oIt can access data serially (E.g. an audio cassette from which
we can hear the songs in the order in which they are stored.)
oSerial access is slower than the direct access provided by
media such as diskettes.
oTo access some particular data from the tape, the device has
to scan through all the data we do not need but that data is
stored before the required one.
oThe access speed can be quite slow when the tape is long.
oThe best use of the magnetic tape is for the data that you do
not use very often
Floppy Diskette
oIt is a small removable, portable storage
device that is made of polyester film coated
with a metal oxide compound.
oIt looks like a 45 rpm phonograph record
except that it is enclosed in a jacket square
in shape.
oIt is readable by a computer with a floppy
disk drive.
oThe physical size of disks has shrunk from
the early 8 inch to 5.25 inch square and
about 1 millimeter thick (mini-floppy) to 3.5
inch square and about 2 millimeters thick
(microfloppy) while the data capacity has
risen.
Characteristics of floppy disk
oSectors: Each track is divided into sectors for reference purpose.
o Soft Sectored Disks: Disks are marked magnetically by user's
computer
o Hard Sectored Disks: Sectors are fixed by manufacturer
oSides: Single sided, Double sided
oDensity (bpi): Double density, High density, Extra high density
o Higher density means more data can be stored (how tightly the
iron-oxide particles are packed)
o Tracks, Sectors, Sides determine the density
Sectors per
Diameter Sides Tracks Sectors Capacity
track
3.5 inch 2 80 9 1440 720 KB
3.5 inch 2 80 18 2880 1.44 MB
3.5 inch 2 80 36 5760 2.88 MB
Hard Disk
oFixed disk/ Mass storage device
oA hard disk drive is a non-volatile computer storage device
containing magnetic disks or platters rotating at high speeds.
o Hard disk/drive unit comes with a set rotation speed varying from
4500 to 10000 rpm.
o Disk contains concentric tracks.
oTracks are divided into sectors.
o A sector is the smallest addressable unit in a disk.
oData are recoded on the tracks of a spinning disk surface and read
from the surface by one or more read / write heads
oFragmentation: Data is spread out and is stored in non-contiguous
clusters.
oDefragmentation: Data is reorganized to be stored in contiguous
clusters
Types of disk system
Moving Head
oThe moving head consist of one
read/write head for each disk surface
mounted on an axis and which can be
moved in and out.
oEach read / write head moves
horizontally across the surface of the
disk.
oIt is able to access each track
individually.
oInformation is stored on the tracks
which constitute a cylindrical shape
Types of disk system
Fixed Head
oIn this system, the axis are non-movable.
oA large number of read/write heads are
distributed over the disk surfaces.
oOne head for each track as a result no head
movement is required and therefore
information is accessed more quickly.
Optical Storage Devices
oIt allows all read and write activities which are performed by laser beam.
oData is saved like patterns of dots which can be easily read with use of light.
oLaser Beam is used like as “Light Source”.
oThe data is read while bouncing laser beam on the surface of storage medium.
oThe process of writing data on the disk with laser is also called the “Burning”
data onto Disc, making pits on the surface.
CD
oCD (Compact Disc) is designed to store computer data in the form of text and graphics, as well as
hi-fi stereo sound.
oIt is a non-volatile optical data storage medium.
oIt is capable of storing large amounts of data up to 1 GB.
oThe most common size is 650 MB about 12 million bytes per pound weight.
oAll CD-ROMs confirm to a standard size and format, so we can load any type of CD-ROM into any
CD-ROM player.
oCD-ROM players are also capable of playing audio CDs.
oA standard CD is 120mm (4.75 inches) in diameter and 1.2 mm (0.05 inches) thick.
oThree types of CDs:
o CD-ROM
o CD-R
o CD-RW
DVD-ROM
oA read-only DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) disc is used to
permanently store data files.
oIt is a high-density medium capable of storing a full length
movie on a single disk.
oDVD ROM achieve such high storage capacity using both sides
of the disc and special data compression technologies and uses
tracks for storing data.
oEach size of a standard DVD-ROM disc can hold 4.7GB these
disc can contain as much as 9.4GB of data.
Solid State Storage Devices
oSolid state storage devices are
unique storage device because they
do not use disk or tapes and have no
moving parts.
oIt relies on integrated circuit to hold
data.
oSome solid state devices are non
volatile because they can retain their
data even when the system’s power is
turned off.
Flash Memory
oFlash memory is a special type of memory
chip that combines the best features of RAM
and ROM.
oFlash memory lets a user or program access
data randomly.
oLike RAM, flash memory lets you overwrite
any or all of its content at any time.
o It is a non-volatile memory, so data is
retained even when power is off.
Smart Card
oSmart card is a device with extra
ordinary potential.
oSmart card contains a small chip
that stores data.
oUser can read or write data form
card by using card reader.
oSome smart cards called
intelligent smart cards also
contain their own
microprocessors, and they
function like a computer.
The Motherboard
oThe motherboard also called the system board or logic board, is an
electronic circuit board that contains the CPU, memory, and other
basic electronic components.
oThe CPU and memory are contained in chips.
oA chip, also called a semiconductor integrated circuit, comprises tiny
circuitry attached on a small rectangle of sand-like material called
silicon.
oChip-mounted carriers are plugged into sockets on the motherboard.
oA motherboard also includes expansion slots.
o Expansion slots are places for connecting additional circuit boards or
electrical components.
CMOS (Complementary
Metal Oxide
Semiconductor)
AGP:
Accelerated
Graphics Port
PCI (Peripheral Component
Interconnect) Network cards,
modems, sound cards, disk
controllers
Cache Memory
oMoving data between RAM and the CPU registers is one of the
most time consuming operations.
oA partial solution to this problem is to include a cache memory
on the microprocessor chip or elsewhere on the motherboard.
oCache (pronounced “Cash”) memory is similar to RAM.
oIt is extremely fast compared to normal memory
Virtual Memory
oVirtual memory or virtual storage is a condition in which part of
a program is stored on disk and is brought into memory only as
needed.
oThis feature, which requires special software, uses the disk as
the extension of RAM.
oFor example a micro computer that has only 2 MB of RAM can
run a 4MB program ( or even up to 1 GB) by using virtual
memory.
Video Memory
oVideo memory or video RAM (VRAM) chips are used to store display images for the monitor.
oThe amount of video memory determines how fast images appear and how many colors are
available.
oVideo memory chips are particularly desirable if you are running program that display a lot of
graphics.
Registers
oA register is a location inside the CPU where it can hold data temporarily while it
carries out arithmetic and logic operations in it.
oThe size and capacity of a register is known as word size.
oRegisters are special work areas inside the CPU designed to be accessed at high
speed.
oThere are five types of registers
1. Data register (AX,BX,CX,DX)
2. Segment register (CS, DS, SS, ES)
3. Index registers (SI, DI, BP)
4. Special register ( IP, SP)
5. Flag registers ( Zero flag, sign flag, carry flag, auxiliary carry flag,
overflow flag)
Cloud Storage
Online storage service for storing and accessing data
Physical storage of the cloud spans multiple servers at one or multiple locations
Access from anywhere in the world via internet connection
Advance sharing and security capabilities
Example: Google drive, google photos etc.
Activity
Q. Summarize the following chart explaining each in one line:
Secondary
Storage
Devices
Magnetic Optical Solid State
Storage Storage Storage
Devices Devices Devices
Magnetic Flash
Hard Disk Floppy Disk CD-ROM DVD-ROM Smart card
Tape Memory
