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Hard Disk Platter

The document describes the components and structure of a hard disk platter. A hard disk platter is a flat, round plate coated with magnetic material that stores data. It is divided into concentric circles called tracks. Each track is further divided into sectors that can hold 512 bytes of data. Sectors can also be grouped into clusters to speed up data access. Tracks stacked directly above each other across multiple platters form cylinders, which represent the position of the read/write heads.

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102 views3 pages

Hard Disk Platter

The document describes the components and structure of a hard disk platter. A hard disk platter is a flat, round plate coated with magnetic material that stores data. It is divided into concentric circles called tracks. Each track is further divided into sectors that can hold 512 bytes of data. Sectors can also be grouped into clusters to speed up data access. Tracks stacked directly above each other across multiple platters form cylinders, which represent the position of the read/write heads.

Uploaded by

rosskirk24
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ENG206M,TH

March1,2001
DescribingaMechanism
Audience:Specialized

Audienceanduseprofile:Theaudiencefor thisdescription ofamechanismiseducated


inthefieldofcomputertechnology.Theywishtogaininformationabouttheharddisk
platterandhowitworks.

HardDiskPlatter

INTRODUCTION

Aplatterisaroundmagneticplatethatconstitutespartofaharddisk.Thehard

diskplatteristheactualfixeddiskwithintheharddiskdrive.Theplatteriswherethe

dataitselfisactuallyrecorded.Theplatterisaflatrigiddiskmadeof aluminum orglass

andcoatedwithamagneticoxide.Harddiskplattersareusually3.5inchesindiameter.

Aharddiskisusuallymadeupofmultipleplatters,eachofwhichusestwoheadsto

recordandreaddata,oneforthetopoftheplayerandoneforthebottom.Theplatteris

dividedintotracks,sections,clusters,andcylinders(Fig.1).

Figure1:HardDiskPlatter
TRACKS

Allinformationthatisstoredonaharddiskplatterisrecordedintracks(Fig.1).

Tracksareconcentriccirclesplacedonthesurfaceofeachplatter,whichliketheannual

ringsonatree.Thetracksonaplatterarenumbered,startingfromzero,attheoutsideof

theplatterandincreasingasyougoon.Tracksarethousandsofmagneticringsonthe

platter thatheadsaretoreadandwriteto.Astheplatterrotatesunderthehead,thehead

writesthedatainconcentriccircles.Eachtrackcanholdmanythousandsofbytesof

data.

SECTORS

Eachtrackisbrokendown intosmallerunitscalledsectors(Fig.1).Asectoris

typicallythesmallestindividuallyaddressableunitofinformationstoredonaharddisk

platter.Eachsectorcanhold512bytesofdata.Eachtracknormallyholdsbetween100

and300sectors.Theoperatingsystemisabletotellwhereinformationisstoredby

referringtoitstrackandsectornumbers.

CLUSTERS

Eachsectorcanbebrokenintoclusters.Aclusterisagroupofsectorsona

storagemedium,whenaccessedasagroup speedupdata access(Fig.1).Thenumbers

ofthesectorsthatformclustersvary,dependingonthecapacityoftheharddiskplatter

andthetechnicalspecificationsoftheharddiskdrive.
CYLINDERS

Acylinderisbasicallythesetofalltracksthatalltheheadsarepresentlylocated

at. Tracksarephysicallyaboveeachotherontheplatterandaregroupedtogetherinto

cylinders(Fig.2).

Figure2:Cylinder

Thenamecylindercomesfromthefactthatyoumentallyvisualizethetracksstackedon

oneanother.Theconceptofcylindersisimportantbecausethecrossplatterinformation

inthesamecylindercanbeaccessedwithouthavingtomovetheheads.

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