INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION &

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Muhammad Daud Khan

Computer Storage Lecturer Computer Science

Qurtuba University of Science
and Technology
 COMPUTER STORAGE

Computer storage refers to the

various ways that computers can
store data and information. This can
include both physical storage
devices, such as hard drives and
solid-state drives, as well as virtual
storage, such as files stored in the
cloud.
Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 STORAGE
Physical storage devices are typically divided into two
main categories:
Primary Storage and Secondary Storage.

Primary Storage, also known as main memory or

internal memory, refers to the short-term storage of
data and instructions that are actively being used by
the computer's central processing unit (CPU). This
type of storage is typically in the form of random
access memory (RAM), which allows the CPU to
quickly access and modify the data.
Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 SECONDARY STORAGE
Secondary Storage, on the other hand, refers to the long-
term storage of data that is not currently in use by the CPU.
This can include hard drives, solid-state drives, and other
types of storage media that can hold large amounts of data
even when the power is turned off. These storage devices
are typically slower to access than primary storage, but
they allow a computer to store and retrieve data even when
it is not in use.
 Magnetic storage
 Optical storage
 Virtual Storage
 Solid State Storage
Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 MAGNETIC STORAGE
Magnetic storage devices use magnetism to store data.
This includes devices such as hard drives, which are
used in computers to store large amounts of data, and
magnetic tapes, which are used for data backup and
archival purposes. In a hard drive, data is stored on
spinning disks called platters, which are coated with a
magnetic material. The platters are read and written to
by a read/write head that is mounted on a movable arm.
In a magnetic tape, data is stored on a long strip of
magnetic tape that is wound onto a reel. The tape is
read and written to by a tape head.

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 MAGNETIC STORAGE AND MEMORY UNITS
The patterns are stored in the form of bits through
magnetizing the platters. The hard disk drives’ storage
capacities ranges from simply MBs (Mega bytes) to
hundreds of TB (Tera-bytes).
 Bit: The computer memory units start from bit. A bit is the smallest
memory unit to measure data stored in main memory and storage
devices. A bit can have only one binary value out of 0 and 1.
 Byte: It is the fundamental unit to measure data. It contains 8 bits
or is equal to 8 bits. Thus a byte can represent 2*8 or 256 values.
 Kilobyte: A kilobyte contains 1024 bytes.
 Megabyte: A megabyte contains 1024 kilobytes.
 Gigabyte: A gigabyte contains 1024 megabyte.
 Terabyte: A terabyte contains 1024 gigabytes.

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 MAGNETIC STORAGE

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 MAGNETIC STORAGE

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 INSIDE HDD

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 SOLID DISK STATE
SSDs store data permanently inside an integrated circuit,
typically using flash memory. The flash memory inside an
SSD means data is written, transferred, and erased
electronically and silently, SSDs don’t have the moving
parts found inside mechanical hard-disk drives (HDDs).
Without moving parts, SSDs are fast and quiet, but they
have a high price tag compared to HDDs. SSDs used to
have more limited storage capacity vs. traditional HDDs,
but these days you can find SSDs (and HDDs for that
matter) in almost any size you need. SSDs are often used
on high-end machines or as secondary storage devices
inside consumer PCs.

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 INSIDE SOLID STATE DISK

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 INSIDE SOLID STATE DISK

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 OPTICAL STORAGE
Optical Storage technology use laser/optical reflection
phenomenon to read or write data. Two things are required
for optical storage technology, one is the optical media
which are circular discs and the other is optical drives
which have the laser beam source for lightening and the
photo diodes for generating the voltages patterns when the
reflection beam hit on these.
There are three types of Discs using nowadays:
 CD (Compact Disc)
 DVD (Digital versatile Disc)
 BD (Blue-Ray Disc)

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 CD (COMPACT DISK)

• CD (Compact Disc) The best thing about CD

is that it is lightweight thus making it portable.
A standard compact disc comes with a capacity
of about 650-700 MB of data, or 80 minutes of
playback audio. When it comes to CD’s they
have a very long history. The first commercial
CD was introduced in the year 1982, and the
first and most famous music CD was
introduced to the market in early 1981.

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 RED LASER BEAM

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 DVD (DIGITAL VERSATILE DISC)
• DVDs were introduced to the world in 1995,
although the DVD comes with the same
dimension as a compact disc, it features higher
storage capacity (4.7 GB). This format is
usually used by the entertainment industry for
storage of high-quality videos. However, it can
also be used to store sensitive data, software
and so on.

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
POWERFUL LASER DIODES FROM DVD-RW DRIVE

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 BLU-RAY DISC
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is
a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented
and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006
worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format,
and capable of storing several hours of high-definition
video (HDTV 720p and 1080p). The main application of
Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as feature
films and for the physical distribution of video games for
the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One,
and Xbox Series X. The currently available Blu-ray Disc
media consists of the 25GB, 50GB and 100GBs.

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
POWERFUL LASER DIODES FROM DVD-RW DRIVE

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 VIRTUAL STORAGE
Virtual storage is a type of computer storage that is not
physically present in the form of a physical device, such as
a hard drive or solid-state drive. Virtual storage, also
known as cloud storage, refers to the use of remote servers
to store and access data over the internet. This allows users
to access their data from any device with an internet
connection, as well as share files and collaborate with
others. It is often used as an alternative to traditional on-
premises storage solutions.

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology
 VIRTUAL OR CLOUD STORAGE

Muhammad Daud Khan |Lecturer Computer Science| Qurtuba University of Science and Technology