STORAGE DEVICES

PRIMARY MEMORY(MAIN
MEMORY):
primary memory holds only those data and
instructions on which the computer is
currently working. It has limited capacity and
data is lost when power is
switched off. It is generally made up of
semiconductor devices. These memories are
not as fast as registers. The data and
instructions required to be processed reside in
the main memory. It is divided into two
subcategories RAM and ROM

.Characteristics of
Main Memory :
• These are semiconductor memories.
• It is known is main memory.
• Usually volatile memory.
• Data is lost incase power is switched off.
• It is working memory of the computer.
• Faster then secondary memories.
• A computer cannot run without primary memory.
Secondary memory:
this type of memory is also known as external
memory or non volatile memory. It is slower then
main memory. These are used for storing
data/information permanently. CPU directly does
not access these memories instead they are
accessed by input-output routines. Contents of
secondary memories are first transferred to the
main memory, and then the CPU can access it. For
example disk, CD- ROM, DVD, etc.
CHARESTARESTICS OF SECONDARY
MEMORY:
• these are magnetic and optical memories.
• it is known as backup memory.
• it is non-volatile memory.
• data is permanently stored even if power is
switched off.
• it is used for storage of data in a computer.
• computer may run without secondary memory
• slower then primary memory.
 DISADVANTAGES
Cache memory The disadvantages of cache memory
cache memory is a very high semiconductor
memory are as follows :
which can speed up CPU. It acts as a buffer Cache memory has limited capacity.
between the CPU and the main memory. It is used It is very expensive.
to hold those parts of data and programs which
are most frequently used by the CPU. The parts of
data and programs are transferred from disk to
cache memory by the operating system, from
where the CPU can access them.
ADVANTAGES:
the advantage of cache memory are as
follows :
• The cache memory is faster then main
memory.
• It consumes less access time as
compared to
main memory.
• It stores the program that can be
executed within a short period of
time.
• It stores data for a temporary use.
 MEMORY UNITS

S.NO Unit Description

1 Bit (binary digit) A binary digit is logical 0 and 1
representing a passive or an active
state of a component in an electric
circuit .
2 Nibble A group of 4 bits is called Nibble.
3 Byte A group of 8 bits is called byte. A
byte is the smallest unit which can
represent data item or a character.
4 Word A computer word, like a byte, in a
group of a fixed number of bits
processed as a unit that varies
from computer to computer but is
fixed for each computer.
5 Kilobyte (KB) 1 KB = 1024 bytes
6 Megabyte (MB) 1 MB = 1024 KB
7 Giga Byte (GB) 1 GB = 1024 MB
8 Tera Byte (TB) 1 TB = 1024 GB
• Magnetic Disk
is type of secondary memory which
is a flat disc covered with magnetic
coating to hold information. It is
used to store various programs and
files. Magnetic disk are less
expensive than RAM and can store
large amounts of data, but data
access rate is slower than main
memory because of secondary
memory.
• Hard disk
hard disk, also called hard disk
drive or hard drive, magnetic
storage medium for a
computer. Hard disks are flat
circular plates made of
aluminum or glass and coated
with a magnetic material. Hard
disks for personal computers
can store terabytes (trillions of
bytes) of information
 Diskette/Floppy disk
• Floppy Disks
Floppy disks, sometimes
called flexible
disks or diskettes, can store
between a few hundred
thousand and several million
characters of information. It
takes only about a tenth of a
second for a floppy disk drive
to retrieve any piece of data
directly. he most commonly
used floppy disks are 3.5
inches and have the capacity
of 800 KB to 2.8 MB (with a
standard of 1.44 MB). The
high-density floppy disk drive
was first introduced in 1995
 Optical Storage
Devices
• Optical storage devices save data as patterns of
dots that can be read using light. A laser beam is
the usual light source.
• CD-ROM
• Stands for "Compact Disc Read-Only
Memory." A CD-ROM is a CD that can be
read by a computer with an optical drive.
The "ROM" part of the term means the
data on the disc is "read-only," or cannot
be altered or erased. Because of this
feature and their large capacity, CD-ROMs
are a great media format for retail
software. The first CD-ROMs could hold
about 600 MB of data, but now they can
hold up to 700 MB. CD-ROMs share the
same technology as audio CDs, but they are
formatted differently, allowing them to
store many types of data.
• DVD-ROM
• Digital Versatile Disk read only
memory(DVD-ROM) disks can hold
around 4.7 GB of data DVD-ROMs are
used in the same way as CD-ROMs
but, since they can hold more data,
they are also used to store high-
quality video.
• Blu-Ray disk
• Blu-ray disks are a recent
replacement for DVDs. A Blu-Ray disk
can hold 25 -50GB of data. Blu-Ray
disk are random-access devices.Blu-
Ray disks are used in the same way as
DVD-ROMs but, since they can hold
more data, they are also used to
store very high-quality, high-
definition(HD)video.
• File Compression
• File compression is
a data compression
method in which the
logical size of a file is
reduced to save disk
space for easier and
faster transmission over
a network or the
Internet. It enables the
creation of a version of
one or more files with
the same data at a size
substantially smaller
than the original file.
Computer Storage Device MCQ
Topic :- Types of storage Devices (Primary and Secondary)
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1) RAM and ROM are the examples of :
a) Sequential b) Secondary c) Primary d) First
2) The contents written in ………….. requires continuous power supply to retain it into the memory.
A)RAM b) ROM c) hard disk d) Pen drive

3) RAM stands for :

a) Random Access Memory b) Release After Modification
c) Readable and Accessible Memory d) Both B and C
4) RAM is a ………………………. in nature.
a) Volatile b) Non- Volatile c) Permanent d) Temporary

5) ………………….. means they lose their contents when the power is turned off.
a) Non- Volatile b) Volatile c) Temporary d) Permanent
6) SRAM stands for :
a) Simple Read After Memory b) Standard Real At Management
c) Static Random Access Memory d) All of these
7) DRAM stands for :
a) Drum Read Access Memory b) Dynamic Random Access Memory
c) Disable and Accurate Memory d) None of these
8) The contents (data and instructions) of ……………… can only be read and used.
a) ROM b) RAM c) CPU d) None of these
9) The abbreviation of ROM is :

a) Read Only Memory b) Read On Memory c) Real Of Memory d) Retrieve Of Memory

10) …………………… memory is small and high speed memory within the computer central processing unit for
frequent access.

a) Sequential b) volatile c) Cache d) Non-volatile

11). Hard disk drives are considered ______ storage.
a) Flash
b) Nonvolatile
c) Floppy Disk
d) None of these

12). The full form of HDD is

a) High Disk Drive
b) Hard disk drive
c) Hard digital Disk
d) High digital drive
Ans. B

13). Which of the following can hold data of at least one GB?
a) Hard disk
b) CD-ROM
c) Floppy Disk
d) none of these’
Ans. A

14). How many types of hard drive

a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
Ans. b

15). Which hard drive is fast?

a) HDD
b) SSD
Ans. A

16) This is a permanent storage device_____

a) Cache
b) Monitor
c) RAM
d) Hard disk
Ans. d
 17)Which of the following storage device can store maximum amount of data?
 a) Floppy disk
 b) Magneto Optic Disk
 c) Hard disk
 d) Compact disk
 Ans. C

 18) Which is a type of Hard disk?

 a) SSD ( Solid state Drive)
 b) HDD ( Hard Disk Drive)
 c) Both A and B
 d) Storage device
 Ans. C
 19) What is the process of deleting all the data on the hard drive?
 a) Delete
 b) Erase
 c) Formatting
 d) Uninstall
 Ans. c
 20) The capacity of 3.5 inch floppy disk was__________?
 A. 1.40 MB
 B. 1.44 GB
 C. 1.40 GB
 D. 1.44 MB
 21) CD-ROM stands for____________?
 A. Compactable Read Only Memory
 B. Compact Data Read Only Memory
 C. Compactable Disk Read Only Memory
 D. Compact Disk Read Only Memory
 22) CD-ROM is a
 A. Semiconductor memory
 B. Memory register
 C. Magnetic memory
 D. All of the above
 E. None of the above