MEMORY

What is Memory?

 Computer memory is used to store data and instructions for processing.

 It is the storage space in the computer, where data is to be processed and instructions required
for processing are stored.
 The memory is divided into large number of small parts called cells.
 Each location or cell has a unique address, which varies from zero to memory size minus one.

Characteristics of Memory
 Location: The memory can either be stored externally with the help of some devices or
internally.
 Capacity: The amount of data a device can store is called capacity. It can be varied for both
internal and external devices. It is measured as a byte (1 byte = 8 bits, 1 bit is either 0 or 1).
 Access Method: The way of searching the storage devices is called the access method. It is
either direct access or random access.
 Unit of Transfer: The measure of data is different in internal and external devices. In internal
devices, it is measured as the number of electrical signals that are moving in and out of the
device. In external devices, it is the number of bits moved inside and out.
 Performance: The performance of any memory device depends upon the rate at which data is
transferred, the time taken by the device to carry out the process and the access time.

Different types of Memory

 There are two types of memory such as Primary Memory and Secondary Memory.

Primary Memory
 It is also known as main memory or the internal memory.
 The memory unit that communicates directly with the CPU.
 The primary memory allows the computer to store data for immediate manipulation and to keep
track of what is currently being processed.
 It is volatile in nature, it means that when the power is turned OFF, the contents of the primary
memory are lost forever.
 Primary memory can be further classified in two categories such as volatile (RAM) and non
volatile (ROM).
 Random Access Memory
 It is also known as read/write memory that allows CPU to read as well as write data and
instructions into it.
 RAM (Random Access Memory) is used for the temporary storage of input data, output data
and intermediate results.
 There are two categories of RAM as follows

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 (a) Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
 It is made up of memory cells where each cell is composed of one capacitor and one
transistor.
 DRAM must be refreshed continually to store information.
 DRAM is slower, less expensive
 It occupies less space on the computer's motherboard.

(b) Static RAM (SRAM)

 It retains the data as long as power is provided to the memory chip.
 It needs not be refreshed periodically. SRAM uses multiple transistors for each memory cell.
 It does not use capacitor.
 SRAM is often used as cache memory due to its high speed.
 SRAM is more expensive than DRAM.
 Read Only Memory
 It is also known as non-volatile memory or permanent storage.
 It does not lose its content when the power is switched OFF.
 ROM (Read Only Memory) has only read capability, no write capability.
 ROM can have data and instructions written to it only one time.
 Once a ROM chip is programmed at the time of manufacturing, it cannot be reprogrammed
or rewritten.
 There are different categories of ROM as follow
(a) Programmable ROM (PROM)
 It is also non-volatile in nature. Once a PROM has been programmed, its contents can never
be changed.
 It is one-time programmable device.
 PROMs are manufactured blank and can be programmed at buffer, final test or in system.
 These types of memories are found in video game consoles, mobile phones, implantable
medical devices and high definition multimedia interfaces.
(b) Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM)
 It is similar to PROM, but it can be erased many times by exposure to strong ultraviolet light
and then rewritten.
 So, it is also known as Ultraviolet Erasable Programmable ROM (UVEPROM).
(c) Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM)
 It is similar to EPROM, but it can be erased electrically, then rewritten with the help of
electric pulses.
 It is the most flexible type of ROM, and is now commonly used for holding BIOS.
 Cache Memory
 It is a storage buffer that stores the data winch is used more often, temporarily and makes
them available to CPU at a fast rate.
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  Cache memory is a very high speed memory placed in between RAM and CPU.
 It increases the speed of processing.
 Cache memory is very expensive, so it is smaller in size.
 Generally, computers have cache memory, of sizes 256 KB to 2 MB.
 Flash memory
 It is a kind of semiconductor based non-volatile rewritable memory, used in digital camera,
mobile phone, printer, USB drives, and memory cards. etc.
 It is extra reliable and faster than traditional hard drives.
 It is very useful in devices that are portable.
 Transistors used in flash memory for data storage remain current even if the power has been
switched off.
 Virtual memory
 Virtual memory is a method of increasing available memory by utilizing hard drive space.
 It is a technique that allows the execution of processes that are not completely in main
memory.
 When RAM is at capacity, the computer temporarily transfers some data to the hard drive to
make room in RAM for different programs.
 One major advantage of this scheme is that programs can be larger than main memory.
 Buffer
It is a temporary physical storage used to hold data during execution of process from one place
to another.
Differentiate between Primary Memory and Secondary Memory
Primary Memory Secondary Memory

It is known as the main memory or It is known as the auxiliary memory or

internal memory. backup memory or external memory.
These memories are directly accessed by These memories are not directly accessed
CPU. by CPU.
These are semiconductor memories. These are magnetic and optical memories.

It is usually volatile memory in nature. It is a non-volatile in nature.

But some of them are non volatile.
Data is lost in case power is switched off. Data is permanently stored even if power is
switched off.
It is the working memory of the It is used for storage of data in a computer
computer.
These are faster than secondary memories Slower than primary memories
A computer cannot run without the Computer may run without the secondary
primary memory memory

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Units of Memory

1. 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 hold only one of two values: 0 or 1, corresponding to the electrical values of off
(absence of electric signal) or on (presence of electric signal), respectively.

2. Nibble: 1 Nibble is the collection of 4 bits.

3. 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.
 They measure the size of files, documents, images, and other data types.
4. Kilobyte:
 A kilobyte contains 1024 bytes.
 It is frequently used to indicate data storage abilities and the dimensions of small files.
 A small image or roughly 1024 characters of text can be stored in one kilobyte.
 It frequently appears in spreadsheets, text documents, and small image files.

5. Megabyte:
 A megabyte contains 1024 kilobytes.
 In comparison to a kilobyte, it represents more data.
 Longer text pieces, high-resolution photos, and brief audio snippets can all fit into a
megabyte.
 It is frequently used for calculating the size of documents, software packages, and media
files containing songs and short films.
6. Gigabyte:
 A gigabyte contains 1024 megabyte.
 It has a considerable quantity of data storing capacity.
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  Larger files, such as high-definition films, entire photo albums, and software programs, can
fit within a gigabit.
 Hard drives, solid-nation drives, and different types of data storage devices' storage
capacities are regularly measured using this technique.
 Gigabytes are a common unit of measurement in recent times, particularly with the growth in
the size of multimedia files and the demand for big amounts of storage.

7. Terabyte:
 A terabyte contains 1024 gigabytes.
 It represents a huge quantity of data storage capacity.
 Large databases, enormous video collections, and enterprise-level storage systems may all
store a lot of data in a terabyte.
 High-capacity external hard drives, cloud storage services, and data centers frequently use it.
8. Petabyte:
 It represents a huge quantity of data storage capacity.
 Huge amounts of data, such as important video libraries, huge databases, and enormous
collections of high-resolution photographs, can fit into a petabyte.
 It is frequently employed in data centers, cloud storage solutions, and data-intensive
scientific research.
9. Exabyte (EB):
 An exabyte contains 1024 petabytes.
 It has a huge quantity of storage capacity for data.
 Large-scale data warehouses, worldwide internet traffic, and enormous video archives can be
stored in exabytes.
 Large-scale scientific simulations, cloud computing infrastructures, and enterprise-level
storage solutions all frequently rely on it.
10. Zettabyte (ZB):
 A zettabyte 1024 exabytes.
 It represents a data storing capacity that is nearly beyond imagination.
 Mind-boggling amounts of data, such as global internet content, long-term Archival storage,
and thorough global data analysis, can be stored in zettabytes.
11. Yottabyte (YB): A yottabyte contains 1024 zettabytes.
 It represents an unbelievable volume of data storage.
 A yottabyte may store unimaginable amounts of data, such as the equivalent of storing the
internet's content many times over or tracking enormous amounts of data from all available
worldwide sensors.

Registers and its type

 Registers are a type of computer memory used to quickly accept, store, and transfer data and
instructions that are being used immediately by the CPU.
 The registers used by the CPU are often termed as Processor registers.
 A processor register may hold an instruction, a storage address, or any data.
 Different types of registers are used for different purposes such as MAR, MDR, IR, PC,
Accumulator

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Different Types of Registers
There is numerous types of computer register that are available for executing the computer instructions.
Some of them are discussed below:

1. MAR Register
 The full form of MAR is the Memory Address Register.
 The memory address register is used to fetch the instructions and data from the memory and
helps to execute the instructions.
 The memory address register stores the address so that data can be easily fetched from the
register.
 The memory address register is mainly used for reading and writing operation of data from
memory.
2. MDR
 The full form of MDR register is a Memory Data Register.
 The memory data register is used to store the data that will be stored or will be fetched from the
computer memory i.e. Random-access Memory (RAM).
 The main use of the memory data register is to act as a buffer as it can store anything that can be
copied from the computer memory and can be used by the processor for further operations.
3. MBR
 The full form of MBR is the Memory Buffer Register.
 This is used to store information and data that can be read or written in the computer memory.
 It is the main memory-related register for the processor present in the processing unit as this
register is capable to perform memory-related operations very fast.
4. PC
 The full form of PC is the Program Counter Register.
 The other name for the program counter register is instruction address register (IAR) or IC
(instruction counter).
 It contains the address of next instruction that need to be executed by the processor of the central
processing unit (CPU).
 In other words, it is used to store the address of immediate instructions that need to be executed
next.
5. Accumulator
 The accumulator is another type of central processing unit register that is widely used for storing
the logic or intermediate results.
 The accessing speed of the accumulator register is much faster compared to the main memory.
6. Instruction Register
 The instruction register is another type of central processing unit register that is used to store the
instruction that is currently executed or that will be decoded.
 In processors, the instruction register holds each instruction in it, and then it can be executed by
the processors.
 The instructions can be executed in one single step or can be executed in multiple steps.

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Registers Vs Memory
Register Memory
Registers hold operands or instructions that Memory holds instructions and the data
CPU would be currently processing. about the currently executing program
required by the CPU.
They contain small amounts of data− 32bits Memory can range from some GB (Giga
to 64bits. bytes) to TB (Tera bytes).
CPU can operate on the contents of the The CPU accesses memory at a slower rate
register at the rate of more than one operation in comparison to memory access in a
during one clock cycle. register.
There are many types of registers− There are different types of memory−
Accumulator register, Program counter, RAM, ROM.
Instruction register, Address register.
They can be controlled, i.e. information can The memory can’t be controlled.
be stored and retrieved from them.
It is quick in comparison to memory. It is quick in comparison to memory.

Secondary Memory
 It is known as the auxiliary memory or backup memory or external memory.
 These memories are not directly accessed by CPU.

Sequential Access Storage Device

 It is a class of data storage devices that read stored data in a sequence.
 Magnetic tape is the common sequential access storage device.
Magnetic tape: It is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long,
narrow strip of plastic film. The devices that record and play audio and video using magnetic tape are
the tape recorders and videotape recorders.

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  A device that stores computer data on magnetic tape is known as a tape drive.
 It was a key technology in early computer development
 It allows unparalleled amounts of data to be mechanically created, stored for long periods, and
rapidly accessed.
Direct Access Storage Devices
A direct-access storage device (DASD) is another name for secondary storage devices that store data in
distinct locations with a unique address, such as hard disk drives, optical drives and most magnetic
storage devices.

1. Magnetic disks:
 A magnetic disk is a storage device that uses a magnetization process to write, rewrite and
access data.
 It is covered with a magnetic coating and stores data in the form of tracks, spots and sectors.
 Hard disks, zip disks and floppy disks are common examples of magnetic disks.

i. Floppy Disk
 A floppy disk is a flexible disk with a magnetic coating on it,
 It is packaged inside a protective plastic envelope.
 These are portable.
 Floppy disks are slower to access than hard disks and
 They have less storage capacity and can store data up to 1.44MB.
 They are much less expensive.
 Three common sizes of floppy disks are : 8” , 5 ¼” and 3 ½”
ii. Zip Disk
 A Zip drive and Zip disk is a hardware data storage device developed by Iomega that
functions like a standard 1.44" floppy drive and diskette.
 It can hold up to 100 MB, 250 MB, or 750 MB of data.
 Iomega Zip drives became popular in late 1990s but quickly became less popular as users
needed larger storage capabilities.
 The drive was eventually replaced by CD-R and CD-RW drives and discs as they became
cheaper since they offered more storage and compatibility.
iii. Hard Disk Drive (HDD):
 It is also known as a hard drive or fixed disk.
 The hard disk drive is the main, and usually largest,
data storage device in a computer.
 It can store anywhere from 160 gigabytes to 2
terabytes.
 Hard disk speed is the speed at which content can be
read and written on a hard disk.
 A hard disk unit comes with a set rotation speed
varying from 4500 to 7200 rpm.
 Disk access time is measured in milliseconds.
 Hard disk drive comprises a series of circular disks called platters arranged one over the
other almost ½ inches apart around a spindle.

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  Disks are made of non-magnetic material like aluminium alloy and coated with 10-20 mm
magnetic material.
 The standard diameter of these disks is 14 inches, and they rotate with speeds varying from
4200 rpm (rotations per minute) for personal computers to 15000 rpm for servers.
 Data is stored by magnetizing or demagnetizing the magnetic coating.
 A magnetic reader arm is used to read data from and write data to the disks.
 A typical modern HDD has a capacity in terabytes (TB).
 There are two types of hard disk such as internal hard disk and external hard disk.
Advantages of the hard disk
 One of the significant advantages of a Hard Disk drive is that its cost is low.
 Hard Disk is that it is readily available in the market.
 Hard Disk is faster than optical disks.
 The capacity for storing the data in HDDs is large
 The hard disks are robust and can be used for a long time.
Disadvantages of the hard disk
 The speed of reading and writing in HDD is slower than the RAM.
 HDDs are noisy.
 HDDs consume more power.
 Hard disks can be crashed. If the hard drive is crashed, we may lose all our documents,
photos, etc., stored in it.
iv. Winchester disk
 A Winchester disk is a Disk Stack.
 This is the another term for hard disk drive.
 It is featured as a smaller, lighter read/write head that was designed to ride on an air film
only 18 millions of an inch thick.
 The disks also had an access time of 30 milliseconds.
2. Optical Disk:
 An optical disk is any computer disk that uses optical storage techniques and technology to
read and write data.
 It is a computer storage disk that stores data digitally and uses laser beams to read and write
data.
i. CD Drive:
 CD stands for Compact Disk.
 CDs are circular disks that use optical rays, usually lasers, to read and write data.
 They are very cheap as you can get 700 MB of storage space.
 CDs are inserted in CD drives built into the CPU cabinet.
 They are portable as you can eject the drive, remove the CD and carry it with you.
 There are three types of CDs:
 CD-ROM (Compact Disk - Read Only Memory): The manufacturer recorded the data
on these CDs. Proprietary Software, audio or video are released on CD-ROMs.
 CD-R (Compact Disk - Recordable): The user can write data once on the CD-R. It
cannot be deleted or modified later.
 CD-RW (Compact Disk - ReWritable): Data can repeatedly be written and deleted on
these optical disks.
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 ii. DVD Drive:
 DVD stands for digital video display. DVD is an optical device that can store 15 times the
data held by CDs.
 They are usually used to store rich multimedia files that need high storage capacity.
 DVDs also come in three varieties such as read-only, recordable and rewritable.
iii. Blu Ray Disk:
 Blu Ray Disk (BD) is an optical storage media that stores high definition (HD) video and other
multimedia files.
 BD uses a shorter wavelength laser than CD/DVD, enabling the writing arm to focus more
tightly on the disk and pack in more data.
 BDs can store up to 128 GB of data.
3. Memory Storage Devices:
 A memory device contains trillions of interconnected memory cells that store data.
 When switched on or off, these cells hold millions of transistors representing 1s and 0s in
binary code, allowing a computer to read and write information.
 It includes USB drives, flash memory devices, SD and memory cards, which we will recognize
as the storage medium used in digital cameras.
i.Flash Drive:
 A flash drive is a small, ultra-portable storage device.
 USB flash drives were essential for easily moving files from one device to another.
 Flash drives connect to computers and other devices via a built-in USB Type-A or USB-C plug,
making one a USB device and cable combination.
 Flash drives are often referred to as pen drives, thumb drives, or jump drives.
 These days, a USB flash drive can hold up to 2 TB of storage.
 They're more expensive per gigabyte than an external hard drive, but they have prevailed as a
simple, convenient solution for storing and transferring smaller files.
 These are having some advantages like transfer files, portability, backup storage, transport data
etc
ii. Memory card:
 A memory card or memory cartridge is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital
information.
 It is also referred to as a flash memory
 A memory card is a type of storage device that is used for storing media (videos, photos) and
data files.
 It provides a permanent and non-volatile medium to store data and files from the attached
device.
 It is mainly used as a primary and portable flash memory in mobile phones, cameras and other
portable and handheld devices.
 A memory card also uses solid state media technology, which lowers the chances of mechanical
problems, such as those found in traditional hard drives.
 Some of the most popular forms of memory cards are:
 Secure Digital (SD) card, CompactFlash (CF) card, SmartMedia, Memory Stick,
MultiMediaCard (MMC).

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