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Component 1: Primary and Secondary Storage

This document discusses primary and secondary storage in computers. It defines primary storage as memory used for temporary storage of running programs and data, including RAM and cache memory. Secondary storage is for long-term storage of data not actively being used, including hard drives, solid state drives, flash memory, and magnetic tapes. RAM is the main memory that stores instructions and data for the CPU, while ROM contains the bootstrap loader program. Cache memory provides the fastest access for CPU calculations. Volatility and speed differ between these various memory and storage types.

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John Cris De Jose
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59 views12 pages

Component 1: Primary and Secondary Storage

This document discusses primary and secondary storage in computers. It defines primary storage as memory used for temporary storage of running programs and data, including RAM and cache memory. Secondary storage is for long-term storage of data not actively being used, including hard drives, solid state drives, flash memory, and magnetic tapes. RAM is the main memory that stores instructions and data for the CPU, while ROM contains the bootstrap loader program. Cache memory provides the fastest access for CPU calculations. Volatility and speed differ between these various memory and storage types.

Uploaded by

John Cris De Jose
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Component 1

Primary and Secondary Storage


Starter Pre-reading recap

 What is Primary Storage?  Which memory is fastest?


 What is stored in Primary Storage?  Name 3 different secondary storage devices
 What is Secondary Storage?  Which has the largest capacity?
 Explain what is different about Secondary  What is cloud storage?
Storage?
 What are the advantages of cloud storage?
 What is RAM?
 What are the disadvantages of cloud storage?
 What is ROM?
 Explain the difference between RAM and ROM?
 What is stored in ROM?
 What is Flash Memory?
 What is RAM Cache Memory?
 Describe the difference between Volatile and
Non-Volatile memory?
Learning Intentions and Outcomes

 Explain the functional characteristics of Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only
Memory (ROM), flash memory and cache memory.
 Describe the characteristics of contemporary secondary storage technologies including
magnetic, optical and solid state.
 Explain the functional characteristics of contemporary secondary storage devices in terms
of suitability, durability, portability and speed.
What is memory?

 Memory in a computer system refers to


the components that store (or remember)
things. There are different types of
memory with different proposes.
 There are different types of memory can
be compared by three things
 Speed
 Price
 Volatility
Volatility

 There are two types of memory


 Volatile – It need electricity to continue
storing data
 Non-volatile – It does not need electricity to
store data
 When you are in the middle of a piece of
work at school and a “mate” turns off you
computer you will notice that you lose all of
your work. This is because all of your work is
stored in main memory/RAM. If you had
pressed save it would have been stored on
the Hard drive.
 Cache & RAM are volatile
 HDD and memory sticks are non-volatile
Primary Storage

 Primary Storage is used for the temporary


storage of currently running programs
and data.
 Primary Storage is much faster than
Secondary Storage

 The most common types are:


 RAM
 Cache
Cache

 Cache is the memory used by the CPU.


This is where the CPU places data
performs calculations.
 It is very fast
 It is very expensive
RAM

 Ram is the type of memory used in the


computers main memory. It stands for
Random Access Memory.
 It is used to store all of the instructions and
data ready to be used by the CPU (in its
cache).
Secondary Storage

Secondary storage is also known as backing


storage.
 Data is written from memory to secondary
storage when data is no longer being
actively used, for retrieval at a later time.
 The time a computer takes to access
data stored on secondary storage is
longer than the time taken accessing
data from memory
ROM

 Every computer or smart phone has


software called the bootstrap loader. This
is a small program that loads the
operating system.
 Once the operating system is loaded
then it takes care of the rest.
 Typically the bootstrap loader is Read
Only. It is hard coded to the device. You
can install different operating systems but
you must use the bootstrap
Other Secondary Storage Devices

 Magnetic Disk Hard Drives


 Solid State Drives
 Flash Memory
 Magnetic Tape
Why bother with both?

So why doesn’t the processor get the


instructions strait from the Hard Disk?
 It is all about keeping the CPU busy. The
Hard disk is too slow to keep up.
 Cache is too expensive to use to store all
programs and files.

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