SENIOR SCHOOL YEAR 1

4th WEEK
In this section you will see the different
types of solid state storage media.
• Solid State Drive
• Memory stick
• Flash memory (Micro flash memory)
 Solid State Drive (SSD)
• SSD technology is known as 'flash memory' and this
is the smallest form of data storage.
• Solid state drives (SSD): are rapidly taking over from
HDDs they have ‘no moving parts’ all the data is
retrieved at the same rate no matter where it is
stored. 
• Solid-state storage devices are based on electronic
circuits with no moving parts (no reels of tape, no
spinning discs, no laser beams, etc.)
• They don’t rely on magnetic properties
• Solid-state storage devices store data using a special
type of memory called flash memory...
• They store data as 1’s and 0’s within
millions of electrical transistors instead of
on films of magnetic substance or as dots
on discs.
• If the transistor conducts an electric
current, this equates a 1.

If it does not conduct a current, this

equates a 0
 Uses of Solid State Drives
Used in desktop PC's and laptops to
permanently store data such as:
• Operating systems
• Software applications (such as word
processors, spreadsheets etc)
• Music/Video files
• School work, photos
 Advantages of Solid State Drive (SSD)
Over Hard Disk Drives(HDD)
• Run silently (magnetic hard disk drives spin
producing whirring sound)
• Longer life span
• They are considerably lighter
• They run much cooler than HDD
• Faster data access and transfer times
• Use less power consumption
• Produce less heat
• No moving parts , they are very thin
• They have a current capacity of about 1TB
 Solid state drives are much smaller
and thinner than magnetic hard disks.
 NOTE
All the examples of solid state storage media on
this page use direct data access.
 Examples of Solid State Media
• Solid State Hard Drive

• Pen drive/memory stick/flash/thumb

• memory card

• Micro flash memory

 Advantages/Disadvantages of
Solid State Drives
Advantages Disadvantages

Last longer than magnetic hard disks Smaller storage capacity than magnetic

(no moving parts). hard disks.

Faster data access/transfer times.  More expensive than magnetic hard disks. 

Note: Computers even boot up faster

using solid state hard drives.

Use less power and produce less heat.

Run silently.
 Memory Sticks / Pen Drives
• Memory sticks are small, portable external
storage devices.
• They are used to easily transfer data between
computers.
• Memory sticks use solid state technology and
are usually connected to the computer via
USB ports.
 Advantages/Disadvantages of Memory
Sticks/Pen drive
Advantages Disadvantages

Very small and lightweight (portable). Small physical size means that they are easy

to misplace or lose

Robust - no moving parts means they are less More expensive per GB than magnetic hard
likely to become damaged. disks.

For example: CD's and DVD's can get

scratched.

Compatible with almost any computer.

(most computers have USB ports)
 Flash Memory Cards (and Micro Flash Memory
Cards)
• Flash memory cards are also known as 'Secure Digital Cards' (or SD
Cards).
• SD cards are small and rectangular in shape.
• SD cards use solid state technology (they have no moving parts).
• These are a form of Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only
Memory (EEPROM) devices using this are considerably more expensive.
• EEPROM allows data to be read and erased in a single byte at a time
• SD cards use solid state technology (they have no moving parts).
• Micro flash memory cards are just smaller versions of the regular flash
memory cards.
• Micro flash memory cards are sometimes also called 'Micro SD Cards'.
• A wide range of devices have slots to read flash memory cards including
laptops, mobile phones, tablets and mp3 players.
• SD card readers can be used to transfer data from the cards onto a
desktop PC.
• SD Cards have a maximum capacity of about 256GB
• Micro SD Cards have a maximum capacity of about 128GB
Advantages/Disadvantages Flash Memory
Cards (and Micro Flash Memory Cards)
 Comparison of Storage Media

We will compare the storage media in terms of:

• Amount of data stored (capacity)
• Speed of data access
• Portability
• Cost
 Comparing the amount of data stored
(storage capacity)
Low storage Floppy disk
capacity  CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW

1.44MB - 800MB

Medium Storage DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW

Capacity   DVD-RAM
 Blu-ray discs
4.7GB - 512GB  Micro SD card, SD card
 Memory stick

High storage Solid state hard drives

capacity Fixed hard disk, Portable hard
disk
1TB - 185TB Magnetic tape
 Comparing the speed to access data
Slow access speed  Magnetic tape
Floppy disk

Medium access speed CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW 

DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW 
DVD-RAM 
Blu-ray 
Fixed hard disks
Portable hard disk

Fast access speed  Memory stick

Solid state hard drive
Micro SD card, SD card
 Comparing how portable each storage media
Not portable at all  Fixed hard disk

Quite portable  Solid state hard drive

Magnetic tape 
Portable hard disk 

Very portable  CD-ROM, CD-R. CD-RW 

DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-
RAM 
Floppy disk
Micro SD card, SD card
Memory stick
 Comparing the cost
Very cheap  Floppy disks
CD-R, CD-RW
£4 - £10 - for packs DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM 

Fairly cheap  Memory stick 

Micro SD card, SD card 
£15 - £50 - for 64Gb and Portable hard disk 
above 

Expensive Fixed hard disk, Portable hard disk

Magnetic tape
£50 - £300 - for 1TB and Solid state hard drive 
above
 CLOUD STORAGE
• 'The cloud' is what we refer to storing data,
programs, documents on the internet  rather
than on their own computer.

• When we store data in the cloud, we can access

it with any device as long as we have an internet
connection.

• Because the data and programs are stored

remotely, on the Internet, the user will save
space on their computer's storage devices.
 Some uses of the cloud
• The cloud is becoming very popular and has many
uses. Some of these are described below:
❖Streaming music
• Streaming music is where users play the audio
directly from the internet server where it is
stored.

• The music file is not downloaded onto the user's

computer.
❖Online storage
• You can store your documents and files in the cloud.
• This frees up space on your computer and allows you
to access the files anywhere and anytime (if you have
an internet connection).
• Most online storage providers give between 2GB and
15GB of free storage space.
Popular online storage providers include:
• Dropbox
• iCloud
• Google Drive
• Microsoft One drive
The security risks of storing data in the
cloud
• Storing data in the cloud is not
without risks.
• When you store data in the cloud,
you are trusting that the online
storage company have adequate
security to keep your data safe.
 Some risks in cloud storage
• Your data is stored remotely and not on your own
computer. This means you have no control over the
physical security of the data
• How secure is the building where your data is stored?
• Can someone easily break into the building and access
your data?
• If the online storage company go out of business, what
will happen to your data?
• If the online storage company don't have adequate online
security, your data could be at risk of hackers stealing it.
(Does the cloud company encrypt your data?)
• If the online data storage company doesn't back-up your
data, you could lose it in the event of power cuts or fires
etc.