MEMORY DEVICES

E N G R . J O K H I O S U LTAN S A LA H U D D I N
K O H I S TA NI
E . B ( CS ) , E. M ( I T) , CC N A, JN C I A - EX
L E CT U R E R
D E PA RT M E NT O F CO M P U T E R S Y S T E M S
E N GI NE E R I N G
M E HR A N UN I V E R S I T Y OF E N G I NE E R I NG &
T E C HN O L O GY, J A M S H O R O , SI ND H , PA K I S TA N.
 MAIN MEMORY
2

Main memory is where programs and data are kept during execution that
the processor is actively working with or when the processor is actively
using them.

 Main memory is also called Random Access Memory (RAM) or primary

memory.

"Random" means that the memory cells can be accessed in any order
randomly.
 Main memory is: very closely connected to the processor.
 the contents are quickly and easily changed.
 interacts with the processor millions of times per second.

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 TYPES OF COMPUTER MAIN MEMORY
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It has two types.

Random Access Memory (RAM) -Volatile

 Random access to any memory location
 Read & write access
 Program + data reside in this memory

Read only Memory (ROM) - Non volatile

 Only read access
 Permanent programs reside
 Non volatile

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 CACHE MEMORY
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An special and very high speed memory used to increase the speed of
processing.

 It is expensive and usually small in size.

 Stores only segments of programs currently being executed by CPU.

 It is also sometimes called buffer memory.

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 SECONDARY MEMORY
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Known as permanent storage.

Connected to main memory through the bus and a controller.

The contents are easily changed, but this is very slow compared to main
memory.

It is used for long-term storage of programs and data.

Common secondary storage devices are the hard disk and floppy disks and CDs.

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 THE HARD DISK
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 It has enormous storage capacity compared to main memory

(300 times the amount of storage in main memory).

 storage capacity of Gigabytes and Terabytes.

 usually contained in the systems unit of a computer.

Data is written and read with the help of read/write head.

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 COMPARISION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY MEMORY
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Primary memory
 Fast
 Expensive
 Low capacity
 Connects (Communicates) directly to the processor

Secondary memory
 Slow
 Cheap
 Large capacity
 Not connected directly to the processor

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 Storage Units
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Bit is short for Binary Digit. Bit has only two values represented as: 1 or 0,
(on or off ; true or false),
1 Nibble consists of 4 Bits.
Byte consists of 8 Bits.
1 KB (1 KiloByte) contains 1024 Bytes.
1 MB (1 MagaByte) consists of 1024 KB.
1 GB (1 GigaByte) has 1024 MB.
1 Terabyte consists of 1024 GB.

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 ORGRANIZATION OF MAIN MEMORY
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Main memory consists of a very long list of bytes.

In most modern computers, each byte has an address.

8
Address 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 FACTS
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Each row is called memory location (single byte and has an address).
The addresses are the integers to the left of the boxes: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ... and so
on.
The addresses for most computer memory start at 0 and go up in sequence
until each byte has an address.
The address of a byte is not part of its contents.
The bits at a memory location are called the contents of that location.
Each location contains a pattern of eight bits, each bit is either 0 or 1.
By the term that a computer has "128 MB of RAM" they are talking about
the size of memory.

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 Installing IDE/EIDE drives

IDE supports TWO drives in a system

 one master (boot disk) and one slave
 set master and slave using jumpers
EIDE supports FOUR drives per system
 2 drives on each of 2 cables
 only one master, all others are slaves
IDE and EIDE drives both use 40-pin ribbon cable.
 Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Components

Electromechanical
Rotating disks
 Arm assembly

Electronics
 Disk controller
 Cache

 Interface controller
 HDD Organization

Arm
Assembly Spindle Cylinder
Arm Head

Platter
Track
Hard Drive
 How hard disk works?
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1) The circuit board controls the movement of head actuator and a small motor

2) A small motor spins the platters the entire time the computer is running.

3) When software requests a disk access the read/write heads move to the FAT
to determine the current or new location of data.

4) The head actuator positions the read/write head arms over the correct
location on the platters to read or write the data

Engr. JSS Kohistani

 FACTS
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The CPU can read to and write from a specified memory location.
Most processors can write (and read) more than a single byte at a
time.
While writing a byte into a given location, the previous bit pattern
is destroyed and the new contents (bit pattern) are saved for future
use.
While reading a byte from a given location, the processor gets the
bit pattern stored at that location and the contents of that location are
NOT changed.
Engr. JSS Kohistani
 SOME POINTS TO REMEMBER
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The greater the number of bits the more powerful the processor is,
since it will be able to process a larger unit of information in a
single operation.
For example, a 32-bit processor will be able to add two 32-bit
numbers in a single operation whereas an 8-bit processor will only
be able to add two 8-bit numbers in a single operation.
An n-bit processor will usually be capable of transferring n-bits
to or from memory in a single operation .

Engr. JSS Kohistani