Computer Drives Are Devices That Store Data

By Miles Stoppard

Computer drives are recording devices that are used to store data that is used and processed by the computer. They are designed to store and retrieve the data that is kept on a computer this data pertains to the programs that run the computer and also the files that the user wants to keep track of. There are several different kinds of computer drives; they are all basically designed to do the same thing.

Internal hard drives are a type of computer drives that is contained inside of the computer. All PC's have an internal hard drives, regardless if they are laptops or desk tops. These drives store the majority of data that a computer works with.

The internal part of a hard drive resembles a compact disk or DVD. There is a style, similar to an old style record players needle that records the data onto the hard drive. When information is saved onto a hard disk it keeps the information in files. Each piece of information is considered a byte.

While computers have hard disk drives that are capable of varying amounts of data being stored most modern computers are capable of storing somewhere between 50 and 200 gigabytes on information on their internal hard drives. The capability of internal hard drives is constantly improving a few years ago the average hard drive had a 10-20m gigabyte capacity.

There are also auxiliary computer drives that store data on a device similar to the hard drive on your PC. These devices are convenient and plug into a PC through the use of a USB cord. This allows additional data to be stored onto a hard drive that is not contained within your computer. The auxiliary devices are a safe way to back up the data on your PC. This is a good idea in the case your computer crashes; you will still have the information on a permanent source.

Auxiliary computer drives also make it possible to plug into different computers thereby providing the other computer access to the data that is on the auxiliary hard drive. These devices typically have a storage capability of 200 gigabyte or more. Many auxiliary hard drives can store over 500 gigabytes of information. This is good to have if you are going to be creating extremely high amounts of data to be stored such as large amounts of movies on your computer.

Zip drives are a form of computer drives that stores a reasonable amount of data on a removable storage system. These drives traditionally used floppy disks to store data. The original computer zip drives were only able to store 100mb of data. These became obsolete and were eventually replaced by CD's and DVD's that could be written on and in some cases rewritten on.

Flash drives are a form of computer drives that store data on a small computer card that is about the size of a cigarette lighter. These devices have a storage capability of about 250 mb or more. They are intended to serve the same purpose as a CD or DVD but are easily to carry in a coat or shirt pocket. These also have the ability of sharing data from one computer to another. Flash drives are also developing rapidly. Their capability is quickly progressing and is being made to constantly offering larger amounts of storage. - 33374

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