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Chapter 1 - Basic Storage Devices

Storage Devices

A storage device is any hardware capable of holding information either
temporarily or permanently and at the same time retrieves information from

them.

A computer has two main storage devices. These are:
Primary Storage Devices: It is an area in a computer in which data is

stored for quick access by the computer’s processor. It is any storage
device that can store nonvolatile data in a computer. Primary storage is
also known as Main memory, Main Storage, Internal Storage or
simply Memory. E.g. Random Access Memory (RAM)
Secondary Storage Device: It is any volatile storage device that is
internal or external to the computer. It enables permanent data storage.

A Secondary Storage device is also known as Auxiliary Storage
Device or External Storage. E.g. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM is a hardware device that allows information to be stored and retrieved on
a computer. RAM commonly called “memory", is considered primary storage,
since it stores data that is directly accessible by the computer's CPU at a very

high speed.

RAM

Data remain in RAM as long as the computer is running. When the computer is
turned off, RAM loses its data. When the computer is turned on again, data are
once again loaded into RAM. Because of this, RAM is considered a volatile
memory, which means that the stored information is lost when there is no
power. This also makes RAM a temporary storage device.