Storage devices of a computer, The storage unit/device of a computer is employed to store the information and data that are to be processed. Nowadays the storage devices of a computer are both internal and external parts of a computer. Storage devices are the most important part of the computer because without storage devices a computer could not be able to run or even boot up. Understanding and learning about the computer storage device, a storage device is an essential component that is available in numerous structures and sizes based on specifications and functionalities. A storage device is an integral part of a computer that is used to store information/data to process. Without a storage device, a computer would not be able to run or even boot up. In other words, we can say that a storage device is hardware that is used for storing, porting, or extracting data files. It can also store information/data both temporarily and permanently. 

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Example of Storage Devices of Computer

Some commonly used storage storage devices are

• Floppy Discs
• Optical Discs (CD’s and DVD’s)
• Hard Disk Drives (HDD’s)
• Flash Drives
• Solid-State Drives (SSD's)

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Types of Storage Devices for Computer

There are several types of computer storage devices which are listed below;

• Primary storage devices of computer
• Magnetic storage devices for computer
• Flash memory devices of computer
• Optical storage devices for computer
• Cloud storage of computer
• Virtual storage of computer

Primary storage devices of computer

• Primary storage devices of computers are known as the main memory devices of computers.
• It is one of the components of a computer that holds programs, information, and data, which are being used.
• It is a media that holds memory for a shorter period only if the computer is running.
• It is mainly located in the motherboard of the computer which allows fast reading and writing in the primary storage, it is temporarily stores data that actively in use or being processed by the system.

Examples of primary storage devices

• Volatile memory - Cache Memory, Random Access Memory (RAM).
• Non-volatile memory - Read-Only Memory (ROM), Flash Memory, most types of magnetic computer storage devices (Hard disk, floppy disk, and magnetic tapes), and optical tapes.

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Magnetic Storage Devices Of Computer

• Magnetic storage of computers is one of the most affordable ways to store large amounts of data.
• It stores data in the form of tiny magnetized dots.
• These dots are created, read, and erased using magnetic fields created by very tiny electromagnets.
• The dots are arranged along the length of a long plastic strip that has been coated with a magnetizable layer.

Examples of Magnetic Storage Devices

• HDDs - Hard Disk Drives,
• Zip Disks,
• Floppy Disks,
• Magnetic stripe cards,
• Magnetic Drums,
• Magnetic Cards,
• Magnetic Bubble Memory,
• MRAM - Magnetic Random Access Memory. 

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Flash Memory Storage Devices Of Computer

• Flash storage or flash memory devices of computers are solid-state storage technology that uses flash memory chips for writing and storing data it is known as Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS).
• Flash technology and storage play a significant role in infrastructure modernization, and it has helped transform the economics of storing data.
• Flash memory offered breakthrough performance and quickly disrupted the data storage world, improving spinning disks and memory cards.
• As data storage grew and devices became lighter and smaller flash systems proved the fastest way to store.

Examples of Flash Memory Devices

• MMC (Multi-Media Card)
• SSD (Solid-State Drive)
• BIOS Chip
• USB Flash Drive

Optical Storage Devices Of Computer 

• Optical storage devices of computers are electronic storage medium that uses a laser beam to store and retrieve binary data.
• In optical storage technology, a laser beam encodes the digital data on an optical disc or laser disc.
• Optical memory is the secondary storage medium compared to magnetic memory.
• An optical disk storage system contains a rotating disk that is coated with a thin metal or any other highly reflective material.

Examples of optical storage devices

• CD-ROM: Compact Disc - Read-Only Memory
• DVD-ROM: Digital Video Disc - Read Only Memory
• Blu-ray Disc

Cloud Storage Devices Of Computer

• Cloud storage of computers is the newest and most versatile device for computers.
• Cloud storage offers significantly higher capacities than USB flash drives and other physical options.
• It provides elasticity which means you can scale the capacity as your data volume increases.
• As a part of this service, the same data is stored on multiple devices for redundancy.

Examples of cloud storage devices

• Dropbox
• iCloud
• Google Drive
• Microsoft One Drive

Virtual Storage Devices Of Computer

• Virtual storage devices of computers refer to multiple physical storage devices pooled together into a single storage device like a storage area network (SAN).
• The available storage in hardware combines into software-defined storage accessible from any end-user device.
• Virtualization technology lets you create multiple environments from one or more physical systems, allowing you to allot resources to these environments.
• Storage virtualization is integral to today’s mission-critical IT infrastructure, cloud computing, Big Data Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and overall functioning of the IT environment.

Examples of virtual storage devices

• Block Level
• Object Level
• File Level
• Host Based
• Network-Based
• Array-Based

In the final analysis

Finally, this topic and its content will help the readers understand storage devices and how they work in computer storing methods. In different types of storing devices which will be helpful for the users. This article will help the aspirants, and computer field students.

Storage Devices of  Computer - FAQ’s

Q. What is the commonly used storage device?

The commonly used storage devices are 

• Hard Disk Drives (HDDs)
• Solid State Drives (SSDs)
• Universal Serial Bus (USB)
• Flash Drives
• Memory Cards
• Network Attached Storage (NAS)

Q. What is the main storage device of a computer?

The main storage device of a computer is RAM - Random Access Memory. Where the work files are temporarily stored.

Q. Which storage device is always virus-free?

CDs are read-only or write-once media, meaning that once data is burned onto a CD, it cannot be modified or erased. This characteristic makes CDs relatively immune to computer viruses.

Q. Which storage device is safest?

The safest storage device is known as SSD-Solid State Drive.

Q. Which drive is best for backup?

Solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash drives are generally considered the most efficient physical options for backing up data. They use flash technology to read and write data quickly, making for fast backups.