Module – 1

Data Storage
Main memory:
Main memory, also called primary memory, is the part of a computer that stores data and instructions that the
CPU needs immediately for processing. It acts as a working area between the CPU and secondary storage
(like hard disk/SSD).

Main memory is a semiconductor memory directly accessible by the CPU. It temporarily or permanently
holds:

 Programs being executed

 Data required for processing
 Intermediate and final results

Characteristics of Main Memory

 Fast access: Much faster than secondary storage

 Limited size: Smaller compared to hard drives
 Direct CPU access: CPU reads/writes data directly
 Volatile (mostly): Data is lost when power is off (except ROM)
 Costly: More expensive per GB than secondary storage

Types of memory :

RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM is volatile memory (data is lost when power is off).

Types of RAM:

1. SRAM (Static RAM)

 Very fast
 Expensive
 Used in cache memory
 Does NOT need refreshing

2. DRAM (Dynamic RAM)

 Slower than SRAM

 Needs continuous refreshing
 Cheaper
 Used as main system memory

Types of DRAM (shown in diagram):

 SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM):

o Works in sync with CPU clock
 DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate):
o Faster version of SDRAM

Evolution of DDR:

 DDR1 → DDR2 → DDR3 → DDR4 → DDR5

o Each generation is:
 Faster
 More efficient
 Lower power consumption

Other DRAM Types:

 RDRAM (Rambus DRAM):

o High-speed but expensive
o Rarely used today

ROM (Read Only Memory)

ROM is non-volatile memory (data is permanent).

Types of ROM:

 MROM (Masked ROM):

o Pre-programmed during manufacturing
 PROM (Programmable ROM):
o Can be programmed once
 EPROM (Erasable PROM):
o Can be erased using UV light
  EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM):
o Can be erased and rewritten electrically

Secondary Memory

Secondary memory is used for long-term storage and is not directly accessed by [Link] is non-volatile and
has large capacity.

Types of Secondary Memory

1. Magnetic Tapes: Magnetic tape is a long, narrow strip of plastic film with a thin, magnetic coating on it that
is used for magnetic recording. Bits are recorded on tape as magnetic patches called RECORDS that run along
many tracks. Typically, 7 or 9 bits are recorded concurrently. Each track has one read/write head, which allows
data to be recorded and read as a sequence of characters. It can be stopped, started moving forward or
backwards or rewound.
2. Magnetic Disks: A magnetic disk is a circular metal or a plastic plate and these plates are coated with
magnetic material. The disc is used on both sides. Bits are stored in magnetized surfaces in locations called
tracks that run in concentric rings. Sectors are typically used to break tracks into pieces.

Hard discs are discs that are permanently attached and cannot be removed by a single user.
3. Optical Disks: It's a laser-based storage medium that can be written to and read. It is reasonably priced and
has a long lifespan. The optical disc can be taken out of the computer by occasional users.

Types of Optical Disks

CD - ROM
 It's called a compact disk. Only read from memory.
 Information is written to the disc by using a controlled laser beam to burn pits on the disc surface.
 It has a highly reflecting surface, which is usually aluminium.
 The diameter of the disc is 5.25 inches.
 16000 tracks per inch is the track density.
 The capacity of a CD-ROM is 600 MB, with each sector storing 2048 bytes of data.
 The data transfer rate is about 4800KB/sec. & the new access time is around 80 milliseconds.
WORM-(WRITE ONCE READ MANY)
 A user can only write data once.
 The information is written on the disc using a laser beam.
 It is possible to read the written data as many times as desired.
 They keep lasting records of information but access time is high.
 It is possible to rewrite updated or new data to another part of the disc.
 Data that has already been written cannot be changed.
 Usual size - 5.25 inch or 3.5 inch diameter.
 The usual capacity of a 5.25-inch disk is 650 MB,5.2GB etc.
DVDs
The term "DVD" stands for "Digital Versatile/Video Disc," and there are two sorts of DVDs:
 DVDR (writable)
 DVDRW (Re-Writable)
 DVD-ROMS (Digital Versatile Discs): These are read-only memory (ROM) discs that can be used in a
variety of ways. When compared to CD-ROMs, they can store a lot more data. It has a thick polycarbonate
plastic layer that serves as a foundation for the other layers. It's an optical memory that can read and write
data.
 DVD-R: DVD-R is a writable optical disc that can be used just once. It's a DVD that can be recorded. It's a
lot like WORM. DVD-ROMs have capacities ranging from 4.7 to 17 GB. The capacity of 3.5 inch disk is
1.3 GB.
3. Cache Memory
Cache Memory is a type of high-speed semiconductor memory that can help the CPU run faster. Between the
CPU and the main memory, it serves as a buffer. It is used to store the data and programs that the CPU uses the
most frequently.

Advantages of Cache Memory

 It is faster than the main memory.
 When compared to the main memory, it takes less time to access it.
 It keeps the programs that can be run in a short amount of time.
 It stores data for temporary use.
Disadvantages of Cache Memory
 Because of the semiconductors used, it is very expensive.
 The size of the cache (amount of data it can store) is usually small.

Floppy Disc:

Floppy disks also known as floppy diskettes, floppy disks or floppy disks, are a type of storage medium that can
read data storage information and are used to store electronic data.

Usage of Floppy Disk

Below are some usages of Floppy Disk
 Floppy disks were the sole means to install new software and create data backups on early computers as
they lacked USB and CD-ROM (compact disk read-only memory) drives.
 Installing the program from a single 3.5" floppy disk was possible if it was small—less than 1.44 MB.
Nonetheless, diskettes were often needed because the majority of programs were bigger than 1.44 MB.
 Users also frequently stored and backed up their files on floppy disks.
 A word processing file, for instance, may be saved as a backup or transferred to a floppy disk and used on a
different machine.
How Does a Floppy Disk Work?
 Data is magnetically stored on the circular platter surface of a floppy disk.
 A read/write head within the drive reads data that has been encoded onto the platter by moving over it.
 After that, the drive converts these bits into text, images, or music that the computer's CPU can understand.
 The magnetic polarity used by the read/write head is either 0 or 1.
 The computer can interpret this as binary data and determine what is on the platter.
 The read/write head aligns the magnetic polarities so that the computer may write data to the platter—0s and
1s that can be decoded by another device later on.
Types of Floppy Disk
Here are the four types of Floppy Disk.
 8-inch Drive: The First ever floppy design to be adopted as a read-only format before being able to read
and write which was introduced in the early 1970s was 8-inch Drive. The physical characteristic that
permitted the floppy drive series its name was floppy.
 Zip Drive: The Zip drive was introduced by Iomega Corporation. Since zip drives were peripheral, they
were primarily able to enhance an already-existing system. Due to its high cost, this drive was not widely
utilized and never really took off as a storage device.
 3.5" Drive: 3.5" Drive is another kind of floppy disk. Conversely, a 3.5′′ drive is typically found in desktop
computers and servers and has a bigger diameter of 3.5 inches.
 5.25" Drive: A 5.25" is a floppy disk drive that was a common computer accessory. During the early
nineties, computers with capacities ranging from 360 kilobytes to 1.2 gigabytes were also armed with floppy
disk drives.
Advantages of Floppy Disk
Below are some advantages of Floppy Disk.
 Flexibility and comparably: Floppy drives have several benefits, one of which is their flexibility and
comparably small size. 3.5" Drive floppy disks are smaller in size than Compact Disks.
 Cost: Less costly than other storage devices portable and non-volatile which means that data stored on them
won't be lost when the system is powered down and compatible with the majority of computers.
 Compose Protection: Floppy disks also include a little score that provides a feature called Write Protection,
even with the plastic wrapping.
 Boot Disk: Floppy disk drives are often situated above the primary hard drives in the boot order sequence.
Disadvantages of Floppy Disk
Below are some disadvantages of Floppy Disk.
 Capacity: The main disadvantage of this disks is their smaller capacity for storing data when compared to
more modern technologies like CDs, which have an average capacity of 650–700 MB per disk.
 Dependability: A floppy disk drive and a variable capacity source were absent from a vast majority of PCs.
 Easily Broke: The floppy disk, which is extremely flexible and fragile, was made using a plastic shell. If
someone handles it carelessly, it might break easily.
 Data Deletion: If the disk comes into touch with a magnetic field side, then data may be deleted.

Compact disc:

CDs or Compact Disks are optically readable media. CDs are the replacement of the phonograph disc. The main
material of the CD is plastic. The shape of the plastic is circular and one side of the circular plastic is coated
with the reflecting metal coating, usually aluminium. Data can be stored much more densely in optic media than
in magnetic media, like Hard disk. Optic media have a much longer life span. Millions of bits are burned into
this coating.
How Compact Disc Works?

Compact discs, sometimes known as CDs, typically have a diameter of 12 cm, or 4.5 inches. There are four
distinct layers in it.
 Top Layer
 Lacquer Layer
 Reflective Layer
 Polycarbonate Disc Layer
The top layer is used to mark the disc's identification marks, and it may also carry printed instructions or a name
identifying the contents of the device. Below the top layer, in the lacquer layer, The device is protected from
exposure to atmospheric air, which can cause oxidation. The reflective layer, which is constructed of aluminium
material and is located beneath the lacquer layer, is where the laser beam is pointed in order to catch a
reflection, which can then be used to read the disk's data. The data are encoded for the compact disc to function
properly in the polycarbonate layer at the bottom of the disc.
A CD player or disc drive is required in order to access a compact disc. It is made up of a variety of hardware
components, including a tiny laser beam and another tiny electronic light detector, within a CD player. Here, a
semiconductor diode laser is used to produce the laser beam, and a photoelectric cell serves as the electronic
light detector.
When the CD player or disc drive is turned on, the internal motor of the device enables the compact disc to
rotate at a significant high speed, between 200 and 500 rotations per minute. This causes the internal
semiconductor diode laser to be powered up and begin scanning the disc's tracks from the centre outward. To
read the data from the base layer, this is transferred through the disc. As a result, the reflection that was
generated can retrieve the data from the CD and provide it to the device accessing the CD. The digital light
detector can receive the reflection and read the electronic contents that are already saved into the storage unit.

Types of Compact Disks

There are three types of CDs available:
 CD-R : CD-R full form is Compact Disc – Recordable. This type of compact disc can be written only once
and can not erased.
 CD-ROM : CD-ROM stands for Compact Disk-Read Only Memory. This disks are read once, after read it
is use as a ROM, that is cannot be updated later.
 CD-RW : CD-RW full form is Compact Disc-ReWritable. This type of compact disc can be written
multiple times and can be erased also, like Pendrive.
Advantages of Compact Disk
 Portable: CDs are more compact and lightweight, they are easier to store and travel.
 Reliable: In that time, an entire software can be stored on one CD, so its very reliable for the software
industries in the days.
 Multiple Applications: It is also adaptable. The higher capacity of the compact disc was exploited for uses
other than storing digital audio. CDs became a popular media for distributing home films, software
packages, and other digital content.
 Random Access: CD provides random data access. Users can use this random access to choose music
tracks, specific files or data, or explore a menu via a user interface.
 Rewritable Formats: Another benefit of compact discs is the availability of rewritable versions such
as CD-R and CD-RW.
Disadvantages of Compact Disk
 Inferior Capacity: CDs have more storage capacity than their predecessors, but subsequent storage
mediums have more capacity. Storage capacity is lower than a hard drive or DVD, now a days CD is not
used at all.
 Older Technology: A compact disc's limitation stems from its older read and write mechanism technology,
which is based on 780nm wavelength.
 Inferior Quality: It should be noted that audio-video files with higher audio and video quality can be stored
on DVDs and Blu-ray Discs.
 Durability Issues: Magnetic tapes are less durable than CDs. However, it is still fragile because it is easily
scratched if not treated carefully. When exposed to severe heat and humidity, it might deform and become
unusable.
 Obsolete Medium: Another issue of CDs is that they have become obsolete as better storage methods have
become available.
 It's also worth noting that compact discs aren't suitable for backup storage because of their limited storage
capacity, susceptibility to breakage, and obsolescence. It is preferable to use hard drives or solid-state
drives.

Representing information as bit patterens:

Data is can be anything which represents the specific result or any number, text, image, audio, video etc. For
example, If you will take an example of human being then data for a human being such that name, personal id,
country, profession, bank account details etc. are the important data. Data can be divide into three categories
such that data can be personal, public and private.
Forms of data representation :
At present Information comes in different forms such as follows.
1. Numbers
2. Text
3. Images
4. Audio
5. Video
1. Numbers -
Numbers are not represented as ASCII but by bit patterns. Numbers are directly converted into
binary representation to specify mathematical operations. The 0s and 1s used to represent digital
data. The number system that humans normally use is in base 10.
Number File Formats -
Integer, Fixed point, Date, Boolean, Decimal, etc.

Example :
You may have encountered different ways of expressing numbers using "expanded form". For
example, if you want to write the number 60338 in expanded form you might have written it as
60338=60000+300+30+8.

2. Text -
Text is also represented as bit pattern or sequence of bits(such as 0001111). Various types of bits
are assigned to represent text symbols. A code where each number represents a character can be
used to convert text into binary.
Text File Formats -
.doc,.docx, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, etc.

Example :
The letter ‘a’ has the binary number 0110 0001.

3. Audio -
Audio signal is a representation of sound or music. Audio differs from all i.e. from text, number
and images. Audio is a series of binary numbers for digital signals. It is continuous but not
 discrete.
Audio File Formats -
MP3, M4A audio file type, FLAC, WAV, WMA, AAC, etc.

4. Video -
Video refers to the recording, broadcasting, copying or playback. Video can either be produced
or it is continuous and sometimes it is a combination of multiple images produced in motion.
Video File Formats -
MP4, MOV, AVI, FLV, etc.

5. Images -
Images are also represented as bit patterns. An image is composed of matrix of pixels with
different values of pixels each where each pixel is represented as dots. Size of the picture is
dependent on its resolution. Consider a simple black and white image. If 1 is black (or on) and 0
is white (or off), then a simple black and white picture can be created using binary.
Image File Formats -
Image can be in the format of jpeg, PNG, TIFF, GIF, etc.