The process takes longer based on how fragmented the disk has become.
Most operating systems will come with a built in program designed to “Defragment” the disk, which simply rearranges the data so that all the files for one program are in once place. Due to the physical time it takes the read/write arm to move around, fragmentation can eventually slow down your system significantly, as the arm will need to reference more and more separate parts on your disk.
Therefore the update for the program will have to be placed in a different sector farther away from the core program files. For example, unless an update is stored directly after a base program, there’s a good chance that something else has been stored on the disk. However, beforehand, it’s important we mention a common data storage issue that occurs to some degree in all of the operating systems mentioned above.ĭisk Fragmentation occurs after a period of data being stored and updated on a disk. Now that we’ve discussed the physical operation of a Hard Drive, we can look at the differences in how operating systems such as Windows, MacOS, or Linux utilize the drive.
How software affects how info is stored on disk: One downside to Perpendicular Recording is increased sensitivity to magnetic fields and read error, creating a necessity for more accurate Read/Write arms. This phenomenon would result in inaccurate data storage, especially given the heat that an operating hard drive emits. Hard Drives were first designed for “Longitudinal Recording” – meaning the longer side of the platter is oriented horizontally – and since then have utilized a different method called “Perpendicular Recording” where the sectors are stacked on end. This change was made as hard drive manufacturers were hitting a limit on how small they could make each sector due to the “Superparamagnetic Effect.” Essentially, the superparamagnetic effect means that hard drive sectors smaller than a certain size will flip magnetic charge randomly based on temperature. Repeat this stage and eventually you have a string of bits which when read back can give the CPU instructions, whether it be updating your operating system, or opening your saved document in Microsoft Word.Īs HDDs have been developed, one key factor that has changed is the orientation of the sectors on the platter. Newer HDDs have a sector size of 4096 bytes or 32768 bits Each bit’s magnetic charge translates to a binary 1 or 0 of data. Each sector is an isolated part of the disk containing thousands of subdivisions all capable of accepting a magnetic charge. The CPU and motherboard use software to tell what’s called the “Read/Write Head” where to move on the platter and where it then provides an electrical charge to a “sector” on the platter.
Inside the casing there are a series of disk-like objects referred to as “platters”.
While HDDs have come a long way from when they were first invented, the basic way that they operate has stayed the same.
This feature, coupled with their large storage capacity and their relatively low cost are the reasons why HDDs are used so frequently in home computers. It stands to mention that an HDD is what’s referred to as “non-volatile”, which simply means that it can save data without a source of power. It functions like any other type of digital storage device by writing bits of data and then recalling them later. These videos are released under the CC Attribution Sharealike 3.A Hard Disk Drive (HDD for short) is a type of storage commonly used as the primary storage system both laptop and desktop computers. Flash chips are what's inside camera SDHC memory cards and USB storage keys.
The video file hard-drive.webm (you can download it if you like) is encoded in WebM which is free and open video standard supported by Firefox and Chrome out of the box. There's a big version for in-class projection or whatever, and there's a smaller version below. Here's a 6 minute video which shows how a hard drive works to store 0's and 1's. How a Hard Drive Works How a Hard Drive Works