Chapter 2 Working with Disks and Other Removable Media
In This Chapter Understanding and Selecting Storage Obtaining Information about Computer Disks Assigning a Volume Label Working with USB Flash Drives and Other Flash Media Working with CD and DVD Media Working with Hard Disks
CHAPTER 2 Understanding and Selecting Storage
Understanding and Selecting Storage You can save files to a variety of media types, including: Disk drives. Flash RAM devices. RAM: Random Access Memory Media can be: Magnetic, optical, or solid state. Internal or external.
Mechanical devices that read and write disks Disk platters spin past one or more read/write heads Types include hard disk drives and DVD drives Disk Drives The inside of a mechanical hard disk drive
Disk Drives Magnetic disk hard disk, floppy disk Stores data in patterns of positive and negative magnetic polarity in metallic particles on the surface of disk platters. A magnetic head in the drive changes the polarity to write data to it. Optical disc CD, DVD Stores data in patterns of greater and lesser reflectivity on the shiny surface of the disc A laser changes the surface reflectivity in certain spots to write the data
Removable Disks Disk types such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks are removable from the drive. For these disk types, the disk and drive are separate. A hard disk drive is different. It combines a hard disk and a hard drive. No hard disk is separate from the hard drive. 8
Flash RAM Flash RAM is static (nonvolatile) memory, retaining its content even when it is unpowered. USB flash drive plugs directly into a USB port Flash card reader reads flash RAM data from a card Solid state drives (SSD) replace mechanical hard disk drives in some systems
Storage Types Type Attributes Pros Cons Internal hard disk External hard disk Floppy drive and disks Writeable CD or DVD drive and discs Magnetic, internal, non removable Magnetic, external, removable Magnetic, portable Optical, portable High capacity, reliable, fast High capacity, reliable, portable Compatible with older computers Most computers have a CD drive; blanks are inexpensive Not easily portable Slower than internal, requires free USB or FireWire port, requires separate power source Slow, low capacity, unreliable, newer computers do not have floppy drives Slow to write compared to other media; reliability declines as they age
Storage Types, Continued Type Attributes Pros Cons USB flash drive Flash card reader and flash memory cards Solid state drive (SSD) RAM based, portable RAM based, portable RAM based, internal or external Most computers have a USB port, light weight, compact to carry Most computers have a USB port, lightweight, compact to carry, cards can be swapped out Reliable, fast, quiet Capacity is limited, more expensive per MB than writeable CDs or DVDs Capacity is limited, memory cards are expensive and easy to misplace Expensive
Checkpoint How does a magnetic storage device store data? What types of drives are typically built into a computer? How does an optical disc store data? What does nonvolatile mean? Name one type of flash RAM.
CHAPTER 2 Obtaining Information about Computer Disks
Getting Information About Disks Click the File Explorer icon on the taskbar and then double click Computer in the navigation pane to open the Computer window. The Computer window shows all the built in drives plus any external drives connected via USB ports or other ports.
Computer Window
Getting Information About Disks Windows assigns drive letters automatically: A and B. Floppy drives, if present. C. Primary hard disk drive. D through Z. Other drives. The disk icon reflects the drive type. A generic name or custom volume label also identifies the disk.
Disk Capacity Computers store data in binary format a collection of 1s and 0s. Each individual 0 or 1 is a bit. Each group of eight bits is a byte, or a single character of information. The capacity of a disk, size of a file, or amount of memory are all expressed in bytes.
Disk Capacity Kilobyte (KB) = 1,024 bytes. 2 10 bytes. Megabyte (MB) = 1,048,576 bytes. A kilobyte of kilobytes. Gigabyte (GB) = 1,073,741,824 bytes. A kilobyte of megabytes. Terabyte (TB) = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes. A kilobyte of gigabytes.
Disk Capacity Right click a drive icon and then click Properties to see its exact amount of total space used and remaining capacity.
CHAPTER 2 Assigning a Volume Label
Assigning a Volume Label You can assign a volume label or descriptive name to a hard or floppy disk. The volume label may be up to 11 characters, but may not include any of these: *? = + [ ] \/ In the Computer window, right click the drive icon, click Properties, enter the volume label in the top text box of the General tab, and click OK.
Volume Labels No volume label Volume label
Checkpoint What information can you get in the Computer window? How do you display the Computer window? How do you select a disk in the Computer window? What is a bit? What is a byte? Why is a kilobyte not exactly 1,000 bytes? Which is larger a gigabyte or a terabyte?
CHAPTER 2 Working with USB Flash Drives and Other Flash Media
Working with Flash Media Plug a USB flash drive into a USB port, or insert other flash media into a slot on your PC or a card reader. An AutoPlay window appears to ask what to do with the newly detected storage. In most cases, the correct choice is Open folder to view files.
Copying an Item to a Flash Drive Flash drives, being removable, are useful for moving files from one PC to another. You can open separate Computer windows for the source folder and flash drive and drag and drop selected files or folders between them. You also can copy (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+V) files or folders. Or, right click the selection, click Send To, and click the name of the flash drive.
Safely Removing Flash Media In most cases, you can simply unplug a removable storage device. Wait 30 seconds after the last file operation. Eject the device before removing it for added safety. Right click the device in a Computer window and click Eject. Or, click the Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media icon in the notification area and click the device s Eject command.
Checkpoint How do you connect removable media? How do you copy a file or folder from the hard disk to a floppy disk or flash drive? What is the purpose of ejecting a device?
CHAPTER 2 Working with CD and DVD Media
Working with CD and DVD Media Most PCs have at least one optical drive, such as a CD or DVD drive. Optical media vary depending on the type, number of readable sides, capacity per side, and whether and how many times it can be written.
Working with CD and DVD Media An AutoPlay window prompts you to choose an activity. The options available depend on the disc type.
Working with CD and DVD Media Use Control Panel to choose an AutoPlay setting for a particular disc type, so it will play automatically.
Types of Writable Blank Discs CD, DVD, or Blu Ray Recordable (R) or Rewritable (RW) Plus or Minus (+R or R, +RW or RW) Single or Dual Layer
Types of Writing Like a USB Flash Drive Uses Windows Live File System You can freely write, edit, and delete files Older computer systems may not be able to read the disc With a CD/DVD Player Uses a backwardcompatible Mastered file system Enables only single writes to a blank disc You must write all content to the disc in one pass Content cannot be edited later
Copying Files to a Writable CD or DVD 1. Insert the blank disc. 2. Choose Burn files to disc using File Explorer. 3. Type a disc title. 4. Click Like a USB flash drive. 5. Click Next. 6. Wait for the disc to be formatted and click OK. 7. Drag files to the disc File Explorer window.
CHAPTER 2 Working with Hard Disks
Viewing Disk Usage Information The Computer window indicates disk usage with a blue bar. The Details pane, when displayed, provides more information.
Turning on Disk Compression Disk compression enables the drive to store files so that they take up less space. Windows 8 runs a compression algorithm a mathematical formula to remove wasted space in a file so it uses less disk space.
Turning on Disk Compression Use the Compress this drive to save disk space check box in the disk Properties dialog box to apply the compression. Mark this check box
Checking a Disk for Errors Mechanical (non solid state) hard disks may develop errors over time. Errors may be physical spots on the disk or logical errors created when files are closed improperly.
Checking a Disk for Errors Use the Check button on the Tools tab of the Properties dialog box for the drive to run the Check Disk utility, which finds and fixes disk errors.
Checking Disk Partitioning Dividing a physical hard disk drive into logical disk drives, each with its own drive letter assigned, is called partitioning. Each disk must have a primary (bootable) partition, which can contain one logical drive. A physical disk also can have an extended partition containing multiple logical drives.
Checking Disk Partitioning Use the Disk Management utility from Control Panel to view hard disk partition information.
Working with an External Hard Disk An external hard disk appears as a hard disk in the Computer window, but connects via USB or FireWire cable. An AutoPlay window may appear when you connect an external hard disk. Use Eject to stop an external hard disk before disconnecting it. Some external hard disks connect to a network and are called network addressable storage (NAS).
Checkpoint Name some different types of optical media. What is an AutoPlay window? What is the name of the Computer window pane that displays usage and file system details for a selected hard disk? What is the purpose of disk compression? What is partitioning? What is a benefit of using an external hard disk?
CHAPTER 2 Wrap Up A disk drive reads and writes disks. Disks can be magnetic or optical. Flash RAM storage is nonvolatile. View disk usage information, the volume label, and file system in the Computer window. Removable media, such as USB flash media, enable you to store and move files. 46
CHAPTER 2 Wrap Up To copy from a hard disk to a removable device, copy and paste or drag and drop between two computer windows. To avoid data corruption, use the Eject feature. Use compression to save space on a hard disk. The Check Disk utility finds and fixes disk errors. A hard disk may be partitioned.