Most computers today primarily use an SSD to store information and have the options for USB flash drives and access to cloud storage.ĭesktop computers with disc drives typically use a disc drive that is capable of reading and writing CDs and DVDs. Most of the storage devices mentioned above are no longer used with today's computers. If you want to move the information to another computer, save it to a removable storage device such as a flash drive. Where you would like to save the information.īy default, most information is saved to your computer hard drive. When saving anything on a computer, it may ask you for a storage location, which is the area Today, we have smartphones that have hundreds of times the capacity at a much smaller price that we can carry with us in our pocket.Įach advancement of storage devices gives a computer the ability to store more data, as well as save and access data faster. The first hard disk drive from IBM cost $50,000, was only 5 MB, big, and cumbersome.
When new storage devices are designed, as people upgrade to those new devices the older devices are no longer needed and stop being used.įor example, when punch cards were first used in early computers, the magnetic media used for floppy disks was not available.Īfter floppy diskettes had been released, they were replaced by CD-ROM drives, which were replaced by DVD drives, which have been replaced by flash drives. Without a storage device, a computer cannot save or remember any settings or information and would be considered a dumb terminal.Īlthough a computer can run with no storage device, it would only be able to view information unless it was connected to another computer that had storage capabilities.Įven a task such as browsing the Internet requires information to be stored on your computer.Īs computers advance, the technologies used to store data do too right along higher requirements for storage space.īecause people need more and more space, want it faster, cheaper, and want to take it with them new technologies have to be invented.
Note: A hard copy could be considered a form of paper storage that is still widely used although it cannot be easily used to input data back into a computer without the aid of OCR. In the picture to the right is an example of a woman entering data to a punch card using a punch card machine. Today, these forms of storage are rarely used or found. Punch card Early computers had no method of using any of the above technologies for storing information and had to rely on paper. Storing data online and in cloud storage is becoming popular as people need to access their data from more than one device. This technology found mostly on extremely large HDDs or hybrid hard drives.Īnother common storage is optical storage, which uses lasers and lights as its method of reading and writing data.ġ28 GB SanDisk Ultra Flair USB Flash DriveFlash memory has replaced most magnetic and optical media as it becomes cheaper because it is the more efficient and reliable solution.
Today, magnetic storage is one of the most common types of storage used with computers.
Secondary storage can be removable, internal, or external. There are two types of storage devices used with computers: a primary storage device, such as RAM, and a secondary storage device, like a hard drive. The picture shows an example of a Drobo, an external secondary storage device.