The hard disk is the main storage device for modern computers. Hard drives work on the magnetic recording principle. This allows for high read and write speeds while extending the life of the devices.
Instructions
Step 1
The main elements of a hard drive are aluminum (sometimes glass) plates, which are covered with a layer of a special material, and read heads. Usually, several plates are used, located on a single axis. This allows you to increase the capacity of your hard drive. Typically, the readheads do not touch the surface of these plates. This ensures a long service life of the discs.
Step 2
Hard drives are classified by interface. Interfaces such as SATA, IDE and eSATA have become widespread. An interface means the presence of certain communication channels and technical means that ensure the exchange of information between the disk and the computer motherboard.
Step 3
The interface used determines the maximum hard disk capacity. For example, for IDE hard drives, a record amount of memory was reached, approximately equal to 182 GB. The capacity of modern hard drives can exceed 4 terabytes or 4,000 gigabytes.
Step 4
Another characteristic that distinguishes hard drives is the form factor. In order for any hard drive of a certain form factor to be installed in a standard system unit or laptop case, hard drives of a certain size are created. This usually only affects the width of the disk. Modern desktop computers use 3.5-inch drives. For notebooks, a 2.5-inch hard drive is typical.
Step 5
Naturally, there are many other indicators by which hard drives can be classified. These include the following characteristics of these devices: power consumption, noise level, write and read speed. It is worth noting that hard drive enclosures are usually sealed. This ensures their reliability by preventing moisture or harmful gases from entering.
