Storage Media can be changed easily by the user. (as opposed to ROM)
Storage Media is Non-Volatile and holds data NOT being used.
There are two ways of accessing data on Storage Media 1) Serial/Sequential/Access The computer starts at the beginning of the storage media, moves in order until it founds the correct data, and then reads that data in order. Advantages: You can use magnetic tape, which is reliable. Disadvantage: It is slow
2) Direct/Random/Access The computer has a map (file system) of every piece of a file. It knows the location, and finds each piece as needed. Advantage: It is fast Disadvantage: It is not reliable, easily corrupted
Optical Drives All optical drives use direct/random Access. Optical Drives work by shining a laser onto a disk. If there is a pit or a smudge (burn mark) the light is reflected back to the laser(this means a 0). A pit is a bowl in the disk which acts like a mirror. CD-ROM/DVD-ROM A high power laser burns pits into a metal surface. This never fades, and can be easily by all optical drives CD-R/DVD-R A low-powered laser makes burn marks onto a plastic surface. This fades(or sometimes does not burn well), and can only be read by low powered laser