Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Hard Disk Platter

    Uploaded by

    rosskirk24
    29 views3 pages
    The document describes the components and structure of a hard disk platter. A hard disk platter is a flat, round plate coated with magnetic material that stores data. It is divided into concentric circles called tracks. Each track is further divided into sectors that can hold 512 bytes of data. Sectors can also be grouped into clusters to speed up data access. Tracks stacked directly above each other across multiple platters form cylinders, which represent the position of the read/write heads.

    Original Description:

    mech1

    Original Title

    mech1

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    The document describes the components and structure of a hard disk platter. A hard disk platter is a flat, round plate coated with magnetic material that stores data. It is divided into concentric circles called tracks. Each track is further divided into sectors that can hold 512 bytes of data. Sectors can also be grouped into clusters to speed up data access. Tracks stacked directly above each other across multiple platters form cylinders, which represent the position of the read/write heads.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    29 views3 pages

    Hard Disk Platter

    Uploaded by

    rosskirk24
    The document describes the components and structure of a hard disk platter. A hard disk platter is a flat, round plate coated with magnetic material that stores data. It is divided into concentric circles called tracks. Each track is further divided into sectors that can hold 512 bytes of data. Sectors can also be grouped into clusters to speed up data access. Tracks stacked directly above each other across multiple platters form cylinders, which represent the position of the read/write heads.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    ENG206M,TH

    March1,2001
    DescribingaMechanism
    Audience:Specialized

    Audienceanduseprofile:Theaudiencefor thisdescription ofamechanismiseducated


    inthefieldofcomputertechnology.Theywishtogaininformationabouttheharddisk
    platterandhowitworks.

    HardDiskPlatter

    INTRODUCTION

    Aplatterisaroundmagneticplatethatconstitutespartofaharddisk.Thehard

    diskplatteristheactualfixeddiskwithintheharddiskdrive.Theplatteriswherethe

    dataitselfisactuallyrecorded.Theplatterisaflatrigiddiskmadeof aluminum orglass

    andcoatedwithamagneticoxide.Harddiskplattersareusually3.5inchesindiameter.

    Aharddiskisusuallymadeupofmultipleplatters,eachofwhichusestwoheadsto

    recordandreaddata,oneforthetopoftheplayerandoneforthebottom.Theplatteris

    dividedintotracks,sections,clusters,andcylinders(Fig.1).

    Figure1:HardDiskPlatter
    TRACKS

    Allinformationthatisstoredonaharddiskplatterisrecordedintracks(Fig.1).

    Tracksareconcentriccirclesplacedonthesurfaceofeachplatter,whichliketheannual

    ringsonatree.Thetracksonaplatterarenumbered,startingfromzero,attheoutsideof

    theplatterandincreasingasyougoon.Tracksarethousandsofmagneticringsonthe

    platter thatheadsaretoreadandwriteto.Astheplatterrotatesunderthehead,thehead

    writesthedatainconcentriccircles.Eachtrackcanholdmanythousandsofbytesof

    data.

    SECTORS

    Eachtrackisbrokendown intosmallerunitscalledsectors(Fig.1).Asectoris

    typicallythesmallestindividuallyaddressableunitofinformationstoredonaharddisk

    platter.Eachsectorcanhold512bytesofdata.Eachtracknormallyholdsbetween100

    and300sectors.Theoperatingsystemisabletotellwhereinformationisstoredby

    referringtoitstrackandsectornumbers.

    CLUSTERS

    Eachsectorcanbebrokenintoclusters.Aclusterisagroupofsectorsona

    storagemedium,whenaccessedasagroup speedupdata access(Fig.1).Thenumbers

    ofthesectorsthatformclustersvary,dependingonthecapacityoftheharddiskplatter

    andthetechnicalspecificationsoftheharddiskdrive.
    CYLINDERS

    Acylinderisbasicallythesetofalltracksthatalltheheadsarepresentlylocated

    at. Tracksarephysicallyaboveeachotherontheplatterandaregroupedtogetherinto

    cylinders(Fig.2).

    Figure2:Cylinder

    Thenamecylindercomesfromthefactthatyoumentallyvisualizethetracksstackedon

    oneanother.Theconceptofcylindersisimportantbecausethecrossplatterinformation

    inthesamecylindercanbeaccessedwithouthavingtomovetheheads.

    You might also like