Computer Instructor: HELNER D.

TAGHAP

HARD DISK DRIVE

A hard disk drive (sometimes abbreviated as Hard Drive, HD, or HDD) is a non-volatile
memory hardware device that permanently stores and retrieves data on a computer. A hard
drive consists of one or more platters to which data is written using a magnetic head, all
inside of an air-sealed casing. Internal hard disks reside in a drive bay, connect to the
motherboard using an ATA (Advance Technology Attachment), SCSI (Small Computer
System Interface), or SATA (Serial Advance Technology Attachment) cable, and are powered
by a connection to the PSU (power supply unit).

PARTS OF THE HARD DISK DRIVE

As can be seen in the picture above, the desktop hard drive consists of the following
components: the head actuator, read/write actuator arm, read/write head, spindle, and
platter. On the back of a hard drive is a circuit board called the disk controller or interface
board and is what allows the hard drive to communicate with the computer.
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Platters
The platters are the circular discs inside the hard drive where the 1s and 0s that make up
your files are stored. Platters are made out of aluminum, glass or ceramic and have a
magnetic surface in order to permanently store data. On larger hard drives, several platters
are used to increase the overall capacity of the drive. Data is stored on the platters in tracks,
sectors and cylinders to keep it organized and easier to find.

The Spindle
The spindle keeps the platters in position and rotates them as required. The revolutions-per-
minute rating determines how fast data can be written to and read from the hard drive. A
typical internal desktop drive runs at 7,200 RPM, though faster and slower speeds are
available. The spindle keeps the platters at a fixed distance apart from each other to enable
the read/write arm to gain access.

The Read/Write Actuator Arm

The read/write arm controls the movement of the read/write heads, which do the actual
reading and writing on the disk platters by converting the magnetic surface into an electric
current. The arm makes sure the heads are in the right position based on the data that needs
to be accessed or written; it's also known as the head arm or actuator arm.

Actuator
The actuator or head actuator is a small motor that takes instructions from the drive's circuit
board to control the movement of the read/write arm and supervise the transfer of data to
and from the platters. It's responsible for ensuring the read/write heads are in exactly the
right place at all times.

Read/Write Heads:
The heads are an interface between the magnetic media where the data is stored and
electronic components in the hard disk. The heads convert the information, which is in the
form of bits to magnetic pulses when it is to be stored on the platter and reverses the process
while reading.

Actuator Axis
When a computer needs to access data, it sends a signal to the hard drive's actuator to move
the arm, and in turn the read/write heads, to the correct position. Using an electromagnetic
coil, the actuator rotates the actuator axis, moving the connected arm.

What is stored on a hard drive?

A hard drive can be used to store any data, including pictures, music, videos, text documents,
and any files created or downloaded. Also, hard drives store files for the operating system
and software programs that run on the computer.
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Where is the hard drive found in a computer?

All primary computer hard drives are found inside a computer case and are attached to the
computer motherboard using an ATA, SCSI, or SATA cable, and are powered by a connection
to the PSU (power supply unit).

What are the sizes of hard drives?

The hard drive is typically capable of storing more data than any other drive, but its size can
vary depending on the type of drive and its age. Older hard drives had a storage size of
several hundred megabytes (MB) to several gigabytes (GB). Newer hard drives have a
storage size of several hundred gigabytes to several terabytes (TB). Each year, new and
improved technology allows for increasing hard drive storage sizes.

How is data read and stored on a hard drive?

Data sent to and read from the hard drive is interpreted by the disk controller, which tells
the hard drive what to do and how to move the components in the drive. When the operating
system needs to read or write information, it examines the hard drive's File Allocation Table
(FAT) to determine file location and available write areas. Once they have been determined,
the disk controller instructs the actuator to move the read/write arm and align the
read/write head. Because files are often scattered throughout the platter, the head needs to
move to different locations to access all information.

All information stored on a traditional hard drive, like the above example, is done
magnetically. After completing the above steps, if the computer needs to read information
from the hard drive, it would read the magnetic polarities on the platter. One side of the
magnetic polarity is 0, and the other is 1. Reading this as binary data, the computer can
understand what the data is on the platter. For the computer to write information to the
platter, the read/write head aligns the magnetic polarities, writing 0's and 1's that can be
read later.

External and Internal hard drives

Although most hard drives are internal, there are also stand-alone devices called external
hard drives, which can backup data on computers and expand the available disk space.
 Computer Instructor: HELNER D. TAGHAP

External drives are often stored in an enclosure that helps protect the drive and allows it to
interface with the computer, usually over USB or eSATA (External Serial Advance
Technology Attachment.

Types of Hard Disk Drive

1. IDE : Integrated Drive Electronics. IDE drives are also known as PATA drives( Parallel
advance technology attachment )
2. SATA : Serial advance technology attachment
3. SCSI : Small Computer System Interface. SCSI is pronounced as scuzzy.
4. SAS : Serial Attached SCSI

IDE / PATA (Integrated Drive Electronics Drive / Parallel Advance Technology

Attachment Drive)

➢ IDE/PATA Drives have usually 40 pins.

➢ IDE/PATA Drives offer 133 MB/sec transfer rate.
➢ It sends 8 bit data at a time.
➢ PATA Cables are used to connect PATA HDD. Two drives can be connected in a
single pata cable. One as master and other as slave. The configuration of master and
slave is done by different combination of jumpers in the HDD.
SATA (Serial Advance Technology Attachment Drive)

➢ SATA Drives have usually 7 pins, 4 pins in pair of two for sending and receiving data
and rest 3 pins are grounded.
➢ SATA Drives offers generally 300MB/sec transfer rate.
➢ It sends data bit by bit.
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➢ SATA Cables are used to connect SATA HDD. Only one drive can be connected in a
single sata cable.
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface Drive)

➢ SCSI Drives have usually 50 to 68 pins.

➢ SCSI Drive offers generally 640MB/sec transfer rate.
➢ This drives are hot swappable.
➢ SCSI cables are used to connect SCSI HDD. Maximum of 16 drives can be connected
in a single SCSI cable. Each HDD have 8 bytes hexadecimal code known as WWN
(worldwide name) for its identification in the cable.

SAS (Serial Attached SCSI Drive)

➢ SAS Drives generally offers 805 MB/sec transfer rate.

➢ This drives are hot swappable.
➢ SAS Cables are used to connect SAS Drives. Maximum of 128 drives can be
connected in a single SAS cable.
 Computer Instructor: HELNER D. TAGHAP

PARTS OF THE PLATTERS

TRACKS:
Each platter is broken into thousands of tightly packed concentric circles, known as tracks.
These tracks resemble the structure of annual rings of a tree. All the information stored on
the hard disk is recorded in tracks. Starting from zero at the outer side of the platter, the
number of tracks goes on increasing to the inner side. Each track can hold a large amount of
data counting to thousands of bytes.

SECTORS:
Each track is further broken down into smaller units called sectors. As sector is the basic
unit of data storage on a hard disk. A single track typically can have thousands of sectors
and each sector can hold more than 512 bytes of data. A few additional bytes are required
for control structures and error detection and correction.

CLUSTERS:
Sectors are often grouped together to form Clusters.

CYLINDERS:
Cylinder is basically the set of all tracks that all the heads are currently located at.

How many platters are in a hard drive?

The number of platters in a hard drive depend on the physical size of the hard drive, its
capacity, how many sectors, and its manufacturer. Therefore there is no set number of
platters in a computer hard drive. However, all modern hard drives have two or more
platters in a hard drive and if the drive is an SSD, it has no platters.
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HDD being replaced by SSD

Solid State Drives (SSDs) have started to replace hard disk drives (HDDs) because of the
distinct performance advantages they have over HDD, including faster access times and
lower latency. While SSDs is becoming more and more popular, HDDs continue to be used in
many desktop computers largely due to the value per dollar that HDDs offer over SSDs.
However, more and more laptops are beginning to utilize SSD over HDD, helping to improve
the reliability and stability of laptops.

SSD - Short for Solid-State Drive or Solid-State Disk, SSD is a drive that uses non-volatile
memory as a means of storing and accessing data, much like computer RAM. Unlike a hard
drive, an SSD has no moving parts, which gives it advantages such as accessing stored
information faster, no noise, often more reliable, and consuming less power. The picture
shows a Crucial SSD and is an example of an SSD.

The first SSD was implemented in IBM supercomputers in the 1970s and 1980s. They have
since been drastically improved upon and offer storage capacities of over 500 GB for home
computers. As the costs of SSD storage per GB have continued to decrease, these drives have
become suitable replacements for a standard hard drive in desktop and laptop computers.
SSDs are also a great solution for netbooks, nettops, and other applications that don't require
several hundred GB of space.

Advantages of SSD over HDD

The standard hard drive (HDD) has been the predominant storage device for computers,
both desktops and laptops, for a long time. The main draw is the storage size and low cost.
Computer manufacturers can include large hard drives at a small cost, so they've continued
to use HDDs in their computers. The solid state drive (SSD) is available and can replace an
HDD relatively easily. As you'll find by reading the below pros and cons, the SSD is a clear
winner, but because of the price it still doesn't make sense to use SSDs for all uses. For most
computer users, we suggest using SSD as the primary drive for your operating system and
most important programs. We then recommend using one or more HDD inside the same
computer, or an external HDD, to store documents, pictures and music, which don't need the
fast access times of SSD.
Computer Instructor: HELNER D. TAGHAP