What is a Hard Disk Drive?

A computer hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile data storage device.

Non-volatile refers to storage devices that maintain stored data when turned off.
All computers need a storage device, and HDDs are just one example of a type
of storage device. They are usually installed inside desktop computers, mobile
devices, consumer electronics and enterprise storage arrays in data centers.
They can store operating systems, software programs and other files using
magnetic disks. More specifically, hard disk drives control the reading and writing
of the hard disk that provides data storage. HDDs are used either as the primary
or secondary storage device in a computer.

Every component in a hard drive is very important and have a use for
something different than the other. Here are the 4 components of a hard disk
drive:

The spindle:
A shaft that holds rotating hard disk drive (HDD) platters in place. The
term is also often used to refer to a single HDD. Spindle speed, measured in
rotations per minute (RPM), is one metric used to gauge disk drive performance.

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 Disk platter:
It’s the circular magnetic disk on which digital data is stored in a hard disk
drive. The rigid nature of the platters is what gives them their name (as opposed
to the flexible materials which are used to make floppy disks).

Actuator:
A device which moves head arm assembly. Its task is, not only to start and
secure continuous movement of hard drive head assembly, but also to fully
control it. Securing and control of this movement is of crucial importance for
performing elementary function of hard drives.

Arm:
Holds the heads in place, and moves them around the platters when the
disk is seeking a track or sector.

Head/write head:
It’s a specific physical part of a hard disk that is responsible for reading
data from, and writing data to, the disk. Read/write heads are typically made up
of a thin horizontal magnetic blade attached to an actuator arm.

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How does it work?
Briefly, the hard drive contains a spinning platter with a thin magnetic
coating. A "head" moves over the platter, writing 0's and 1's as tiny areas of
magnetic North or South on the platter. To read the data back, the head goes to
the same spot, notices the North and South spots flying by, and so deduces the
stored 0's and 1's.

The difference between HDD and SSD:

SSDs store data permanently inside an integrated circuit, typically using
flash memory. The flash memory inside it means data is written, transferred, and
erased electronically and silently. They don’t have the moving parts found inside
mechanical hard-disk drives. Without moving parts, they are fast and quiet, but
they have a high price tag compared to HDDs. They’re also used to have more
limited storage capacity vs. traditional HDDs, but these days you can find them in
almost any size you need. SSDs are often used on high-end machines or as
secondary storage devices inside consumer PCs.
Today, almost all new laptops and desktop computers use SSDs for non-
volatile data storage. SSDs offer extremely fast data storage and retrieval, and
they’re smaller and lighter than HDDs, giving computer manufacturers more
design flexibility. The adoption began with PC enthusiasts and in high-
performance technology areas, where the extremely low access times and high
throughput of SSDs justified the higher cost. But they have since become the
standard type of storage drive used in lower-cost mainstream laptops and PCs.
In conclusion, as we mentioned in the first and the last paragraph, SSDs
use newer technology that stores data on instantly accessible memory chips and
it’s faster, quieter, smaller, consume less energy and more durable.