Data storage

Memory is referred to as the internal devices used to store data that the computer can access
directly. This is also known as primary memory. Primary data could be the user’s workspace,
temporary data or data that is key to running the computer.

Storage devices allow users to store applications, data and files. User’s data is stored permanently
and they can change it or read it as they wish.

Storage needs to larger than internal memory since the user may wish to store large files (such as
music files or videos) storage devices can also be removable to allow a user to store important data
in a different location in case of data loss.

Memory and storage devices can be split up into two distinct groups:

 Primary memory
 Secondary storage

Primary memory – RAM and ROM

Internal Secondary Storage – Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD)

External Secondary Storage – DVD/CD and DVD-RAM, Blu ray disc, USB memory stick/ Flash
memory, Removable hard drive.

Differences between primary memory and storage devices:

Primary memory

 Directly addressable by the CPU.

 Contains RAM, ROM and cache memory.

Secondary storage

 Not directly accessible by the CPU.

 All are non-volatile devices.
 Can be external or internal to the computer.
 Examples include HDD, SSD, DVD, memory stick, Blu-ray disc.

Primary memory

The primary memory is the part of the computer which can be accessed directly from the CPU. It
includes the random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM) memory chips. Primary
memory allows the CPU to access applications and services temporarily stored in memory locations.

The structure for the primary memory is show on the next page.
Random access memory (RAM)

RAM stands for random access memory it is volatile memory that temporarily stores the files you are
working on.

All computer systems come with some form of RAM. These memory devices are not really random;
this refers to the fact that any memory location in RAM can be accessed independent of which
memory location was last used. When you run an application or program, data is retrieved from
secondary storage and placed temporarily into RAM. Access time to locate data is much faster in
RAM than in secondary or off-line devices.

Features of RAM:

 Can be written to or read from, and the da can be changed by the user or the computer
(i.e. it is a temporary memory)
 Used to store data, files, part of an application or part of an application or part of the
operating system currently in use.
 It is volatile, which means memory contents are lost when powering off the computer.

In general, the larger the size of the RAM the faster the computer will operate.

In reality the RAM never runs out of memory; it continues to operate but just becomes slower and
slower as more data is stored.

As RAM becomes full the CPU has to continually access the secondary data storage devices to over
write old data on RAM with new data.

By increasing the RAM size, the number of times this has to be done is considerably reduced, thus
making the computer operate more quickly.

There are two types of RAM technology:

1. Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

2. Static RAM (SRAM)
Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

 Each DRAM chip consists of transistors and capacitors. Each of these parts is tiny since a
single RAM chip will contain millions of transistors and capacitors. The function of each part
is:
 Capacitor- this holds the bits of information (0 or 1)
 Transistor – this act like a switch; it allows the chip control circuitry to read the capacitor or
change the capacitor’s value.
 This type of RAM needs to be constantly refreshed; this is because the capacitor needs to be
re-charged every 15 microseconds otherwise it would lose its value. If it wasn’t refreshed the
capacitor’s charge would leak away very quickly leaving every capacitor with the value 0.

DRAMs have a number of advantages over SRAMs:

 They are much less expensive to manufacture than SRAM.

 They consume less power than SRAM.
 They have a higher memory capacity than SRAM.

Static RAM (SRAM)

 A major difference between SRAM and DRAM is that SRAM doesn’t need to be constantly
refreshed.
 It makes us of flip flops, which holds each bit of memory.
 SRAM is much faster than DRAM when it comes to data access (access time for SRAM is 25
(ns) nanoseconds and for DRAM is 60 nanoseconds (ns).

DRAM is the most common type of RAM used in computers, but when it comes to speed SRAM is
the preferred technology.

Memory cache is a high-speed portion of the memory, it is effective because most programs
access the same data or instructions many times. By keeping as much of this information as
possible in SRAM, the computer avoids having to access the slower DRAM.
Differences between DRAM and SRAM

DRAM SRAM
Consists of a number of transistors and capacitors. Uses flip flops to hold each bit of memory.

Needs to be constantly refreshed. Doesn’t need to be constantly refreshed

Less expensive to manufacture than SRAM. Has a faster data access time than DRAM

Has a higher memory capacity than SRAM. CPU memory cache makes use of SRAM.

Main memory is constructed from DRAM.

Consumes less power than SRAM.

Read Only Memory (ROM)

Features of ROM:

 Non-volatile/permanent memories (contents remain even when ROM is turned off)

 Used to store start-up instructions (basic input/output systems)
 Data/contents of a ROM chip can only be read and cannot be changed

RAM ROM

Temporary memory device Permanent memory device.

Volatile memory non-volatile memory device.

Can be written to and read from. Data stored cannot be altered.

Used to store data, files, programs, parts of OS Always used to store BIOS and other data needed
currently in use. at start up.

Can be increased in size to improve operational speed

of a computer.

Example of an application that has both RAM and ROM chips used:

A remote-controlled toy car has circuitry which contains both RAM and ROM chips. The remote
control is a hand-held device. Explain the function of the RAM and ROM chip in this application.

ROM

 Storing the factor setting such as remote-control frequencies.

 Storing the start up routines when the toy car is first switched on.
 Storing of the set routines; for example, ho the buttons on the hand-held device control
turning left, acceleration, stopping, and so on.

RAM

 The user may wish to program in their own routines; these new instructions would be stored
in the RAM chip.
 The RAM chip will store the data/instructions received from the remote-control unit.

Secondary Storage
 Secondary storage is not directly accessed by the CPU
 It is used for permanent storage of data
 Secondary storage is non-volatile. This means data is stored even when
power is lost to the device
 Secondary storage is needed as primary storage (such as RAM) is volatile
and will not retain data when the computer is turned off
 Unlike ROM, secondary storage can be read from and written to. ROM is
read only
 Common examples of secondary storage include hard disk
drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), external hard drives, USB flash
drives, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs. These can be used to store data to
transfer it to another computer
 Data access speeds for secondary storage devices are typically slower than
primary storage (such as RAM)
 Secondary storage devices often have large capacity (can store large
amounts of data)
 Software such as the operating system is saved permanently on secondary
storage. The instructions and data that makes up the software then moves to
RAM when it is in use
 Secondary storage devices can be internal (inside the computer) and external
(outside the computer)
Magnetic
 Magnetic hard disk drives have been the main type of internal secondary
storage in personal computers for many years however solid state drives are
increasingly popular due to their durability, low power consumption and high
read/write speeds
 A magnetic hard disk is made up of several metal discs coated with a
magnetic material
o These are called platters
o Iron particles on each platter are magnetised to represent a 0 or 1
  The hard drive spins the metal disk(s) at a high speed (typically around
5400-7200 RPM) using a motor
 A read/write arm, controlled by an actuator, moves the head over the
surface of the disc to the location of the data
 The data is read/written using electromagnets

Solid State
 Solid State secondary storage is made of transistors that are arranged in a
grid layout
 It uses NAND and NOR gates in electrical circuits to persistently control the
flow of electrons
 Current flowing is 1, no current is 0 - which is how electrical flow can
represent binary values
 A NAND gate will take in two inputs and produce an output (1/electrical
current) as long as both inputs are not 1
Optical
 Optical devices include CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays
o Blu-rays have the largest capacity
o CDs have the lowest capacity
o CD-R are read-only (you cannot save data on to them)
o CD-RW can be written to and read from
o DVD-RW can be written to and read from
 All optical devices work by shining a laser at the disk and processing the
reflection
 An arm moves the laser across the surface of the disk
 In CD-Rs a laser burns the data, permanently on to the disk, by
creating pits and lands
 The laser is also used to read the data from the pits and lands
 When the laser light hits the point where the pit changes into a land or vice
versa the light scatters and is not reflected back as well. This is captured by a
sensor and can be interpreted as a change in the binary value

Virtual Memory
 The purpose of RAM is to store current data and program instructions in use
 The amount of physical RAM available is limited. The average modern
desktop computer has between 4GB and 16GB of RAM. Some programs are
larger than this
 Virtual memory is part of secondary storage which acts as RAM when RAM
is full
 It prevents the computer system crashing when RAM is full
 Data that needs to be accessed by the CPU directly is switched by the
operating system from virtual memory into RAM and an inactive page from
RAM replaces it in virtual memory. This is called page switching