Hard Drive Features

The hard disk or rigid disk (also called fixed disk), is an integral part of the hardware of computers, it is a data storage device. It is the main storage device inside a computer, in it the system is installed operating system and the various programs that run the computer and store and modify data from the same.

Features of hard drives:

Structure.- They have in their internal structure a system of one or more discs or plates of a magnetic material and are mounted on a rotating shaft that gives revolutions with a motor at high speed (between 3600 and 7200 revolutions per minute), between the plates there are several small read-write heads, and by means of them, the data on the disk are introduced, modified or erased by means of an electromagnetic process that encodes and decodes the data. data. The read-write head is very close to the plates but does not rub against them when they rotate, but rather "floats" at a minimum distance above the plates and by means of small electromagnetic discharges that the information is introduced, towards the plates (on both sides), for the introduction of the data, which is does by means of an electromagnetic force, which introduces very small current discharges that through the heads change the magnetic surface of the dishes. The disks process the data by means of a "controller" card, which is the one that decodes the instructions for insertion, modification or deletion of the data, and through it it is connected to the rest of the computer through the power and data cables respectively.

Within its operation it should be noted that the heads begin to read the information from the outside of the plate, it is say unlike LP vinyl type discs and others that began to read information (music or sounds), from the center.

Parts of the hard drive:

Aluminum box or shell.-They have an aluminum shell that covers them hermetically, and as it is made of a non-magnetic metal, it does not interfere with the fields. electromagnetic effects that affect the input and output of data, as well as provide greater dissipation of the heat that occurs when rotating the record constantly.

Controller card.- In order to communicate with the computer, the fixed disks are attached to a controller card, which is responsible for the encoded information and the instructions reach the disc and control the electronic and magnetic functions with which information and instructions are recorded on the disc (on the platters of material magnetic).

Plates or discs.- The "physical" place where the information is stored by means of the mini electric shocks, are the plates, which make up the hard disk.

Read and write heads.- They have several reading and writing heads, the same with which information is transmitted either incoming or outgoing. There are two heads for each platter, that is, one for each side of the platter, and so depending on the number of platters on the hard drive.

Tracks.- The platters are divided into very thin circles called tracks, the play heads start to move from of the so-called zero track (0), which is the outermost track in the direction of the interior and is made up of one or more cluster.

Cylinders.- They are the circumferences that are vertically aligned on each face of the plate.

Sector.- They are the divisions that exist between the tracks that surround the plate, they are the minimum units of information that the hard disk can write or read. Currently the sectors are standardized to a size of 512 bytes. Although it should be noted that as the outer tracks are larger, the number of sectors of the disk increases, for the best use of usable space.

Cluster.-Cluster is the grouping of several sectors of the hard disk.

Other features:

They are mechanical and electronic. Its operation is mechanical-electronic, thanks to having various components such as motors, coils, shafts and by using magnetic parts and electromagnetic to fulfill its function of entering, recording and erasing data, by means of electrical impulses that affect the magnetic surface of its plates or discs.

They are hermetic. Due to the delicacy of the structure of the hard disk plates, which is very sensitive to external agents, the disks are sealed in a way hermetic, avoiding the passage of dust particles and impurities that could damage them and any other environmental factor that could enter into he.

Ability.- The storage capacity of hard drives has been increasing over the years, from about how many megabytes until today it is standardized at several hundred gigabytes and even terabytes.

Information management.- The information that is entered on the hard disk is vinary, that is, it is made up of zeros and ones, and is then interpreted by the controller card and the other components of the computer, to later be translated or transformed into information more accessible to the user, (text, audio, video, images, etc.).

Types of hard drives.- Interface types SATA and IDE, are the types of interface that have been used most and are more widespread, although there are also other interfaces such as SCSI. Through these interfaces, the hard disk controller card and the computer are connected by means of the "data cable" corresponding to the type of interface to which the disk belongs. Historically, the type of interface that has been widely disseminated was the IDE, but in recent times SATA-type disks have been very widespread, since that the data transfer is much faster than the IDE type, increasing the data transfer speed in the disk types, SATA 1, SATA 2, and SATA 3.

SSD disks.- Although they are not properly discs due to their operation and type of storage that is similar to that of USB memories, they are called discs hard as they have been replacing traditional disks thanks to the fact that among other things they are faster in data transmission, and They have greater resistance to vibrations and movement, which is why they have been replacing “traditional” discs, especially in laptops. Likewise, their use as external disks has been increasing, to the detriment of traditional disks that present greater fragility than SSD disks.

Fragility.- They have a certain degree of fragility especially in the face of movement since their parts are constantly rotating what can favor the friction of the reading heads with the dishes, as well as they can be damaged by being accidentally hit by being moved. They also tend to fail with excessive heat, which is usually caused by overheating of the disk while spinning continuously, if the computer is on permanently.