The Hard Disk - Introduction

From throwing our unnecessary files, to defragmenting, from partitions to formats-learn how to keep your hard disk in top shape

The hard disk is the place where all of your programs & knowledge are stored. If the hard disk Stops working you could finish up losing all of your knowledge. What we'll do here is take you on. A fast tour of the different things you require to know about it, so you can keep it working smoothly.

What is the hard disk?

The hard disk is a magnetic mass storage tool installed in special bays within the method unit. The hard disk could do compared to a immense cupboard having several shelves

With different items being neatly arranged & stored on each self. The hard disk stored all the knowledge you require to store on your PC-the operating method (for example, Windows),

Computer application (for example an office suit), business or household applications & knowledge, games, e-mail message, address books & so on.

A hard disk off the assembly line is a mass of magnetic media. The magnetic surface of the hard disk has to be structured in to specific areas where knowledge can be stored properly, a method known as formatting. When you buy a brand spanking new computer, the method comes with a formatted hard disk.

A hard disk needs to be divided in to partitions before it can be used. The hard disk on a newly bought computer comes configured with a single giant partitions, the primary partition (C: in My Computer) & an extended partition, which may be further subdivided in to logical partitions (D: E: & so on in My Computer) if necessary. Partitioning makes the storage of knowledge more efficient & reduces the access time to retrieve knowledge.

The storage capacity of hard disk has increased by leaps & bounds since IBM XT's first0 MB hard disk. Nowadays, 10GB is the entry level & 17 GB is common. The hard disk communicates with a Pac’s motherboard through an expansion card or a disk interface card.

How does it wok?

The disk is formatted to divide its magnetic surface in to concentric circular paths called tracks (these are like the grooves on a phonograph record) & wedge-shaped slices called sectors. Knowledge is stored in the kind of a file or groups of disk sector called clusters. A disk drive locates knowledge by moving its magnetic read-write head to specific track within a specific sector.

When a brand spanking new file is created in a freshly formatted hard disk, it is assigned cluster numbers in a sequential order. If the file is expanded, then the first available clusters are assigned. When file is deleted, their cluster numbers are fundamentally marked as available. Over work of time, when files grow in size to require additional cluster or are deleted, the perfectly ordered sequence of clusters gets disturbed, a method known as fragmentation.