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Flip to reveal answersWhat is secondary storage and why is it needed?
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All 5 Flashcards — Secondary storage
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Question
What is secondary storage and why is it needed?
Answer
Non-volatile storage that keeps data when the power is off. RAM empties at power-off, so anything kept permanently — files, programs, the operating system — lives here.
Question
Compare an SSD with an HDD.
Answer
An SSD uses flash memory with no moving parts: faster, quieter, more robust, but dearer per gigabyte. An HDD uses a spinning magnetic disk with a moving head: slower and more fragile, but much cheaper for the capacity.
Question
Name three types of external secondary storage and a use for each.
Answer
Portable SSD/HDD for backups and large files; flash drives or memory cards for carrying small amounts; optical discs for distributing identical content cheaply. NAS puts drives on a network for shared access.
Question
What is eMMC?
Answer
Flash storage soldered onto the board of phones, tablets and budget laptops. Compact and inexpensive, but slower than an SSD and not replaceable.
Question
How do you decide which storage suits a scenario?
Answer
Weigh capacity, speed, portability, cost and how many people need access at once. The right answer follows from the situation, not from which is newest.
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Full study notes for Secondary storage
Topic 1.1 hub
Hardware and operation
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Computer Science exam skills
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