Computer Systems

COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Removable storage devices

Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a removable storage device with a flexible plastic ribbon on which data
can be stored using a magnetic process.
Magnetic tape requires a special hardware called tape drive installed on a computer to
store and access data from the tape.
There are three types of magnetic tapes:
 Reel to reel tapes
 Cassette tapes
 Cartridge tapes
Magnetic tapes are mostly used for backing up and archiving data. In addition, magnetic
tapes are also used in recording and storing videos.
Advantages of magnetic tapes
1. Magnetic tapes can store large volume of data compared to diskettes
2. Magnetic tapes can store data for longer periods of time
Disadvantages of magnetic tapes
1. Modern computers do not support magnetic tapes
2. There is wastage of space due to the inter-block gaps (IRG)
3. Data can be corrupted if the tape is placed near strong magnetic fields
Optical Disks
An optical disk is any computer disk that uses optical storage techniques and technology to
read and write data.
It is a computer storage disk that stores data digitally and uses laser beams (transmitted
from a laser head mounted on an optical disk drive) to read and write data.
The process of storing data in an optical disk is referred to as burning or writing and it is
done using a special device called CD or DVD writer.
Optical disks can store a lot of data with Blu-ray disks storing up to 50GB of data.
Types of optical disks
There are three types of optical disks:
1. Compact Disks (CDs)
2. Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs)
3. Blu-ray disks
Compact Disks
A compact disc is a thin, circular disc of metal and plastic about 12cm in diameter. It's
actually made of three layers.
Most of the CD is made from a tough, brittle plastic called polycarbonate. The first thing you
notice about a CD is that it is shiny on one side and dull on the other.
The dull side usually has a label on it telling you what's on the CD; the shiny side is the
important part. It's shiny so that a laser beam can bounce off the disc and read the
information stored on it. Data is stored into a disk using a method called Sampling.
The Compact Disc was originally developed to store and play back sound recordings only,
but the format was later adapted for storage of data. CDs can store up to 700MB of data.
However, currently Compact Disks are used or applied in different areas:
 Storing recorded music
 Storing movies
 Storing data
 Storing programs
Types of Compact Disks
There are four types of CDs;
1. Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD ROM)
2. Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R)
3. Compact Disk Rewritable (CD-RW)
4. Write Once Read Many (WORM)
Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD ROM)
CD ROM is a type of CD that can only be read, but not recorded. The "ROM" part of the term
means the data on the disc is "read-only," or cannot be altered or erased.
Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R)
CD-R Stands for "Compact Disc Recordable." CD-R discs are blank CDs that can record data
written by a CD burner. CD-R can be written once and read many times.
The data burned onto a CD-R disc is permanent, meaning it cannot be altered or erased.
Typically, once a CD has been burned, it will not be able to record any more data.
However, some CD burning programs can record data as "sessions," allowing a disc to be
written to multiple times until it is full.
Compact Disk Rewritable (CD RW)
A CD-RW (which stands for Compact Disc Rewritable) is a Compact disc that can be
recorded and erased multiple times.
Phase change technology is used to write to the disk. A laser beam is used to heat a certain
point of the disk, once this point is hot, the information stored there can be changed.
CD-RW are not commonly used because they are expensive and their reading and writing
speeds are lower which makes them slower in saving and accessing data.
Write Once Read Many (WORM)
WORM (Write Once, Read Many) is a data storage technology that allows information to be
written to a disc a single time and prevents the drive from erasing the data.
The CD-R and DVD-R optical disks are common WORM devices. On these disks, no region of
the disk can be recorded a second time.
Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs)
DVD stands for "Digital Versatile Disc” and is a type of optical disk used for storing digital
data.
A DVD is the same size as a CD, but has a larger storage capacity. A standard DVD can hold
4.7 GB of data, but variations of the original DVD format have greater capacities. For
example, a dual-layer DVD (which has two layers of data on a single side of the disc) can
store 8.5 GB of data. A dual-sided DVD can store 9.4 GB of data (4.7 x 2). A dual-layer, dual-
sided DVD can store 17.1 GB of data.
DVDs are used to distribute software programs. Since some applications and other
software are too large to fit on a single 700 MB CD, DVDs provide a way to distribute large
programs on a single disc.
Writable DVDs also provide a way to store a large number of files and back up data. The
writable DVD formats include DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW.
DVDs are also popularly used in entertainment industry to store movies. This includes DVD
discs written in a special AVCHD format to hold High Definition (HD) material.
Blu-ray Disks
A Blu-ray disk is an optical disk similar to CD and DVD technology. It also uses a laser to
read and write to the disk, but instead of a red laser beam, as used in DVD and CD, it uses a
blue-violet laser beam.
This means it can burn smaller pits on the disk and so it has even more storage capacity
than a DVD.
A single layer Blu-ray can store 25 GB whilst a double layer Blu-ray can hold up to 50 GB of
data.
Blu-ray is commonly used to store High Definition videos or movies (HD).
There are three format in the specification.
 BD-ROM - read-only format for distributing HD films, computer games, software etc.
 BD--R one-time recordable format for HD video recording and data storage
 BD-RE rewritable format
A single layer disk (25GB) can hold about 4 hours of High Definition (HD) video or about 12
hours of Standard Definition (SD) video. This huge capacity is very useful for storing
training courses in video format.
Advantages and disadvantages of optical disks
Find out about the advantages and disadvantages of optical disks and write them
LESSON ACTIVITY
1. Read through the notes and write them in your computer book. Remember to write
today’s date.
2. Research on advantages and disadvantages of optical disks and write them in your
books. Upload the research via lesson link.
FURTHER RESEARCH
Research more on DVDs by clicking the link below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD
Read more on different storage devices from the link below:
https://www.teach-ict.com/gcse_new/computer%20systems/storage_devices/miniweb/index.htm
Research more on how Blu-ray discs work from the link below:
https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/blu-ray.htm
Don’t submit further research.

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Removable storage devices

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