Hard Disk Organization
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Questions and Answers

How close do the read/write heads fly above the disk platter?

with clearance of as little as 3 nanometers

What is the role of the arm assembly in a hard disk?

to read and write information from a set of platters

What happens when the arm assembly fails in a hard disk?

the drive fails

What is the purpose of the spindle in a hard disk?

<p>to hold the platters in a fixed position and rotate them</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the movement of the arm that carries the read/write head called?

<p>seeking</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary component of a hard disk drive where magnetic data is stored?

<p>Platter</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the smallest addressable portion of a disk?

<p>Sector</p> Signup and view all the answers

How is the storage capacity of a track calculated?

<p>Number of sectors per track * bytes per sector</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a group of contiguous sectors on a disk called?

<p>Cluster</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a set of tracks that are directly above or below each other on a disk called?

<p>Cylinder</p> Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Hard Disk Organization

  • A hard disk drive (HDD) consists of five main components: platters, read/write heads, arm assembly, spindle, and arms.
  • The platter is a circular disk that stores magnetic data on both sides (surfaces).
  • Each platter is divided into concentric rings called tracks, which store information in successive tracks on the surface of the disk.
  • Track capacity is calculated by multiplying the number of sectors per track by the bytes per sector.

Tracks and Sectors

  • Each track is divided into a number of sectors, which are the smallest addressable portion of a disk.
  • A sector typically holds 512 bytes of data.
  • The operating system's file manager views the file as a series of clusters of sectors, where a cluster is a fixed number of contiguous sectors.

Cylinders

  • A cylinder is a set of tracks that are directly above or below each other.
  • All the information on a single cylinder can be accessed without moving the arm that holds the read/write heads.
  • The number of cylinders is equal to the number of tracks on a surface.
  • Cylinder capacity is calculated by multiplying the number of tracks per cylinder by the track capacity.

Read/Write Heads

  • Read/write heads are small parts that move above the disk platter with a clearance of as little as 3 nanometers.
  • Each surface has its own read/write head.
  • The read-write head moves to the track that contains the data to be transferred.

Arm Assembly

  • The arm assembly is an internal set of hard disk components that contain arms with read/write heads.
  • The arm assembly reads and writes information from a set of platters coated with a thin magnetic material.
  • If the arm assembly fails, the drive is considered failed.

Spindle

  • The spindle holds the platters in a fixed position with enough space for the read/write arms to access the data.
  • The spindle also rotates the platters, which moves the sector under the read-write head for reading or writing.

Arms

  • The arms are used to carry, guide, and move the read/write head.
  • Moving the arm is called seeking, and it is usually the slowest part of reading information from a disk.

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Description

Learn about the main components of a hard disk drive, including platters, read/write heads, and tracks, and how data is stored on the disk.

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