Hard Drive Technologies and Standards

Hard Drive Technologies and Interface Standards

• A hard disk drive (HDD) has ratings for physical size, capacity, speed, technologies, and interface standards.

Technologies and Form Factors of Hard Drives

• Hardware in the drives are either magnetic or solid-state
• Magnetic hard drives contain one or more platters or disks that are stacked, spinning in a sealed metal housing
• Firmware manages motherboard communication, reading and writing of data
• An actuator controls read/write heads
• The data is stored in concentric circles known as tracks which are divided into segments called sectors
• Current drives use 4096-byte sectors
• Internal magnetic hard drives typically come in 3.5" form factors for desktops and 2.5" for laptops
• Solid-state drives(SSD) are also known as solid-state devices
• SSDs have no moving parts
• SSDs use nonvolatile memory like USB flash drives
• Memory in an SSD is called NAND flash memory
• SSD lifespan depends on the number of write operations, which is expressed as TBW (TeraBytes Written) or DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day)
• SSDs are faster, more reliable, longer lasting, and use less power but are more expensive than magnetic drives
• SSDs use 2.5" SSD, M.2 SSD card, and PCI Express SSD expansion card form factors
• Hybrid hard drives (H-HDD) or solid-state hybrid drive (SSHD) contain both magnetic and SSD tech
• In H-HDDs the magnetic drive permanently holds the data, where the flash component acts as a buffer for improved performance
• Firmware, BIOS/UEFI, and the OS use logical block addressing (LBA) to address all hard drive sectors
• The operating system must support the hybrid drive in order for it to properly operate
• Low-level formatting involves writing sector markings to a hard drive at the factory
• Total number of blocks and the size of each block are parameters that determine drive capacity
• S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) predicts drive failure
• System BIOS/UEFI uses S.M.A.R.T. to monitor drive performance, temperature, and other factors
• For magnetic drives, S.M.A.R.T. monitors the disk spin-up time, distance between head and disk, and other mechanical activities
• S.M.A.R.T. displays a warning message when drive failure is suspected
• S.M.A.R.T. can be enabled or disabled in BIOS/UEFI setup

Interface Standards Used by Hard Drives

• Hard drive interface standards include IDE, SCSI, SATA, and NVMe
• IDE, also known as Parallel ATA(PATA), uses a 40-pin data cable
• Two types of IDE cables exists, the older 40-pin connector with 40 wires and the newer one containing 80 thinner wires
• IDE cable maximum recommended length is 18"
• SCSI(Small Computer System Interface) used to be used for high-end workstations
• SCSI can support 7 or 15 SCSI-compliant devices
• The SCSI host adapter used with the PCIe slot provided an external and an internal connector for SCSI devices
• Most hard drives use the serial ATA or SATA interface standard due to its serial data path
• A single SATA data cable can accommodate one SATA drive
• SATA standards includes SATA3/SATA III, SATA2/SATA II, and SATA1/SATA I
• SATA standards use hot-swapping capabilities by design
• Hot-swapping enables connecting or disconnecting a drive while the system is running
• An internal SATA connector is connected to the motherboard through a 7-pin data cable
• A 15-pin SATA power connector provides power
• A motherboard might have two or more SATA connectors, and their usage should follow the order as recommended by manufacturer documentation
• The SATA 3.2 revision enables PCIe and SATA to work together through SATA Express
• SATA Express uses a new connector but is not as fast as NVMe
• Motherboards can provide external eSATA ports for external drives
• eSATA drives use a shielded serial ATA cable up to 2 meters long
• SATA on the motherboard and drive should match, if they do not the system operates with the lower speed
• NVMe(Non-Volatile Memory Express or NVM Express) interface standard is used only by SSDs
• SATA 3(most common SATA) transfers data at 6 GB/Sec
• PCIe 3.0(most common PCIe) transfers data at 32 GB/Sec
• PCIe NVMe interface is found in PCle expansion cards, U.2 slots, and M.2 ports

Selecting and Installing Hard Drives

• When selecting a hard drive, the motherboard and drive should match on interface standard, as revealed by the manuals for each
• SATA ports are color-coded according to SATA standard
• M.2 slots might support PCIe 3.0, PCIe 2.0, SATA2, SATA3, or USB 3.0
• Using the SATA bus on an M.2 port may disable a SATA port on the system
• NVMe expansion cards use PCIe x4 version 3.0 slot
• Considerations when selecting a hard drive are the technology, form factor, capacity, interface transfer speed, spindle speed, and buffer size
• Magnetic drive performance is affected by spindle speed
• Hybrid drive performance is affected by cache or buffer size

Installing SATA Drives

• SATA drives may contain jumpers set by the factory
• Some SATA drives have two power connectors; Choose only one
• Steps: -1. Protect user data by backing it to secondary media -2. Configure the system and ensure working properly -3. All precautions are taken before installing -4. The drive installs by connecting the motherboard SATA connector/power connector to the drive, and securing with screws -5. Verify the drive is properly recognized via BIOS/UEFI setup -6. Format / partition the drive using OS tools, such as Windows

Drive Installation in Removable Bays

• Steps: - Unplug the cage fan from its power source. - Turn the handle on each locking device counterclockwise to remove it. - Slide the bay to the front and out of the case. - Insert the hard drive in the bay. - Use two screws on each side to anchor the drive in the bay. - Slide the bay back into the case. - Reinstall the locking pins. - Plug in the cage fan power cord.

Installing Small Drives in Wide Bays

• A universal bay kit can be used to anchor small drives to wide bays
• The adapter will span the gap between the smaller drive and larger bay

Installing an M.2 SSD Card

• Steps: - Read the motherboard manual to confirm the type of M.2 cards supported - Measure the length of the card and install the standoff - Slide the card straight but not angled into the slot - Install the screw into the standoff to secure the card to the motherboard - Check recognition of the M.2 card in BIOS/UEFI setup

Installing Hard Drives in Laptops

• Consider manufacturer documentation on sizes, form factors, and connector type as general guidance
• Manufacturer warranty may be voided
• Reinstalling windows may require recovery media
• Data can be transferred from old devices during upgrades
• Laptop drive widths are 2.5 or 1.8 inches
• High-end laptops may use M.2 SSD

Proper Install of Easy-Swap Laptops Drives

• Steps: - Remove any peripherals. - Remove the battery pack and disconnect power adapter - Remove the initial screw holding the drive in place -Open the lid of the laptop slightly -Turn laptop on its side and push the drive out of its bay - Remove the plastic cover to move to new drive -Insert the new drive into the bay, replace the screw, and power up the system. -Check BIOS/UEFI recognizes the new drive

Setting up Hardware RAID

• RAID, or Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, takes two or more hard drives and configured them as an array
• RAID increases performance by writing data to two or more hard drives without putting excessive load on a single drive, and improves fault tolerance by writing two of the same copies on separate drives

Types of RAID

• Spanning (JBOD - Just a Bunch of Disks) combines the storage from two drives to make a single Windows Volume. When one drive is full, data is written to the second drive
• RAID 0 combines two or more drives so the data writes across all disks evenly, known as striped volume
• RAID 1 (Mirrored Volume) duplicates data across one drive to another drive for fault tolerance.
• RAID 5 needs three or more drives and stripes data across all drives with parity checking
• RAID 10 (RAID 1+0) combines RAID 1 and RAID 0 and takes a minimum of four disks where data is mirrored

Implementing Hardware RAID

• Hardware RAID can be implemented through:
  • Motherboard that is RAID Enabled, managed in BIOS/UEFI setup
  • RAID controller card
• Best performance from a RAID array is achieved when all hard drives in the array are the exact same model, brand, size, and speed
• RAID must be implemented before installing Windows
• Installation Steps:
  • Boot and connect SATA to all drives. From there, system and BIOS/UEFI can configure SATA and RAID

NAS Devices and External Storage

• Hard drives can be stored in enclosures to make expansion simpler

• Network Attached Storage (NAS) is an enclosure that connects to the network via ethernet and have SATA connections

• NAS has benefits like: Cost-effective; -Remote data availability and 24/7 access; -Scalable and Flexible

• Redundant storage architecture; -Automatically backs up to the cloud/other devices

• Enclosures have firmware that supports RAID, and hard drive replacement procedures should follow existing enclosed enclosure documentation

• A computer may use an enclosure and store hard drives in them to alleviate overheating from the computer case

• To make external eSATA function, purchase a SATA controller card that provides external eSATA connectors and use it on : A broken eSATA port or an unsupported SATA standard

• SAN, or Storage area network, consists of an array of disks connected to a server that grants direct access to the storage.

• SANs infrastructure is a dedicated network with fiber-optics, special connecting hardware and enterprise-level storage systems. Fiber optics are fast

• NAS is for general data access, while SANs are used in database servers

• SAN's benefits are: fast data, dedicated LAN to reduce LAN overhead, scalability

Other Types of Storage Devices

• Storage devices use file systems
• File systems on OS are used to name, store and organize files
• Windows recognizes and maps devices to letters, known as volumes
• To create and install a file system, the disk's formatted
• Operating systems (Windows) may use a File systems like
• NTFS, exFAT, FAT32 and FAT
• CDFS, or Compact Disk File System, or UDF(Universal Disk Format); DVDs and newer Blu-ray discs use versions of UDF

Optical Discs and Drives

• CDs, DVDs, and BDs (Blu-ray disks) leverage similar lasers for operation
• Tiny pits and lands on the surface of the disc represent bits
• Optical disc data can be written to a single side of a CD, both sides of a DVD or both sides of a Blu-ray disc
• Dual-layer DVDs, and Blu-ray discs can double data storage capacity; as such, the disc can hold data in 2 layers on each side with varying storage capacities
• Burners are read-write optical drives that allow you to burn discs
• Optical Drives feature backwards-compatibility and interface using SATA or eSATA
• Windows 10/8/7 does not require additional drivers to use optical drives

Optical Drive Installation

• Installation requires a SATA
• Top of the desktop case has an optical drive that connects after being connected to its data and power cables

Optical Drives in Laptops

• Remove batteries or AC adapter before handling the system
• Remove the keyboard only if required
• Slide and remove screw that holds the DVD and connect new drive into the laptops bay
• To connect a new drive into the laptops bay and connect it, first align the screw and turn on for BIOS/UEFI recognition

Solid State Storage

• Solid State Storage: USBs SSD and memory cards

• USB Drives include flash pen drives, jump drives, thumb drives and key drives that uses 2.0/ 3.0 speeds and FAT or exFAT

• Windows 10/8/7 natively supports the functionality of flash drivers

• Memory Cards are utilized on phones, tablets, smartphones and mp3 media players

• Memory card slots can be located through built-in smart card readers

• Secure Digital (SD) are very popular cards used in 1.x (regular SD); 2.x (SDHC or Storage High Capacity), 3.x (SDXC extended capacity types)

• Physical size types are full, mini and MicroSD with sizes of backwards compatibility on SDHC and SDXC

  • exFAT file systems utilize SDXC

• Memory cards cannot be used on SDHC slots, nor SDXC on SDHC slots

Troubleshooting Hard Drives,

• During booting the system can be the problem with hard drives or subsystems; Or file systems or OS that are causing the load issues
• To troubleshoot determine if there are hardware and software issues that are present
• Slow performance arises from the computers
• Systems rely heavily or run through with processors memory and motherboards, its individual performance will result on issues to the hard drives
• Windows Defrag and Optimization tool can aid in verifying magnetic operation or "trim" any issues from it
• For non operational issues a BIOS/UEFI can show/display numeric codes or messages that state whats causing the hardware to fail
• A boot system can be used to check which configuration is showing error in the hard drive configuration
• Raid should be tested to show system recognition, an active system is working should show correct disk array

Additional steps to take to identify hardware

• Remove all cables so to identify loose systems
• SATA or RAID, ensure correct seating
• S.M.A.R.T. should be backed after repair
• Check manufacturer side for diagnostic software that matches drive
• OS and command prompt (chkdsk) can be utlized
• RebuildBC (boot) /FixBoth/ MBR for MBR drives
• Install device to a second drive if the format works
• Data to drive
• Ensure and swap data cable connected to SATA
• If drive whines its a sign of failure, if not it may have to do to the mother/ power supply

Chapter Summary

• HDD are either hybrid solid state or/ and magnetic
• Flash Memory and its storage drives are very expensive, it uses less than the other
• Both have speed or transfer rate differences
• BIOS identifies status
• SATA has rate speed specifications
• Select systems with all specifications from the manufacture as necessary
• SATA is plug-and-play functionality of hard drives and is commonly adapted on laptops through the system board
• Both software and hardware operate the raid function for performance
• Enclose devices can expand/ improve overall capacity and functionality using a NAS or hard-drive capacity,
• Systems utilize the following to operate:NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, FAT, CDFS, and UDF for file system type settings and can be rewritten
• SDs or flash memory cards have solid states and low performance to ensure operation for magnetic function