Podcast
Questions and Answers
Volatile storage is temporary and data is lost whenever the power is turned ______.
Volatile storage is temporary and data is lost whenever the power is turned ______.
off
Programs must be stored in ______ to be processed by the CPU.
Programs must be stored in ______ to be processed by the CPU.
RAM
ROM is non-volatile storage that cannot be ______.
ROM is non-volatile storage that cannot be ______.
changed
The hard disk drive (HDD) can be used as an extension of RAM and is part of the concept known as ______ memory.
The hard disk drive (HDD) can be used as an extension of RAM and is part of the concept known as ______ memory.
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Primary storage is low-capacity, internal storage that can be directly accessed by the ______.
Primary storage is low-capacity, internal storage that can be directly accessed by the ______.
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Study Notes
Volatile vs. Non-Volatile Storage
- Volatile storage loses data when the power is off. This is temporary storage.
- Non-volatile storage retains data even without power. This allows long-term data storage.
Primary Storage
- Primary storage (e.g., RAM) holds data and programs the CPU needs quickly. It's internal and low-capacity.
Secondary Storage
- Secondary storage (e.g., hard drive) stores data long-term. Its access is slower than primary storage.
RAM (Random Access Memory)
- Description: Volatile, fast-access internal storage.
- Purpose: Holds currently running programs and parts of the operating system.
- Addressing: Organized into locations with unique addresses.
- Function: Facilitates fast data processing by the CPU. This is achieved by the CPU acquiring data & commands from primary storage (RAM) far faster because it is internal memory.
ROM (Read-Only Memory)
- Description: Non-volatile, cannot be overwritten.
- Purpose: Stores the boot program (BIOS) that initializes the computer.
Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
- Description: Secondary storage device that's non-volatile and used for long-term storage.
- Purpose: Permanent storage of programs and data.
- Virtual Memory: HDD used as an extension of RAM when RAM is full. Data is moved temporarily to the HDD (called swapping or paging).
Virtual Memory
- Description: A memory management technique that allows computers to use secondary storage (hard drive) as an extension of RAM.
- Purpose: Allows more programs to run concurrently when RAM is insufficient, although at reduced speed.
- Mechanism: Unused RAM data is moved to the hard drive to free up space for newer data. If the original data is needed, it's retrieved from the hard drive. This is called swapping.
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Description
Explore the differences between volatile and non-volatile storage in this quiz. Understand the roles of primary and secondary storage, and learn about RAM and ROM functions. Test your knowledge on how these storage types affect data retention and processing speed.
