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[[File:Hard disk drive inside.jpg|thumbnail|A view inside a 3.5 inch hard disk drive (this is usually covered by metal panel)]]
A '''hard drive''' is an older digital storage device for computers. It is typically a set of mechanical rotating disks ("platters") with read/write "heads" that "fly" at sub-micron heights above them, reading and writing data magnetically. The heads typically "seek", moving over the disk's surface to access the desired circular track on the disk. This is in contrast to the [[RAM]], random access memory that the computer accesses on a nanosecond-by-nanosecond basis. The disk drive is typically more than a million times slower than the RAM, but with much larger data capacity. It also has the property that its data persists when the computer is turned off, while RAM often loses its data. When the computer is operating, it requires access to both the RAM and the disk. The [[operating system]] performs operations to read data from the disk into the RAM, and proceeds from there.
A '''hard drive''' is an older digital storage device for computers. It is typically a set of mechanical rotating disks ("platters") with read/write "heads" that "fly" at sub-micron heights above them, reading and writing data magnetically. The heads typically "seek", moving over the disk's surface to access the desired circular track on the disk. This is in contrast to the [[RAM]], random access memory that the computer accesses on a nanosecond-by-nanosecond basis. The disk drive is typically more than a million times slower than the RAM, but with much larger data capacity. It also has the property that its data persists when the computer is turned off, while RAM often loses its data. When the computer is operating, it requires access to both the RAM and the disk. The [[operating system]] performs operations to read data from the disk into the RAM, and proceeds from there.
[[Category:Computer Hardware]]
[[Category:Computer Hardware]]
[[Category:Memory Storage Devices]]