What Is A Storage Device?

Date First Published: 9th January 2024

Topic: Computer Systems

Subtopic: Computer Hardware

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 4/10

CONTENTS

Examples Of Storage Devices
Difference Between Storage Devices and Storage Media
History

Learn about what a storage device is in this article.

A storage device is a piece of hardware used to store data. In order for a computer to save or remember settings, data, or information, a storage device is required. Storage devices can be internal or external to a computer and can use magnetic storage, solid-state storage (flash memory), and optical storage.

Every computer will have some type of storage device. There are two main types of storage devices used with computers: a primary storage device internal to the computer designed to temporarily store data (e.g. RAM) and a secondary storage device which usually has a larger storage capacity and stores data permanently (e.g. hard drive).

Examples Of Storage Devices

Examples of storage devices include:

Hard disk drive (HDD) - A non-volatile storage device used to store data on a computer. Everything on a computer, including the operating system, documents, images, videos, and software programs is stored on the HDD.
CD - A type of portable optical storage media most commonly used to store digital audio recordings and data.
DVD - A type of optical media which can store any kind of digital data. It is most commonly used for storing films, music, and video games for distribution by suppliers.
USB flash drive - A small portable storage device that has a built-in USB connector and uses flash memory.
SD card - A tiny, portable flash memory card used to store or transfer data between computers and other digital devices, like digital cameras.
Solid state drive (SSD) - A newer generation non-volatile storage device that uses flash memory rather than magnetic platters to store data.

Difference Between Storage Devices and Storage Media

The main difference between storage devices and storage media is that storage devices are the physical hardware used to store data, whilst storage media is the physical media that holds the data. Storage devices read/write data from the computer, whilst storage media is the part that holds the data.

History

Early storage devices were mechanical systems based on items like punch cards and magnetic tape. They presented binary through physical media.

These were then superseded by digital media. At first, there were floppy disks and diskettes, then there were compact discs that could hold large amounts of binary in digital formats.

At the same time, computers and other devices continued to be made with primary hard drives, where a traditional platter is read by an arm in order to read and write data.

As computers advance, the technologies used to store data also advance, because people need more space faster and cheaper, and want to be able to take it with them. As people upgrade to more modern storage devices, the old storage devices become obsolete and are no longer used with today's computers. Advancements in storage devices allow more data to be stored and accessed faster and cheaper. Demand for higher storage capacity is increasing with more advanced technologies.

For example, floppy disks were a popular storage media from the 1970s to 1990s, but their popularity began to decline in the late 1990s and early 2000s because other storage devices, such as CDs, DVDs, and USB flash drives superseded them due to the larger storage capacity and data transfer speed.