What Is Non-Volatile Memory?

Date First Published: 17th January 2024

Topic: Computer Systems

Topic: Computer Hardware

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 5/10

Learn about what non-volatile memory is in this article.

Non-volatile memory is a type of memory that retains its data even after the power is turned off. This means that power is only required to read and write data, not to maintain the storage state. Non-volatile memory is the opposite of volatile memory, which requires a continuous power supply to maintain its stored information. It is also more common than volatile memory because most storage devices need to maintain data without power.

Non-volatile memory is used in storage devices, such as HDDs, optical discs, floppy disks, SSDs, USB flash drives, SD cards, since they must retain their data even if the power is removed. They can maintain their storage state for years without power. However, they are slower than volatile storage devices such as RAM, and less secure as sensitive information is available and can be transferred to different computers without permission.

Types Of Non-Volatile Memory

Different types of non-volatile memory include:

• Electrically addressed systems - Electrical mechanisms are used to write and read data. Examples of electrically addressed systems are flash memory and ROM.
• Magnetically addressed systems - These use a head to write and read data to magnetic storage media. Examples of magnetically addressed systems are HDDs and tape drives.

Why Is Non-Volatile Memory Used?

Non-volatile memory is typically used for the task of secondary storage or long-term persistent storage. Most forms of non-volatile memory have limitations that make them unsuitable for use as primary storage. Usually, non-volatile memory costs more, provides lower performance, or has a limited lifetime compared to volatile memory.

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