Evolution of Computer Drives

In this digital world, almost all of us use computers, but many people are still confused about the term “computer drives”. Many people think the Computer drive is a fixed semiconductor drive in which information can be stored permanently. Some think it’s a removable kind of thing, which is used to temporarily store data. Well! A computer drive is nothing but just a location or a medium that stores and reads data and cannot be easily removed like a disk. For instance, when you write something on Microsoft Word, the program is fetched from the hard drive, and again, when you save the file, it is stocked on the computer’s hard drive.

Definitions & Different Types

The drive is the name given to the location; it can be a hard drive, CD-ROM drive, Floppy drive, Flash drive, virtual drive, etc. A hard drive is a type of computer drive that stores data for long periods. It stores the files and folders saved by the users and stores the code used to run Windows or any other operating systems, drivers used to connect accessories, codes used to run any application, and much more.

The hard drives are further classified into two categories; HHD( hard disk drive) and SSD(solid-state device). These both are usually installed inside the system. The Toshiba OCZ RD400, Samsung 860 Pro, Intel 750 Series, and HP S700 Pro are some examples of hard Disk Drives. Seagate 12TB Hard Drive, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 500GB Hard drive and Toshiba Canvio Connect 2TB are the most widely used hard disk drives.

In this article, we will discuss the major types of computer drives.

Floppy Drives

The floppy drive is one of the oldest types of a computer drive. It was invented in 1957 by IBM and became popular in the late 1980s. It was the kind of hard drive that read and write data from the disc. The first floppy drives were 8″ in diameter and then reduced to 5.25″, and later on shrunk to 3.25″. They are outdated and are no longer used.

Bernoulli Drive

Bernoulli Drive was discovered in the 1980s by Iomega. It is much faster and sturdy than the Floppy drives. Also, their data storage capacity is higher than the standard floppy disk. They come in different sizes, such as 5 MB, 10 MB, 20 MB, and 230 MB.

ZIP Drives

The ZIP drive replaced the Bernoulli drive in 1994. Iomega also developed the ZIP drives. It can hold up to 250MB of data. It consists of a magnetic disc on which information can be stored. These devices became less popular in the 1990s due to increased demand for storage capabilities.

CDR Or Super Disk Drives

Super disk drives or compact disc drives were introduced in 2003 by 3M. The company name was later changed from 3M to Imation. These drives were also known as LS-129, LS-230. It’s a computing device that reads and writes data to a compact disc.

Hard Disk Drives

HDD is a non-volatile drive that stores digital data like pictures, videos, programs, application software, etc. on a magnetic platter and reads and writes them using a magnetic head. Nowadays, many brands have started manufacturing HDD, but Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Hitachi are the most trustable. If you are thinking about upgrading your computer’s hard drive, you can consider the Seagate 12TB Hard Drive as it’s one of the bestselling HDDs.

Solid State Drives

An SSD is also a hard drive but is different from an HDD. The HDD works on a spinning disc mechanism, whereas the SSD is a small integrated circuitry. These are specially designed for portable and slim devices like laptops, notebooks, tablets, etc. They are significantly more expensive than HDDs.

Wrapping Up

With the advancement in technology, newer and newer upgrades are moving to computer drives. Cloud drives are also available nowadays. Although cloud drivers are gaining popularity day by day, they are much more expensive than physical hard drives.