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What are the main limitations of primary storage of computer system?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
There are three main limits to primary storage of a computer:
1) Physical space
2) Cost
3) Addressable space
Lets address them in more detail
1) Physical Space: Currently traditional hard drives (sometimes called Platter based hard drives) can support 250-500Gigabit / square inch (Approximately 30-60 gigabytes / square inch) . The physically larger drives in desktop computers and servers have platters that are a little larger that 5 inches across for about 19-20 square inches of space for a proximately 1 Terabyte per platter. The ability to have 3 platters in a single full size drive is why you will see 3TB drives at the store. In laptops the smaller 3.5 inch across platters and only being able to support 1 or two platters in a single drive is why you only see 500GB for the slim 8.0mm height drives (only fit 1 platter) and 1TB for the larger 9.5mm height drives (can fit a second platter).
2) Cost: Several companies have developed technology that increase the data density in answer 1, however that technology is extremely expensive to create and would make the hard drives more expensive than any consumer is willing to pay. However as they figure out cheaper ways to make the denser drives, you will see the capacity continue to rise. (This is also why the new super fast Solid State hard drives are so small. They can make bigger drives, they would just cost too much)
3) Addressable space: This is the easiest of the three limits to over come. The change from 32bit to 64bit computing changed this limit from 2 Terabytes to 8 Exbibytes (an Exibyte is approximately a 1 followed by eighteen 0s). The physical limitations should not reach this any time soon.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
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Two reasons why a computer system need to have some type of external storage device?
To store the content of your computer.
Ram is classified as what kind of storage in a computer system?
RAM is volatile storage, short-term storage or working memory. As opposed to a hard-drive which is non-volatile, long term storage or a mass-storage medium.
Which type is generally faster and holds data and instructions while the data is being processed Which type of storage is generally slower but more permanent?
In a computer, there are many forms of media storage. We can catagorize them into 3 different categories - ROM (such as BIOS), RAM (memory), and Storage (flash drives, hard disk drives, etc.). Keep in mind that RAM retains information only when the power is on. ROM is usually stored in the BIOS chip. It basically gives your computer the most basic instructions to tell your computer to do a system check and boot your operating system. RAM is used by the computer to do just about everything. When your computer executes a program, for example, it loads the program into the RAM, interprets it, and runs it. It is generally faster than storage devices, but it cannot retain information once power is cut from it. Storage medium, as the name implies, for storing data. All data, programs, and files must be present on it for it to do anything useful.
Limitations of Library Management system Using visual studio2005?
there is no limitation.
Block Diagram of Microprocessor based system?
A computer can process data, pictures, sound and graphics. They can solve highly complicated problems quickly and accurately.Input Unit:Computers need to receive data and instruction in order to solve any problem. Therefore we need to input the data and instructions into the computers. The input unit consists of one or more input devices. Keyboard is the one of the most commonly used input device. Other commonly used input devices are the mouse, floppy disk drive, magnetic tape, etc. All the input devices perform the following functions.Accept the data and instructions from the outside world.Convert it to a form that the computer can understand.Supply the converted data to the computer system for further processing.Storage Unit:The storage unit of the computer holds data and instructions that are entered through the input unit, before they are processed. It preserves the intermediate and final results before these are sent to the output devices. It also saves the data for the later use. The various storage devices of a computer system are divided into two categories.1. Primary Storage: Stores and provides very fast. This memory is generally used to hold the program being currently executed in the computer, the data being received from the input unit, the intermediate and final results of the program. The primary memory is temporary in nature. The data is lost, when the computer is switched off. In order to store the data permanently, the data has to be transferred to the secondary memory.The cost of the primary storage is more compared to the secondary storage. Therefore most computers have limited primary storage capacity.2. Secondary Storage: Secondary storage is used like an archive. It stores several programs, documents, data bases etc. The programs that you run on the computer are first transferred to the primary memory before it is actually run. Whenever the results are saved, again they get stored in the secondary memory. The secondary memory is slower and cheaper than the primary memory. Some of the commonly used secondary memory devices are Hard disk, CD, etc.,Memory Size:All digital computers use the binary system, i.e. 0's and 1's. Each character or a number is represented by an 8 bit code.The set of 8 bits is called a byte.A character occupies 1 byte space.A numeric occupies 2 byte space.Byte is the space occupied in the memory.The size of the primary storage is specified in KB (Kilobytes) or MB (Megabyte). One KB is equal to 1024 bytes and one MB is equal to 1000KB. The size of the primary storage in a typical PC usually starts at 16MB. PCs having 32 MB, 48MB, 128 MB, 256MB memory are quite common.Output Unit:The output unit of a computer provides the information and results of a computation to outside world. Printers, Visual Display Unit (VDU) are the commonly used output devices. Other commonly used output devices are floppy disk drive, hard disk drive, and magnetic tape drive.Arithmetic Logical Unit:All calculations are performed in the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) of the computer. It also does comparison and takes decision. The ALU can perform basic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc and does logic operations viz, >,
Why is it important to know how many system words will fit in a primary storage device on a computer?
It is important to know how many system words will fit in a primary storage device on a computer so you know how big of a storage unit you have. The more system words that will fit in a primary storage device, the more memory you have on your computer.
What are the difference between primary and secondary storage device?
Primary storage is usually the drive where the operating system is and the secondary storage is a additional drive for space. Usually, Windows names it's primary drive as C:\ and all it's following as other letters.
What do you understand by a memory of computer system?
Memory of computer system is the part of the computer's hardware that allows it to store information. It is classified into primary/main memory (RAM and ROM) and secondary storage (hard drives, CD drives etc.).
This is the body's primary storage system for essential minerals?
skeletal system
What is the purpose of data storage systems?
Data Storage systems can serve quite a number of various purposes. The most common use, and their primary function, is to store data. What is meant by this is that anything that is done on a computer that requires the computer to remember something is stored on the data storage system.
The greatest nonvolatile storage capacity in the computer system is found in the?
The greatest nonvolatile storage capacity in the computer system is usually found in secondary storage and mostly on the hard disk. RAM on the other hand represents the greatest volatile storage capacity on a computer.
What is the primary job that a computer performs?
1: Input Whatever is put into a computer system. 2: Process Manipulation a computer does to transform data into information 3. Storage Temporary or primary storage is the computer circuitry that temporarily holds data waiting to be processed. Permanent or secondary storage is the area in the computer where data or information is held permanently. 4: Output Anything that is output from the computer system, the results of processing. 5: Communication Extension capability: Data maybe input from afar, processed in a remote area, stored in different locations, or output in other places.
What is difference between primary device and primary storage device?
A primary device would be the main system drive. Almost always a hard drive. A primary storage device might just be another way to refer to it.
What are the six categories of hardware?
The six hardware components of a computer system are the central processing unit (CPU), primary storage, secondary storage, input devices, output devices, and the communication devices. The central unit of a computer is the CPU.
What are differences between primary and secondary storage devices?
Primary storage is usually the drive where the operating system is and the secondary storage is a additional drive for space. Usually, Windows names it's primary drive as C:\ and all it's following as other letters.
How is the CPU linked to the primary storage and other devices in the computer system?
The CPU (processor?) handles all processes run on the computer, so in this case it processes and sends data to the hard drive (storage). You can think of the cpu a bit like your brain, in a way it controls everything else connected to the computer and is itself probably the most important computer component.
Is hard disk a secondary device?
primary and secondary storage may also refer specifically to the components inside the computer. In this case, primary storage typically refers to random access memory (RAM), while secondary storage refers to the computer's internal hard drive.
