What is a hard drive ?

A hard drive or a hard disk is a secondary and permanent data storage device that is placed in the system. It is similar to a human brain, where all the past and the present events are stored. It is made up of a magnetic material that helps in storing data by following the magnetic recording techniques. A hard disk stores data from 1 GB to 500 GB or even more depending on the capacity of the hard disk. The latest technology has reached upto 20 terabyte of storage space.

The different hard disks specify the speed at which the hard disk transfers data and the reliability of the hard disk in storing data. The different types of hard disk drives are:

> Standard Drives (IDE/PATA)

> Serial ATA (SATA) Drives

> SCSI Hard Disk Drive

> External Hard Disk Drives (USB 2.0/ Firewire/eSATA)

> Wireless Hard Disk Drive

> Solid State Drives (SSD)