Storage Media (Edexcel IGCSE ICT): Revision Note

Robert Hampton

Written by: Robert Hampton

Reviewed by: James Woodhouse

Updated on

Storage media

What is storage media?

  • Storage media is the physical media that holds non-volatile data

  • Storage devices have a specific read/write mechanism built in to interact with a particular storage media

  • For example, magnetic tape media is read by a magnetic storage device

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Try not to get confused between storage devices and storage media.

Think of storage devices as large pieces of furniture in your home e.g. bookshelf, chest of drawers etc.

Storage media is what you store in the furniture e.g. books on the shelf or clothes in the drawers

Storage media all hold data, but the way it stores/accesses it can be very different, so just like you wouldn't store clothes on a bookshelf, you need to pair the correct storage device and storage media

Media

Hard disks

  • Hard disks are a magnetic storage media

  • Made up of platters that spin on a central spindle

  • A read/write head moves on an arm across the platter to read/write data

  • The amount of time taken to read/write data is influenced by:

    • How fast the platters spin (measured in revolutions per minute (RPM))

    • How fast the head moves across the platter

  • Used in personal computers, servers and backups

"Image of hard disk coming soon"

Optical media

  • Used with an optical storage device

  • All optical media is recordable (CD-R, DVD-R, BD-R)

  • Some optical media can be re-written (CD-RW, DVD-RW, BD-RE)

  • Used for multimedia (music, games & films)

CDs

DVDs

Blu-ray

up to 700 MB data

4.7 GB single sided/single layer
18 GB double sides/double layer

25 GB single sided

50 GB double sided

Flash media

  • Flash media is a solid state storage media

  • More reliable than a hard disk as contains no moving parts

  • Very fast read/write speeds

  • Used in mobile devices, laptops

Magnetic tape

  • Old technology used primarily for recording sound

  • Now used to store vast amounts of data (backups)

  • Very slow read/write speeds

  • Used for whole system backups and archives

Worked Example

A USB flash memory card has 64 MiB of storage capacity.

Construct an expression to show how many bits are in 64 MiB

[3]

Answer

  • 1 mark for sight of 8

  • 1 mark for sight of 1024

  • 1 mark for complete expression: 64 x 10242 x 8

    • …including all parts multiplied

  • All three marks for the result of the calculation: 536,870,912

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Robert Hampton

Author: Robert Hampton

Expertise: Computer Science Content Creator

Rob has over 16 years' experience teaching Computer Science and ICT at KS3 & GCSE levels. Rob has demonstrated strong leadership as Head of Department since 2012 and previously supported teacher development as a Specialist Leader of Education, empowering departments to excel in Computer Science. Beyond his tech expertise, Robert embraces the virtual world as an avid gamer, conquering digital battlefields when he's not coding.

James Woodhouse

Author: James Woodhouse

Expertise: Computer Science

James graduated from the University of Sunderland with a degree in ICT and Computing education. He has over 14 years of experience both teaching and leading in Computer Science, specialising in teaching GCSE and A-level. James has held various leadership roles, including Head of Computer Science and coordinator positions for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. James has a keen interest in networking security and technologies aimed at preventing security breaches.