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All systems have a hard drive, and most have a CD-ROM drive
too.
Hard Drive
The hard drive stores the startup files for the PC, the operating
system, and any programs that you've installed. Physically,
it's a set of metal platters encased in a metal box. Its storage
space is measured in gigabytes (GB). A gigabyte is a thousand
megabytes (MB).
Generally speaking, bigger is better (and more expensive)
when it comes to hard drives. However, hard drive technology
has advanced so far that monster-size drives are now available
-- 30GB and up. In addition, hard drive technology has not
changed at the same meteoric rate that processors have. The
size and model of your hard drive you choose will not affect
your system's future obsolescence much one way or another.
If you ever run out of hard drive space, you can simply have
another one installed without getting a whole new PC.
CD-ROM
Almost all PCs come with a CD-ROM drive. A CD-ROM drive's
speed is measured by its "X" number. Higher is better -- for
example, a 48X drive is better than a 32X drive.
Other Drives
For an extra price, you can add on other drives. Here's a
short list:
-
CD-RW: functions as a regular CD-ROM drive, and
also creates CDs using special writeable CD blanks.
-
DVD: functions as a regular CD-ROM drive, and
also plays DVD data disks and movies on your PC.
-
ZIP: uses 100MB or 250MB cartridges to store data.
Kind of like a little removable hard disk.
-
SuperDisk: replaces your normal floppy drive.
Functions as a regular floppy drive, and also accepts
120MB super-floppies.
-
Tape drive: Backs up your important data onto
tape cartridges for archiving. Not as popular anymore
now that CD-RW drives can do the same thing.
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