Optical Drives:
Optical drives are a storage medium from which data is read and written by a laser. Optical disks can store up to 6 GB of data. Optical storage devices are the most widely used and reliable storage devices.
The most commonly used types of optical storage devices are:
- CD-ROM
- DVD-ROM
- CD-RECORDABLE
- CD-REWRITABLE
- PHOTO-CD
1. CD:
A compact disc is a flat, round, optical storage medium invented by James Russell. It is a portable storage medium that was used to digitally store and play the audio, video and other data. Compact discs have greater storage capacity than floppy disks. These disks can store 650-700 MB of data. This is a very reliable storage media.
There are two types of CDs :
(а) CD-R:
CD-R stands for Compact Disc-Recordabie, also known as ROM is a digital optical disk storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and arbitrarily read multiple times.
(b) CD-RW:
CD-RW (compact disc-rewritable) is a digital optical disk storage format introduced in 1997. A CD-RW compact disc (CD-RW) can be read, written, erased, and rewritten.
2. DVD:
Stands for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc. It is a digital optical disc data storage format that was invented and developed in 1995 and released in late 1996. DVD is a type of optical media used to store digital data. It is the same size of a CD, but it has a large storage capacity. Some DVDs are specifically formatted for video playback, while others contain different types of data, such as software programs and computer files.
While using CDs and DVDs, we should keep the following in mind:
- CD / DVD should always be covered.
- The back shiny part of the CD / DVD should not be touched.
- Don’t write on the back of the CD / DVD.
- CD / DVD should not be folded.
- To clean CDs / DVDs / DVDs, a soft cloth should be used. You can also use water to remove dust from it.
3. Pen Drive:
A pen drive is a portable universal serial bus (USB) flash memory device. It is used to store and transfer audio, video and data files from a computer. The major advantage of USB pen drives over other portable storage devices such as floppy disks or DVDs / CDs is their compact shape and size; they work faster and can store more data.
4. Memory Card:
A memory card is a flash memory. It is used in electronic devices such as digital cameras, Mobile phones or video game consoles. The memory card can stores data, images, music, games or other computer files. Memory cards have no moving parts so they are not easily damaged. They are more compact and portable than CDs or DVDs, and they can store more data than CDs. The data stored in the memory card can be read with the help of card reader.
