Chapter 10. Flash and Removable Storage

Alternative Storage Devices

Since the mid-1980s, the primary storage device used by computers has been the hard disk drive. More recently, however, flash-based storage including SSDs (solid-state drives) are increasingly being used as hard drive replacements. Although SSDs can physically replace a hard disk drive (HDD), they operate using a completely different set of principles that may require a treatment unlike that used for conventional HDDs. For data backup, data transport between computers, and temporary storage, secondary removable storage devices such as flash memory devices/drives, optical drives, magnetic tape drives, removable media hard drives, and even floppy drives have been useful supplements ...

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