Winn L. Rosch Hardware Bible, Sixth Edition

Hard Disks

People who think they know such things often liken a computer's hard disk to a filing cabinet. Such folk really don't know much about hard disks—or the way real people store information. A hard disk is more like the desk and office of a writer, who in his few lucid moments between delirium tremens and alcoholic stupor crafts work of unparalleled insight and beauty from the scribbled notes, torn-out newspaper stories, yellowing magazines, and broken-back books stacked everywhere in piles that defy both organizational sense and the law of gravity. (Think Poe with the benefit of modern chemistry.)

Your computer's hard disk only looks organized, an illusion as compelling as your own feelings of prowess and courage that arise after you've ...