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A disk is further divided by sectors. To understand what a sector
is, picture the spokes on a bicycle wheel radiating from the
center of the wheel to the tire. The space between one spoke
and the next is like a sector on a diskette; the lines dividing the
sectors cut across the tracks. (See the figure below.) A diskette
can have 8, 9, 15, or 18 sectors per track. The number of sectors
on a hard disk depends on the type of hard disk.
Your computer uses the read/write heads in a disk drive to store
and retrieve data on a disk. To write to a disk, the computer
spins it in the drive to position the area on the disk where the
data is to be written under the read/write head. A diskette has
an exposed area where the read/write head can access it.
Because data is stored magnetically, you can retrieve it, record
over it, and erase it-just as you play, record, and erase music
on a cassette tape.
Using the Equity 386/25
3-17
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