Understanding Drive Terms; Terms For Types Of Drives; Terms For Drive Media - HP Compaq NC6140 Hardware Manual

Drives

Understanding Drive Terms

Terms for Types of Drives

A drive that connects to a USB or 1394 connector is a USB or
1394 drive. The drive that comes standard with the notebook is a
fixed hard drive.
A hard drive is usually used for the permanent storage of data
files and software such as system files, applications, and drivers.
A hard drive is sometimes called a hard disk drive.
Disk drives include diskette drives. Other (optional) external
drives that can be connected to the notebook with either a USB or
1394 connector are high-capacity disk drives. Disk drives are
often used to store or transport data. A diskette drive is sometimes
called a floppy disk drive or floppy drive.
Optical drives include CD and DVD drives. Optical drives are
used to store or transport data and to play music and movies.
DVD drives have the higher capacity. The notebook can read or
write to optical drives as described in the following table. Optical
drives vary by model.
Optical Drive
CD-ROM drive
CD-RW drive
DVD-ROM drive
DVD-RAM drive
DVD/CD-RW drive

Terms for Drive Media

A diskette, disk, or disc that can be inserted or removed from a
drive is referred to as a drive medium. In this guide a diskette is
used in a diskette drive, a disk is used in a high-capacity disk
drive, and a disc is used in an optical drive.
4–2
Read
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Write
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
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