Using disks and disk drives

A disk is a data storage medium consisting of a flat, circular, magnetic surface on which information can be recorded. You will receive several disks with your computer. These already contain information and programs, and are ready to use.

Hard disk is the main device for long-time storage of the big sizes of the data and programs. The data are stored in a chip about floppy and hard disks, about the processor and some other devices of the motherboard. Due to this chip, the computer precisely watches time and a calendar.

A disk, like a cassette tape, is reusable storage device that holds information, such as software and data, in files. As with random access memory, the amount of space on a disk is measured in bytes. Unlike information stored in random-access memory, however, information stored on a disk is not deleted when you turn off your computer. If you choose to, you can delete the information on a disk, and with proper care, you can use the disk over and over again. Your computer’s disk drives move information stored on the disks into and out of random-access memory. For example, your computer can read software instructions from a disk into random-access memory, and write your data to a disk for safekeeping.

There are two kinds of disk drives: a hard disk drive and floppy disk drive. A hard disk drive contains a non-removable disk that is built in your system. With a hard disk drive, you can store large amounts of information in one convenient place, instead of storing it on many floppy disks.

The hard disk drive can also write and read information to and from your system much faster than a floppy disk drive can write and read information to and from a disk. When your system writes or reads information to or from a disk, the indicator light on the drive goes on.

Each disk drive has a letter assigned to it so you can tell your system where to find instructions and information. For example on many systems the floppy disk drive is called the A drive, and the hard disk drive is called the C drive.

Your computer may have either one or two disk drives, which MS-DOS knows as drives A: and C:.

The default drive is the one which MS-DOS uses unless you tell it to do otherwise. It is shown by the prompt that MS-DOS displays.

For operative carry of small information amount use floppy disks which are inserted into a special disk drive. The principle of operation of the device will consist in reading numerical data with the help of the laser ray mirrored from a surface of a disk. The digital recording on CD differs from record on A floppy disk drive.

Floppy disk drive holds a removable floppy disk, which has less storage capacity than a hard disk drive. Floppy disks are removable and come in various sizes. Some systems used 5.25-inch floppy disks. This floppy disk was thin and flexible, and therefore somewhat fragile. Standard floppy disk has a size of 3.5 inches, which capacity is 1.4 Mb. It is labeled by characters HD (high destiny). This kind of floppy disk is protected by a hard plastic cover.

Front and back view of a 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floppy disk

3. Find the appropriate English forms for the following

expressions:

reusable storage device различные размеры

to hold information твердая пластиковая оболочка

an amount of space дисковод жесткого диска

unlike information stored гореть

with proper care дисковод гибкого диска

to a disk for safekeeping свет индикатора

hard disk drive в какой-то степени хрупкий

non-removable disk намного быстрее

floppy disk drive содержать информацию

to be built into количество свободного места

in one convenient place в отличие от хранимой информации

removable floppy disk устройство многократного

хранения

much faster с надлежащей осторожностью

indicator light несъемный диск

to go on на диск для безопасного хранения

various sizes съемный гибкий диск

somewhat fragile быть встроенным

hard plastic cover в одном удобном месте

4. Give English equivalent to the following words and words combinations:

данные; файлы; выбирать; снова и снова; передавать информацию; большое количество информации; вместо; меньший объем хранения; намного быстрее, чем гибкий диск; индикаторная лампочка; присвоенная буква; искать информацию; выпускать различных размеров; тонкий и гибкий; такой вид; быть защищённым; подобно магнитофонной кассете (кассетной ленте); в отличие от информации.

5. Аsk questions to the text.

UNIT V

1. Translate the following words with the dictionary. Learn the words:

safe place write-protect tab

dust to protect

moisture to change

magnetic fields to slide

to label to reveal

to identify the write-protect hole

to stick to remove

exposed area to replace

soft permanently

to damage to prevent

write protect notch accidentally

2. Read and translate texts:

Дата добавления: 2015-07-18