Computer Drives & Storage

VideoHelp.com describes a VCD, or Video Compact Disc, as a CD optimized for audiovisual presentations such as movies or TV shows. VCDs contain a file structure that most DVD or CD-ROM devices can...

Compact Flash and SD cards are two very common types of storage media used in cameras, PDAs and other devices. Both fulfill similar functions but they have some key differences.

Flash drives are devices with solid-state memory that can be used to transfer files quickly from one computer to another by plugging them into a computer's USB port and moving data using standard...

Flash drives are useful devices that allow you to move data between computer systems using standard Windows XP tools and standard USB ports found on most computers. Flash devices use solid-state...

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard drive interface provides a data transfer rate up to 300MB per second, while the alternative Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) connection supports...

Drivers are necessary for Windows XP to read an installed CD or DVD drive. Without the driver, the computer will not detect the device, meaning that the CD or DVD drive will not run. Sometimes,...

Creating DVD photo slide shows of the year's events for family and friends to enjoy has become a popular gift. But it's upsetting to purchase some DVD-R disks and realize after opening them that...

Many computer users find that it is a beneficial practice to image (duplicate) their hard drive data to another hard drive for the purposes of backup. It may also be beneficial to image a drive...

Compressing a computer file shrinks the size of that file to create more space on your computer's memory. You can compress one or more files into a smaller folder for storage. Smaller files are...

A compact disc (CD) burner allows you to use CDs as portable storage that is compatible with a wide range of devices. Since a CD is optical storage instead of magnetic storage (like a hard drive...

Different kinds of memory storage devices use different methods for storing data. The methods depend on the design of each device. These devices include CDs, DVDs and hard drives.

Hard drives fail all too often. As a result, data loss is a common occurrence in the modern computing world. The problem is that anything with moving parts is subject to friction, wear and,...

If you find the blank media section of your local electronics store confusing, you're not alone. With so many similarly named formats competing for your attention, it's understandable that you...

When you walk into the blank media section of an office supply store, the array of recordable media may seem overwhelming: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM and more. Despite the myriad...

Transferring files from one computer to another using a thumb drive, also known as a flash drive, can be a simple and fruitful process. Thumb drives provide a simple and portable means of moving...

When installing a new hard drive in your laptop, knowing the type of hard drive your laptop uses is key to a successful installation. PATA (parallel ATA) hard drives are a lesser-used type of hard...

External hard drives are portable storage devices that allow you to upload and save files from your computer. They consist of devices such as flash drivers, memory cards and larger USB hard...

Even though hard drive capacity has reached levels that seemed huge just a few short years ago, sometimes there is a need to add a second drive. Digital cameras, music collections and large video...

If you are purchasing a new computer, you may be wondering what to do with your old one. You could sell it or give it away, but you may also be able to use those old components to make your new...

While most optical drives today can read and write all recordable DVD formats, this was not always the case. In the early 21st century, DVD-R and DVD+R competed for consumers' business.

When recordable DVDs first became popular in the early 21st century, several rival formats emerged. Two of the most popular competitors were the DVD-R and DVD-RW standard.

Removing a CD drive from a Sony Vaio laptop is an easier task than you might think. With a few simple steps you can have the CD drive out and be ready to insert another drive in its place. It is...

Device Drivers is the Communication link between your computer and the many different types of hardware installed and connected to your computer. Device Drivers is a very complicated set of codes...

Identity theft has become a major threat to our modern electronics-laden society. Computer hard disks are used by businesses and individuals to store potentially threatening information if it...

CD cases help protect the CD from environmental contaminations that impair the use of the CD. They are made out of plastic, glass or fabric, and are available in a wide variety of colors. The...

Mirroring drives (or duplexing) used to be difficult and expensive. However, according to PC World, there is now support for RAID (a type of disk configuration that allows mirroring) on most...

Flash drives are portable memory units for your computer about the size of a car key. They are convenient for both backing up files from your hard drive and for transferring files from one...

Computers have gotten increasingly portable as they have become more advanced. The same is true for their accessories, and the prime example is the flash drive. People need more memory capacity...

Before CD burner drives came along, Zip and Jaz drives were a couple of the relatively few ways to transfer and store large files. Jaz drives might contain better features than the Zip, but both...

SD cards are a popular media storage device for digital cameras and mp3 players. Recent developments in technology have made SD cards with multiple gigabyte storage capacities very affordable. As...

If you need a new micro storage device for your camera, computer, cell phone or other digital device, you'll want to consider both microSD and microSDHC options. Each type of memory card will...

SCSI (small computer system interface) drives are older storage devices using the SCSI port for communicating with a host computer or other peripheral. In their day, SCSI drives were fast and able...

An SD (Secure Digital) card is a portable storage device popular with cameras, cell phones and GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers. Two variants of it are the microSD and microSDHC.

Almost as soon as scientists began developing computers in the late 1940s and 1950s came the invention of computer memory. Even today, sufficient RAM is essential for better performance and...

Purchasing a computer can be a difficult task, there a myriad of choices in terms of brands , configurations and costs. It can get tricky. Here are some quick tips in helping you decide on the...

One tip you should keep in mind when burning an AVI file to DVD is that it must be burned 100 percent before it will work on a DVD player or computer. Even if you only want to burn one portion of...

You can use a boot disk to restore your computer system when something goes wrong. It won't restore your files, but it will let you use System Restore to roll back the clock on your system...

USB thumb drives provide computer users a handy way to transport large amounts of data. USB drives are durable, small and easy to use simply by plugging them into any computer's USB port....

External hard drives, such as storage drives and USB thumb drives, provide a portable solution to carrying digital files and sharing files. The Windows operating system uses the NTFS (New...

SATA and IDE are two common types of hard drive technologies. Computers that use an IDE hard drive as the main drive can also use SATA drives with the appropriate hardware support.

Secure digital (SD) cards are flash memory cards that hold up to 2 gigabytes (GB) of information; the new SDHC (SD high-capacity) cards hold up to 32 GB of information. You can transfer or copy...

An external USB hard drive is a storage hardware device that allows you to store information such as documents, music and videos. They connect to the USB ports on your computer and transfer data...

There are several types of portable memory cards on the market, one of which is the microSD. This type of memory card was formerly known as "TransFlash." There is no difference between a...

One of the most important things a computer user can do to protect data is to make regular data backups. One hard drive crash can destroy everything stored in a computer, and while data recovery...

If you upgrade your laptop with a larger hard drive or a hard drive with a faster read time, then you are left with a spare laptop hard drive. You can use a hard drive enclosure to make use of the...

We store fewer and fewer files on CDs and DVDs and more of them online or on flash drives, but that doesn't mean CDs aren't useful. They can help store video, family photos and other large files...

The more random access memory (RAM) a computer has, the faster it can manage programs and data. Computers are often limited in the amount of RAM available to them, so operating systems use virtual...

Anyone who has ever had a hard drive crash and burn hopes that recovery of some of that important personal or business data is possible. But professional recovery of hard drive contents after a...

Are you planning to buy a new computer? Are you undecided on what type of computer you will buy or where you will buy it? If so, this article is right for you. The primary purpose of this article...