USB Thumb Drive Vs. Hard Drive Storage
Today, options for data storage are much more powerful than the options available during the rise of the PC. Floppy disks were once great ways to transport files and other software, but they are far too small to carry today's larger programs and files. Data storage technology has kept pace, however, via items such as larger-capacity hard drives and highly portable USB thumb drives.
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USB Drive Facts
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USB Drives--also called flash drives, thumb drives, or pen drives--are among the most portable storage mediums. With some capable of holding as much as 256 GB (gigabytes) of data, they have become a popular pocketable means of storing data.
USB Drive Specifics
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USB thumb drives use flash memory storage (a form of memory that can be electronically written to, erased and re-used). Most USB thumb drives are interfaced with USB 2.0 (a much faster USB standard than the previous USB 1.1).
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USB Drive Uses
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Among its many uses, a USB thumb drive can even be employed to boot an operating system. This is helpful for rescuing a broken system that will no longer boot properly. Other uses include mostly generic concerns--such as MP3, PowerPoint or other file storage--allowing for easy portability.
Hard Drive Facts
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Hard drives (also called hard disks, or HDDs) are less portable (aside from external hard drives, which use a USB interface). Most modern hard drives are capable of storing data in the terabytes (1 terabyte is equal to approximately 1,000 gigabytes).
Hard Drive Specifics
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Hard drives are a type of non-volatile memory, which means that stored information is not lost when the drive loses power. Examples of non-volatile memory include CD or DVD discs and USB drives. Non-portable hard drives are built to plug into a motherboard, making these drives less portable than other storage mediums.
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