What Are the Functions of a Computer Hard Drive?
The hard drive is one of the most common computer storage devices. Inside a hard drive, spinning metal discs contain microscopic particles of metal oxides that react to magnets. A needle uses magnetic pulses to change the orientation of the particles when data is written and erased. Hard drives are the most economical storage devices available in terms of dollars per gigabyte of information, and your computer most likely has at least one. The hard drive in your computer serves several crucial purposes.
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Boot Device
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When a computer is turned on and boots, it searches for a device storing an operating system. In most cases, that device is the hard drive. Without an operating system, a computer is incapable of running software and can serve virtually no purpose at all. For this reason, a hard drive failure can cripple a computer nearly completely.
Mass Storage
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A high-end hard drive can store 3 TB (terabytes) of data -- the equivalent of more than 1,500 2 GB USB flash memory drives. No other type of storage device comes close to hard drives in terms of storage capacity, and the hard drive in your computer stores all of your programs, pictures, documents, videos, music and other files.
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Virtual Memory
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When you run a computer program, the computer stores the software code in Random Access Memory (RAM). When you open a file, the computer stores it in RAM as well. If you open enough programs and files simultaneously, your computer will eventually run out of RAM. Ordinarily, this would cause a computer to crash, forcing you to reboot it. However, modern operating systems have the ability to use a small portion of space on the hard drive as "virtual memory." When the computer is out of RAM, the operating system uses the hard drive for temporary storage instead, transferring the data to and from the RAM as needed.
Backup Solution
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The way to make sure that a failed hard drive will not cause a catastrophic loss of data is to create a backup, storing copies of your most important files in a second location. A hard drive is an excellent choice for storing a full system backup. You can back up your files to an external USB hard drive, or install two internal hard drives in a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) configuration. With RAID, the motherboard or controller card automatically writes all data on both drives simultaneously. If one drive fails, the other retains the data.
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