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hard disk

 
Dictionary: hard disk
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n.
A rigid magnetic disk fixed permanently within a drive unit and used for storing computer data. Hard disks generally offer more storage and quicker access to data than floppy disks do.


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: hard disk
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Magnetic storage medium for a microcomputer. Hard disks are flat, circular plates made of aluminum or glass and coated with a magnetic material. Hard disks for personal computers can store up to several gigabytes (billions of bytes) of information. Data are stored on their surfaces in concentric tracks. A small electromagnet, called a magnetic head, writes a binary digit (1 or 0) by magnetizing tiny spots on the spinning disk in different directions and reads digits by detecting the magnetization direction of the spots. A computer's hard drive is a device consisting of several hard disks, read/write heads, a drive motor to spin the disks, and a small amount of circuitry, all sealed in a metal case to protect the disks from dust. In addition to referring to the disks themselves, the term hard disk is also used to refer to the whole hard drive.

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Accounting Dictionary: Hard Disk
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Home > Library > Business & Finance > Accounting Dictionary

Unit that stores information (e.g., data files and programs) within the computer; also called fixed disk. Advantages of hard disks relative to diskettes are greater storage ability (e.g., 20-megabyte hard disk), speed, durability, and reliability. Hard disks are necessary when several application programs have to be readily available and applications are needed for substantial volumes of information. They are needed to take advantage of 16-bit, 32-bit, and 64-bit microprocessors requiring multiple functions and windowing abilities for high-access speed situations. Compared with floppy disks, however, hard disks cost more, are not as flexible, and are not interchangeable. Many hard disks are not removable from the CPU.

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Accounting Dictionary. Dictionary of Accounting Terms. Copyright © 2005 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more