FILE MANAGEMENTORWHERE DID IT GO? Part I: Disk DrivesDefinitionsKnowing how a computer stores data is essential for creating, storing and retrieving your own files. A computer stores data on a drive. Four types of drives are possible: A
floppy drive (normally designated as the "A" drive).
This is the drive (accessible from the outside of the computer) into which
you can insert and/or remove a floppy disk. I know it's rigid, not
floppy, but years ago diskettes used to be flexible. The name stuck.
Trust me on this one. One floppy diskette will hold 1.4 MB of data.
If your file size is larger that 1.4 MB, it will not fit on one floppy
diskette.
Okay, I know the next question--Where's the "B"
drive? There isn't one anymore. Older computers used to have
two floppy disk drives, the first being "A" and the second being "B".
This was back in the days before hard drives when there was no "C" drive.
Since we now have an internal high-capacity storage drive ("C"), we no
longer need two flopppy drives, so the designation "B" has disappeared.
Let's take a lookYou can see what drives you have on your computer by looking inside the "My Computer" icon on the Windows desktop. You can also view what's on each drive by using your left mouse button to double-click on the A, C, or D icon. First, watch a demo. To begin playing the demo movie, click on the green arrow on the control panel.Now it's your turn ...After you have viewed the demo, insert a diskette in your "A" drive and look at the contents of your own computer. What drives are available on your computer?
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A
hard drive (normally designated as the "C" drive).
This is the internal storage unit of your computer. Normally, you
will install programs on it and store your data on it. You cannot
see the hard drive unless you remove the case of the computer. If
you have an exceptionally large hard drive, it may be divided into two
parts. In this case, you will have a "C" drive and a "D" drive.
These are really two parts of the same drive (think of them in terms of
"Drive C + Drive D = Drive C").
A
CD-ROM drive (normally designated as the "D" drive or the
"E" drive if your "C" drive is divided into two parts--C and D) is accessed
from outside the computer. It will temporarily hold a CD (computer
program or music CD). This is not a cup holder.
Optionally,
you may have a Zip or Jazz drive. These are high-capacity
storage drives (one diskette will hold 100MB of data on a Zip drive or
as much as 2 Gigabytes of data on a Jazz drive). As a rule, these
drives are external--they sit next to your computer and are attached to
it by a cable. Some of the newer computers are now coming equipped
with an internal zip or jazz drive. Assuming you have one floppy
drive (A), one hard drive (C) and one CD-ROM drive (D), the zip or jazz
drive would be designated as "E".
