What Exactly Is A Hard Drive And What Is Stored Inside It?
This is created possible because Windows Vista allows a Modem to dial the Internet.
The Hard Drive is but one of the core hardware components with the computer. It is the ingredient that has Windows Vista stored onto it. Windows Vista is undoubtedly an Operating System, which implies it operates it (computer) in order that the hardware (i.e Printer) and software (i.e Office) can consult each other to manufacture a result (i.e A printed documented). Windows Vista offers a piece of software referred to as Internet Explorer that lets you communicate with progressed the Internet and look at websites. This is done possible because Windows Vista allows a Modem to dial the Internet. Once attached to the Internet it then allows Internet Explorer to determine website pages as text and photographs, using different typefaces (fonts) and languages most of the time. Windows Vista has several other technical jobs to complete, but to maintain it simple just consider it as the thing that permits you to type letters, view websites, contact people, pay attention to music and so forth. There is only 1 thing to recollect about the hard disk drive and that is that it'll not work unless we have an operating system (for example Windows Vista) stored upon it. If the hd gets exhausted or damaged Windows Vista will end up corrupt and/or unusable. And even in the event the hd is fresh it is still possible to damage/corrupt Windows Vista by deleting its files, catching the herpes simplex virus or whatever - So take care of Windows Vista and also the hd.WINDOWS VISTA (THE OPERATING SYSTEM)
When you install Windows Vista it efforts to detect the hardware within the computer. For each section of hardware it detects (i.e Sound Card) it tries to fit its own software for the hardware. If it cannot find any of a unique software to put in the hardware it is going to ask you for your CD that sported the hardware, therefore it can install it on that CD so as to make the hardware work - So keep the original CDs. If the hardware failed to come with a CD you will have to contact your computer retailer or manufacturer for the replacement CD or get it from their Internet website when they have been one.
Once Windows Vista may be installed, with your hardware detected and installed, after this you install your additional software. Additional software means Office, Anti-Virus, Printer, Scanner, Music, Messenger and the like software. Installing Windows Vista, and all of the common (additional) software, should consume approximately 4 GigaBytes of harddrive space. This means for those who have a 40GB (40 GigaByte) hard disk you will be still having 36GB for your own personal use - You could install more additional software like Games, Store your individual Folders and Files, Download files from your Internet, Store CD contents etc.
HISTORY
Each time you're going on the internet Windows Vista, Internet Explorer and Websites save certain details about you and your activities. For example Windows Vista might keep your User Names and Passwords which means you do not have to retype them whenever you want to go on the web. Website pages (text and/or pictures) could possibly be saved making sure that when you wish to look at a specific page again it seems instantly, because Internet Explorer will display the saved page first - If the page is updated through the owner Internet Explorer will likely then download and display the updated page, whether or not this has a web connection. By saving pages this means you can view those pages at the leisure when you find yourself not linked to the internet. And as most pages stay the same (with similar text and photos on them) the downloading of updated pages is minimal. The saving of knowledge is done for any website you visit. On top of this Windows Vista is usually saving Settings information, Email information, File information and so forth. This is needed to make your experience with the computer faster and. For example. When you add or delete their email to/from your contacts list that contacts list has to be re-saved. Otherwise you will have to manually type in email addresses all the time, compared to picking it through the saved contacts list. When you update software, like Anti-Virus and Windows Vista software, the updated files need to be saved onto the disk drive as well. So with forever growing information, installation files and updated files laptop will realistically need 10 GigaBytes of hard disk space - This is a normal scenario for most of us. With the remaining space people either get forced out empty or utilize it as storage for Music files as an example. However. As Windows Vista indexes each file it stores, thus it can find personal files quicker, more space are going to be needed to the index itself.
REDUNDANT FILES
Try to protect yourself from saving redundant files. For example. When you save a setting up file, for example a downloaded Game.exe file, after which install it it's going to take up additional space. This is because files that ought to be installed have usually been compressed (shrunk). So 10 game files (not 10 games) for instance might of been shrunk into 1 small installation (Game.exe) file. Let's say the 10 game files were 1 MegaByte each (so 10 MegaBytes) and after that shrunk into 1 small (3 MegaBytes) installation (Game.exe) file, therefore it is quicker to download and/or store somewhere. When you activate the tiny installation file it's expanded to its original 10 game files, which might be then saved inside of a Games folder on the hard disk. What this means is you might have 10 installed game files and 1 small installation file, so the tiny installation file is a redundant file. By saving the little installation file onto CD for instance and then activating it on the CD you will put away yourself 3 MegaBytes of harddrive space. If you now imagine you'd 30 small installation files that might be a saving of 90 MegaBytes, whenever they were on the CD instead of the disk drive.
SPEED AND SIZE
If your hard disk drive is 20 GigaBytes or less it can go round at 5400rpm. And if this is a lot more than 20GB but under 80GB it'll go round at 7200rpm. An hard disk drive is like a record player - It spins round and also a needle (laser) reads/writes the information (Fig 1.1 above). The faster the rpm the faster the hard disk. If you've an old 5400rpm hard disk drive it is definitely worth upgrading into a 7200rpm hard disk because the speed difference is noticeable - Data is read/written faster. Two other reasons for upgrading are it only costs £35 to get a 40GB disk drive and because 20GB (or less) harddrives are now obsolete. One thing to keep in mind though is when you purchase a new disk drive it is blank - It does not have software onto it at all. Not even Windows Vista.
In relation to size, although 1 GigaByte is 1,024,000,000 Bytes, you have to think about the dimensions of the average file currently to put hd size into perspective. Here are some figures based using a 40 GigaByte hd:
40 GigaBytes = 40,960,000,000 Bytes
40 GigaBytes = 28,000 Floppy Disks
40 GigaBytes = 50 CDs
40 GigaBytes = 40,000 MegaBytes (or 40,000 1MB Files)
Although in reality you won't ever use the whole 40GB, never say never. With music downloading, digital camera models, scanners and greater files becoming standard the requirement of storage space will grow.
KEEP IT IN GOOD HEALTH
When some type of computer and its hd are new you hear only the fan in the computer. A humming sound. As the hd gets older it actually starts to make a light jingling/drumming sound that overtakes the sound of the fan. Nothing serious, maybe a few decibels only. And when the hd is very old commemorate a noticable, loudish, screeching/drumming/tapping sound. This is when it can be time to replace the hd.
As a rule, attempt to replace the harddrive every three or four years (5 Maximum) if the harddrive is 20GB or higher. If it really is less than 20GB it has to be in the dustbin already. By not replacing the hard disk you risk losing/damaging your files due to the hard disk's age (Corruption, Unable to read/write data and so forth). Also backup (save) your files onto floppy disks or CDs each month or so, whether or not the hard disk drive is new or old.
