Refers to various techniques and
devices for
storing large amounts of
data. The earliest
storage devices were punched paper cards, which were used as early as 1804 to control silk-weaving looms. Modern mass storage devices include all types of
disk drives and
tape drives. Mass storage is distinct from
memory, which refers to temporary storage areas within the
computer. Unlike
main memory, mass storage devices retain data even when the computer is turned off.
The main types of mass storage are:
Mass storage is measured in kilobytes (1,024 bytes), megabytes (1,024 kilobytes), gigabytes (1,024 megabytes) and terabytes (1,024 gigabytes).
Mass storage is sometimes called auxiliary storage.
See the "Removable
Storage Reference" in the
Quick Reference section of Webopedia.
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