Installing and Configuring Storage Devices

Flashcards based on key terms and acronyms related to installing and configuring storage devices.

Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA)

An older interface standard used to connect storage devices such as hard drives and optical drives to the computer’s motherboard.

Boot sector

A special region on a storage drive that contains code to start the boot process of an operating system.

CompactFlash

A type of flash memory storage commonly used in older digital cameras and professional video equipment.

Disk Management

A Windows utility used to view and manage the drives installed in a system.

Disk mirroring

A method of writing data to multiple drives to improve performance and fault tolerance, used in RAID 1.

Disk striping

A method of writing data across multiple drives to improve performance, used in RAID 0.

Dual-layer disc

A DVD or Blu-ray disc that stores data on two layers, increasing its capacity.

External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (eSATA)

A version of the SATA interface designed for external storage connections.

File system

A method used by operating systems to control how data is stored and retrieved on storage devices.

Fragmentation

The condition of a storage device where files are not stored in contiguous spaces, leading to slower performance in HDDs.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

A traditional storage device that uses spinning platters and magnetic heads to read/write data.

In-place upgrade

A process of upgrading a component or system while retaining the current settings and data.

M.2

A compact form factor for storage devices, typically SSDs, that connects directly to the motherboard.

Memory card

A small flash storage device used in portable devices such as cameras, phones, or tablets.

Mini-Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (mSATA)

A mini form factor of the SATA interface for SSDs, commonly used in older laptops.

Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe)

A high-speed interface used with SSDs that connects via PCIe lanes for fast data transfers.

Optical drive

A device that reads and/or writes data from optical discs like CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays.

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe)

A high-speed interface standard used for internal components, including graphics cards and NVMe SSDs.

Power-On Self-Test (POST)

A diagnostic testing sequence run by a computer’s BIOS/UEFI when it is powered on.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

A type of volatile memory used to store data temporarily while a computer is running.

Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)

A data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical drives into one logical unit for performance or redundancy.

Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.)

A monitoring system built into drives to detect and report various indicators of reliability.

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA)

A widely used interface for connecting storage devices to a computer.

Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS)

A high-performance interface used primarily in enterprise environments, often with RAID setups.

Solid-State Drive (SSD)

A storage device that uses flash memory and has no moving parts, offering faster data access and reliability compared to HDDs.

Spindle speed

The speed at which the platters of an HDD rotate, typically measured in RPM.

Striping with double parity

A RAID-6 technique that allows for the failure of two drives while preserving data integrity.

Striping with parity

A RAID-5 technique that distributes parity data to enable fault tolerance with only one drive failure.

Trusted Platform Module (TPM)

A hardware component that provides secure cryptographic functions, such as device authentication and data encryption.

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

A common interface used to connect peripherals and removable storage to a computer.

Windows Recovery

A set of tools in the Windows operating system used to repair startup issues and restore functionality.