This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Storage Media
A Macintosh computer can read data from, or write data to, a wide range of storage media, including:
- Hard disks— high capacity magnetic media.
- CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, and DVD-R discs— high capacity, removable optical media.
- Zip, or other disks or cartridges— high capacity, removable magnetic media.
- Floppy disks or diskettes— low capacity, removable magnetic media.
To use storage media, it must be:
- Mounted— inserted, attached, or other-wise accessible to your computer.
- Formatted or initialized— specially prepared for use with your computer.
All of these things are covered in this section.
TIPs
- Don't confuse storage media with memory. The term memory usually refers to the amount of RAM in your computer, not disk space. RAM is discussed in Chapter 7.
- At a minimum, all new Macintosh computers include a hard disk and CD/DVD drives.
- Storage devices can be internal (inside your computer) or external (attached to your computer by a cable).
- Some external storage devices must be properly connected and turned on before you start your computer or your computer may not recognize the device.
- Disk storage media capacity is specified in terms of bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes (Table 1).
Table 1. Terminology for Storage Media Capacity
Term
Abbreviation
Size
byte
byte
1 character
kilobyte
KB
1,024 bytes
megabyte
MB
1,024 KB
gigabyte
GB
1,024 MB
- If a disk is write-protected or locked, files cannot be saved or copied to it. A pencil with a line through it appears in the status bar of write-protected or locked disks (
Figure 48
). I tell you more about the status bar in Chapter 4.
Figure 48 A write-protected icon appears in the status bar of CD-ROM discs and other write-protected media.
- You cannot write data to a CD-ROM. But if your Mac has a CD-Recordable (CD-R) drive or SuperDrive, you can use special software to create or burn your own CDs.
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