• Adventure
  • Auto
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Home & Garden
  • Money
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Video
  • Shows
  • Blogs
  • Quizzes
  • Games
  • Random Article
  • Computer
  • Electronics
  • Home > 
  • Tech > 
  • Computer > 
  • Computer Hardware > 
  • Hard Drives & Disks

by Marshall Brain

Print
Cite This!
Close 
Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks article:

Brain, Marshall.  "How Hard Disks Work"  01 April 2000.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/hard-disk.htm>  10 February 2012.
Cite
Feedback

Future of Computers

Watch now
Watch now
Inside this Article
  1. Introduction to How Hard Disks Work
  2. Hard Disk Basics
  3. Cassette Tape vs. Hard Disk
  1. Capacity and Performance
  2. Inside: Electronics Board
  3. Inside: Beneath the Board
  4. See more »
    1. Inside: Platters and Heads
    2. Storing the Data
    3. Lots More Information
    4. See all Hard Drives & Disks articles

Lots More Information

Related Articles

  • How PCs Work
  • How Removable Storage Works
  • How Computer Memory Works
  • How Bits and Bytes Work
  • How Floppy Disk Drives Work
  • What is the churning sound I hear from my hard drive whenever it is retrieving data?
  • What does it mean when a hard disk has a "head crash"?
  • How does disk defrag work?

Partner Links

  • How to Build a Hard Drive
  • How To Change A Hard Drive

More Great Links

  • ActionFront Data Recovery Labs
  • Webopedia: partition
  • Webopedia: format
  • PCWorld.com: How to Buy a Hard Drive
  • Hard Disk Logical Structures and File Systems - a series of articles
  • PC Mechanic
  • A Brief History of the Hard Disk Drive
  • How to use disk drive stepper-motors
  • Disk System Architectures for High Performance Computing - discusses how bad OCR technology is, but has some interesting information
VIDEO: Check out these videos about laptops and 14 resourceful Microsoft videos.>>
Previous Page

Popular Tech Topics

The Ultimate Computer History Quiz
The Ultimate Computer History Quiz
Top 5 Myths About the Internet
Top 5 Myths About the Internet
How to Connect Your Computer to Your TV
How to Connect Your Computer to Your TV
How Capacitors Work
How Capacitors Work
How Cloud Computing Works
How Cloud Computing Works
Take a look at Computer Videos

You Might Also Like

How Tablets Work

Tablet computer sales are taking a bite out of other PCs but it took years before tablets became a hit with consumers. What makes them special?

How Mac OS X Works

In 2001, Apple released Cheetah, the first version of its new operating system, OS X. Where did OS X come from, and what technologies make it different from other operating systems?

Popular Articles

  • How the Acer Iconia Tablet Works
  • How Media-center PCs Work
  • How Secure Digital Memory Cards Work
Inside this Article
  1. Introduction to How Hard Disks Work
  2. Hard Disk Basics
  3. Cassette Tape vs. Hard Disk
  4. Capacity and Performance
  5. Inside: Electronics Board
  1. Inside: Beneath the Board
  2. Inside: Platters and Heads
  3. Storing the Data
  4. Lots More Information
  5. See all Hard Drives & Disks articles
Previous Page

Popular Tech Videos

FPO
  • Cell Phone Tricks
  • Electronics Deconstructed
  • Ultimate Computer Hardware
  • How It's Made
  • Its All Geek To Me
  • See more»

New HSW Games

FPO
  • Storm Tracker
  • Memory Matrix
  • Crab Fishing Game
  • Volcano Explorer
  • Cannon Challenge
  • Speed Match
  • Lost in Migration
  • Word Bubbles
  • Color Match

Related Content

Prices: Hard Disks

  • CMS (D9200-100) 100 GB ATA-100 Hard Drive
    CMS (D9200-100) 100 GB ATA-100 Hard Drive

    100 GB, Internal Enclosure, Laptop, DMA/ATA-100 (Ultra) Interface, 4200 RPM, Buffer: 8 MB, MPN: D9200-100

    $192.99 - $192.99

  • CMS (TR15-80-M54) 80 GB ATA-100 Hard Drive
    CMS (TR15-80-M54) 80 GB ATA-100 Hard Drive

    80 GB, Internal Enclosure, Laptop, DMA/ATA-100 (Ultra) Interface, 5400 RPM, Buffer: 8 MB, MPN: TR15-80-M54

    $254.99 - $254.99

  • Apricorn (AHD-4MDV-40) 40 GB EIDE Hard Drive
    Apricorn (AHD-4MDV-40) 40 GB EIDE Hard Drive

    40 GB, Internal Enclosure, Laptop, EIDE Interface, 5400 RPM, MPN: AHD-4MDV-40

    $90.99 - $90.99

HOWSTUFFWORKS
  • Adventure
  • Auto
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Home & Garden
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Science
  • Tech
MORE STUFF
  • Blogs
  • Games
  • HSW Tools
  • RSS
  • Maps
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Newsletters
  • Video
OUR WEBSITES
  • Animal Planet
  • Consumer Guide Auto
  • Consumer Guide Products
  • Discovery Channel
  • Discovery Fit & Health
  • HSW Brazil
  • HSW China HowStuffWorks China
  • Investigation Discovery
  • Oprah Winfrey Network
  • Planet Green
  • Science Channel
  • TLC
  • Discovery Education
  • Store
CUSTOMER SERVICE
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Help
CORPORATE
  • About Us
  • Careers @ Discovery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Visitor Agreement
TAKE US WITH YOU
FOLLOW US
© 1998-2012 HowStuffWorks, Inc