hard disk

hard disk
Computers.
See magnetic disk (def. 1).
[1980-85]

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Magnetic storage medium for a microcomputer.

Hard disks are flat, circular plates made of aluminum or glass and coated with a magnetic material. Hard disks for personal computers can store up to several gigabytes (billions of bytes) of information. Data are stored on their surfaces in concentric tracks. A small electromagnet, called a magnetic head, writes a binary digit (1 or 0) by magnetizing tiny spots on the spinning disk in different directions and reads digits by detecting the magnetization direction of the spots. A computer's hard drive is a device consisting of several hard disks, read/write heads, a drive motor to spin the disks, and a small amount of circuitry, all sealed in a metal case to protect the disks from dust. In addition to referring to the disks themselves, the term hard disk is also used to refer to the whole hard drive.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • hard disk — /hɑ:d disk/, it. /ar disk/ locuz. ingl. [comp. di hard duro, rigido e disk disco ], usata in ital. come s.m., invar. (inform.) [parte del computer contenente la memoria fissa] ▶◀ disco fisso, disco rigido. ‖ dischetto, floppy …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • hard disk — /arˈdisk, ingl. ˈhɑːdˌdɪsk/ [loc. ingl., comp. di hard «duro, rigido» e disk «disco»] loc. sost. m. inv. disco rigido, disco fisso CONTR. floppy disk …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • hard disk — hard disks also hard disc N COUNT A computer s hard disk is a stiff magnetic disk on which data and programs can be stored …   English dictionary

  • hard disk — loc.s.m.inv. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} TS inform. → disco fisso {{line}} {{/line}} DATA: 1985. ETIMO: comp. di hard 1duro e disk 1disco …   Dizionario italiano

  • hard disk — (also hard drive) ► NOUN Computing ▪ a rigid non removable magnetic disk with a large data storage capacity …   English terms dictionary

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  • hard disk — n. a computer disk with a rigid metal base: distinguished from FLOPPY DISK …   English World dictionary

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