Types Of Hard Drives [Ultimate Guide]

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Complete types of hard drives guide. In this hard disk drives guide we've discussed: forms of hard drives, technology, RAID, and different HDD devices!

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Types Of Hard Drives [Ultimate Guide]

Gadgets and devices us hard disk drives to store information (or data).

But there are different types of hard drive designed for the amount of hard drive speed or memory storage . How the different types of hard disks drives function and process data in the mechanical and digital level, is what we will discuss in this guide!

Types Of Hard Drives [ultimate Guide] | Ttr Data Recovery

Hard Drives are one of the most fundamental forms of data storage and processing. They were first introduced in 1956 by the company, IBM.

From then on, hard drives just kept on evolving. Faster processing. Safer storage. Bigger data capacity. Those are the essential developments in hard drives.

FACT: At TTR Data Recovery we have recovered close to 30,000+ (and counting) data from hard disks drive and solid-state hard drives. We sure do have a lot of insights about the type of hard drive that we can share with you!

Now, almost everyone has a hard drive, in any form or size. You  have the HDD, SSHD, Flash drive and the MicroSD cards. Each have their respective use and function and proper care is required to avoid losing your data. But for data lose or device failures, a reliable harddrive recovery service at arms reach is comforting. 

In addition, the types of hard drives of today take different shapes and forms. Some of them are the following:

  • RAID
  • NAS/SAN
  • VMware
  • Flash Drive

Though they differ anatomically, they still serve the same purpose – Data processing and data storage.

Hard Disk Drive Definition

Hard Disk Drive Definition | Ttr Data Recovery

A hard drive is basically the computer’s storage. It’s responsible for processing and storing data.

when it fails all components of the PC is unable to function properly. Signs like hard drive clicking noise is a strong indication of a failing Hard Disk Drives. If this happen seek the help of a reliable data recovery services provider!

A hard disks drive is responsible for storing all the user’s data for the long term. This is not only limited to things saved but also data needed for your operating system to function properly such as drivers that allow you to connect to the internet and more.

4 Major Components of A Hard Disk Drive

All types of hard drives are composed of four major components.

  • Platter - The platters which are disks that store data in an organized fashion.
  • Spindle - The spindle, responsible for keeping the platters in position and rotating them when needed.
  • Read/Write Arm - The read/write arm which guides the read/write head to the appropriate position based on data that needs to be written/read.
  • Actuator - the actuator that takes instruction from the circuit board to control the movement of the read/write arm as well as supervise the transfer of data from the platters.
A hard drive does fail after many years in service or cause of a virus or other natural phenomenon and that is what we call a hard drive failure. Here is an in-depth article about how hard drive work. It tackles mostly everything you need to know about hard drives.

What Are The Main Types of Hard Drives?

There are four types of hard drives ever invented and they are the PATA, Serial ATA, SCSI or Small Computer System Interface, and SSD or Solid-State Drive. One of the earliest hard drives made use of PATA or Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment which refers to the type of interface used to connect the hard drive to the computer. 

The used 40 or 80 wire ribbon cables and can transfer data in 16 bit pockets simultaneously in parallel. The system of the PATA drives will also be the base science for the more modern drives.

 

 

Serial ATA

Serial Ata | Ttr Data Recovery

SATA hard drives have replaced PATA due to better performance. They transfer data faster (150 up to 600 megabytes per second) opposed to PATA ( 133 megabytes per second), use less power (250mV opposed to 5V) and SATA cables are thinner and more flexible.

SATA drives have replaced PATA due to better performance. They transfer data faster (150 up to 300 megabytes per second) opposed to PATA ( 133 megabytes per second), use less power (250mV opposed to 5V) and SATA cables are thinner and more flexible.

SCSI or Small Computer System Interface

Scsi Or Small Computer System Interface | Ttr Data Recovery

SCSI or Small Computer System Interface allows for the connection of different peripheral devices such as hard drives, printers, scanners, CD-Drives and more. SCSI drives can also be connected internally and externally.

SSD or Solid-state Drives

SSD or Solid-state Drives | TTR Data Recovery
SSD or Solid-state Drives One of the latest types of hard drives that do not consist of moving parts. This makes them less susceptible to damage. They make use of flash memory chips instead to store data and provide faster data access. They are very common in laptops nowadays. SSDs are also used for mobile transfers. This also has general compatibility like the flash drive. An additional wire is used to make it compatible to other devices.

Three Types of Technology Used in Hard Disk Drives

The 3 types of HDD technology that existed so far are solid-state drives, magnetic drives, and hybrid drives. Let’s discuss briefly each type:

Solid-State Drives

Solid State Drives | Ttr Data Recovery

SSDs are one of the fastest types of hard drives and data storage options out there with data transfer speeds ranging up to 550 megabytes per second or higher. 

The absence of moving parts also allows for more durability and eliminate the possibility of corrupt data or decreased performance due to vibrations or shock. 

These drives can also allow for access of data in a fraction of a millisecond therefore allowing shorter boot times, application launches and overall a faster system.

Magnetic Hard drives

Magnetic Hard Drives | Ttr Data Recovery

Magnetic hard drives make use of rotating magnetic disks called platters and a mechanical arm that reads and writes data using a magnetization process.

Data is stored on circular divisions of the disks called tracks which are divided into sectors that contain the blocks of data. Though they may be slower than the (SSD) Solid State Drive, they are more affordable and have a higher capacity.

Hybrid Hard drives

Hybrid Hard Drives | Ttr Data Recovery

HHDs are a combination of the previous two making use of platters and flash memory. Hybrid drives store the most frequently accessed data to flash memory which allow faster speeds on these files while the rest is stored in the platter. 

In terms of price, they are pricier than magnetic hard drives but far cheaper than the (SSD) Solid State Drive.

What Is RAID And Types of RAID?

What Is Raid And Types Of Raid | Ttr Data Recovery

RAID or Redundant Array of Independent DisksIs basically storing of data on multiple hard drives.

It is used for data backup in case one hard drive fails like a hard drive short DST check failed. It is also used for increased performance and increased storage capacity functions.

Which RAID types would use a minimum of four hard drives?

There are multiple RAID levels that are optimized for specific situations. The different RAID levels include:

  • RAID level 0 - Striping
  • RAID level 1 - Mirroring
  • RAID level 5 - Striping with parity
  • RAID level 6 - Striping with double parity
  • RAID level 10 - Combining Striping and mirroring

Among these, RAID level 6 makes use of at least four hard drives. It stores parity data of one drive in another as well allowing it to withstand even 2 drive failures simultaneously. Parity data allows for the restoration of lost data, therefore, making it the most secure.

Different Types Of Hard Drives for Different Devices

There are different types of hard drives used depending on the device. For example, a gaming console such as a standard Playstation 4 hard drive would be a 500GB 5400 RPM SATA II Hard drive while the Playstation 4 PRO originally has a 1TB sized hard drive. Apple’s MAC mostly makes use of SSD drives with only a few exceptions.

Different Types Of Hard Drives For Different Devices | Ttr Data Recovery.jpg

Computers and laptops can make use of SSD as well as HDD!

Laptops nowadays commonly make use of SSD drives and make up for the lack of capacity using external hard disks. Computers or desktops make use of HDD or Hybrid drives due to the higher capacity and custom desktops make use of multiple hard drives as well.

Operating systems such as LINUX will be able to run either on SSD or HDD depending on the user’s preference although it is possible to split the installation of LINUX to both SSD and HDD to compensate for the limited capacity of an (SSD) Solid State Drive if both are available.

Some desktops have LINUX running alongside Windows in order to maximize the benefits of each operating systems. Learn more about our expert External Hard Drive Data Recovery Services and why we’re trusted by many!

What Are Hard Drives Super Storage?

Hard Drive Super Storage

There are now multiple removable storage devices available in the market such as a microSD card. A microSD card is a removable flash memory card and it is the smallest memory card that can be bought. It can hold large amounts of data. These are typically used in cameras.

They are also present in handheld gaming devices. Such as the Nintendo switch. This is present in modern cellphones and more. An example of the capacity possible with a microSD card would be Samsung’s EVO Select 512GB microSD card which costs around 99.99$.

Currently, there are more technologies being developed to exceed the MicroSD. We have yet to experience a smaller system that contains more storage device. For sure, we are going to see this in the industry very soon.

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts | TTR Data Recovery

The different types of hard drives have come a long way for the last 20 years or so. From the 1.44-MB disks in the 90’s to the more compact microSD cards of 20K and beyond.

Of course, the evolution of digital storage still has a long way to go, and SSD technology is still getting better. For consumers, that means better devices are introduced in the marketing that are not just affordable but also accessible globally.

If you ever need help with recovering data anywhere in the USA,  call us at (888) 328-2887 for a free diagnostics!

Tommy Kh | Ttr Data Recovery

About the Author
Tommy Khamoushi, Data Recovery Expert

Tommy Khamoushi is an IACRB-certified Data Recovery Engineer and a Certified Forensic Computer Investigator. He has more than 20 years of experience in data recovery including providing technical support for the House of Representatives.

Tommy leads a team of data recovery engineers and experts at TTR Data Recovery to recover highly sensitive data for government agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and enterprise businesses using advanced and proprietary techniques and processes.

Connect with Tommy on LinkedIn.