Removable Storage – Tape Flash SD and USB

Removable media refers to storage media which are designed to be removed from the computer without powering the computer off. Some types of removable media are designed to be read by removable readers and drives. Examples include:

• Memory cards (CompactFlash card, Secure Digital card, Memory Stick)
• Floppy disks / Zip disks
• USB flash drives
• Magnetic tapes

Magnetic Tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders. A device that stores computer data on magnetic tape is a tape drive (tape unit, streamer).

Magnetic tape revolutionized broadcast and recording. When all radio was live, it allowed programming to be prerecorded. At a time when gramophone records were recorded in one take, it allowed recordings to be made in multiple parts, which were then mixed and edited with tolerable loss in quality. It is a key technology in early computer development, allowing unparalleled amounts of data to be mechanically created, stored for long periods, and to be rapidly accessed.

Nowadays other technologies can perform the functions of magnetic tape. In many cases these technologies are replacing tape. Despite this, innovation in the technology continues and tape is still used.

Over years, magnetic tape can suffer from deterioration called sticky-shed syndrome. Caused by absorption of moisture into the binder of the tape, it can render the tape unusable.

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SDcard
An SD Card (Secure Digital Card) is an ultra small flash memory card designed to provide high-capacity memory in a small size. SD cards are used in many small portable devices such as digital video camcorders, digital cameras, handheld computers, audio players and mobile phones. In use since 1999, SD Memory Cards are now available in capacities between 16 Megabytes and 1 Gigabyte. An SD card typically measures 32 x 24 x 2.1 mm and weighs approximately 2grams.

Secure Digital or (SD) is a non-volatile memory card format for use in portable devices, such as mobile phones, digital cameras, GPS navigation devices, and tablet computers.

The Secure Digital standard is maintained by the SD Card Association (SDA). SD technologies have been implemented in more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models.

The Secure Digital format includes four card families available in three different form factors. The four families are the original Standard-Capacity (SDSC), the High-Capacity (SDHC), the eXtended-Capacity (SDXC), and the SDIO, which combines input/output functions with data storage. The three form factors are the original size, the "mini" size, and the "micro" size. There are many combinations of form factors and device families.

Electrically passive adapters allow the use of a smaller card in a host device built to hold a larger card.

Host devices that comply with newer versions of the specification provide backward compatibility and accept older SD cards, but older host devices do not recognize newer cards. The SDA uses several trademarked logos to enforce compliance with its specifications and assure users of compatibility. This article explains several factors that can prevent the use of a newer SD card:

• A newer card may offer greater capacity than the host device can handle.
• A newer card may use a file system the host device cannot navigate.
• Use of an SDIO card requires the host device be designed for the input/output functions the card provides.
• The organization of the card was changed starting with the SDHC family.
• Some vendors produced SDSC cards above 1 GB before the SDA had standardized a method of doing so.

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Flash  memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data. The high density NAND type must also be programmed and read in (smaller) blocks, or pages, while the NOR type allows a single machine word (byte) to be written or read independently.

The NAND type is primarily used in memory cards, USB flash drives, solid-state drives, and similar products, for general storage and transfer of data. The NOR type, which allows true random access and therefore direct code execution, is used as a replacement for the older EPROM and as an alternative to certain kinds of ROM applications. However, NOR flash memory may emulate ROM primarily at the machine code level; many digital designs need ROM (or PLA) structures for other uses, often at significantly higher speeds than (economical) flash memory may achieve. NAND or NOR flash memory is also often used to store configuration data in numerous digital products, a task previously made possible by EEPROMs or battery-powered static RAM.

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USB drive
A USB flash drive is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g. As of September 2011 drives of up to 256 gigabytes (GB) are available. Storage capacities as large as 2 terabytes are planned, with steady improvements in size and price per capacity expected. Some allow up to 100,000 write/erase cycles, depending on the exact type of memory chip used, and a 10 year shelf storage time.

USB flash drives are often used for the same purposes for which floppy disks or CD-ROMs were used, ie for storage, back-up and transfer of computer files. They are smaller, faster, have thousands of times more capacity, and are more durable and reliable because they have no moving parts. Until about 2005, most desktop and laptop computers were supplied with floppy disk drives, but floppy disk drives have been abandoned in favor of USB ports.

USB flash drives use the USB mass storage standard, supported natively by modern operating systems such as Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, and other Unix-like systems, as well as many BIOS boot ROMs. USB drives with USB 2.0 support can store more data and transfer faster than much larger optical disc drives like CD-RW or DVD-RW drives and can be read by many other systems such as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, DVD players and in some upcoming mobile smartphones.

Nothing moves mechanically in a flash drive; the term drive persists because computers read and write flash drive data using the same system commands as for a mechanical disk drive, with the storage appearing to the computer operating system and user interface as just another drive. Flash drives are very robust mechanically.

A flash drive consists of a small printed circuit board carrying the circuit elements and a USB connector, insulated electrically and protected inside a plastic, metal, or rubberized case which can be carried in a pocket or on a key chain, for example. The USB connector may be protected by a removable cap or by retracting into the body of the drive, although it is not likely to be damaged if unprotected. Most flash drives use a standard type-A USB connection allowing plugging into a port on a personal computer, but drives for other interfaces also exist.

USB flash drives draw power from the computer via the USB connection. Some devices combine the functionality of a digital audio player with USB flash storage; they require a battery only when used to play music.

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