What Is a Fixed Disk?

Fixed disks, more commonly known as hard drives, are high-capacity magnetic storage mediums. These disks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but most work in the same basic way. Hard drives are found in most computers and high-capacity MP3 players and serve as the onboard storage for most gaming consoles.

The name fixed disk used to be much more common than it is today. In the past, there were many ways of storing information outside of a computer, but very few ways of storing information internally. The term implied that the disk was fixed in place inside the computer and couldn’t just be taken out like other forms of storage. The term hard disk took prominence when fixed disks became common in home computers. They were considered the opposite of a floppy disk, the common removable storage of the time.

These disks became common as the need to store data outstripped the storage media of the time. They were considered by many to be very slow and expensive. As the cost came down, they were paired with consumer electronics. Over time, the capacity of the drives increased, and their physical size decreased. They are now considered by many people to be one of the most cost-effective means of data storage.

The inside of a fixed disk drive is basically the same across any size or configuration. An internal motor causes magnetic platters that are thinner than a sheet of paper to begin spinning. These platters are covered in tiny magnetic regions that each have a directional charge.

Another internal motor runs one or more arms that move around the platters. The read arm reads the directional charge and sends the information out of the drive. The write arm changes the directional charges, saving new information on the platter. The inside of one disk may look very different than another, but all of these parts are typically there.

The most common fixed disks are the hard drives in computers. Most computers have one or more of these drives that store all of the computer’s saved information. Any piece of electronics with high-capacity storage, such as palmtop computers, high-storage MP3 players and some phones, will likely have a hard drive. They are also found in most digital video recorders, gaming consoles and home media centers.