Reviews terminology inherent in discussing microcomputer storage technologies and addresses aspects of magnetic storage and present and near-future technologies, including floppy disks, Winchester and removable hard disks, optical digital disks, optical video disks, (audio) compact disks, perpendicular magnetic recording, and erasable optical…

Reviews computer storage devices designed to provide additional memory for microcomputers--chips, floppy disks, hard disks, optical disks--and describes how secondary storage is used (file transfer, formatting, ingredients of incompatibility); disk/controller/software triplet; magnetic tape backup; storage volatility; disk emulator; and…

Discusses the preservation of electronically produced data focusing on the passive destruction of data due to lack of proper care in information storage. Three case studies are presented: two involve specific media--magnetic tape and CD-ROM (compact disk read-only-memory)--and one the transfer of data from one system to another. (EM)