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A hard disk is a non-volatile storage device that uses magnetic platters to store data long-term, even when the computer is off. It is a mechanical device with a read/write head that moves across spinning platters to access data, which is stored in sectors and can be accessed randomly. These drives are used for everything from large media libraries to backups and are the primary storage in many desktops and laptops.

How it works

Magnetic platters: The drive contains one or more rigid, spinning platters coated with a magnetic material, typically made of aluminum or glass.

Spindle: A spindle motor rotates the platters at high speeds (e.g., 7200 RPM).

Read/write heads: For each platter, there is a read/write head mounted on an arm that moves across the surface.

Actuator arm: The actuator arm precisely positions the read/write heads to access specific data locations on the platters.

Data storage: Data is written to and read from the magnetic surface of the platters in the form of magnetic domains.