Magnetic Disk Memory

A magnetic Disk is a type of secondary memory that is a flat disc covered with a magnetic coating to hold information. It is used to store various programs and files. The polarized information in one direction is represented by 1, and vice versa. The direction is indicated by 0. 

Magnetic disks are less expensive than RAM and can store large amounts of data, but the data access rate is slower than main memory because of secondary memory. Data can be modified or can be deleted easily in the magnetic disk memory. It also allows random access to data. 

Figure – Magnetic Disk 

There are various advantages and disadvantages of magnetic disk memory. 

Advantages:-
These are economical memory 
Easy and direct access to data is possible. 
It can store large amounts of data. 
It has a better data transfer rate than magnetic tapes. 
It has less prone to corruption of data as compared to tapes. 

Disadvantages:-
These are less expensive than RAM but more expensive than magnetic tape memories. 
It needs a clean and dust-free environment to store. 
These are not suitable for sequential access.