Just a few days ago we launched the best hard drive guide on the net. On this occasion, and after receiving several emails, we want to explain what are the parts of a hard drive and how it works. You ready to go? We’ll explain it to you now!
What components is a hard disk made of?
A hard drive has only a few basic parts. There are one or more bright silver trays, where the information is stored magnetically.
Parts of a hard disk
There is also an arm mechanism that moves a small magnet called the read/write head back and forth over the discs to record or store information, and there is an electronic circuit to control everything and act as a link between the hard disk and the rest of the PC.
Let’s look at each part in more detail. These are the parts you can find if you open a hard drive:
Mechanical actuator
Move the read/write arm. On older hard drives, the actuators were stepper motors. On most modern hard drives, voice coils are used. As the name suggests, these are simple electromagnets, which function like moving coils that produce sounds in the speakers. They position the read/write arm faster, more accurately and reliably than stepper motors and are less sensitive to problems such as temperature variations.
Read/write arm
Moves the read/write head back and forth through each tray. Actually, this arm also holds each head, so they cannot touch the tray and move freely.
Tray or plate
It is a metal disk mounted inside the hard disk case. All the data you saved on your hard drive is mainly written on this plate that is made of aluminum or glass substrate, coated with a thin layer of ferric oxide or cobalt alloy. Stores the information in binary form.
Connectors
They link the hard disk to the circuit board on the computer.
Flexible connector
Transports data from the printed circuit board to the read/write head and tray.
Arm motor
Allows the read/write arm to swing through the tray.
It is a motor attached to the trays and plays a very important role by turning the disc as fast as it can turn the disc in proper rotating conditions to help the head read and write the disc correctly. A motor can provide stable, reliable and constant running power for many hours of continuous use.
Read/write heads
It is a small magnet at the end of the arm of a hard disk that is mainly in charge of the whole process of reading and writing data.
Printed circuit board
It is located on the back of the hard disk case. The entire reading and writing process is controlled by this board, and that is the part of a hard disk that mainly connects the hard disk to the computer’s motherboard using a single interface cable. Controls the flow of data to and from the disk.
This concludes our article on the parts of a hard drive. Did you find it useful? We look forward to your comments!