Drives
Understanding Drive Terms
Terms for Types of Drives
A hard drive is used for the permanent storage of data files and of software such as system files, applications, and drivers. The hard drive in the hard drive bay is the system hard drive, sometimes called the local disk. The system hard drive can be replaced, but cannot be used in a MultiBay. A hard drive is sometimes called a hard disk drive or HDD.
Diskette drives are often used to store or transport data. The tablet PC can read or write to any MultiBay diskette drive. A diskette drive is sometimes called a floppy disk drive, floppy drive, or FDD.
Optical drives include CD and DVD drives. Optical drives are used to store or transport data and to play music and movies. DVD media have higher capacities than CD media. The tablet PC can read or write to optical drives as described in the following table.
Optical Drive | Read | Write |
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Yes | No | |
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Yes | Yes | |
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Yes | No | |
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Yes | Yes | |
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Terms for Drive Media
A diskette or disc that can be inserted or removed from a drive is referred to as a drive medium. In this guide a diskette is inserted in a diskette drive, and a disc is inserted in an optical drive.
Hardware Guide |