secondary storage

2 definitions found

secondary storage - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  secondary storage
      n 1: a data storage device that is not the main memory of a
           computer [syn: auxiliary storage, external storage,
           secondary storage]

secondary storage - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  secondary storage
  
     <storage> Any non-volatile storage medium that is not
     directly accessible to the processor.  Memory directly
     accessible to the processor includes main memory, cache
     and the CPU registers.  Secondary storage includes hard drives
     , magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD drives, floppy disks
     , punch cards and paper tape.
  
     Secondary storage devices are usually accessed via some kind
     of controller.  This contains registers that can be directly
     accessed by the CPU like main memory ("memory mapped").
     Reading and writing these registers can cause the device to
     perform actions like reading a block of data off a disk or
     rewinding a tape.  See also DMA.
  
     Programs and data stored in secondary storage must first be
     loaded into main memory before the processor can use them.
  
     (1997-11-05)