Data storage

 While I was researching how data is stored on a computer on the internet according to explainthatstuff.com/harddrive data is stored in a very orderly pattern on each platter. Bits of data are arranged in concentric circular paths called tracks. Each track is broken up into smaller areas called sectors. Part of the hard drive stores a map of sectors that have already been used up and others that are still free. Less the hard drive stores information inside the casing there are series of disk-like objects referred to as "platters". The computer and motherboard use software to tell what is called the "read/write head" were to move on the platter and where it then provides an electrical charge to a "sector" on the platter. Each sector has an isolated part of the disk containing thousands of subdivisions all capable of accepting a magnetic charge. 

A backup of your computer can be done either manually by selecting the files you do not want to lose in case something were to happen where you would need to reboot the computer and reinstall the operating system. Or you can schedule your computer to automatically do it at a certain time/date. I recently just saved all my files, downloads, and documents to a removable hard drive in an attempt to save the important stuff and free up space on my pc. In the process of hand-selecting the files I was able to organize them some myself by creating folders for homework assignments and pictures for example. I believe that was the first time I did back up my files since I have been using this computer. It was not too big of a challenge as it was time-consuming. But making sure you do a backup on your computer is important especially if you do not want to lose pictures you can not replace. Memory is used for every process on the computer including the operating system, during idle time, windows reserves anywhere from 1.8 to 2.4Gb of RAM