How is binary stored in a computer?
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How is binary stored in a computer?
Binary data is primarily stored on the hard disk drive (HDD). The device is made up of a spinning disk (or disks) with magnetic coatings and heads that can both read and write information in the form of magnetic patterns. In addition to hard disk drives, floppy disks and tapes also store data magnetically.
How does a computer understand data?
Computers use binary – the digits 0 and 1 – to store data. A binary digit, or bit, is the smallest unit of data in computing. It is represented by a 0 or a 1. Binary numbers are made up of binary digits (bits), eg the binary number 1001.
How does the computer know that a bit pattern is an instruction?
The way the computer distinguishes between instructions and numbers simply depends on what is reading the data and where. For example, a simple Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) will include an input for the operation to be done, and two inputs for the operands.
How are computer circuits used?
Computer circuits are binary in concept, having only two possible states. They use on-off switches (transistors) that are electrically opened and closed in nanoseconds and picoseconds (billionths and trillionths of a second). A computer’s speed of operation depends on the design of its circuitry.
How does computer differentiate between instruction and data?
How does the computer distinguish between instructions and data? The CPU cannot therefore distinguish between instructions and data just by reading the bit pattern stored at a memory address. The CPU program counter should therefore always contain the memory location of an instruction.
Do you understand how computers represent complex information?
Binary can be used to represent more complex, higher level abstractions, including but not limited to numbers, characters, and colors. When data is large enough computers switch to using decimal representation instead of binary, because you can represent larger numbers with fewer digits.
Powering on the computer. When you first press the power button, the computer sends a signal to the computer power supply, which converts the alternating current (AC) to a direct current (DC).
How is information sent from the control unit to the computer?
Likewise, when the time is right, the control unit sends these items from memory to the arithmetic/logic unit, where an arithmetic operation or logical operation is performed. After being processed, the information is sent to memory, where it is hold until it is ready to he released to an output unit.
What happens after the computer has passed the post process?
After the computer has passed the POST, it starts the boot process. This process is responsible for loading the operating system and all its associated system files. Because Microsoft Windows is the most commonly used operating system, this section covers loading Microsoft Windows.
What happens to memory when the computer is turned off?
Most types of memory only store items while the computer is turned on; data is destroyed when the machine is turned off. If more than one program is running at once (often the case on large computers and sometimes on small computers), a single program can not lay exclusive claim to memory.