Question

Discuss removable Media like USB drives and SD cards. What type of file system is commonly used?

Answer 1

Removable Media:

• The type of storage device that can be removed from the system while the system is running, is known as removable media.
• The users have found a convenient way of carrying and transferring data in the form of removable media.
• Removable disks are also of different types:
  • Some require a driver to be installed in system to be readable
  • Some are read directly
• SD cards, USB drives, CDs and DVDs are some example of removable media.
• Let us discuss about some of them:

USB drives -

• A USB(Universal Serial Bus) drive is a device for storing data.
• It includes flash memory with integrated USB interface.
• It possesses the very good qualities like rewritability and portability.
• It was first launched in 2000.
• These are much faster than the CDs, DVSs and floppy disks.
• The commonly used USB drives ranges between 4gb to 1tb.
• If we talk about file systems, NTFS File system is used in USB drives

SD cards -

• SD card stands for Secure Digital card.
• This type of removable media was specially made for portable devices like mobile phones, tablets, etc.
• The first SD card was launched with the joint effort of SanDisk, Panasonic and Toshiba in 1999.
• These are relatively slower than the USB flash drives but still faster than the CD, DVD and floppy disk.
• In case of SD cards, FAT16 File system is used.

Limitations -

We have discussed about a lot of advantages, let us have a look at the limitations

or risks of using a removable media:

• While using a removable media there is always a chance of data being lost.
• Data can also be stolen with the media.
• Removable media is often used for malware also.
• Hackers use infected removable media to to get someone to put that device into their computer, and once they do it they become victim of the hackers.
• An infected removable device affect your entire system.

So this was about Removable media, their advantages and limitations!

Thanks!