Parts of a Hard Disk

A hard disk drive contains rigid disk shaped platters, usually constructed of aluminum or glass which cannot be bent like floppy disc hence termed as hard disk. Since the platters cannot be removed they are sometimes called fixed disk drives.

The physical constructions of the hard disks contains of spinning disks with the heads that move over.

The physical construction of a hard disks called platters with heads, they are that move over the disk stacked on top of each other and spin at same speed, each with two sides tracks and sectors which the drive stores data. The heads read and write data in tracks which are divided up into segment called sectors. Most drives have at least 2-3 platters, resulting four or six sides, some driver have up to 11 or more platters. The identically positioned tracks on each side of every platter together make up a cylinder. A hard disk drive normally has one head per platter with all heads mounted on common rack. The hard disk spins the disk as 3600, 5400, and up to 7200 or even more RPM (rotation per minute).

Basic Hard drive components:

• Disk platters
• Read/ write head
• Spindle motor
• Head acutator mechanism
• Logic board
• Cable and connectors
• Configuration items

The platters, spindle motor, heads and head actuator mechanism are contained in a sealed chambers called the Head Disk Assembly (HDA), usually treated as a single components and is rarely opened. Other parts external to HDA such as the logic board, cover, and other configuration items can be disassembled from the drive.