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secondary memory Last modified: Tuesday, October 30, 2001

Secondary memory (or secondary storage) is the slowest and cheapest form of memory. It cannot be processed directly by the CPU. It must first be copied into primary storage (also known as RAM ). Secondary memory devices include magnetic disks like hard drives and floppy disks ; optical disks such as CDs and CDROMs ; and magnetic tapes, which were the first forms of secondary memory.

Secondary Memory Professor Wellington's lecture notes on secondary memory provides a clear introduction to track formats and file organization.