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ROM and RAM are essential components of a computer, each serving distinct roles. RAM, or Random Access Memory, is a temporary, volatile storage medium that loses data when the system powers down. In contrast, ROM, being non-volatile, preserves its data even after the computer is switched off. [2]
Software can "partition" a portion of a computer's RAM, allowing it to act as a much faster hard drive that is called a RAM disk. A RAM disk loses the stored data when the computer is shut down, unless memory is arranged to have a standby battery source, or changes to the RAM disk are written out to a nonvolatile disk.
Computer memory stores information, such as data and programs, for immediate use in the computer. [2] The term memory is often synonymous with the terms RAM , main memory , or primary storage . Archaic synonyms for main memory include core (for magnetic core memory) and store .
An additional advantage of ROM on some early PC systems (notably including the IBM PCjr) was that ROM was faster than main system RAM. (On modern systems, the case is very much the reverse of this, and BIOS ROM code is usually copied ("shadowed") into RAM so it will run faster.)
Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) technology. While most DRAM memory cell designs use a capacitor and transistor ...
RAM drives use normal system memory as if it were a partition on a physical hard drive rather than accessing the data bus normally used for secondary storage. Though RAM drives can often be supported directly in the operating system via special mechanisms in the OS kernel, it is generally simpler to access a RAM drive through a virtual device ...
An option ROM for the PC platform (i.e. the IBM PC and derived successor computer systems) is a piece of firmware that resides in ROM on an expansion card (or stored along with the main system BIOS), which gets executed to initialize the device and (optionally) add support for the device to the BIOS.
Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: A male sheep; Random-access memory, computer, phone or laptop memory; Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans; Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks; Ram, ram, or RAM may also refer to: