How does your CPU control a HDD, does the HDD have its own tiny processor to tell the arm where to move?

Question

How does your CPU control a HDD, does the HDD have its own tiny processor to tell the arm where to move?

In: Technology

Answer 1

Ever heard of the BIOS? It’s the Basic Input Output System that runs on your motherboard. It’s the thing that loads and runs before Windows starts up, and runs even if you don’t have a hard drive in your computer. Your CPU talks to all of your computer’s devices- HDD, serial ports, your monitor- through the BIOS.

Your motherboard had a bunch of built-in chips designed to control those devices, which your CPU calls on when it needs to talk to them.

The devices, in turn, generally have chips of their own. You HDD does have a built-in controller. So it goes CPU->Motherboard->HDD controller.