Why does RAM memory disappear when power switches off, but HD/SSD memory stays intact regardless of power status?
In: Technology
Because of its design.
RAM stores bits in a bunch of capacitors. These are devices that store electricity in them, but can’t do so for very long, they need to be periodically refilled and there is circuity to refill them, and that requires electricity. If no power is provided, the capacitor discharges and it all becomes 0s.
This is also a feature and not a bug. The ability to reset ram to all 0s under any situation solves issues when a computer is glitched. Imagine turning the computer off and on and it doesn’t unglitch because its still running code off the same ram that was glitched since it wasn’t wiped.
Hard Drives use disks that are magnetised to store bits. SSDs use a little trick known as a floating gate mosfet which traps electricity (without being able to discharge over time like a capacitor), which stores bits without power.
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