Question

What is the space on the hard drive used for storing data that doesn't fit in RAM?

1) Virtual memory
2) Cache memory
3) Secondary memory
4) Primary memory

Answer 1

The space used on a hard drive for storing data that overflows from RAM is called virtual memory. It functions as an extension of RAM, allowing a computer to handle more data by swapping it between the RAM and hard drive.

Step-by-step explanation:

The space on the hard drive used for storing data that doesn't fit in RAM is known as virtual memory. The operating system manages the virtual memory by swapping data to the hard drive and back to RAM as needed. When the RAM fills up, the computer moves less frequently accessed data to the hard drive's virtual memory to make room for new data in the RAM. This process allows the system to handle larger amounts of data than the RAM can hold by itself.

It's important to note that while virtual memory can compensate for limited RAM, it is generally slower because accessing a hard drive is slower than accessing RAM. The computer's storage space, including virtual memory, can be measured in units such as kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), and terabytes (TB), with each larger unit containing 1024 times more bytes than the previous one.