BigChiefS4 t1_iy4pvba wrote on November 28, 2022 at 7:04 PM

Reply to comment by blaskkaffe in eli5 How is computer memory deleted? by unlikemike123

I'm going to be pedantic here - there is only one kind of memory in a computer and that is RAM (Random Access Memory). The data that is in memory is stored there as long as the computer is on and the operating system is fully booted. All of your programs that are running (like Chrome, Photoshop or Notepad) are running in memory. When you reboot your computer or power it off, whatever is in memory gets cleared out, or deleted.

Hard drives, whether they be spinning disks (HDD) or SSD's, are storage, not memory. The data stored in them is retained after a reboot or power cycle of the computer.

OP's wording of his question and your answer are the reasons why people get confused about memory vs. storage.

blaskkaffe t1_iy5igkn wrote on November 28, 2022 at 10:12 PM

First this is r/explainitlikeimfive, accuracy is not the highest importance but a simple to understand general (but somewhat accurate) explanation is usually enough.

Secondary, there are two types of memory in a computer, primary memory (RAM, CPU cache and ROM) and secondary memory (SSD, HDD, CD, Floppy disks, tape or any other storage media).

Those two definitions are what is generally used in computers and are a very simple way of differentiating between the two categories of memory (short term vs long term) which is what you call memory and storage, both are types of memory.

The confusion comes from that Random Acces Memory contains the word “memory” and Hard Disk Drive, Solid State Drive, Compact Disk etc. doesn’t contain the word memory even though they are all different types of long term memory storage technologies.

Here is one of many links that explains the different types of computer memory in more detail: https://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/hardware/types-of-computer-memory/

BigChiefS4 t1_iy5jgv8 wrote on November 28, 2022 at 10:19 PM

Nobody I’ve ever worked with in the hardware side of IT has ever called storage “memory” and I’ve been doing this for well over 30 years.

When our devs refer to memory, we are always asking them to differentiate between RAM and storage.

blaskkaffe t1_iy79c47 wrote on November 29, 2022 at 7:02 AM

I agree with that, not many people call it memory, unless it is a memory card or similar. It is however still a type of computer memory and OP is asking how to erase a file in memory, which is why I try to clear up that there is two types of memory. I edited the original post to clarify that primary memory or even more specifically RAM is what people usually call memory, and that secondary memory is often called storage.

But saying you are being pedantic but then saying something that is technically entirely incorrect is not being pedantic and simply ads to confusion.