Because primary storage is accessed faster, the opened program will be able to communicate with the computer's processor at quicker speeds. Because there are different types of memory and storage, an example of this could be a program being moved from a solid-state drive ( SSD) to RAM. When a program is open, it is loaded from secondary memory to primary memory. To avoid confusion, it can be easier to talk about memory in terms of whether it is volatile or nonvolatile - and storage in terms of whether it is primary or secondary. For example, RAM can be referred to as primary storage - and types of secondary storage can include flash memory. The terms memory and storage can be confusing because their usage today is not always consistent. The difference in space is there because a computer will not need fast access to all the information stored on it at once, so allocating approximately 8 GB of space to run programs will suffice. For example, a laptop may have 8 GB of RAM while having 250 GB of storage. In general, a computer will have more storage space than memory. How much space is available in memory and storage differs as well. A running program may be in a computer's primary memory when in use - for fast retrieval of information - but when that program is closed, it resides in secondary memory or storage. Storage is nonvolatile, meaning the information is still there after the computer is turned off and then back on. An example of storage is a hard drive or a hard disk drive ( HDD).

The term storage refers to secondary memory and is where data in a computer is kept. The data is only stored for a short time because primary memory is volatile, meaning it isn't retained when the computer is turned off. It enables users to access data that is stored for a short time. Memory is also where information is processed. Memory is most often referred to as the primary storage on a computer, such as RAM. Memory refers to the location of short-term data, while storage refers to the location of data stored on a long-term basis.

Put succinctly, memory is primary memory, while storage is secondary memory. The concept of memory and storage can be easily conflated as the same concept however, there are some distinct and important differences. This image shows how primary, secondary and cache memory relate to each other in terms of size and speed. In general, the more memory (primary memory) a computing device has, the less frequently the computer must access instructions and data from slower (secondary) forms of storage. If a computer's central processer ( CPU) had to only use a secondary storage device, computers would become much slower. This type of memory is located on microchips that are physically close to a computer's microprocessor. The term memory is used as a synonym for primary memory or as an abbreviation for a specific type of primary memory called random access memory ( RAM). There are technically two types of computer memory: primary and secondary. Memory is also used by a computer's operating system, hardware and software.

Memory is one of the basic functions of a computer, because without it, a computer would not be able to function properly. It's where information is stored for immediate use. Memory is the electronic holding place for the instructions and data a computer needs to reach quickly.

Interface memory procssor