Off-line storage

Term used to describe any type of storage that is removable and cannot be accessed by the computer once removed. A good example of off-line storage is a floppy disk. Off-line storage allows a user to store information that will not be affected by computer viruses or hardware failure.

Although off-line storage could be considered secondary storage, we've separated these into their own category because these types of media can be easily removed from the computer and stored elsewhere.

Also see: Backup, CD definitions, Floppy disk drive definitions, Primary storage, Secondary storage