Any storage medium that’s non-volatile and whose data cannot be accessed by the computer once removed. A good example of offline storage is a USB thumb drive. Offline storage is used for transport and backup protection in the face of unpredictable events, such as hardware failure due to power outage or files corrupted by a computer viruses.

The image shows three types of storage. However, offline storage is a subset of secondary storage as they both serve the same purpose and do not interact directly with the CPU. The key differences being that offline storage is used as a way to physically transport information, generally has less capacity, and isn’t accessible without human interaction.

Backup, CD terms, Floppy drive terms, Primary storage, Secondary storage

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