Hard sectoring in a magnetic or optical data storage device is an archaic form of sectoring which uses a physical mark or hole in the recording medium to reference sector locations. Magnetic storage and magnetic recording are terms from Engineering referring to the storage of Data on a Magnetized medium A data storage device is a device for recording (storing information (data In the context of Computer Disk storage, a sector is a subdivision of a track (Figure 1 item A on a Magnetic disk or Optical disc
In older 8- and 5ΒΌ-inch floppy disks, hard sectoring was implemented by punching "sector holes" in the disk to mark the start of each sector. A floppy disk is an increasingly Obsolete data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin flexible ("floppy" Magnetic storage medium encased These were equally spaced holes, at a common radius. This was in addition to the "index hole", situated between two sector holes, to mark the start of the entire "track" of sectors. When the index or sector hole was recognized by an optical sensor, a sector signal was generated. A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument Timing electronics or software would use the faster timing of the index hole between sector holes, to generate an index signal.