storage medium
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storage medium
A physical medium used to store digital information. Examples include hard drives, USB sticks, CDs, or DVDs.
Bitte speichern Sie die Präsentation auf einem externen Datenträger.
Please save the presentation on an external storage medium.
The word is made up of 'Daten' (data) and 'Träger' (carrier). A 'Träger' is something that carries or transports something else. A 'Datenträger' is therefore literally a 'carrier for data'.
Ein USB-Stick ist ein sehr beliebter mobiler Datenträger.
A USB stick is a very popular mobile storage medium.
Common verbs in connection with 'Datenträger' (storage medium) are 'speichern auf' (to save on), 'kopieren auf' (to copy onto), or 'löschen von' (to delete from). The preposition 'auf' (on/onto) is used for the destination of storage, and 'von' (from) for the source.
Ich habe die Fotos auf einem externen Datenträger gespeichert.
I saved the photos on an external storage medium.
'Datenträger' (storage medium) is a technical term from information technology (IT). It is used to talk about physical storage media such as hard drives, USB sticks, or CDs.
Die CD-ROM ist ein optischer Datenträger, der heute kaum noch verwendet wird.
The CD-ROM is an optical storage medium that is hardly used anymore today.
storage / memory
'der Speicher' and 'der Datenträger' can both have to do with digital data. 'der Speicher' generally means the place or technical component where data is stored. This can also be internal storage in a device. 'der Datenträger', on the other hand, emphasizes the physical medium that carries data, for example a USB stick, a hard drive, or a DVD. Learners may confuse the words because a 'Datenträger' can also be a kind of 'Speicher'. But 'Datenträger' is more precise when you mean the concrete medium in your hand or in the device.
Vor der Reise kopierte sie die Fotos auf einen externen Datenträger.
Before the trip, she copied the photos onto an external storage medium.
Im Gespräch erklärt die Kundin, dass der Speicher ihres Tablets nicht reicht.
In the conversation, the customer explains that her tablet's storage is not enough.