Secondary storage refers to storage devices like hard drives, SSDs, or optical disks that hold data permanently or for extended periods. Unlike volatile storage, such as RAM, which requires power to maintain its data, nonvolatile storage retains its contents even after power is turned off. This makes nonvolatile storage essential for long-term data storage, as it doesn't lose information when the device is powered down. Examples include magnetic disks, flash memory, and optical media, which all store data securely until it is intentionally erased or overwritten. Nonvolatile storage is critical for data preservation.