| Application: |
A more technical term
for program. |
| Bios: |
The part of the operating system
that provides the lowest level interface to peripheral
devices. The BIOS is stored in the ROM on the computer's
motherboard. |
| Boot: |
To start up your computer. |
| Boot Record: |
Once the BIOS has determined which
disk to boot from, it loads the first sector of
that disk into memory and executes it. Besides this
loader program, the Boot Record contains the partition
table for that disk. If the Boot Record is damaged,
it can be a very serious situation! |
| CMOS: |
A part of the motherboard that maintains
system variables in static RAM. It also supplies
a real-time clock that keeps track of the date,
day and time. CMOS Setup is typically accessible
by entering a specific sequence of keystrokes during
the POST at system startup. |
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| CPU: |
Stands for Central Processing Unit,
a programmable logic device that performs all the
instruction, logic, and mathematical processing
in a computer. |
| Crash: |
A sudden, usually drastic failure.
Can be said of the operating system or a particular
program when there is a software failure. Also,
a disk drive can crash because of hardware failure. |
| DMA: |
Stands for direct access memory.
DMA is a fast way of transferring data within a
computer. Most devices require a dedicated DMA channel
(so the number of DMA channels that are available
may limit the number of peripherals that can be
installed). |
| Driver: |
A program designed to interface
a particular piece of hardware to an operating system
or other software. |
| DOS: |
Disk Operating System. Usually used
as an abbreviation for MS-DOS, a microcomputer operating
system developed by Microsoft. |
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| EIDE: |
Stands for enhanced integrated drive
electronics. A specific type of attachment interface
specification that allows for high-performance,
large-capacity drives. See also IDE. |
| Executable: |
A binary file containing a program
in machine language which is ready to be executed
(run). MS-DOS and Windows machines use the filename
extension ".exe" for these files. |
| File Allocation Table (FAT): |
A file allocation table (FAT) is
a table that an operating system maintains on a
hard disk that provides a map of the clusters (the
basic units of logical storage on a hard disk) that
a file has been stored in |
| Format: |
To format a hard disk or diskette
is to set up the space divisions on the medium and
initiate a space allocation table that will know
exactly how to reach each bit of data that may be
stored there later. |
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| Head: |
A small electromagnetic device inside
a drive that reads, writes, and erases data on the
drive's media. |
| IDE: |
Stands for integrated drive electronics.
Describes a hard disk with the disk controller integrated
within it. See also EIDE. |
| Motherboard: |
A motherboard is the physical arrangement
in a computer that contains the computer's basic
circuitry and components. |
| Partition: |
In personal computers, a partition
is a logical division of a hard disk created so
that you can have different operating systems on
the same hard disk or to create the appearance of
having separate hard drives for file management,
multiple users, or other purposes. |
| Peripheral: |
A peripheral (pronounced peh-RIHF-uh-ruhl,
a noun truncation of peripheral device), is any
computer device that is not part of the essential
computer (the processor, memory, and data paths)
but is situated relatively close by. |
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| Plug-and-Play: |
Plug and Play (PnP) is a capability
developed by Microsoft for its Windows 95 and later
operating systems that gives users the ability to
plug a device into a computer and have the computer
recognize that the device is there. |
| RAM: |
RAM (random access memory) is the
place in a computer where the operating system,
application programs, and data in current use are
kept so that they can be quickly reached by the
computer's processor |
| SCSI: |
SCSI (pronounced SKUH-zee and sometimes
colloquially known as "scuzzy"), the Small
Computer System Interface, is a set of ANSI standard
electronic interfaces that allow personal computers
to communicate with peripheral hardware such as
disk drives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, printers,
and scanners faster and more flexibly than previous
interfaces. |
| Sector: |
On a computer diskette or hard disk,
a sector is one of the "pies slices" the
diskette or disk is divided into. |
| Socket: |
A receptacle usually on a motherboard,
that processors or chips can be inserted into. |
| Virus: |
A virus is a piece of programming
code usually disguised as something else that causes
some unexpected and usually undesirable event. |
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