| A | B |
|---|
| IDE | Integrated Drive Electronics. Can connect up to 2 devices. Contains all the necessary circutry in the drive itself. |
| EIDE | Enhanced IDE. Allows for 2 IDE channels that support 2 drives each. |
| ATA | AT attachment. 16-bit data bus AKA: ISA bus. Refers to the IBM - AT Computer where it was first used. |
| ATA - 33 | Doubles the data transfer rate of ATA to 33 Mbps. AKA: Ultra IDE |
| SCSI | Small Computer Standard Interface. Standard data pathway used for CD - ROMs and Hard drives. Also a common interface for scanners and printers. |
| Millisecond | 1/1000 of a second. Usually used to measure hard drive access times. |
| System Hang | When a program fails and locks up without even giving an error message. Usually blocks all input to the program. |
| POST | Power-On Self Test. Performs the necessary diagnostic and hardware/software/firmware tests during boot-up. |
| Cold Boot | Turning on the computer from an off position or turning it off then waiting a few seconds before turning it on again. |
| Warm Boot | Restarting a computer by using Ctrl+Alt+Delete. |
| Boot Disk | A write protected floppy containing all the boot up and system files needed to load the operating system. |
| Boot Sector | Section of Hard drive that contains all the data needed to load the operating system. |
| Safe Mode | Automatically loaded if Windows crashes during boot up. Can be accessed at any time by pressing F8 during start - up. Loads only the necessary drivers and nothing else. |
| Scanner | A device used to copy an image from a physical source to a computer. |
| LPT1 | The MS-DOS label for paralell port 1. |
| COM1 | MS-DOS label for serial port 1. |
| MTBF | Mean Time Between Failures. A time in hours which the computer predicts when the next time will be that a device fails. |
| Drive Interface | A collection of logical and electrical connections between a hard drive and PC. |
| LUN | Logical Unit Number is a unique identifier for sub-devices assigned to a single SCSI ID. |
| Display Adapter | A PC expansion slot that converts images generated in the computer into electric signals required by the monitor. |
| VGA | Video Graphics Array. The minimum standard for PC video display, which originated with IBM's PS/2 models in 1987. |
| AT Commands | The modem command set by the Hayes Company for use on its modems and now used on most modems. |
| Asynchronous | A bit synchronization transmission technique that uses start and stop bits. |
