Computer Terminology

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BIOS

Basic Input/Output System - The method used in DOS to communicate with any device on the system such as disks, keyboard, monitor, etc. Directs only system hardware, not network hardware.

BUS

define.
CD (CD-ROM)

Compact Disk - Read Only Memory. Requires a CD-ROM drive on the computer. It can hold up to about 655 Megabytes of information.

CACHE

A cache is a block of memory that holds frequently used data or data that is waiting for another process to use it.

    Various types of "cache" are:

  1. Processor Cache
  2. Disk Cache
  3. Client-Server Cache
  4. Remote Cache

CMOS

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor. This is the storage for your basic system configuration used at boot time. It describes the hardware devices to your system.

DMA

Direct Memory Access. A DMA controller is used to relieve the host microprocessor of overhead work. It performs the function of moving blocks of memory around inside the computer. This means it may do things like moving data from a hard disk through the disk controller into the PC's main memory. Speeds up the system.

EISA

Extended Industry Standard Architecture. It extends the traditional AT-bus to 32 bits allows more than one processor to share the bus. Developed to counter IBM's MCA (Michrochannel Architecture).

ESDI

Enhanced Small Device Interface. Has transfer rates of 10 to 15 MBPS. Used with drives over 100MB in capacity.

HARD DRIVE

A disk storage device, often very large capacity in the gigabyte range, with a mechanism for reading and writing to the hard disk.

Courtesy Seagate Corporation.

Hard Disk Controller.

An expansion board that contains the necessary circuitry to control and coordinate a hard disk drive. They come in many varieties: EISA, IDE, SCSI, etc.

HARDWARE

All the physical electronic components of a computer to include peripheral devices, circuit boards, monitors, printers, keyboard, expansion slots, expansion boards, microprocessor (CPU), BIOS chips, memory, etc.

One way of saying hardware: If I look at a PC, I see only hardware, if I open the cover of the PC and look inside, all I see is "hardware". Hardware is (are) the physical devices.

IDE (Drive or Drive Interface)

Intelligent Drive Electronics. A term that describes a hard disk drive interface that combines features of other interfaces and has additional features. IDE devices have their own control circuitry; however, an IDE interface supports only devices.

ISA

DEFINE!

Logical Drive

A drive letter mapped or assigned to a directory on a remote computer's storage device. In some instances, it may also be used to refer to partitions created in an "extended" partition in systems such as Windows NT Server, or MS-DOS.

Latency Time

In disk storage devices, it is the average time it takes for the head to spin to the read/write head so that the data can be read or written.

LOGICAL Drive

A term used for drive letters assigned to partitions created under an "extended" DOS or NT partition. The extended partion is a large area of a drive, and logical drives are subdivisions of the extended partition.

MMX

Multi-Media Extensions. It is a set of 57 instructions designed to handle multi-media applications. It is implemented as part of the CPU of some of the newer microprocessor chips such as Intel MMX, CYRIX GX chips, etc.

MO Disk

Magneto-Optical disk.Uses both magnetic fields and laser-beam optics to write data. Uses polarized laser beams to read.

Motherboard

The large, silicone based board that ties all of the components of the computer. It contains the bus, the expansion slots, the circuitry, the connections to devices, to the memory, to the central processing unit, the UART, etc. IT IS THE COMPUTER, if you consider the components that it connects together.

NETBIOS

The term used for "Network Basic Input/Output System". NetBIOS was the original input interface to networks of PC's and was introduced around the time of MS-DOS 3.0 to 3.21.

NETWORK DRIVE

A mapped drive (actually a directory) on a server or workstation that can be accessed by other workstations. By sharing directories on a workstation, in a network, the shared directories can be connected to by "network" drive letters.

PCI

Peripheral Component Interconnect. It is an Intel developed high-speed system bus supporting 32-bit or 64-bit data paths. Sometimes used to reference the slot or the type of connections on a interface card.

PCMCIA

Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association. First conceived in 1987, but fed on a 1984 design of a memory card. It has evolved to cover many functions on different insertable cards. Used both on laptops and desktop PCs.

PIPELINING
Pipelining allows you to bring the first instruction into the CPU (Fetch), then move it to "decode" and start the fetch cycle on the next instruction, when the instruction in decode goes to execute cycly, the one in fetch goes to decode, and the next instruction is 'fetched'. You keep multiple instructions in various stages. NOTE: Most newer processors have more than these 3 cycles in their processing cycle.

Primary Partition

Using the DOS "FDISK" command, or the Windows NT's "Disk Administrator" you can create "primary" partitions on a hard disk drive. A primary partition is one on which you install an "operating system" and when you make the paritition "active", your PC will boot on that partition in the operating system which you installed on the partition. This allows you to create multiple primary partitions, and to install different operating systems (DOS, NT, Interactive Unix, etc.) on different primary partitions.

PROM

Programmable Read Only Memory. Usually BIOS and CMOS chips. (See Memory discussion)

RAID

Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. A number (usually 3 to 7) of disks in drives which are stacked inside a single cabinet or chassis. Data is written on multiple drives. If one of the drives fails, it can be replaced and reconstructed from "parity" information stored on one of the disks.

RAM

Random Access Memory. (See Memory discussion)

RISC Machine

Reduced Instruction Set Computer.

ROM

Read Only Memory (See Memory discussion)

ROM Shadowing

This means that the BIOS code in PROM is copied into fast RAM and all BIOS routine's addresses are remapped so programs see the BIOS routines in RAM at their normally expected addresses. It can double the speed of execution of BIOS code. (See Memory discussion)

SCSI

Small Computer System Interface. An interface, usually on a separate card, that allows you to interface with up to 7 individual devices such as hard and floppy drives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, etc. Has transfer rates of up to 32MBPS, but operate normally at a much slower rates. Has its own built-in control circuitry.

SDRAM

Synchronous Dynamic RAM

SRAM

Static RAM

SIMM

Single-In-Line Memory Module

Super Pipelining

.....

SuperScaler

......

USB

Universal Serial Bus. define...

VESA

Video Electronics Standards Association.

Video Card

Term for a hardware device (card) which is inserted into an ISA, EISA, or PCI slot, and the card and software "drives" the video output on your monitor.

Virtual Drive

......

VL Bus

VESA Local Bus.

WORM Drive

Write-Once Read Many (WORM) drives are optical storage devices with quick access because they allow random access to stored data.
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