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R ITSC1425 Terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Adapter Card | A small circuit board inserted in an expansion slot and used to communicate between the system bus and a peripheral device |
| Binary Number System | The number system used by computers; it has only two numbers: 0 and 1 |
| BIOS | Firmware that can control much of a computer's input/output functions |
| BIOS Setup | The program in system BIOS that can change the values in CMOS RAM |
| Bus | The paths or lines on the motherboard on which data instructions and electrical power move from component to component |
| Byte | A collection of eight bits that can represent a single character |
| Cards | Adapter boards or interface cards placed into expansion slots to expand the functions of a computer |
| Central Processing Unit | The heart and brain of the computer; receives data input; processes information; executes instructions |
| Chipset | A group of chips on the motherboard that controls the timing and flow of data to and from the CPU |
| Clock Speed | The speed or frequency expressed in MHz that controls the activity on the motherboard |
| CMOS | The technology used to manufacture microchips |
| CMOS RAM | Memory contained on the CMOS configuration chip |
| CMOS Setup | The program in system BIOS that can change the values in CMOS RAM |
| Data Bus | The lines on the system bus that the CPU uses to send and receive data |
| Data Path Size | The number of lines on a bus that can hold data |
| DIMM | A miniature circuit board installed on a motherboard to hold memory; can hold up to 4 GB of RAM per module |
| Expansion Cards | A circuit board inserted into a slot on the motherboard to enahnce the capability of the computer |
| Expansion Slots | A narrow slot on the motherboard where an expansion card can be inserted |
| Firmware | Software that is permanently stored in a chip |
| Flash ROM | ROM that can be reprogrammed or changed without replacing chips |
| Floppy Disk Drive | A drive that can hold either a 5 1/2 inch or 3 1/4 inch floppy disk |
| Front Side Bus | The bus between the CPU and memory on the motherboard; also called memory bus front-side bus local bus or host bus; system speed |
| Gigahertz | One thousand MHz or one billion cycles per second |
| Graphics Card | An interface card installed in the computer to control visual output on a monitor; also called display adapter or graphics card |
| Hard Copy | Output from printer to paper |
| Hard Disk Drive | The main secondary storage device of a PC; magnetic or solid state |
| Hardware | The physical components that constitute the computer system |
| Hertz | Unit of measurement for frequency calculated in terms of vibrations or cycles per second |
| Keyboard | A common input device through which data and instructions may be typed into computer memory |
| Magnetic Hard Drive | One of two technologies used by hard drives where data is stored as magnetic spots on disks that rotate at high speeds |
| Megahertz | One million Hz or one million cyces per second |
| Memory | Physical microchips that can hold data and programming |
| Monitor | The most commonly used output device for displaying text and graphics on a computer |
| Motherboard | Th main board in the computer; also called the system board |
| Mouse | A pointing and input device that allows the user to move a cursor around a screen and select items with the click of a button |
| Nonvolatile Memory | RAM that is stable and can hold data even if no electricity is powering the memory |
| Parallel ATA | An older IDE cabling method that uses a 40-pin flat or round data cable or an 80-conductor cable and a 40-pin IDE connector |
| Parallel Port | A female 25-pin port on a computer that can transmit data in parallel and is usally used with a printer |
| Peripheral Device | Devices that communicate with the CPU but are not located directly on the motherboard such as monitor floppy drive printer and mouse |
| Port | A physical connector usually in the back of a computer that allows a cable from a peripheral device to be attached |
| Power Supply | A box inside the computer case that supplies power to the motherboard and other installed devices |
| Primary Storage | Temporary storage on the motherboard used by the CPU to process data and instructions |
| Printer | A peripheral output device that produces printed output to paper |
| Program | A set of step-by-step instructions to a computer |
| Protocol | A set of rules and standards that two entities use for communication |
| RAM | Memory modules on the motherboard containing microchips used to temporarily hold data and programs while the CPU processes both |
| ROM | Chips that contain programming code and cannot be erased |
| S/PDIF Sound Port | Sony-Phillips Digital Interface; a sound port that connects to an external home theater audio system |
| Secondary Storage | Storage that is remote to the CPU and permanently holds data even when the PC is turned off |
| Serial ATA | An ATAPI cabling method that uses a narrower and more reliable cable than the 80-conductor cable |
| Serial Port | A male 9-pin or 25-pin port on a computer system used by slower I/O devices such as a mouse or modem |
| Software | Computer programs or instructions to perform a specific task |
| Solid State Drive | A hard drive that has no moving parts |
| Startup BIOS | Part of system BIOS that is responsible for controlling the PC when it is first turned on |
| System BIOS | BIOS located on the motherboard |
| System Clock | A line on the bus that is dedicated to timing the activities of components connected to it |
| Traces | A wire on a circuit board that connects two components or devices |
| Universal Seral Bus Port | A type of port designed to make installation and configuration of I/O devices easy; provides room for up to 127 devices |
| Video Memory | Memory used by the video controller; might be contained on a video card or be part of the system memory |
| Volatile | RAM that is temporary and must be frequently refreshed as it cannot hold data for very long |
| Administrator Account | An account that grants to the administrators rights and permissions to use all hardware and software resources |
| Aero User Interface | The Vista 3D user interface |
| Backward-Compatible | A technology, software, or device that works with older or legacy technologies, software, or devices |
| Briefcase | A system folder in Windows 9x/Me that is used to synchronize files between two computers |
| Command Prompt Window | A Windows utility that is used to enter multiple commands to perform a variety of tasks |
| Compressed (Zipped) Folder | A folder with a .zip extension that contains compressed files; when files are put in the folder, they are compressed; when files are moved into a regular folder, the files are decompressed |
| Desktop | The initial screen that is displayed when an OS has a GUI interface loaded |
| Device Driver | A program stored on the hard drive that tells the computer how to communicate with a hardware device |
| Distribution | Any version of Linux |
| Dual Boot | An ability to boot using either of two different OSs, such as Windows XP and Windows Vista |
| Elevated Command Prompt Window | A Vista command prompt window that allows commands that require administrator privileges |
| Executive Services | In Windows 2000/XP/Vista, a group of components running in kernel mode that interfaces between the subsystems in user mode and the HAL |
| File Attribute | The properties assigned to a file |
| File Extension | A portion of the name of a file that is used to identify the file type |
| Filename | The first part of the name assigned to a file |
| Graphical User Interface (GUI) | An interface that uses graphics as compared to a command-driven interface |
| Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) | The low-level part of Windows 2000/XP/Vista, written specifically for each CPU technology, so that only the HAL must change when platform components change |
| Kernel | The portion of an OS that is responsible for interacting with the software |
| Kernel Mode | A Windows 2000/XP/Vista privileged processing mode that has access to hardware components |
| Netbook | A low-end, inexpensive laptop with a small 9 or 10 inch screen and no optical drive that is generally used for web browsing |
| Notification Area | An area to the right of the taskbar that holds the icons for running services |
| Operating System | Software that controls a computer; controls how system resources are used, provides a user interface, a way of managing hardware and software, and ways to work with files |
| Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) | A software license that only manufacturers or builders of personal computer can purchase to be installed only on a computer intended for sale |
| Patches | An update to software that corrects an error, adds a feature, or addresses security issues |
| Path | A drive and list of directories pointing to a file |
| Registry | A database that Windows uses to store hardware and software configuration information, user preferences, and setup information |
| Root Directory | The main directory created when a hard drive or disk is first formatted |
| Service | A program that runs in the background to support or serve Windows or an application |
| Shell | The portion of an OS that relates to the user and to applications |
| Standard Account | The Vista user account type that can use software and hardware and make some system changes, but cannot make changes that affect the security of the system or other users |
| Subdirectory | A directory or folder contained in another directory or folder; also called a child directory or folder |
| Taskbar | A bar normally located at the bottom of the Windows desktop, displaying information about open programs and providing quick access to others |
| Thread | Each process that the CPU is aware of; a single task that is part of a longer task or program |
| User Account Control (UAC) | A Vista security feature that displays a dialog box each time a user attempts to perform an action that can be done only with administrative privileges |
| User Mode | In Windows 2000/XP/Vista, a mode that provides an interface between an application and the OS, and only has access to hardware resources through the code running in kernel mode |
| Virtual Machine | One or more logical machines created within one physical machine |
| Volume | A primary partition that has been assigned a drive letter |
Created by:
dhosterman
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