Question | Answer |
accelerated graphics port | 32 bit wide bus standard developed specifically for video cards |
active parition | the primary partition on the hard drive that boots the os |
audio modem riser | a specification for a small slot on a motherboard to accomadate an audio or modem riser card. |
boot loader | an operating system program responsible for manageing the process of loading the os during the boot |
boot record | the first sector of a floppy disk or hard drive volume,contains info about the disk or volume |
booting | the process of starting up a computer and loading an operating system |
bootMgr | the vista program file responsible for beginning the process of loading and starting vista |
cmos battery | the battery on the motherboard used to power the cmos chip when the computer is unplugged |
cold boot | hard boot |
communication and networking riser | a specification fo a small expansion slot on a motherboard that accommadates a small audio modem or network riser card |
crossfire | ati technology that allows for multiple video cards to be installed in the same system |
dual inline package switch | a switch on a circuit board or other device that can be set to on or off to hold configuration or setup information |
front panel header | a group of pins on a motherboard that connect to wires that are connected to the front panel of the computer case |
hard boot | restart the computer by turning off the power or pressing the reset button |
i o shild | a plate installed on the rear of a computer case that provides holes for i/o ports coming off the motherboard |
jumper | two wires that stick up side by side on the motherboard or other device and are used to hold configuration information |
land grid array | a feature of a cpu socket whereby pads,called lands,are used to make contact in uniform rows over the socket |
master boot record | the first sector on a hard drive,which contains the partition table and a program the bios uses to boot an os from the drive |
north bridge | the portion of the chipset hub that connects faster i/o buses to the system bus |
ntldr | the os loader used on intel systems |
on board ports | ports that are directly on the motherboard, such as a built in keyboard port |
partition table | a table at the beginning of the hard drive that contains information about each partition on the drive,contained in the master boot record |
peripheral component interconnect bus | a bus common to desktop computers that uses a 32 or 64 bit data path,one or more notches on a pci slot keep it from being inserted wrong |
pci express | latest evvolution of pci,not backwards compaible with earlier pci slots and cards |
pin grid array | a feature of a cpu socket whereby the pins are aligned in uniform rows around the socket. |
power on password | a password that a computer uses to control access during the boot process |
program file | a file that conains instructions designed to be executed by the cpu |
riser card | a card that plugs into a motherboard and allows for expansion cards to be mounted parallel to the motherboard |
sector | on a disk surface one segment of a track which almost always contains 512 bytes of data |
scalable link inteface | a technology by nvidia that allows for multiple video cards o be installed into the same system |
soft boot | to restart a pc without turning off the power |
south bridge | the portion of the chipset hub that connects slower i/o buses to the system bus |
spacers | standofs.round plastic or metal pegs that seperate the motherboard from the case |
staggered pin grid array | a feature of a cpu socket whereby the pins are staggered over the socket in order to squeeze more pins into a smaller space |
standoffs | round plastic or metal pegs that seperate the motherboard from the case, so that components on the back of the motherboard do not touch the case |
startup password | power on password |
track | one of many cocentric circles on the surface of a hard drive or floppy disk |
user password | a power on password required to view or edit bios setup or use the computer |
wait state | a clock tick in which nothing happens, used to ensure that the microprocessor is not getting ahead of slower components; |
warm boot | soft boot |
zero insertion force socket | a socket that uses a small lever to apply even force when you install the microchip intp the socket |