|
Glossary - a way to find out what the techie or geek said... |
Glossary page 2, still with me? How is the headache? 
This
is a small definitions and terms -
Page two, M to Z
to help lower the
confusion level. .
M
Memory - Two types of memory - non -volatile - read only, or volatile -
changeable. Non volatile is a type of write once, once it is written it can not
be changed, like a CD or DVD. Volatile memory is memory that can be changed, you
write to it, change your mind and erase it, then write to it again. Your
Computer ram is writeable memory.
Modem - A device that communicates with another device across a long distance.
Dial up modems connect to a phone line, this is a analog signal, the modem
converts a digital signal from the computer to analog to send the data and back
to digital when it receives data. (Modem transfer speed is measured in KBPS).
MBPS - Data transfer speed, Mega Bytes Per Second. (Network transfer speed is
measured in MBPS).
N
Non-Volatile - Something that can not be changed with out destroying it.
NERD - A person that is totally involved in a field of
endeavor to a point where they are the preferred go to expert. Most computer
repair techs are nerds, some go further and are geeks ...
Return to top
O
OS - Operating System, high level program that controls the computer, allows for
input and output.
Overclocking - A process of making a chip (memory or processor) perform beyond
the manufactures specifications from when the device was made. Say you have a
processor that is rated at 800 MHz you if change this to 850 MHz the computer
may run faster. Overclocking the memory or processor can lead to damage of the
component or the main board or both.
See this
page for a short e-course about
Overclocking.
P
Troubleshoot, repair, maintain, upgrade & secure...
With this! |
Partition - Before a raw hard drive can be formatted it has to have physical
pointers applied to the hard drive physical disk platters, these are the
starting and ending points for the format program to its job.
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
- A multi layered sheet of fiberglass with copper traces (flat thin copper
wires) embedded between the layers. All electronic devices have a PCB to mount
and connect the individual components.
Port - A term used for any opening that the computer can use to communicate with
a external device, program, or data. Computers have connections for external
devices, these connections are called ports.
POST - Power On Self Test - Most computer manufactures provide a way to test the
computer when it is powered up, checking components for malfunctions, this
function is built into a program called BIOS.
Processor - Or CPU - The brains of the outfit. This
small thin silicon wafer has millions (soon to be Billions!) of transistors
embedded in it. Each transistor has two power states, off and on, the state
represents a number, one ( 1 ) is on and zero ( 0 ) is off. The state of
this transistor is called a bit, this bit to humans is
represented as data. The processor processes the 1's and 0's and the result is
displayed on your video screen. There is a lot more to it than this but it will
fill two large volumes of printed books.
Q
Quad - Four, as in Core 2 Quad, this is a four processor PCB that
installs into one socket on the motherboard giving the motherboard four
processor capability.
R
RAM - Physical Random Access Memory. RAM is a silicon chip that is
electronically charged and discharged to retain data.
RAM Drive/Disk - A software solution that takes a
portion of physical memory and makes it a drive, very useful, very fast.
S
SSD - Solid State Drive, this is a storage device
that uses memory, it emulates a mechanical hard drive
and will retain data when the power is removed. The memory is a special type of
memory that does not lose it's charge when power is removed much like a pen or
flash drive.
Storage - Physical devices that retain data when power is removed from the
device.
SVGA - Super Video Graphics
Adapter: The VGA
adapter allowed for memory and a processor to be incorporated on the card.
The resolution went from thousands of colors to millions of colors.
T
Turbo Boost - Originally a way to change the clock speed of a processor with a
switch on the computer case. First used with the Intel 486 DX processor, the
first and only processor you could double the frequency of the processor with
changing one circuit.
U
USB - Universal Serial Bus. USB is used for connecting external devices to your
computer, it is an upgrade to the serial bus specification allowing for more
than one device to connect to the bus at one time..
Return to top of Glossary page 2
V
VGA - Video Graphics Adapter: The first video adapters were mono chrome and did
not display graphics, characters only. Then came the CGA, Color Graphics
Adapter. This adapter displayed 16 colors then 256 colors. The VGA adapter
allowed for memory and a processor to be incorporated on the card. The
resolution went from 256 colors to thousand of colors over night.
Virtual - In the computing world virtual means
emulation, there are numerous virtual devices, CD or DVD Drives, Network
connections, even computers. These software programs emulate the device making
them easier, faster, and cheaper to use.
W
Winchester: The first hard drives were called Winchesters, this was the code
name for the development of the small hard drive for PC's by Western Digital. (Small
is relative, the original IBM hard drive was 5 1/4 inches wide, 7 inches long,
and 3 inches high and weighed approximately 9 pounds!)
X
Xenon - Intel? high end processor for servers.
Y
Z
Zip - A file compression algorithm.
So far this is the end of Glossary page 2
You will find fourteen more pages full of
Geek to everyday English translated Glossary in the
Self Computer Repair Unleashed! 2nd Edition.
|
Your
desktop
computing
power is
approaching
the capacity
of the
human brain!
|
|
Proudly Made in The U. S. A.
www.diy-computer-repair.net