Glossary

APPENDIX .7

7. APPENDIX

Peripherals

Peripherals are devices attached to the computer via I/O ports. Peripheral devices allow your computer to perform an almost limitless variety of specialized tasks.

Plug and Play BIOS

The ISA bus architecture requires the allocation of memory and I/O address, DMA channels and interrupt levels among multiple ISA cards. However, configuration of ISA cards is typically done with jumpers that change the decode maps for memory and I/O space and steer the DMA and interrupt signals to different pins on the bus. Further, system configuration files may need to be updated to reflect these changes. Users typically resolve sharing conflicts by referring to documentation provided by each manufacturer. For the average user, this configuration process can be unreliable and frustrating. Plug and play (PnP) BIOS eliminates the ISA add-on card hardware conflict problem. The PnP BIOS uses a memory block to define and remember each card's configuration, which allows the user to change the card's IRQs and DMA in BIOS either automatically or manually.

POST (Power On Self Test)

When you turn ON the computer, it will first run through the POST, a series of software-controlled diagnostic tests. The POST checks system memory, the mother- board circuitry, the display, the keyboard, the diskette drive, and other I/O devices.

PS/2 Port

PS/2 ports are based on IBM Micro Channel Architecture. This type of architecture transfers data through a 16-bit or 32-bit bus. A PS/2 mouse and/or keyboard may be used on ATX motherboards.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

There are several different types of RAM such as DRAM (Dynamic RAM), EDO DRAM (Extended Data Output DRAM), SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM).

ROM (Read Only Memory)

ROM is nonvolatile memory used to store permanent programs (called firmware) used in certain computer components. Flash ROM (or EEPROM) can be reprogrammed with new programs (or BIOS).

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)

High speed multi-threaded I/O interface defined by the X3T9.2 committee of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for connecting many peripheral de- vices. The standard started from 10MBytes/sec to 160MBytes/sec available today.

SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM)

The SDRAM features a fully synchronous operation referenced to a positive edge clock whereby all operations are synchronized at a clock input which enables the coexistence of high performance and a simple user interface. SDRAM takes memory access away from the CPU's control; internal registers in the chips accept the re- quest, and let the CPU do something else while the data requested is assembled for the next time the CPU talks to the memory. As they work on their own clock cycle, the rest of the system can be clocked faster. There is a version optimized for video cards, and main memory for motherboards.

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