Device Driver. A software routine that links a peripheral device to the operating system. It acts as a translator between the device and the applications that use it. Each device has its own set of specialized commands known only to its driver while the applications access devices using high-level generic commands. The driver translates these commands into the commands required by the devices.

DOS (Disk Operating System). A software that organizes how a computer reads, writes, and communicate to the disks and various input/ output devices (such as keyboards, screens, serial and parallel ports, printers, modems, etc.) connected to it. DOS was the most popular PC operating system until the introduction of Windows.

DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). A type of RAM that requires refresh cycles to prevent the loss of the data stored in it. See also RAM and SDRAM.

Expansion Card. A printed circuit card suchas an audio card, a video card, or a LAN card that plugs into an expansion slot on the motherboard. An expansion card add functions that are not present in the motherboard.

Flash ROM. A non-volatile memory device that retains its data even when power is removed. This device is similar to EPROM, but unlike EPROM which can be erased only using an ultra-violet light, flash ROM can be electrically erased. Flash ROM is normally used for system BIOS, which initiates hardware devices and sets up necessary parameters for the OS. Since the flash ROM contents can be modified, you can update the BIOS by yourself.

IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics). IDE devices integrate the drive control circuitry directly on the drive itself, eliminating the need for a separate adapter card (in the case for SCSI devices). UltraDMA/100/6633 IDE devices can achieve up to 100MB/sec transfers.

Internet. The global computer network composed of WANs and LANs that uses TCP/IP to provide worldwide communications to homes, schools, businesses, and the government.

I/O (Input/Output). The data transfers from the input devices like a keyboard, mouse, or scanner, to the output devices like a printer or the monitor screen.

I/O Address. The specific memory location for a particular device. Two devices cannot share the same I/O address space.

ASUS P4B266 motherboard user guide

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