Device

A piece of equipment that is part of a computer system, such as a disk drive, a monitor, or a printer.

Device driver

A file containing instructions that allow your computer to recognize and communicate with a device. The device may be a printer, monitor, or other type of device.

Diagnostics

See Power-on diagnostics,

DIP switch

Dual Inline Package switch. A small rocker- or sliding-type switch that controls a particular function.

Directory

A group of files stored in a particular area on a disk. A directory listing shows the name, location, and size of the files in the directory. A directory can contain both files and subdirectories.

Display adupter card

A circuit board that can be installed in one of the computer’s option slots to control the way a monitor displays text and graphics. A VGA display adapter is built into your computer’s main system board. Also called video card.

D O S

Disk Operating System. The generic term for the operating system software that controls a computer and directs its input and output functions. See also MS-DOS and Operating system.

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