IDE

Integrated Drive Electronics. A type of interface in which the controller is on the drive instead of on a controller card.

Interface

A physical or software connection used to transmit data between equipment or programs so they can work with each other.

Interlaced

A method of scanning a video screen which appears to double the refresh rate of the image on the screen.

Interrupt

A signal that a device uses when the device is ready to accept or send information.

I/O base address

The location within the input/ output space of your computer that a computer device (such as a printer or modem) uses to communicate with software.

IRQ

Interrupt Request. Hardware channel over which devices can send interrupts. Typically, each device connected to the computer uses a separate IRQ.

ISA

Industry Standard Architecture. The 8- or 16-bit standard developed for IBM compatible computers.

4 G l o s s a r y