EMS

Abbreviation for Expanded Memory Specification.

EPROM

Acronym for erasable programmable read-only memory.

ESD

Abbreviation for electrostatic discharge.

expanded memory

A technique for accessing RAM above 1 MB. To enable expanded memory on your computer, you must use an EMM. You should configure your system to support expanded memory only if you run application programs that can use (or require) expanded memory.

expansion bus

Your computer contains an expansion bus that allows the processor to communicate with controllers for peripheral devices, such as a network card or an internal modem.

expansion-card connector

A connector on the computer's system board or riser board for plugging in an expansion card.

extended memory

RAM above 1 MB. Most software that can use it, such as the Windows operating system, requires that extended memory be under the control of an XMM.

external cache memory

A RAM cache using SRAM chips. Because SRAM chips operate at several times the speed of DRAM chips, the processor can retrieve data and instructions faster from external cache memory than from RAM.

F

Abbreviation for Fahrenheit.

FAT

Acronym for file allocation table. The file system structure used by MS-DOS to organize and keep track of file storage. The

signals in the cable. When such devices are connected in a series, you may need to enable or disable the termination on these devices by changing jumper or switch settings on the devices or by changing settings in the configuration software for the devices.

text editor

An application program for editing text files consisting exclusively of ASCII characters. Windows Notepad is a text editor, for example. Most word processors use proprietary file formats containing binary characters, although some can read and write text files.

text mode

A video mode that can be defined as x columns by y rows of characters.

time-out

A specified period of system inactivity that must occur before an energy conservation feature is activated.

tpi

Abbreviation for tracks per inch.

TSR

Abbreviation for terminate-and-stay-resident. A TSR program runs "in the background." Most TSR programs implement a predefined key combination (sometimes referred to as a hot key) that allows you to activate the TSR program's interface while running another program. When you finish using the TSR program, you can return to the other application program and leave the TSR program resident in memory for later use.

TSR programs can sometimes cause memory conflicts. When troubleshooting, rule out the possibility of such a conflict by rebooting your computer without starting any TSR programs.

UL

Abbreviation for Underwriters Laboratories.

UMB

Abbreviation for upper memory blocks.

upper memory area

The 384 KB of RAM located between 640 KB and 1 MB. If the computer has an Intel386 or higher processor, a utility called a memory manager can create UMBs in the upper memory area, in which you can load device drivers and memory-resident programs.

UPS