NEC 120Lg manual Power-On-Self-Test

P

parallel port

The connector on the back of your computer that allows the transfer of data between the computer and a parallel device, such as a parallel printer.

partition

The process of dividing the storage space on a hard disk into separate areas so that the operating system treats them as separate disk drives.

password

A security feature that prevents an unauthorized user from operating your computer. See also EEPROM.

PCI

Peripheral Component Interconnect. PCI is a high-performance peripherals I/O bus supporting data transfers of up to 528MB per second.

Pentium

A type of microprocessor, with a built-in math coprocessor, cache memory, and memory and bus controllers, that processes and communicates 32 bits of data at a time. This microprocessor also contains power management capabilities.

peripheral

A device connected to and controlled by the computer, such as an external disk drive or a printer.

pixel

The smallest element that is visible on a video display. The resolution of a video display system is measured in pixels.

PnP

(Plug-n-Play) Plug-and-play is the ability to plug a device into a computer and have the computer recognize that the device is there. The user doesn't have to tell the computer.

POST

Power-On-Self-Test.

R

RAM

(Random-Access Memory) A temporary storage area for data and programs. This type of memory must be periodically refreshed to maintain valid data, and is lost when the computer is powered off. See also NVRAM and SRAM.

real-time clock

The IC in your computer that maintains the time and date.

Glossary 7