TECRA A11/S11, Satellite Pro S500

floppy diskette drive (FDD): An electromechanical device that reads and writes to floppy diskettes.

folder: An icon in Windows used to store documents or other folders.

format: The process of readying a blank disk for its first use. Formatting establishes the structure of the disk that the operating system expects before it writes files or programs onto the disk.

function keys: The keys labeled F1 through F12 that tell the computer to perform certain functions.

G

gigabyte (GB): A unit of data storage equal to 1024 megabytes. See also megabyte.

graphics: Drawings, pictures, or other images, such as charts or graphs, to present information.

H

hard disk: A storage device composed of a rigid platter or platters that can be magnetically coded with data. Hard disks hold much more information than diskettes and are used for long-term storage of programs and data. The primary (or only) hard disk in a computer is usually fixed, but some computers have secondary hard disks that are removable. By default, the hard disk is referred to as drive C.

hard disk drive (HDD): An electromechanical device that reads and writes a hard disk. See also hard disk.

hardware: The physical electronic and mechanical components of a computer system: typically, the computer itself, external disk drives, etc. See also software and firmware.

hertz: A unit of wave frequency that equals one cycle per second.

host computer: The computer that controls, regulates, and transmits information to a device or another computer.

hot key: The computer’s feature in which certain keys in combination with the extended function key, FN, can be used to set system parameters, such as speaker volume.

HW Setup: A TOSHIBA utility that lets you set the parameters for various hardware components.

I

icon: A small graphic image displayed on the screen or in the indicator panel. In Windows, an icon represents an object that the user can manipulate.

i.LINK (IEEE1394): This port enables high-speed data transfer directly from external devices such as digital video cameras.

Glossary-8

User’s Manual