Closed and open jumpers: jumpers and jumper pins are active when they are “on” or “closed”, and inactive when they are “off” or “open”.
CMOS (Complementary
COM port: another name for the serial port, which is called as such because it transmits the eight bits of a byte of data along one wire, and receives data on another single wire (that is, the data is transmitted in serial form, one bit after another). Parallel ports transmit the bits of a byte on eight different wires at the same time (that is, in parallel form, eight bits at the same time).
DDR (Double Data Rate): a technology designed to double the clock speed of the memory. It activates output on both the rising and falling edge of the system clock rather than on just the rising edge, potentially doubling output.
DIMM (Dual
DIMM bank: sometimes called DIMM socket because the phys ical slot and the logical unit are the same. That is, one DIMM module fits into one DIMM socket, which is capable of acting as a memory bank.
DMA (Direct Memory Access):channels that are similar to IRQs. DMA channels allow hardware devices (like soundcar ds or keyboards) to access the main memory without involving the CPU. This frees up CPU resources for other tasks. As with IRQs, it is vital that you do not double up devices on a single line. Plug
DRAM (Dynamic RAM): widely available, very affordable form of RAM which looses data if it is not recharged regularly (every few milliseconds). This refresh requirement makes DRAM three to ten times slower than
ECC (Error Correction Code or Error Checking and Correcting): allows data to be checked for errors during run- time. Errors can subsequently be corrected at the same time that they’re found.
EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM): also called Flash BIOS, it is a ROM chip which can, unlike normal ROM, be updated. This allows you to keep up with changes in the BIOS programs without having to buy a new chip. TYAN’s BIOS updates can be found at http://www.tyan.com
ESCD (Extended System Configuration Data): a format for storing information about Plug
Firmware: low-level software that controls the system hardware.
Form factor: an industry term for the size, shape, power supply type, and external connector type of the Personal Computer Board (PCB) or motherboard. The standard form factors are the AT and ATX.
Global timer: onboard hardware timer, such as the Real
HDD: stands for Hard Disk Drive, a type of fixed drive.
IC (Integrated Circuit): the formal name for the computer chip.
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