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SATA power connector

15-pin, L-shaped connector used by SATA devices that support the hot-swappable feature.

EAX (Environment Audio eXtensions)

3-D sound technology developed by Creative Labs but now supported by most sound cards.

DIMM (dual inline memory module)

32- or 64-bit type of DRAM packaging, similar to SIMMs, with the distinction that each side of each tab inserted into the system performs a separate function. DIMMs come in a variety of sizes, with 184- and 240-pin being the most common on desktop computers.

CardBus

32-bit PC cards that can support up to eight devices on each card. Electrically incompatible with earlier PC cards (3.3 V versus 5 V).

Pico-ITX

A 3.8 by 2.8 inch version of the ITX form factor.

Jump List

A Windows 7 menu that shows context-sensitive information about whatever is on the taskbar.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

A block cipher created in the late 1990s that uses a 128-bit block size and a 128-, 192-, or 256-bit key size. Practically uncrackable.

stranded core

A cable that uses a bundle of tiny wire strands to transmit signals. Stranded core is not quite as good a conductor as solid core, but it will stand up to substantial handling without breaking.

solid core

A cable that uses a single solid wire to transmit signals.

smartphone

A cell phone enhanced to do things formerly reserved for fully grown PCs, such as Web browsing, document viewing, and media consumption.

prompt

A character or message provided by an operating system or program to indicate that it is ready to accept input.

bcdedit

A command-line tool that enables you to view the BCD store, which lists the Windows boot options.

network attached storage (NAS)

A device that attaches to a network for the sole purpose of storing and sharing files.

chain of custody

A documented history of who has been in possession of a system.

SuperSpeed USB

A fast form of USB, with speeds up to 5 Gbps. Also called USB 3.0.

data roaming

A feature of cellular data systems that enables the signal to jump from cell tower to cell tower and from your provider to another provider without obvious notice.

sleep timers

A feature that enables you to put the computer into Standby after a set period of time, or to turn off the monitor or hard drive after a time, thus creating your own custom power scheme.

toner

A fine powder made up of plastic particles bonded to iron particles, used to create the text and images on a laser printer. Also, generic term for two devices used together—a tone generator and a tone locator (probe)—to trace cables by sending an electrical signal along a wire at a particular frequency. The tone locator then emits a sound when it distinguishes that frequency.

diskpart

A fully functioning command-line partitioning tool.

profile

A list of settings that a calibration device creates when calibrating monitors and printers.

liquid cooling

A method of cooling a PC that works by running some liquid— usually water—through a metal block that sits on top of the CPU, absorbing heat. The liquid gets heated by the block, runs out of the block and into something that cools the liquid, and is then pumped through the block again.

Tablet

A mobile device consisting of a large touchscreen, enabling the user to browse the Web, view media, or even play games.

hybrid

A network topology that combines features from multiple other topologies, such as the star-bus topology.

broadcast

A network transmission addressed for every node on the network. browser Program specifically designed to retrieve, interpret, and display Web pages.

action Center

A one-page aggregation of event messages, warnings, and mainte- nance messages in Windows 7.

patch panel

A panel containing a row of female connectors (ports) that terminate the horizontal cabling in the equipment room. Patch panels facilitate cabling organization and provide protection to horizontal cabling.

disk initialization

A process that places special information on every hard drive installed in a Windows system.

app

A program for a tablet or smartphone.

service

A program that runs in the background of a PC but displays no icons any- where. You can view a list of services in the Task Manager Windows Vista and Windows 7. Also,a program stored in a ROM chip.

command

A request, typed from a terminal or embedded in a file, to perform an operation or to execute a particular program.

workgroup

A simple, decentralized network that Windows PCs are configured to use by default.

run

A single piece of installed horizontal cabling.

clock (CLK) wire

A special wire that, when charged, tells the CPU that another piece of information is waiting to be processed.

crimper

A specialized tool for connecting UTP wires to an RJ-45 connector. Also called a crimping tool.

instruction set

All of the machine-language commands that a particular CPU is designed to understand.

simple file sharing

Allows users to share locally or across the network but gives no control over what others do with shared files.

ATA/ATAPI-6

Also known as ATA-6 or "Big Drive." Replaced the INT13 extensions and allowed for hard drives as large as 144 petabytes (144 million GB).

option ROM

Alternative way of telling the system how to talk to a piece of hard- ware. Option ROM stores BIOS for the card in a chip on the card itself.

photosensitive drum

Aluminum cylinder coated with particles of photosensitive compounds. Used in a laser printer and often contained within the toner cartridge.

integrity

Always doing the right thing.

latency

Amount of delay before a device may respond to a request; most commonly used in reference to RAM.

link light

An LED on NICs, hubs, and switches that lights up to show good connection between the devices.

activity light

An LED on a NIC, hub, or switch that blinks rapidly to show data transfers over the network.

Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP)

An advanced IT certification specifically covering Microsoft products.

Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

An special set of tools in the Windows Vista/7 setup that enables you to access troubleshooting and repair features.

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)

An updated wireless standard (also known as 802.16) with a range of up to 30 miles.

RFI (radio frequency interference)

Another form of electrical interference caused by radio-wave emitting devices, such as cell phones, wireless network cards, and microwave ovens.

archive

To copy programs and data onto a relatively inexpensive storage medium (disk, tape, etc.) for long-term retention.

debug

To detect, trace, and eliminate errors in computer programs.

dumpster diving

To go through someone's trash in search of information.

overclocking

To run a CPU or video processor faster than its rated speed.

Local Users and Groups

Tool enabling creation and changing of group memberships and accounts for users.

Performance Options

Tool enabling users to configure CPU, RAM, and virtual memory settings.

Display applet

Tool in Windows XP and Windows 7 used to adjust display settings, including resolution, refresh rate, driver information, and color depth. (For the comparable tool in Windows Vista, see Personalization applet.)

Parental Controls

Tool to allow monitoring and limiting of user activities; designed for parents to control the content their children can access.

address space

Total amount of memory addresses that an address bus can contain.

bank

Total number of SIMMs or DIMMs that can be accessed simultaneously by the chipset. The "width" of the external data bus divided by the "width" of the SIMM or DIMM sticks. DIMM slots that must be populated to activate dual- or triple-channel memory.

tap

Touchscreen gesture where you press a spot on the screen to start an app or inter- act with a running app.

TIA/EIA (Telecommunications Industry Association/Electronic Industries Alliance)

Trade organization that provides standards for network cabling and other electronics.

laptop

Traditional clamshell portable computing device with built-in LCD monitor, keyboard, and trackpad.

LBA (logical block addressing)

Translation (algorithm) of IDE drives promoted by Western Digital as a standardized method for breaking the 504-MB limit in IDE drives. Subsequently universally adopted by the PC industry and now standard on all EIDE drives.

sector translation

Translation of logical geometry into physical geometry by the onboard circuitry of a hard drive.

CRT (cathode ray tube)

Tube of a monitor in which rays of electrons are beamed onto a phosphorescent screen to produce images. Also, a shorthand way to describe a monitor that uses CRT rather than LCD technology.

stripe set

Two or more drives in a group that are used for a striped volume.

satellites

Two or more standard stereo speakers to be combined with a subwoofer for a speaker system (i.e., 2.1, 5.1, etc.).

extension

Two, three, four, five or more letters that follow a filename and identify the type of file. Common file extensions are .zip, .exe, .doc, .java, and .xhtml.

DDR SDRAM (double data rate SDRAM)

Type of DRAM that makes two processes for every clock cycle. (See also DRAM.)

TFT (thin film transistor)

Type of LCD screen. (See also active matrix.)

16-bit (PC Card)

Type of PC Card that can have up to two distinct functions or devices, such as a modem/network card combination.

DDR2 SDRAM

Type of SDRAM that sends 4 bits of data in every clock cycle. (See also DDR SDRAM.)

DDR3 SDRAM

Type of SDRAM that transfers data at twice the rate of DDR2 SDRAM.

copy backup

Type of backup similar to a normal or full backup, in that all selected files on a system are backed up. This type of backup does not change the archive bit of the files being backed up.

LCD (liquid crystal display)

Type of display commonly used on portable PCs. Also have mostly replaced CRTs as the display of choice for most desktop computer users, due in large part to rapidly falling prices and increasing quality. LCDs use liquid crystals and electricity to produce images on the screen.

DC (direct current)

Type of electricity in which the flow of electrons is in a complete circle in one direction.

extended partition

Type of nonbootable hard disk partition. May only have one extended partition per disk. Purpose is to divide a large disk into smaller partitions, each with a separate drive letter.

auto-switching power supply

Type of power supply able to detect the voltage of a particular outlet and adjust accordingly.

capacitive touchscreen

Type of touchscreen that uses electrical current in your body to determine movement of your fingers across the screen.

optical disc/media

Types of data discs (such as DVDs, CDs, Blu-ray Discs, etc.) that are read by a laser.

installation disc

Typically a CD-ROM or DVD that holds all the necessary device drivers.

TV tuner

Typically an add-on device that allows users to watch television on a computer.

I/O advanced programmable interrupt controller (IOAPIC)

Typically located in the Southbridge, acts as the traffic cop for interrupt requests to the CPU.

Full-Speed USB

USB standard that runs at 12 Mbps.

RJ (registered jack) connector

UTP cable connector, used for both telephone and network connections. RJ-11 is a connector for four-wire UTP; usually found in tele- phone connections. RJ-45 is a connector for eight-wire UTP; usually found in network connections.

electrostatic discharge (ESD)

Uncontrolled rush of electrons from one object to another. A real menace to PCs, as it can cause permanent damage to semiconductors.

SID (security identifier)

Unique identifier for every PC that most techs change when cloning.

SCSI ID

Unique identifier used by SCSI devices. No two SCSI devices may have the same SCSI ID.

byte

Unit of 8 bits; fundamental data unit of personal computers. Storing the equivalent of one character, the byte is also the basic unit of measurement for computer storage.

vertices

Used in the second generation of 3-D rendering; have a defined X, Y, and Z position in a 3-D world.

counter

Used to track data about a particular object when using the Performance console in Windows XP.

power good wire

Used to wake up the CPU after the power supply has tested for proper voltage.

standard user account

User account in Windows Vista that has limited access to a system. Accounts of this type cannot alter system files, cannot install new programs, and cannot edit some settings by using the Control Panel without supplying an administrator password. Replaces the Limited accounts in Windows XP.

administrator account

User account, created when the OS is first installed, that is allowed complete, unfettered access to the system without restriction.

Windows Sidebar

User interface feature in Windows Vista that enables users to place various gadgets, such as clocks, calendars, and other utilities, on the right side of their desktop.

command-line interface

User interface for an OS devoid of all graphical trappings.

effective permissions

User's combined permissions granted by multiple groups.

desktop

User's primary interface to the Windows operating system.

inkjet printer

Uses liquid ink, sprayed through a series of tiny jets, to print text or images on a piece of paper.

termination

Using terminating resistors to prevent packet reflection on a network cable.

I/O addressing

Using the address bus to talk to system devices.

buffered/registered DRAM

Usually seen in motherboards supporting more than four sticks of RAM, required to address interference issues caused by the additional sticks.

System Monitor

Utility that can evaluate and monitor system resources, such as CPU usage and memory usage.

Device Manager

Utility that enables techs to examine and configure all the hard- ware and drivers in a Windows PC.

dot pitch

Value relating to CRTs, showing the diagonal distance between phosphors measured in millimeters.

subnet mask

Value used in TCP/IP settings to divide the IP address of a host into its component parts: network ID and host ID.

nit

Value used to measure the brightness of an LCD display. A typical LCD display has a brightness of between 100 and 400 nits.

microATX (μATX)

Variation of the ATX form factor, which uses the ATX power supply. MicroATX motherboards are generally smaller than their ATX counterparts but retain all the same functionality.

microBTX

Variation of the BTX form factor. MicroBTX motherboards are generally smaller than their BTX counterparts but retain all the same functionality.

picoBTX

Variation of the BTX form factor. picoBTX motherboards are generally smaller than their BTX or microBTX counterparts but retain the same functionality.

CRC (cyclic redundancy check)

Very accurate mathematical method used to check for errors in long streams of transmitted data. Before data is sent, the main computer uses the data to calculate a CRC value from the data's contents. If the receiver calculates from the received data a different CRC value , the data was corrupted during transmission and is re-sent. Ethernet packets use the CRC algorithm in the FCS portion of the frame.

xD (Extreme Digital) picture card

Very small flash media card format.

worm

Very special form of virus. Unlike other viruses, a worm does not infect other files on the computer. Instead, it replicates by making copies of itself on other systems on a network by taking advantage of security weaknesses in networking protocols.

SXGA

Video display mode of 1280 × 1024.

WXGA

Video display mode of 1280 × 800.

SXGA+

Video display mode of 1400 × 1050.

WSXGA

Video display mode of 1440 × 900.

WVGA

Video display mode of 800 × 480.

SVGA (super video graphics array)

Video display mode of 800 × 600.

snapshot

Virtualization feature that enables you to save an extra copy of the virtual machine as it is exactly at the moment the snapshot is taken.

polymorph virus

Virus that attempts to change its signature to prevent detection by antivirus programs, usually by continually scrambling a bit of useless code.

parallel execution

When a multicore CPU processes more than one thread.

Users and Passwords applet

Windows 2000 application that allowed management of user accounts and passwords.

offline files

Windows 7 feature that enables storing a local, duplicate copy of files and folders on a hard drive. When the laptop connects to a network, Windows automatically syncs those offline files with the files and folders on a file server or other PC.

pinned application

Windows 7's method of attaching programs to the taskbar. A pinned application gets a permanent icon displayed on the taskbar.

navigation pane

Windows 7's name for the Folders list in Windows Explorer.

Performance Monitor

Windows 7's tool for observing a computer's performance.

User's Files

Windows Vista and Windows 7 default location for content specific to each user account on a computer. It is divided into several folders such as Documents, Pictures, Music, and Video. Similar to My Documents folder structure in Windows XP.

UAC (User Account Control)

Windows Vista and Windows 7 feature that enables standard accounts to do common tasks and provides a permissions dialog box when standard and administrator accounts do certain things that could potentially harm the computer (such as attempt to install a program).

Personalization applet

Windows Vista applet with which users can change dis- play settings such as resolution, refresh rate, color depth, and desktop features. The Windows 7 version focuses on managing themes, desktop icons, mouse pointers, and account pictures. For other options, see Display.

Reliability and Performance Monitor

Windows Vista's extended Performance applet.

power plans

Windows Vista/7 feature that enables better control over power use by customizing a balanced, power saver, or high performance power plan.

Documents folder

Windows Vista/7 folder for storing user-created files. Replaces the My Documents folder previously used in Windows 2000/XP. (See My Documents.)

Programs and Features

Windows Vista/7 replacement for the Add or Remove Programs applet; enables uninstalling programs and altering Windows features.

bootmgr

Windows Vista/7's Boot Manager.

Backup and Restore Center

Windows Vista/7's backup utility (Windows 7 drops "Center" from the name). It offers two options: create a backup or restore from a backup.

Windows Easy Transfer

Windows Vista/7's method of transferring files and settings to a new PC.

User Accounts applet

Windows XP (and later versions) applet for creating and modifying user accounts.

ASR (Automated System Recovery)

Windows XP tool designed to recover a badly corrupted Windows system; similar to the ERD in Windows 2000.

Performance console

Windows XP tool used to log resource usage over time.

Files and Settings Transfer Wizard

Windows XP's system for moving files and settings to a new PC.

Backup Utility (ntbackup)

Windows XP's tool for creating and restoring backups.

Scheduled Tasks

Windows XP's utility enabling users to set tasks to run automatically at certain times.

ICS (Internet Connection Sharing)

Windows feature that enables a single network connection to be shared among several machines. ICS was first introduced with Windows 98.

Error-checking

Windows graphical tool that scans and fixes hard drive problems. Often referred to by the name of the executable, chkdsk, or Check Disk.

file association

Windows term for the proper program to open a particular file;for example, the file association for opening .MP3 files might be Winamp.

Sysprep (System Preparation Tool)

Windows tool that makes cloning of systems easier by making it possible to undo portions of the installation.

Remote Desktop

Windows tool used to enable a local system to graphically access the desktop of a remote system.

Local Security Policy

Windows tool used to set local security policies on an individual system.

Windows Explorer

Windows utility that enables you to manipulate files and folders stored on the drives in your computer.

Windows 2000

Windows version that succeeded Windows NT; it came in both Professional and Server versions.

primary corona

Wire that is located near the photosensitive drum in a laser printer and is charged with extremely high voltage to form an electric field, enabling voltage to pass to the photosensitive drum, thus charging the photosensitive particles on the surface of the drum. Also called the primary charge roller.

infrastructure mode

Wireless networking mode that uses one or more WAPs to connect the wireless network nodes to a wired network segment.

802.11n

Wireless networking standard that can operate in both the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands and uses multiple in/multiple out (MIMO) to achieve a theoretical maxi- mum throughput of 100+ Mbps.

802.11b

Wireless networking standard that operates in the 2.4-GHz band with a theoretical maximum throughput of 11 Mbps.

802.11a

Wireless networking standard that operates in the 5-GHz band with a theo- retical maximum throughput of 54 Mbps.

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)

Wireless security protocol that uses a standard 40-bit encryption to scramble data packets. Does not provide complete end-to- end encryption and is vulnerable to attack.

WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)

Wireless security protocol that uses encryption key integrity-checking and EAP and is designed to improve on WEP's weaknesses.

WPA 2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2)

Wireless security protocol, also known as IEEE 802.11i. Uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and replaces WPA.

Bluetooth

Wireless technology designed to create small wireless networks preconfigured to do specific jobs, but not meant to replace full-function networks or Wi-Fi.

frontside bus

Wires that connect the CPU to the main system RAM. Generally running at speeds of 66-133 MHz. Distinct from the expansion bus and the backside bus, though it shares wires with the former.

T568A

Wiring Standard for Ethernet Cable

T568B

Wiring Standard for Ethernet Cable

AGP

(Accelerated Graphics Port) 32/64-bit expansion slot designed by Intel specifically for video that runs at 66 MHz and yields a throughput of at least 254 Mbps. Later versions (2×, 4×, 8×) give substantially higher throughput.

NNTP

(Network News Transfer Protocol) Protocol run by news servers that enable newsgroups.

TWAIN

(technology without an interesting name) Programming inter- face that enables a graphics application, such as a desktop publishing program, to activate a scanner, frame grabber, or other image-capturing device.

FAT64 (exFAT)

A Microsoft-proprietary file system that breaks the 4-GB file-size barrier, supporting files up to 16 exabytes (EB) and a theoretical partition limit of 64 zettabytes (ZB). Envisioned for use with flash media devices with a capacity exceeding 2 TB.

HomeGroup

A Windows 7 feature that connects a group of computers using a common password—no special user names required. Each computer can be a member of only one homegroup at a time. Homegroups enable simple sharing of documents and printers between computers.

bootrec

A Windows Recovery Environment troubleshooting and repair tool that repairs the master boot record, boot sector, or BCD store. It replaces the fixboot and fix- mbr Recovery Console commands used in Windows XP and earlier operating systems.

Windows XP Mode

A Windows XP virtual machine that ships with Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 to enable users to run programs that don't work on Windows 7.

tasklist

A command-line version of the Task Manager.

System File Checker

A command-prompt program (sfc.exe) you can use to check a number of critical files, including the ever-important DLL cache.

remote network installation

A common method of OS installation where the source files are placed in a shared directory on a network server. Then, whenever a tech needs to install a new OS, he can boot the computer, connect to the source location on the network, and start the installation from there.

virtual machine (VM)

A complete environment for a guest operating system to function as though that operating system were installed on its own computer.

home server PC

A computer built to store files on a small office/home office (SOHO) network.

Web server

A computer that stores and shares the files that make up Web sites.

frame

A data unit transferred across a network. Frames consist of several parts, such as the sending and receiving MAC addresses, the data being sent, and the frame check sequence.

bridge

A device that connects two networks and passes traffic between them based only on the node address, so that traffic between nodes on one network does not appear on the other network. For example, an Ethernet bridge only looks at the MAC address. Bridges filter and forward packets based on MAC addresses and operate at Level 2 (Data Link layer) of the OSI seven-layer model.

digitally signed driver

A driver designed specifically to work with Windows that has been tested and certified by Microsoft to work stably with Windows.

Trusted Platform Module

A hardware platform for the acceleration of crypto- graphic functions and the secure storage of associated information.

HTPC

A home theater PC designed to attach to a TV or projector for movie and TV viewing.

star bus

A hybrid network topology where the computers all connect to a central bus—a switch—but otherwise take the form of a star topology.

NAT (Network Address Translation)

A means of translating a system's IP address into another IP address before sending it out to a larger network. NAT manifests itself by a NAT program that runs on a system or a router. A network using NAT provides the systems on the network with private IP addresses. The system running the NAT software has two interfaces: one connected to the network and the other connected to the larger network. The NAT program takes packets from the client systems bound for the larger network and translates their internal private IP addresses to its own public IP address, enabling many systems to share a single IP address.

equipment rack

A metal structure used in equipment rooms to secure network hardware devices and patch panels. Most racks are 19 inches wide. Devices designed to fit in such a rack use a height measurement called units, or simply U.

Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)

A networking feature of operating systems that enables DHCP clients to self-configure an IP address and subnet mask automatically when a DHCP server isn't available.

Startup Repair

A one-stop, do-it-all troubleshooting option that performs a number of boot repairs automatically.

network technology

A practical application of a topology and other critical standards to provide a method to get data from one computer to another on a net- work. It defines many aspects of a network, from the topology, to the frame type, to the cabling and connectors used.

Windows Certification Program

A rigorous testing program for hardware manufacturers. Hardware and drivers that survive the testing get to wear the Designed for Windows logo. The drivers get a digital signature that says Microsoft tested them and found all was well.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

A set of standards for communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP network. Examples of these devices include routers, hubs, and switches. Uses port 161.

punchdown tool

A specialized tool for connecting UTP wires to an punchdown block.

Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)

A standard included on most WAPs and clients to make secure connections easier to configure.

thin client

A system designed to handle only very basic applications with an absolute minimum amount of hardware required by the operating system.

digitizer

A tablet that enables users to paint, ink, pencil, or otherwise draw on a computer.

Folders list

A tree menu in Windows Explorer for Windows 2000 and XP that displays the file structure on the left side of the window; toggled on with the Folders button. In Windows Vista and 7, the Folders list is active by default.

DB-15 connector

A two- or three-row D-sub connector (female) used for 10Base5 networks, MIDI/joysticks, and analog video.

mirror set

A type of mirrored volume created by Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. (See also mirroring.)

64-bit processing

A type of processing that can run a compatible 64-bit operating system, such as Windows 7, and 64-bit applications. 64-bit PCs have a 64-bit-wide address bus, enabling them to use more than 4 GB of RAM.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

ASCII-based, script-like language for creating hypertext documents such as those on the World Wide Web.

Fast User Switching

Account option that is useful when multiple users share a system; allows users to switch without logging off.

SATA bridge

Adapter that allows PATA devices to be connected to a SATA controller.

PRML (Partial Response Maximum Likelihood)

Advanced method of RLL that uses powerful, intelligent circuitry to analyze each flux reversal on a hard drive and to make a best guess as to what type of flux reversal it just read. This allows a dramatic increase in the amount of data a hard drive can store.

Establish a plan of action and implement the solution

After establish- ing and testing a theory about a particular problem, techs solve the problem. (One of the steps a technician uses to solve a problem.)

Establish a theory of probable cause

After identifying a problem, techs question the obvious to determine what might be the source of the problem. (One of the steps a technician uses to solve a problem.)

EULA (End User License Agreement)

Agreement that accompanies a piece of software, to which the user must agree before using the software. Outlines the terms of use for the software and also lists any actions on the part of the user that violate the agreement.

HRR (horizontal refresh rate)

Amount of time it takes for a CRT to draw one horizontal line of pixels on a display.

IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol version 4)

An alternative to POP3 that retrieves e-mail from an e-mail server, like POP3; IMAP uses TCP port 143.

peripheral

Any device that connects to the system unit.

mode

Any single combination of resolution and color depth set for a system.

removable media

Any storage on a computer that can be easily removed. For example, CD-ROM discs, flash drives, or memory cards.

unauthorized access

Anytime a person accesses resources in an unauthorized way. This access may or may not be malicious.

Mac (Also Macintosh.)

Apple Computers' flagship operating system, currently up to OS Xv10.8 "Mountain Lion" and running on Intel-based hardware.

Add or Remove Programs

Applet allowing users to manually add or remove a program to or from the system.

Performance Information and Tools

Applet that provides a relative feel for how your computer stacks up against other systems using the Windows Experience Index.

disk quota

Application allowing network administrators to limit hard drive space usage.

print spooler

Area of memory that queues up print jobs that the printer will handle sequentially.

track

Area on a hard drive platter where data is stored. A group of tracks with the same diameter is called a cylinder.

telecommunications room

Area where all the cabling from individual PCs in a network runs to.

queue

Area where objects wait their turn to be processed. Example: the printer queue, where print jobs wait until it is their turn to be printed.

test the theory

Attempt to resolve the issue by either confirming the theory and learning what needs to be done to fix the problem, or by not confirming the theory and forming a new one or escalating. (One of the steps a technician uses to solve a problem.)

archive attribute

Attribute of a file that shows whether the file has been backed up since the last change. Each time a file is opened, changed, or saved, the archive bit is turned on. Some types of backups turn off this archive bit to indicate that a good backup of the file exists on tape.

CD quality

Audio quality that has a sample rate of 44.4 KHz and a bit rate of 128 bits.

POST (power-on self test)

Basic diagnostic routine completed by a system at the beginning of the boot process to make sure a display adapter and the system's memory are installed; it then searches for an operating system. If it finds one, it hands over control of the machine to the OS.

cluster

Basic unit of storage on a floppy or hard disk. Multiple sectors are contained in a cluster. When Windows stores a file on a disk, it writes those files into dozens or even hundreds of contiguous clusters. If there aren't enough contiguous open clusters available, the operating system finds the next open cluster and writes there, continuing this process until the entire file is saved. The FAT or MFT tracks how the files are distributed among the clusters on the disk.

Li-Ion (Lithium-Ion)

Battery commonly used in portable PCs. Li-Ion batteries don't suffer from the memory effects of Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries and pro- vide much more power for a greater length of time.

Ni-MH (Nickel-Metal Hydride)

Battery used in early portable PCs. Ni-MH batteries had fewer issues with the memory effect than Ni-Cd batteries. Ni-MH batteries have been replaced by Lithium-Ion batteries. (See also Ni-Cd, Li-Ion.)

Ni-Cd (Nickel-Cadmium)

Battery used in the first portable PCs. Heavy and inefficient, these batteries also suffered from a memory effect that could drastically shorten the overall life of the battery. (See also Ni-MH, Li-Ion.)

machine language

Binary instruction code that is understood by the CPU.

image file

Bit-by-bit image of data to be burned on CD or DVD—from one file to an entire disc—stored as a single file on a hard drive. Particularly handy when copying from CD to CD or DVD to DVD.

streaming media

Broadcast of data that is played on your computer and immediately discarded.

ISDN (integrated services digital network)

CCITT (Comité Consultatif Internationale de Télégraphie et Téléphonie) standard that defines a digital method for communications to replace the current analog telephone system. ISDN is superior to POTS telephone lines because it supports a transfer rate of up to 128 Kbps for sending information from computer to computer. It also allows data and voice to share a com- mon phone line. DSL reduced demand for ISDN substantially. (See also POTS.)

CD-R (CD-recordable)

CD technology that accepts a single "burn" but cannot be erased after that one burn.

CD-RW (CD-rewritable)

CD technology that accepts multiple reads/writes like a hard drive.

music CD-R

CD using a special format for home recorders. Music CD-R makers pay a small royalty to avoid illegal music duplication.

DriveLock

CMOS program enabling you to control the ATA security mode feature set. Also known as drive lock.

STP (shielded twisted pair)

Cabling for networks, composed of pairs of wires twisted around each other at specific intervals. Twists serve to reduce interference (also called crosstalk)—the more twists, the less interference. Cable has metallic shielding to protect the wires from external interference.

digital camera

Camera that simulates film technology electronically.

directory service

Centralized index that each PC accesses to locate resources in the domain.

soft power

Characteristic of ATX motherboards, which can use software to turn the PC on and off. The physical manifestation of soft power is the power switch. Instead of the thick power cord used in AT systems, an ATX power switch is little more than a pair of small wires leading to the motherboard.

MCC (memory controller chip)

Chip that handles memory requests from the CPU. Although once a special chip, it has been integrated into the chipset or CPU on modern PCs.

RAMDAC (random access memory digital-to-analog converter)

Circuitry used on video cards that support analog monitors to convert the digital video data to analog.

BIOS (basic input/output services)

Classically, software routines burned onto the system ROM of a PC. More commonly seen as any software that directly controls a particular piece of hardware. A set of programs encoded in read-only memory (ROM) on computers. These programs handle startup operations and low-level control of hardware such as disk drives, the keyboard, and monitor.

RG-58

Coaxial cabling used for 10Base2 networks.

signature

Code pattern of a known virus; used by antivirus software to detect viruses.

file

Collection of any form of data that is stored beyond the time of execution of a single job. A file may contain program instructions or data, which may be numerical, textual, or graphical information.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

Collection of protocols that make voice calls over a data network possible.

service pack

Collection of software patches released at one time by a software manufacturer.

network

Collection of two or more computers interconnected by telephone lines, coaxial cables, satellite links, radio, and/or some other communication technique. Group of computers that are connected and that communicate with one another for a common purpose.

group

Collection of user accounts that share the same access capabilities.

plug and play (PnP)

Combination of smart PCs, smart devices, and smart operating systems that automatically configure all necessary system resources and ports when you install a new peripheral device.

del (erase) command

Command in the command-line interface used to delete/ erase files.

format command

Command in the command-line interface used to format a storage device.

ren (rename) command

Command in the command-line interface used to rename files and folders.

dir command

Command used in the command-line interface to display the entire contents of the current working directory.

attrib.exe

Command used to view the specific properties of a file; can also be used to modify or remove file properties, such as read-only, system, or archive.

Windows PowerShell

Command-line tool included with Windows 7 and available for earlier versions from Microsoft. Offers a number of powerful scripting tools for automating changes both on local machines and over networks.

ipconfig

Command-line utility for Windows servers and workstations that displays the current TCP/IP configuration of the machine. Similar to winipcfg and ifconfig.

CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol)

Common remote access protocol; the serving system challenges the remote client, usually by means of asking for a password.

broadband

Commonly understood as a reference to high-speed, always-on communication links that can move large files much more quickly than a regular phone line.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)

Communication protocols developed by the U.S. Department of Defense to enable dissimilar computers to share information over a network.

thick client

CompTIA's name for a standard desktop computer.

ISP (Internet service provider)

Company that provides access to the Inter- net, usually for money.

ISO file

Complete copy (or image) of a storage media device, typically used for optical discs.

erase lamp

Component inside laser printers that uses light to make the coating of the photosensitive drum conductive.

Molex connector

Computer power connector used by optical drives, hard drives, and case fans. Keyed to prevent it from being inserted into a power port improperly.

compliance

Concept that members of an organization must abide by the rules of that organization. For a technician, this often revolves around what software can or cannot be installed on an organization's computer.

VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association)

Consortium of computer manufacturers that standardize improvements to common IBM PC components. VESA is responsible for the Super VGA video standard and the VLB bus architecture.

Problem Reports and Solutions

Control Panel applet in Windows Vista that lists all Windows Error Reporting issues (plus a few easy-to-check items like firewall and anti-malware status).

PC Card

Credit card-sized adapter card that adds functionality in many notebook computers, PDAs, and other computer devices. PC Cards come in 16-bit and CardBus parallel format and ExpressCard serial format. (See also PCMCIA.)

hard drive

Data-recording system using solid disks of magnetic material turning at high speeds to store and retrieve programs and data in a computer. Abbreviated HDD for hard disk drive.

ad hoc mode

Decentralized wireless network mode, otherwise known as peer-to- peer mode, where each wireless node is in meshed contact with every other node.

Computer

Default interface in Windows Vista and Windows 7 for Windows Explorer; displays hard drives and devices with removable storage. (See My Computer.)

catastrophic failure

Describes a failure in which a component or whole system will not boot; usually related to a manufacturing defect of a component. Could also be caused by overheating and physical damage to computer components.

UNC (Universal Naming Convention)

Describes any shared resource in a network using the convention \\<server name>\<name of shared resource>.

monaural

Describes recording tracks from one source (microphone) as opposed to stereo, which uses two sources.

stereo

Describes recording tracks from two sources (microphones) as opposed to monaural, which uses one source.

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)

Design architecture for the expansion bus on the computer motherboard that enables system components to be added to the computer. Local bus standard, meaning that devices added to a computer through this port will use the processor at the motherboard's full speed (up to 33 MHz) rather than at the slower 8-MHz speed of the regular bus. Moves data 32 or 64 bits at a time rather than the 8 or 16 bits the older ISA buses supported.

socket services

Device drivers that support the PC Card socket, enabling the system to detect when a PC Card has been inserted or removed, and providing the necessary I/O to the device.

projector

Device for projecting video images from PCs or other video sources, usually for audience presentations. Available in front- and rearview displays.

memory

Device or medium for temporary storage of programs and data during program execution. Synonymous with storage, although it most frequently refers to the internal storage of a computer that can be directly addressed by operating instructions. A computer's temporary storage capacity is measured in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), or gigabytes (GB) of RAM (random-access memory). Long-term data storage on disks is also measured in kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes.

WAP (wireless access point)

Device that centrally connects wireless network nodes.

modem (modulator/demodulator)

Device that converts a digital bit stream into an analog signal (modulation) and converts incoming analog signals back into digital signals (demodulation). Analog communications channel is typically a tele- phone line, and analog signals are typically sounds.

proxy server

Device that fetches Internet resources for a client without exposing that client directly to the Internet. Usually accepts requests for HTTP, FTP, POP3, and SMTP resources. Often caches, or stores, a copy of the requested resource for later use. Common security feature in the corporate world.

speaker

Device that outputs sound by using magnetically driven diaphragm.

firewall

Device that restricts traffic between a local network and the Internet.

UPS (uninterruptible power supply)

Device that supplies continuous clean power to a computer system the whole time the computer is on. Protects against power outages and sags.

UART (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter)

Device that turns serial data into parallel data. The cornerstone of serial ports and modems.

Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) devices

Devices that connect to a home network, discover each other, and share media. In theory, DLNA devices should work with minimal setup or fuss, even if sourced from different manufacturers.

ATAPI-compliant

Devices that utilize the ATAPI standard. (See ATAPI.) Athlon Name used for a popular series of CPUs manufactured by AMD.

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format)

Digital audio connector found on many sound cards. Users can connect their computers directly to a 5.1 speaker system or receiver. S/PDIF comes in both a coaxial and an optical version.

DisplayPort

Digital video connector used by Apple Mac desktop models and some PCs, notably from Dell. Designed by VESA as a royalty-free connector to replace VGA and DVI.

root directory

Directory that contains all other directories.

bootable disk

Disk that contains a functional operating system; can also be a floppy disk, USB thumb drive, or optical disc.

FDISK

Disk-partitioning utility used in DOS and Windows 9x systems.

OLED (organic light-emitting diode)

Display technology where an organic compound provides the light for the screen, thus eliminating the need for a backlight or inverter.

BitLocker Drive Encryption

Drive encryption software offered in Windows Vista/7 Ultimate and Enterprise editions. BitLocker requires a special chip to validate hardware status and to ensure that the computer hasn't been hacked.

mount point

Drive that functions like a folder mounted into another drive.

optical drive

Drive used to read/write to optical discs, such as CDs or DVDs.

terminal

Dumb device connected to a mainframe or computer network that acts as a point for entry or retrieval of information.

parity RAM

Earliest form of error-detecting RAM; stored an extra bit (called the parity bit) to verify the data.

transparency

Effect in the Aero desktop environment (Windows Vista/7) that makes the edges of windows transparent.

electromagnetic interference (EMI)

Electrical interference from one device to another, resulting in poor performance of the device being interfered with. Examples: Static on your TV while running a blow dryer, or placing two monitors too close together and getting a "shaky" screen.

phosphor

Electro-fluorescent material that coats the inside face of a cathode ray tube (CRT). After being hit with an electron, it glows for a fraction of a second.

laser printer

Electro-photographic printer in which a laser is used as the light source.

hub

Electronic device that sits at the center of a star topology network, providing a common point for the connection of network devices. Hubs repeat all information out to all ports and have been replaced by switches, although the term is still commonly used.

partitioning

Electronically subdividing a physical hard drive into groups called partitions (or volumes).

firmware

Embedded programs or code stored on a ROM chip. Generally OS-independent, thus allowing devices to operate in a wide variety of circumstances without direct OS support. The system BIOS is firmware.

PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol)

Enables a computer to connect to the Internet through a dial-in connection and enjoy most of the benefits of a direct connection.

Quick Launch toolbar

Enables you to launch commonly used programs with a single click.

region code

Encoding that restricts you from playing DVD or Blu-ray Disc movies on a player that doesn't share the same region code.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

Encrypted connection over the Internet between a computer or remote network and a private network.

EFS (encrypting file system)

Encryption tool found in NTFS 5 and later.

MFT (master file table)

Enhanced file allocation table used by NTFS. (See also FAT.)

PCI-X (PCI Extended)

Enhanced version of PCI, 64 bits wide. Typically seen in servers and high-end systems.

power conditioning

Ensuring and adjusting incoming AC wall power to as close to standard as possible. Most UPS devices provide power conditioning.

general protection fault (GPF)

Error code usually seen when separate active programs conflict on resources or data.

non-system disk or disk error

Error that occurs during the boot process. Common causes for this error are leaving a non-bootable floppy disk, CD, or other media in the drive while the computer is booting.

10BaseT

Ethernet LAN designed to run on twisted pair cabling. 10BaseT runs at 10 megabits per second. The maximum length for the cabling between the NIC and the switch (or hub, repeater, etc.) is 100 meters. It uses baseband signaling. No industry standard spelling exists, so sometimes it's written 10BASE-T or 10Base-T.

video card

Expansion card that works with the CPU to produce the images dis- played on your computer's display.

Joliet

Extension of the ISO 9660 format. Most popular CD format to support PC file systems on CD media.

MIDI-enabled device

External device that enables you to input digital sound information in the MIDI format; for example, a MIDI keyboard (the piano kind).

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

Extremely fast protocol used for net- work file transfers in the WWW environment. Uses port 80.

Automatic Updates

Feature allowing updates to Windows to be retrieved automatically over the Internet.

Library

Feature in Windows 7 that aggregates folders from multiple locations and places them in a single, easy-to-find spot in Windows Explorer.

System Protection

Feature in Windows Vista/7 that enables you to restore any previous version of a file or folder.

hardware profile

Feature in Windows XP that enables the user to switch several hardware configurations at once during the Windows boot process.

geotracking

Feature in cellular phones that enables the cell phone companies and government agencies to use the ID or MAC address to pinpoint where your phone is at any given time.

accelerometer

Feature in smartphones and tablets that rotates the screen when the device is physically rotated.

MIMO (multiple in/multiple out)

Feature of 802.11n devices that enables the simultaneous connection of up to four antennas, greatly increasing throughput.

event auditing

Feature of Event Viewer's Security section that creates an entry in the Security Log when certain events happen, such as a user logging on.

object access auditing

Feature of Event Viewer's Security section that creates an entry in the Security Log when certain objects are accessed, such as a file or folder.

compatibility modes

Feature of Windows 2000 and beyond to allow software written for previous versions of Windows to operate in newer operating systems.

APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing)

Feature of Windows that automatically assigns an IP address to the system when the client cannot obtain an IP address automatically.

Remote Assistance

Feature of Windows that enables users to give anyone control of his or her desktop over the Internet.

chassis intrusion detection

Feature offered in some chassis that trips a switch when the chassis is opened.

Information Technology (IT)

Field of computers, their operation, and their maintenance.

FAT16

File allocation table that uses 16 bits for addressing clusters. Used as the primary hard drive format on DOS and early Windows 95 machines; currently used with smaller (2 GB or less) capacity flash media devices.

hidden attribute

File attribute that, when used, does not allow the dir command to show a file.

container file

File containing two or more separate, compressed tracks, typically an audio track and a moving-picture track. Also known as a wrapper.

autorun.inf

File included on some media that automatically launches a program or installation routine when the media is inserted/attached to a system.

Boot Configuration Data (BCD) file

File that contains information about the various operating systems installed on the system as well as instructions for how to actually load (bootstrap) them.

8.3 naming system

File-naming convention that specified a maximum of eight characters for a filename, followed by a three-character file extension. Has been replaced by LFN (long filename) support.

log files

Files created in Windows to track the progress of certain processes.

virus definition or data file

Files that enable the virus protection software to recognize the viruses on your system and clean them. These files should be updated often. They are also called signature files, depending on the virus protection software in use.

IEEE 1394b

FireWire standard that runs at 800 Mbps.

EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface)

Firmware created by Intel and HP that replaced traditional 16-bit BIOS and added several new enhancements.

Level 1 (L1) cache

First RAM cache accessed by the CPU, which stores only the absolute most-accessed programming and data used by currently running threads. Always the smallest and fastest cache on the CPU.

DOS (Disk Operating System)

First popular operating system available for PCs. A text-based, single-tasking operating system that was not completely replaced until the introduction of Windows 95.

logon screen

First screen of the Windows interface, used to log on to the computer system.

volume boot sector

First sector of the first cylinder of each partition; stores information important to its partition, such as the location of the operating system boot files.

boot sector

First sector on a PC hard drive or floppy disk, track 0. The boot-up software in ROM tells the computer to load whatever program is found there. If a system disk is read, the program in the boot record directs the computer to the root directory to load the operating system.

LPX

First slimline form factor; replaced by NLX form factor.

I/O base address

First value in an I/O address range.

root keys

Five main categories in the Windows Registry: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT HKEY_CURRENT_USER HKEY_USERS HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG

USB thumb drive

Flash memory device that uses the standard USB connection.

motherboard

Flat piece of circuit board that resides inside your computer case and has a number of connectors on it. Every device in a PC connects directly or indirectly to the motherboard, including CPU, RAM, hard drives, optical drives, keyboard, mouse, and video cards.

touchpad

Flat, touch-sensitive pad that serves as a pointing device for most laptops.

dual-channel memory

Form of DDR, DDR2, and DDR3 memory access used by many motherboards that requires two identical sticks of DDR, DDR2, or DDR3 RAM.

tailgating

Form of infiltration and social engineering that involves following some- one else through a door as if you belong in the building.

FPU (floating point unit)

Formal term for math coprocessor (also called a numeric processor) circuitry inside a CPU. A math coprocessor calculates by using a floating point math (which allows for decimals). Before the Intel 80486, FPUs were separate chips from the CPU.

SmartMedia

Format for flash media cards; no longer used with new devices.

high-level formatting

Format that sets up a file system on a drive. high-voltage anode Component in a CRT monitor that has very high voltages of electricity flowing through it.

computing process

Four parts of a computer's operation: input, processing, out- put, and storage.

normal backup

Full backup of every selected file on a system. Turns off the archive bit after the backup.

ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line)

Fully digital, dedicated connection to the telephone system that provides average download speeds of 7 Mbps and upload speeds of 512 Kbps.

I/O (input/output)

General term for reading and writing data to a computer. "Input" includes data entered from a keyboard, identified by a pointing device (such as a mouse), or loaded from a disk. "Output" includes writing information to a disk, viewing it on a CRT, or printing it to a printer.

USB (universal serial bus)

General-purpose serial interconnect for keyboards, printers, joysticks, and many other devices. Enables hot-swapping of devices.

stick

Generic name for a single physical SIMM, RIMM, or DIMM.

applet

Generic term for a program in the Windows Control Panel.

100BaseT

Generic term for an Ethernet cabling system designed to run at 100 megabits per second on twisted pair cabling. It uses baseband signaling. No industry standard spelling exists, so sometimes it's written 100BASE-T or 100Base-T.

ROM (read-only memory)

Generic term for nonvolatile memory that can be read from but not written to. This means that code and data stored in ROM cannot be corrupted by accidental erasure. Additionally, ROM retains its data when power is removed, which makes it the perfect medium for storing BIOS data or information such as scientific constants.

swipe

Gesture for mobile devices where you hold your finger on the screen and slide it across the screen, either right to left or top to bottom, depending on the type of application.

printwires

Grid of tiny pins in a dot-matrix printer that strike an inked printer ribbon to produce images on paper.

Administrative Tools

Group of Control Panel applets, including Computer Management, Event Viewer, and Reliability and Performance Monitor.

LAN (local area network)

Group of PCs connected via cabling, radio, or infra- red that use this connectivity to share resources such as printers and mass storage.

triad

Group of three phosphors—red, green, blue—in a CRT.

domain

Groupings of users, computers, or networks. In Microsoft networking, a domain is a group of computers and users that share a common account database and a common security policy. On the Internet, a domain is a group of computers that share a common element in their hierarchical name. Other types of domains exist— e.g., broadcast domain, etc.

PDA (personal digital assistant)

Handheld computer that blurred the line between calculators and computers. Early PDAs were calculators that enabled users to program in such information as addresses and appointments. Later PDAs, such as the Palm and PocketPC, were fully programmable computers. Most PDAs used a pen/stylus for input rather than a keyboard. A few of the larger PDAs had a tiny keyboard in addition to the stylus. Smartphones and tablets have supplanted PDAs for almost all uses.

display adapter

Handles all the communication between the CPU and the monitor. Also known as a video card.

Ultra DMA

Hard drive technology that enables drives to use direct memory address- ing. Ultra DMA mode 3 drives—called ATA/33—have data transfer speeds up to 33 MBps. Mode 4 and 5 drives—called ATA/66 and ATA/100, respectively—transfer data at up to 66 MBps for mode 4 and 100 MBps for mode 5. Mode 6 pushed the transfer rate to 133 MBps. Modes 4, 5, and 6 require an 80-wire cable and a compatible controller to achieve these data transfer rates.

disk thrashing

Hard drive that is constantly being accessed due to lack of available system memory. When system memory runs low, a Windows system will utilize hard disk space as "virtual" memory, thus causing an unusual amount of hard drive access.

mass storage

Hard drives, CD-ROMs, removable media drives, etc.

plug

Hardware connection with some sort of projection that connects to a port.

biometric device

Hardware device used to support authentication; works by scanning and remembering a unique aspect of a user's various body parts (e.g., retina, iris, face, or fingerprint) by using some form of sensing device such as a retinal scanner.

FAT (file allocation table)

Hidden table that records how files on a hard disk are stored in distinct clusters; the only way DOS knows where to access files. Address of first cluster of a file is stored in the directory file. FAT entry for the first cluster is the address of the second cluster used to store that file. In the entry for the second cluster for that file is the address for the third cluster, and so on until the final cluster, which gets a special end-of-file code. There are two FATs, mirror images of each other, in case one is destroyed or damaged. Also refers to the 16-bit file allocation table when used by Windows 2000 and later NT-based operating systems.

audio interface

High-end external sound device used by audio engineers and recording artists.

DSL (digital subscriber line)

High-speed Internet connection technology that uses a regular telephone line for connectivity. DSL comes in several varieties, including asynchronous (ADSL) and synchronous (SDSL), and many speeds. Typical home-user DSL connections are ADSL with a download speed of 7 Mbps and an upload speed of 512 Kbps.

fiber-optic cable

High-speed cable for transmitting data, made of high-purity glass sealed within an opaque tube. Much faster than conventional copper wire such as coaxial cable.

raster line

Horizontal pattern of lines that forms an image on the monitor screen.

file format

How information is encoded in a file. Two primary types are binary (pictures) and ASCII (text), but within those are many formats, such as BMP and GIF for pictures. Commonly represented by a suffix at the end of the filename; for example, .txt for a text file or .exe for an executable.

IEEE 1394

IEEE standard governing FireWire communication. (See also FireWire.)

IEEE 1284

IEEE standard governing parallel communication.

Layer 2 The Data Link layer

Identifies devices on the Physical layer. MAC addresses are part of the Data Link layer. Bridges operate at the Data Link layer.

XPS (XML Paper Specification) print path

Improved printing subsystem included in Windows Vista. Has enhanced color management and better print layout fidelity.

system resources

In classic terms, the I/O addresses, IRQs, DMA channels, and memory addresses. Also refers to other computer essentials such as hard drive space, system RAM, and processor speed.

pixel (picture element)

In computer graphics, smallest element of a display space that can be independently assigned color or intensity.

buffer underrun

Inability of a source device to provide a CD burner with a constant stream of data while burning a CD-R or CD-RW.

update

Individual fixes for Windows that come out fairly often, on the order of once a week or so.

RIMM

Individual stick of Rambus RAM. The letters don't actually stand for anything;they just rhyme with SIMM and DIMM.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

Indus- try-standard 8-bit characters used to define text characters, consisting of 96 upper- and lowercase letters, plus 32 nonprinting control characters, each of which is numbered. These numbers were designed to achieve uniformity among computer devices for print- ing and the exchange of simple text documents.

ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)

Industry Standard Architecture design was found in the original IBM PC for the slots that allowed additional hardware to be connected to the computer's motherboard. An 8-bit, 8.33-MHz expansion bus was designed by IBM for its AT computer and released to the public domain. An improved 16-bit bus was also released to the public domain. Replaced by PCI in the mid-1990s.

CompTIA Network+ certification

Industry-wide, vendor-neutral certification for network technicians, covering network hardware, installation, and troubleshooting.

CompTIA A+ certification

Industry-wide, vendor-neutral computer certification program that demonstrates competency as a computer technician.

surge suppressor

Inexpensive device that protects your computer from voltage spikes.

SPD (serial presence detect)

Information stored on a RAM chip that describes the speed, capacity, and other aspects of the RAM chip.

ball mouse

Input device that enables users to manipulate a cursor on the screen by using a ball and sensors that detect the movement and direction of the ball.

mouse

Input device that enables users to manipulate a cursor on the screen to select items.

multitouch

Input method on many smartphones and tablets that enables you to use multiple fingers to do all sorts of fun things, such as using two fingers to scroll or swipe to another screen or desktop.

pen-based computing

Input method used by many PDAs that combines hand- writing recognition with modified mouse functions, usually in the form of a pen-like stylus.

upgrade installation

Installation of Windows on top of an earlier installed ver- sion, thus inheriting all previous hardware and software settings.

clean installation

Installing an operating system on a fresh drive, following a reformat of that drive. Often it's the only way to correct a problem with a system when many of the crucial operating system files have become corrupted.

MIDI (musical instrument digital interface)

Interface between a computer and a device for simulating musical instruments. Rather than sending large sound sam- ples, a computer can simply send "instructions" to the instrument describing pitch, tone, and duration of a sound. MIDI files are therefore very efficient. Because a MIDI file is made up of a set of instructions rather than a copy of the sound, modifying each component of the file is easy. Additionally, it is possible to program many channels, or "voices," of music to be played simultaneously, creating symphonic sound.

Network

Interface in Windows Vista and Windows 7 for Windows Explorer; dis- plays networked computers and other devices, such as network printers.

IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4)

Internet standard protocol that provides a common layer over dissimilar networks; used to move packets among host computers and through gateways if necessary. Part of the TCP/IP protocol suite. Uses the dotted- decimal format—xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx.

MPA (Microsoft Product Activation)

Introduced by Microsoft with the release of Windows XP, prevents unauthorized use of Microsoft's software by requiring users to activate the software.

DS3D (DirectSound3D)

Introduced with DirectX 3.0, DS3D is a command set used to create positional audio, or sounds that appear to come from in front, in back, or to the side of a user. Merged with DirectSound into DirectAudio in DirectX 8. (See also DirectX.)

My Documents

Introduced with Windows 98 and used in Windows 2000 and Windows XP; folder that provides a convenient place for users to store their documents, log files, and any other type of files.

pop-up

Irritating browser window that appears automatically when you visit a Web site.

password

Key used to verify a user's identity on a secure computer or network.

LED monitor

LCD monitor that uses LEDs instead of CCFL tubes for backlighting, creating much higher contrast ratios and image quality.

high gloss

Laptop screen finish that offers sharper contrast, richer colors, and wider viewing angles than a matte finish, but is also much more reflective.

Knowledge Base

Large collection of documents and FAQs that is maintained by Microsoft. Found on Microsoft's Web site, the Knowledge Base is an excellent place to search for assistance on most operating system problems.

IEEE (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers)

Leading standards-setting group in the United States.

CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp)

Light technology used in LCDs and flatbed scanners. CCFLs use relatively little power for the amount of light they provide.

Administrators group

List of members with complete administrator privileges.

Windows Logo'd Products List

List of products that have passed the Microsoft Windows Logo Program and are compatible with Windows operating system. Formerly called the Hardware Compatibility List (or HCL).

definition file

List of virus signatures that an antivirus program can recognize.

setuplog.txt

Log file that tracks the complete installation process, logging the success or failure of file copying, Registry updates, and reboots.

setupapi.log

Log file that tracks the installation of all hardware on a system.

Welcome screen

Logon screen for Windows XP. Enables users to select their particular user account by clicking on their user picture.

amplitude

Loudness of a sound card.

Celeron

Lower-cost brand of Intel CPUs.

Duron

Lower-cost version of AMD's Athlon series of CPUs.

system unit

Main component of the PC, in which the CPU, RAM, CD-ROM, and hard drive reside. All other devices—the keyboard, mouse, and monitor—connect to the system unit.

AMI (American Megatrends, Inc.)

Major producer of BIOS software for motherboards, as well as many other computer-related components and software.

encryption

Making data unreadable by those who do not possess a key or password.

dual-scan passive matrix

Manufacturing technique for increasing display updates by refreshing two lines at a time.

EIDE (Enhanced IDE)

Marketing concept of hard drive-maker Western Digital, encompassing four improvements for IDE drives, including drives larger than 528 MB, four devices, increase in drive throughput, and non-hard drive devices. (See ATAPI, PIO mode.)

Centrino

Marketing name for an Intel laptop solution including the mobile processor, support chips, and wireless networking.

consumables

Materials used up by printers, including paper, ink, ribbons, and toner cartridges.

interface

Means by which a user interacts with a piece of software.

Group Policy

Means of easily controlling the settings of multiple network clients with policies such as setting minimum password length or preventing Registry edits.

MMC (Microsoft Management Console)

Means of managing a system, introduced by Microsoft with Windows 2000. The MMC allows an administrator to customize management tools by picking and choosing from a list of snap-ins. Available snap-ins include Device Manager, Users and Groups, and Computer Management.

convergence

Measure of how sharply a single pixel appears on a CRT; a monitor with poor convergence produces images that are not sharply defined.

dpi (dots per inch)

Measure of printer resolution that counts the dots the device can produce per linear (horizontal) inch.

signal-to-noise ratio

Measure that describes the relative quality of an input port.

resolution

Measurement for CRTs and printers expressed in horizontal and verti- cal dots or pixels. Higher resolutions provide sharper details and thus display better- looking images.

bps (bits per second)

Measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. A 56K modem can move ~56,000 bits per second.

wattage (watts or W)

Measurement of the amps and volts needed for a particular device to function.

volts (V)

Measurement of the pressure of the electrons passing through a wire, or voltage.

VIS (viewable image size)

Measurement of the viewable image that is displayed by a CRT rather than a measurement of the CRT itself.

head actuator

Mechanism for moving the arms inside a hard drive on which the read/write heads are mounted.

fuser assembly

Mechanism in laser printers that uses two rollers to fuse toner to paper during the print process.

integrated memory controller (IMC)

Memory controller circuitry built into the CPU. An IMC enables faster control over things like the large L3 cache shared among multiple cores.

RAM (random access memory)

Memory that can be accessed at random; that is, memory which you can write to or read from without touching the preceding address. This term is often used to mean a computer's main memory.

volatile

Memory that must have constant electricity to retain data. Alternatively, any programmer six hours before deadline after a nonstop, 48-hour coding session, running on nothing but caffeine and sugar.

DRAM (dynamic random access memory or dynamic RAM)

Memory used to store data in most personal computers. DRAM stores each bit in a "cell" com- posed of a transistor and a capacitor. Because the capacitor in a DRAM cell can only hold a charge for a few milliseconds, DRAM must be continually refreshed, or rewritten, to retain its data.

System Tools

Menu containing tools such as System Information and Disk Defragmenter, accessed by selecting Start | Programs or All Programs | Accessories | System Tools.

Advanced Startup Options menu

Menu that can be reached during the boot process that offers advanced OS startup options, such as to boot to Safe Mode or boot into Last Known Good Configuration.

e-mail (electronic mail)

Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. Can also be sent automatically to a group of addresses (mailing list).

slot covers

Metal plates that cover up unused expansion slots on the back of a PC. Useful in maintaining proper airflow through a computer case.

hierarchical directory tree

Method by which Windows organizes files into a series of folders, called directories, under the root directory. (See also root directory.)

disk striping with parity

Method for providing fault tolerance by writing data across multiple drives and then including an additional drive, called a parity drive, that stores information to rebuild the data contained on the other drives. Requires at least three physical disks: two for the data and a third for the parity drive. This provides data redundancy at RAID levels 3-5 with different options.

MAC address filtering

Method of limiting wireless network access based on the physical, hard-wired address of the units' wireless NIC.

DualView

Microsoft feature enabling Windows to use two or more monitors simultaneously.

Windows 7 Compatibility Center

Microsoft's current Web site that lists the hardware and software that work with Windows 7.

IPSec (Internet Protocol security)

Microsoft's encryption method of choice for networks consisting of multiple networks linked by a private connection, providing transparent encryption between the server and the client.

page fault

Minor memory-addressing error.

AT (Advanced Technology)

Model name of the second-generation, 80286- based IBM computer. Many aspects of the AT, such as the BIOS, CMOS, and expansion bus, have become de facto standards in the PC industry. The physical organization of the components on the motherboard is called the AT form factor.

touchscreen

Monitor with a type of sensing device across its face that detects the location and duration of contact, usually by a finger or stylus.

S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology)

Monitoring system built into hard drives.

BTX (Balanced Technology eXtended)

Motherboard form factor designed as an improvement over ATX.

slimline

Motherboard form factor used to create PCs that were very thin. NLX and LPX were two examples of this form factor.

migration

Moving users from one operating system or hard drive to another.

HD (Hi-Definition)

Multimedia transmission standard that defines high-resolution images and 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 sound.

Applications

Name of the tab in Task Manager that lists running applications.

Core

Name used for the family of Intel CPUs that succeeded the Pentium 4.

code names

Names that keep track of different variations within CPU models.

bus topology

Network configuration wherein all computers connect to the net- work via a central bus cable.

peer-to-peer network

Network in which each machine can act as both a client and a server.

ring

Network topology where the computers form a circle and all data flows in one direction only.

star topology

Network topology where the computers on the network connect to a central wiring point, usually called a hub.

CSMA/CD (carrier sense multiple access/collision detection)

Networking scheme used by Ethernet devices to transmit data and resend data after detection of data collisions.

CSMA/CA (carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance)

Networking scheme used by wireless devices to transmit data while avoiding data collisions, which wireless nodes have difficulty detecting.

cellular wireless networks

Networks that enable cell phones, smartphones, and other mobile devices to connect to the Internet.

network ID

Number that identifies the network on which a device or machine exists. This number exists in both IP and IPX protocol suites.

geometry

Numbers representing three values: heads, cylinders, and sectors per track; define where a hard drives stores data.

wait state

Occurs when the CPU has to wait for RAM to provide code. Also known as pipeline stall.

ICH (I/O Controller Hub)

Official name for Southbridge chip found in Intel's chipsets.

Password Authentication Protocol (PAP)

Oldest and most basic form of authentication. Also the least safe, because it sends all passwords in clear text.

host

On a TCP/IP network, single device that has an IP address—any device (usually a computer) that can be the source or destination of a data packet. In the mainframe world, computer that is made available for use by multiple people simultaneously. Also, in virtualization, a computer running one or more virtual operating systems.

active partition

On a hard drive, primary partition that contains an operating system.

baud

One analog cycle on a telephone line. In the early days of telephone data trans- mission, the baud rate was often analogous to bits per second. Due to advanced modulation of baud cycles as well as data compression, this is no longer true.

CompTIA A+ 220-801

One half of the CompTIA A+ certification for PC technicians. The 801 exam focuses primarily on hardware and networking.

Certified Cisco Network Associate (CCNA)

One of the certifications demonstrating a knowledge of Cisco networking products.

ntdetect.com

One of the critical Windows NT/2000/XP startup files.

NVIDIA Corporation

One of the foremost manufacturers of graphics cards and chipsets.

CompactFlash (CF)

One of the older but still popular flash media formats. Its interface uses a simplified PC Card bus, so it also supports I/O devices.

backlight

One of three main components used in LCDs to illuminate an image.

computer administrator

One of three types of user accounts in Windows XP, has access to all resources on the computer. A member of the local Administrators group.

voice coil motor

One of two methods used to move actuator arms in a hard drive. (See also stepper motor.)

stepper motor

One of two methods used to move actuator arms in a hard drive. (See also voice coil motor.)

OpenGL

One of two popular APIs used today for video cards. Originally written for UNIX systems but now ported to Windows and Apple systems. (See also DirectX.)

theory of probable cause

One possible reason why something is not working;a guess.

mini connector

One type of power connector from a PC power supply unit. Sup- plies 5 and 12 volts to peripherals. Also known as a floppy connector.

image deployment

Operating system installation that uses a complete image of a hard drive as an installation media. Helpful when installing an operating system on a large number of identical PCs.

DVD (digital versatile disc)

Optical disc format that provides for 4-17 GB of video or data storage.

Blu-ray Disc (BD)

Optical disc format that stores 25 or 50 GB of data, designed to be the replacement media for DVD. Competed with HD DVD.

Last Known Good Configuration

Option on the Advanced Startup Options menu that allows your system to revert to a previous configuration to troubleshoot and repair any major system problems.

PC bus

Original 8-bit expansion bus developed by IBM for PCs; ran at a top speed of 4.77 MHz. Also known as the XT bus.

multimedia extensions (MMX)

Originally an Intel CPU enhancement designed for graphics-intensive applications (such as games). It was never embraced but eventually led to improvements in how CPUs handle graphics.

40-pin ribbon cable

PATA cable used to attach EIDE devices (such as hard drives) or ATAPI devices (such as optical drives) to a system. (See PATA.)

80-wire ribbon cable

PATA cable used to attach fast EIDE devices (such as ATA/100 hard drives) or ATAPI devices (such as optical drives) to a system. (See PATA.)

webcam

PC camera most commonly used for Internet video.

IDE (integrated drive electronics)

PC specification for small- to medium- sized hard drives in which the controlling electronics for the drive are part of the drive itself, speeding up transfer rates and leaving only a simple adapter (or "paddle"). IDE only supported two drives per system of no more than 504 MB each, and has been completely supplanted by Enhanced IDE. EIDE supports four drives of over 8 GB each and more than doubles the transfer rate. The more common name for PATA drives. Also known as intelligent drive electronics. (See PATA.)

SSID (service set identifier)

Parameter used to define a wireless network; otherwise known as the network name.

jack (physical connection)

Part of a connector into which a plug is inserted. Also referred to as ports.

port (physical connection)

Part of a connector into which a plug is inserted. Physical ports are also referred to as jacks.

Southbridge

Part of a motherboard chipset; handles all the inputs and outputs to the many devices in the PC.

HAL (hardware abstraction layer)

Part of the Windows OS that separates system-specific device drivers from the rest of the NT system.

USB root hub

Part of the host controller that makes the physical connection to the USB ports.

primary partition

Partition on a Windows hard drive that can store a bootable operating system.

globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table (GPT)

Partitioning scheme that enables you to create more than four primary partitions without needing to use dynamic disks.

thermal compound

Paste-like material with very high heat-transfer properties. Applied between the CPU and the cooling device, it ensures the best possible dispersal of heat from the CPU. Also called heat dope.

raster image

Pattern of dots representing what the final product should look like.

stylus

Pen-like input device used for pen-based computing.

joystick

Peripheral often used while playing computer games; originally intended as a multipurpose input device.

persistence

Phosphors used in CRT screens continuing to glow after being struck by electrons, long enough for the human eye to register the glowing effect. Glowing too long makes the images smeary, and too little makes them flicker.

volume

Physical unit of a storage medium, such as tape reel or disk pack, that is capable of having data recorded on it and subsequently read. Also, a contiguous collection of cylinders or blocks on a disk that are treated as a separate unit.

bandwidth

Piece of the spectrum occupied by some form of signal, such as television, voice, or fax data. Signals require a certain size and location of bandwidth to be transmitted. The higher the bandwidth, the faster the signal transmission, allowing for a more complex signal such as audio or video. Because bandwidth is a limited space, when one user is occupying it, others must wait their turn. Bandwidth is also the capacity of a network to transmit a given amount of data during a given period.

Quality of Service (QoS)

Policies that control how much bandwidth a protocol, PC, user, VLAN, or IP address may use.

UTP (unshielded twisted pair)

Popular type of cabling for telephone and networks, composed of pairs of wires twisted around each other at specific intervals. The twists serve to reduce interference (also called crosstalk). The more twists, the less interference. Unlike its cousin, STP, UTP cable has no metallic shielding to protect the wires from external interference. 1000BaseT uses UTP, as do many other networking technologies. UTP is available in a variety of grades, called categories, as follows:

desktop extender

Portable computer that offers some of the features of a full-fledged desktop computer but with a much smaller footprint and lower weight.

desktop replacement

Portable computer that offers the same performance as a full-fledged desktop computer; these systems are normally very heavy to carry and often cost much more than the desktop systems they replace.

aCPI (advanced Configuration and Power Interface)

Power manage- ment specification that far surpasses its predecessor, APM, by providing support for hot-swappable devices and better control of power modes.

throttling

Power reduction/thermal control capability allowing CPUs to slow down during low activity or high heat build-up situations. Intel's version is known as SpeedStep, AMD's as PowerNow!.

fuel cells

Power source that uses chemical reactions to produce electricity. Light- weight, compact, and stable devices expected to replace batteries as the primary power source for portable PCs.

SCSI (small computer system interface)

Powerful and flexible peripheral interface popularized on the Macintosh and used to connect hard drives, CD-ROM drives, tape drives, scanners, and other devices to PCs of all kinds. Normal SCSI enables up to seven devices to be connected through a single bus connection, whereas Wide SCSI can handle 15 devices attached to a single controller.

giga

Prefix for the quantity 1,073,741,824 (230) or for 1 billion. One gigabyte would be 1,073,741,824 bytes, except with hard drive labeling, where it means 1 billion bytes. One gigahertz is 1 billion hertz.

mega-

Prefix that stands for the binary quantity 1,048,576 (220) or the decimal quantity of 1,000,000. One megabyte is 1,048,576 bytes. One megahertz, however, is a mil- lion hertz. Sometimes shortened to Meg, as in "a 286 has an address space of 16 Megs."

tera-

Prefix that usually stands for the binary number 1,099,511,627,776 (240). When used for mass storage, it's often shorthand for 1 trillion bytes.

port forwarding

Preventing the passage of any IP packets through any ports other than the ones prescribed by the system administrator.

external data bus (EDB)

Primary data highway of all computers. Everything in your computer is tied either directly or indirectly to the external data bus. (See also frontside bus and backside bus.)

system BIOS

Primary set of BIOS stored on an EPROM or flash ROM chip on the motherboard. Defines the BIOS for all the assumed hardware on the motherboard, such as keyboard controller, floppy drive, basic video, and RAM.

PCL (printer control language)

Printer control language created by Hewlett- Packard and used on a broad cross-section of printers.

dot-matrix printer

Printer that creates each character from an array of dots. Pins striking a ribbon against the paper, one pin for each dot position, form the dots. May be a serial printer (printing one character at a time) or a line printer.

dye-sublimation printer

Printer that uses a roll of heat-sensitive plastic film embedded with dyes, which are vaporized and then solidified onto specially coated paper to create a high-quality image.

solid ink printers

Printer that uses solid sticks of nontoxic "ink" that produce vibrant color documents with much less waste than color laser printers.

defragmentation (defrag)

Procedure in which all the files on a hard disk are rewritten on disk so that all parts of each file reside in contiguous clusters. The result is an improvement in disk speed during retrieval operations.

handshaking

Procedure performed by modems, terminals, and computers to verify that communication has been correctly established.

degauss

Procedure used to break up the electromagnetic fields that can build up on the cathode ray tube of a monitor; involves running a current through a wire loop. Most monitors feature a manual degaussing tool.

disk striping

Process by which data is spread among multiple (at least two) drives. Increases speed for both reads and writes of data. Considered RAID level 0 because it does not provide fault tolerance.

calibration

Process of matching the print output of a printer to the visual output of a monitor.

compression

Process of squeezing data to eliminate redundancies, allowing files to use less space when stored or transmitted.

escalate

Process used when person assigned to repair a problem is not able to get the job done, such as sending the problem to someone with more expertise.

pipeline

Processing methodology where multiple calculations take place simultaneously by being broken into a series of steps. Often used in CPUs and video processors.

FM synthesis

Producing sound by electronic emulation of various instruments to more-or-less produce music and other sound effects.

virus

Program that can make a copy of itself without your necessarily being aware of it. Some viruses can destroy or damage files. The best protection is to back up files regularly.

Trojan horse

Program that does something other than what the user who runs the program thinks it will do. Used to disguise malicious code.

grayware

Program that intrudes into a user's computer experience without damag- ing any systems or data.

device driver

Program used by the operating system to control communications between the computer and peripherals.

regedit.exe

Program used to edit the Windows Registry.

rearview projector

Projector that shoots an image onto a screen from the rear. Rearview projectors are usually self-enclosed and very popular for TVs, but are virtually unheard of in the PC world.

AMR (audio modem riser)

Proprietary slot used on some motherboards to provide a sound interference-free connection for modems, sound cards, and NICs.

CNR (communications and networking riser)

Proprietary slot used on some motherboards to provide a sound interference-free connection for modems, sound cards, and NICs.

ARP (Address Resolution Protocol)

Protocol in the TCP/IP suite used with the command-line utility of the same name (arp) to determine the MAC address that corresponds to a particular IP address.

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)

Protocol in which addresses consist of eight sets of four hexadecimal numbers, each number being a value between 0000 and FFFF, using a colon to separate the numbers. An example is FEDC:BA98:7654:3210:08 00:200C:00CF:1234.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

Protocol that enables a DHCP server to set TCP/IP settings automatically for a DHCP client.

IrDA (Infrared Data Association) protocol

Protocol that enables communication through infrared devices, with speeds of up to 4 Mbps.

NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System)

Protocol that operates at the Session layer of the OSI seven-layer model. This protocol creates and manages connections based on the names of the computers involved.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

Protocol used by many operating systems and applications to access directories.

Remote Desktop Protocol

Protocol used for Microsoft's Remote Desktop tool. Uses port 3389.

power supply unit

Provides the electrical power for a PC. Converts standard AC power into various voltages of DC electricity in a PC.

Layer 7 The Application layer

Provides tools for programs to use to access the network (and the lower layers). HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and POP3 are all examples of protocols that operate at the Application layer.

SRAM (static RAM)

RAM that uses a flip-flop circuit rather than the typical transistor/capacitor of DRAM to hold a bit of information. SRAM does not need to be refreshed and is faster than regular DRAM. Used primarily for cache.

Flash ROM

ROM technology that can be electrically reprogrammed while still in the PC. Overwhelmingly the most common storage medium of BIOS in PCs today, as it can be upgraded without a need to open the computer on most systems.

positional audio

Range of commands for a sound card to place a sound any- where in 3-D space.

aspect ratio

Ratio of width to height of an object. Standard television has a 4:3 aspect ratio.

incident report

Record of the details of an accident, including what happened and where it happened.

multisession drive

Recordable CD drive capable of burning multiple sessions onto a single recordable disc. A multisession drive also can close a CD-R so that no further tracks can be written to it.

document findings, actions, and outcomes

Recording each troubleshoot- ing job: what the problem was, how it was fixed, and other helpful information. (One of the steps a technician uses to solve a problem.)

dual boot

Refers to a computer with two operating systems installed, enabling users to choose which operating system to load on boot. Can also refer to kicking a device a second time just in case the first time didn't work.

POP3 (Post Office Protocol)

Refers to the way e-mail software such as Eudora gets mail from a mail server. When you obtain a SLIP, PPP, or shell account, you almost always get a POP account with it. It is this POP account that you tell your e-mail soft- ware to use to get your mail. Uses port 110.

client/server

Relationship in which client software obtains services from a server on behalf of a person.

floppy disk

Removable storage media that can hold between 720 KB and 1.44 MB of data.

DMA controller

Resides between the RAM and the devices and handles DMA requests.

optical resolution

Resolution a scanner can achieve mechanically. Most scanners use software to enhance this ability.

native resolution

Resolution on an LCD monitor that matches the physical pix- els on the screen. CRTs do not have fixed pixels and therefore do not have a native resolution.

NTFS (NT file system)

Robust and secure file system introduced by Microsoft with Windows NT. NTFS provides an amazing array of configuration options for user access and security. Users can be granted access to data on a file-by-file basis. NTFS enables object-level security, long filename support, compression, and encryption.

path

Route the operating system must follow to find an executable program stored in a subfolder.

port triggering

Router function that enables you to automatically open an incoming connection to one computer based on a specific outgoing connection.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

Rules that enable two computers to talk to one another during a file transfer. Protocol used when you transfer a file from one computer to another across the Internet. FTP uses port numbers 20 and 21.

data structure

Scheme that directs how an OS stores and retrieves data on and off a drive. Used interchangeably with the term file system. (See also file system.)

file system

Scheme that directs how an OS stores and retrieves data on and off a drive; FAT32 and NTFS are both file systems. Used interchangeably with the term "data structure." (See also data structure.)

NLX

Second form factor for slimline systems. Replaced the earlier LPX form factor. (NLX apparently stands for nothing; it's just a cool grouping of letters.)

HTTPS (HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer)

Secure form of HTTP used commonly for Internet business transactions or any time when a secure connection is required. Uses port 443. (See also HTTP.)

virtual machine manager (VMM)

See hypervisor.

heat dope

See thermal compound.

tone generator

See toner.

tone probe

See toner.

sector

Segment of one of the concentric tracks encoded on the disk during a low- level format. A sector holds 512 bytes of data.

beep codes

Series of audible tones produced by a motherboard during the POST. These tones identify whether the POST has completed successfully or whether some piece of system hardware is not working properly. Consult the manual for your particular motherboard for a specific list of beep codes.

OS (operating system)

Series of programs and code that creates an interface so users can interact with a system's hardware; for example, DOS, Windows, and Linux.

PIO (programmed I/O) mode

Series of speed standards created by the Small Form Factor Committee for the use of PIO by hard drives. Modes range from PIO mode 0 to PIO mode 4.

ATAPI (ATA Packet Interface)

Series of standards that enables mass storage devices other than hard drives to use the IDE/ATA controllers. Popular with optical drives. (See EIDE.)

bus

Series of wires connecting two or more separate electronic devices, enabling those devices to communicate. Also, a network topology where computers all connect to a main line called a bus cable.

DirectX

Set of APIs enabling programs to control multimedia, such as sound, video, and graphics. Used in Windows Vista and Windows 7 to draw the Aero desktop.

code

Set of symbols representing characters (e.g., ASCII code) or instructions in a computer program (a programmer writes source code, which must be translated into executable or machine code for the computer to use).

expansion bus

Set of wires going to the CPU, governed by the expansion bus crystal, directly connected to expansion slots of varying types (PCI, AGP, PCIe, etc.).

backside bus

Set of wires that connects the CPU to Level 2 cache. First appearing in the Pentium Pro, all modern CPUs have a backside bus. Some buses run at the full speed of the CPU, whereas others run at a fraction. Earlier Pentium IIs, for example, had backside buses running at half the speed of the processor. (See also frontside bus and external data bus.)

patch cables

Short (2 to 5 feet) UTP cables that connect patch panels to the hubs.

MP3

Short for MPEG Audio Layer 3. MP3 is a type of compression used specifically for turning high-quality digital audio files into much smaller, yet similar sounding, files.

CAB files

Short for cabinet files. These files are compressed and most commonly used during OS installation to store many smaller files, such as device drivers.

heads

Short for read/write heads used by hard drives to store data.

Task Manager

Shows all running programs, including hidden ones, and is accessed by pressing CTRL-SHIFT-ESC. Able to shut down an unresponsive application that refuses to close normally.

IRQ (interrupt request)

Signal from a hardware device, such as a modem or a mouse, indicating that it needs the CPU's attention. In PCs, IRQs are sent along specific IRQ channels associated with a particular device. IRQ conflicts were a common prob- lem in the past when adding expansion boards, but the plug-and-play specification has removed this headache in most cases.

duplexing

Similar to mirroring in that data is written to and read from two physical drives, for fault tolerance. Separate controllers are used for each drive, both for additional fault tolerance and for additional speed. Considered RAID level 1. Also called disk duplexing or drive duplexing.

clock cycle

Single charge to the clock wire of a CPU.

software

Single group of programs designed to do a particular job; always stored on mass storage devices.

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface)

Single multimedia connection that includes both high-definition video and audio. One of the best connections for outputting to television. Also contains copy protection features.

laser

Single-wavelength, in-phase light source that is sometimes strapped to the head of sharks by bad guys. Note to henchmen: Lasers should never be used with sea bass, no matter how ill-tempered they might be.

3.5-inch floppy drive

Size of all modern floppy disk drives; the format was introduced in 1986 and is one of the longest surviving pieces of computer hardware.

throw

Size of the image a projector displays at a certain distance from the screen.

ping (packet Internet groper)

Slang term for a small network message (ICMP ECHO) sent by a computer to check for the presence and aliveness of another. Used to verify the presence of another system. Also, the command used at a prompt to ping a computer.

VRM (voltage regulator module)

Small card supplied with some CPUs to ensure that the CPU gets correct voltage. This type of card, which must be used with a motherboard specially designed to accept it, is not commonly seen today.

module

Small circuit board that DRAM chips are attached to. Also known as a "stick."

mini-DIN

Small connection most commonly used for keyboards and mice. Many modern systems implement USB in place of mini-DIN connections. Also called PS/2.

ink cartridge

Small container of ink for inkjet printers.

traces

Small electrical connections embedded in a circuit board.

icon

Small image or graphic, most commonly found on a system's desktop, that launches a program when selected.

patch

Small piece of software released by a software manufacturer to correct a flaw or problem with a particular piece of software.

netbook

Small, low-power laptop used primarily for Web browsing.

thread

Smallest logical division of a single program.

Android

Smartphone and tablet OS created by Google.

Disk Management

Snap-in available with the Microsoft Management Console that enables techs to configure the various disks installed in a system; available in the Computer Management Administrative Tool.

Performance Logs and Alerts

Snap-in enabling the creation of a written record of most everything that happens on the system.

telephone scams

Social engineering attack in which the attacker makes a phone call to someone in an organization to gain information.

CAT 6a UTP

supports speeds up to 10 gigabits per second

CAT 5e UTP

supports speeds up to 1000megabits per second

limited user account

User account in Windows XP that has limited access to a system. Accounts of this type cannot alter system files, cannot install new programs, and cannot edit settings by using the Control Panel.

Disk Cleanup

Utility built into Windows that can help users clean up their disks by removing temporary Internet files, deleting unused program files, and more.

System Restore

Utility in Windows that enables you to return your PC to a recent working configuration when something goes wrong. System Restore enables you to select a restore point and then returns the computer's system settings to the way they were at that restore point—all without affecting your personal files or e-mail.

Event Viewer

Utility made available as an MMC snap-in that enables users to monitor various system events, including network bandwidth usage and CPU utilization.

motherboard book

Valuable resource when installing a new motherboard. Normally lists all the specifications about a motherboard, including the type of memory and type of CPU usable with the motherboard.

attributes

Values in a file that determine the hidden, read-only, system, and archive status of the file.

Windows XP

Version of Windows that replaced both the entire Windows 9x line and Windows 2000; does not have a Server version.

XGA (extended graphics array)

Video display mode of 1024 × 768.

WSXGA+

Video display mode of 1680 × 1050

WUXGA

Video display mode of 1920 × 1200.

3-D graphics

Video technology that attempts to create images with the same depth and texture as objects seen in the real world.

stealth virus

Virus that uses various methods to hide from antivirus software.

microprocessor

"Brain" of a computer. Primary computer chip that determines relative speed and capabilities of the computer. Also called CPU.

CPU (central processing unit)

"Brain" of the computer. Microprocessor that handles primary calculations for the computer. CPUs are known by names such as Core i5 and Phenom II.

Unicode

16-bit code that covers every character of the most common languages, plus several thousand symbols.

Nano-ITX

A 4.7 inch by 4.7 inch variation of the ITX form factor.

unattended installation

A type of OS installation where special scripts perform all the OS setup duties without human intervention.

wide area network (WAN)

A widespread group of computers connected using long-distance technologies.

administrative shares

Administrator tool to give local admins access to hard drives and system root folders.

USMT (User State Migration Tool)

Advanced application for file and settings transfer of multiple users.

protocol

Agreement that governs the procedures used to exchange information between cooperating entities. Usually includes how much information is to be sent, how often it is sent, how to recover from transmission errors, and who is to receive the information.

impedance

Amount of resistance to an electrical signal on a wire. Relative measure of the amount of data a cable can handle.

URL (uniform resource locator)

An address that defines the location of a resource on the Internet. URLs are used most often in conjunction with HTML and the World Wide Web.

resistor

Any material or device that impedes the flow of electrons. Electronic resistors measure their resistance (impedance) in ohms. (See ohm(s).)

authorization

Any method a computer uses to determine what an authenticated user can do.

authentication

Any method a computer uses to determine who can access it.

Kerberos

Authentication encryption developed by MIT to enable multiple brands of servers to authenticate multiple brands of clients.

Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)

Authentication wrapper that EAP-compliant applications can use to accept one of many types of authentication. While EAP is a general-purpose authentication wrapper, its only substantial use is in wireless networks.

incremental backup

Backs up all files that have their archive bits turned on, meaning that they have been changed since the last backup. Turns the archive bits off after the files have been backed up.

daily backup

Backup of all files that have been changed on that day without changing the archive bits of those files. Also called daily copy backup.

anti-static bag

Bag made of anti-static plastic into which electronics are placed for temporary or long-term storage. Used to protect components from electrostatic discharge.

UPC (Universal Product Code)

Bar code used to track inventory.

hex (hexadecimal)

Base-16 numbering system using ten digits (0 through 9) and six letters (A through F). In the computer world, shorthand way to write binary numbers by substituting one hex digit for a four-digit binary number (e.g., hex 9 = binary 1001).

packet

Basic component of communication over a network. Group of bits of fixed maximum size and well-defined format that is switched and transmitted as a single entity through a network. Contains source and destination address, data, and control information.

conditioning charger

Battery charger that contains intelligent circuitry that pre- vents portable computer batteries from being overcharged and damaged.

sprite

Bitmapped graphic such as a BMP file used by early 3-D games to create the 3-D world.

BD-ROM

Blu-ray Disc equivalent of a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM. (See Blu-ray Disc.)

BD-RE (Blu-ray Disc-REwritable)

Blu-ray Disc equivalent of the rewritable DVD, allows writing and rewriting several times on the same BD. (See Blu-ray Disc.)

BD-R (Blu-ray Disc-Recordable)

Blu-ray Disc format that enables writing data to blank discs.

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices)

CPU and chipset manufacturer that competes with Intel. Produces the popular Phenom, Athlon, Sempron, Turion, and Duron microprocessors; also produces video card processors under its ATI brand.

hyperthreading

CPU feature that enables a single pipeline to run more than one thread at once.

ALU (arithmetic logic unit)

CPU logic circuits that perform basic arithmetic (add, subtract, multiply, and divide).

SEC (single-edge cartridge)

CPU package where the CPU was contained in a cartridge that snapped into a special slot on the motherboard called Slot 1.

clock-multiplying CPU

CPU that takes the incoming clock signal and multiples it inside the CPU to let the internal circuitry of the CPU run faster.

dual-core

CPUs that have two execution units on the same physical chip but share caches and RAM.

shadow mask

CRT screen that allows only the proper electron gun to light the proper phosphors.

coaxial cable

Cabling in which an internal conductor is surrounded by another, outer conductor, thus sharing the same axis.

Layer 6 The Presentation layer

Can also manage data encryption; hides the differences between various types of computer systems.

wildcard

Character used during a search to represent search criteria. For instance, searching for *.doc will return a list of all files with a .doc extension, regardless of the filename. The * is the wildcard in that search.

bus mastering

Circuitry allowing devices to avoid conflicts on the external data bus.

active PFC (power factor correction)

Circuitry built into PC power sup- plies to reduce harmonics.

thermal unit

Combination heat sink and fan designed for BTX motherboards; blows hot air out the back of the case instead of just into the case.

copy command

Command in the command-line interface for making a copy of a file and pasting it in another location.

expand

Command-line utility included with Windows used to access files within CAB files.

tracert

Command-line utility used to follow the path a packet takes between two hosts. Also called traceroute.

sfc (System File Checker)

Command-prompt program (sfc.exe) that scans, detects, and restores Windows system files, folders, and paths.

serial port

Common connector on a PC. Connects input devices (such as a mouse) or communications devices (such as a modem).

Wi-Fi

Common name for the IEEE 802.11 wireless Ethernet standard.

LPT port

Commonly referred to as a printer port; usually associated with a local parallel port.

Registry

Complex binary file used to store configuration data about a particular system. To edit the Registry, users can use the applets found in the Control Panel or regedit.exe or regedt32.exe.

RIP (raster image processor)

Component in a printer that translates the raster image into commands for the printer.

GDI (graphical device interface)

Component of Windows that utilizes the CPU rather than the printer to process a print job as a bitmapped image of each page.

client

Computer program that uses the services of another computer program. Also, software that extracts information from a server; your auto-dial phone is a client, and the phone company is its server. Also, a machine that accesses shared resources on a server.

future-proofing

Configuring a PC so that it will run programs (especially games) released in the coming years.

parallel port

Connection for the synchronous, high-speed flow of data along parallel lines to a device, usually a printer.

mini power connector

Connector used to provide power to floppy disk drives.

expansion slots

Connectors on a motherboard that enable users to add optional components to a system. (See also AGP, PCI, and PCIe.)

HBA (host bus adapter)

Connects SATA devices to the expansion bus. Also known as the SATA controller.

IEC-320

Connects the cable supplying AC power from a wall outlet into the power supply.

PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)

Consortium of computer manufacturers who devised the PC Card standard for credit card-sized adapter cards that add functionality in many notebook computers, PDAs, and other computer devices. (See also PC Card.)

user account

Container that identifies a user to an application, operating system, or network, including name, password, user name, groups to which the user belongs, and other information based on the user and the OS being used. Usually defines the rights and roles a user plays on a system.

notification area

Contains icons representing background processes, the system clock, and volume control. Located by default at the right edge of the Windows taskbar. Most users call this area the system tray.

DB connectors

D-shaped connectors used for a variety of connections in the PC and networking world. Can be male (with prongs) or female (with holes) and have a varying number of pins or sockets. Also called D-sub, D-subminiature, or D-shell connectors.

SIMM (single in-line memory module)

DRAM packaging distinguished by having a number of small tabs that install into a special connector. Each side of each tab is the same signal. SIMMs come in two common sizes: 30-pin and 72-pin.

SDRAM (synchronous DRAM)

DRAM that is synchronous, or tied to the system clock and thus runs much faster than traditional FPM and EDO RAM. This type of RAM is used in all modern systems.

DVD-ROM

DVD equivalent of the standard CD-ROM.

DVD-Video

DVD format used exclusively to store digital video; capable of storing over 2 hours of high-quality video on a single DVD.

resources

Data and services of a PC.

NLQ (near-letter quality)

Designation for dot-matrix printers that use 24-pin printheads.

FAT32

File allocation table that uses 32 bits for addressing clusters. Commonly used with Windows 98 and Windows Me systems. Some Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP systems also use FAT32, although most modern Windows systems use the more robust NTFS. Default format for flash media devices larger than 2 GB.

chkdsk (CheckDisk)

Hard drive error detection and, to a certain extent, correction utility in Windows. Originally a DOS command (chkdsk.exe); also the executable for the graphical Error-checking tool.

basic disk

Hard drive partitioned in the "classic" way with a master boot record (MBR) and partition table. (See also dynamic disks.)

smart card

Hardware authentication involving a credit card-sized card with circuitry that can be used to identify the bearer of that card.

KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switch

Hardware device that enables multiple computers to be viewed and controlled by a single mouse, keyboard, and screen.

PATA (parallel ATA)

Implementation that integrates the controller on the disk drive itself. (See also ATA, IDE, SATA.)

Interrupt 13 (INT13) extensions

Improved type of BIOS that accepts EIDE drives up to 137 GB.

anti-aliasing

In computer imaging, blending effect that smoothes sharp contrasts between two regions—e.g., jagged lines or different colors. Reduces jagged edges of text or objects. In voice signal processing, process of removing or smoothing out spurious frequencies from waveforms produced by converting digital signals back to analog.

port (networking)

In networking, the number used to identify the requested service (such as SMTP or FTP) when connecting to a TCP/IP host. Examples: 80 (HTTP), 20 (FTP), 69 (TFTP), 25 (SMTP), and 110 (POP3).

MCH (Memory Controller Hub)

Intel-coined name for what is now commonly called the Northbridge.

HDA (High Definition Audio)

Intel-designed standard to support features such as true surround sound with many discrete speakers. Often referred to by its code name, Azalia.

FireWire (IEEE 1394)

Interconnection standard to send wide-band signals over a serialized, physically thin connector system. Serial bus developed by Apple and Texas Instruments; enables connection of 63 devices at speeds up to 800 megabits per second.

GUI (graphical user interface)

Interface that enables user to interact with computer graphically, by using a mouse or other pointing device to manipulate icons that represent programs or documents, instead of using only text as in early interfaces. Pronounced "gooey."

PostScript

Language defined by Adobe Systems, Inc. for describing how to create an image on a page. The description is independent of the resolution of the device that will actually create the image. It includes a technology for defining the shape of a font and creating a raster image at many different resolutions and sizes.

matte

Laptop screen finish that offers a good balance between richness of colors and reflections, but washes out in bright light.

local user account

List of user names and their associated passwords with access to a system, contained in an encrypted database.

verify full system functionality

Making sure that a problem has been resolved and will not return. (One of the steps a technician uses to solve a problem.)

Layer 5 The Session layer

Manages connections between machines. NetBIOS and Sockets operate at the Session layer.

assertive communication

Means of communication that is not pushy or bossy but is also not soft. Useful in dealing with upset customers as it both defuses their anger and gives them confidence that you know what you're doing.

voucher

Means of getting a discount on the CompTIA A+ exams.

shared memory

Means of reducing the amount of memory needed on a video card by borrowing from the regular system RAM, which reduces costs but also decreases performance.

SO-DIMM (small-outline DIMM)

Memory used in portable PCs because of its small size.

Start menu

Menu that can be accessed by clicking the Start button on the Windows taskbar. Enables you to see all programs loaded on the system and to start them.

MS-CHAP

Microsoft's variation of the CHAP protocol, which uses a slightly more advanced encryption protocol. Windows Vista uses MS-CHAP v2 (version 2), and does not support MS-CHAP v1 (version 1).

polygons

Multisided shapes used in 3-D rendering of objects. In computers, video cards draw large numbers of triangles and connect them to form polygons.

pinch

Multitouch gesture that enables you to make an image bigger or smaller.

inheritance

NTFS feature that passes on the same permissions in any subfolders/ files resident in the original folder.

filename

Name assigned to a file when the file is first written on a disk. Every file on a disk within the same folder must have a unique name. Filenames can contain any character (including spaces), except the following: \ / : * ? " < > |

Ethernet

Name coined by Xerox for the first standard of network cabling and protocols. Based on a bus topology.

Pentium

Name given to the fifth and later generations of Intel microprocessors; has a 32-bit address bus, 64-bit external data bus, and dual pipelining. Also used for subsequent generations of Intel processors—the Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, and Pentium 4. Pentium name was retired after the introduction of the Intel Core CPUs.

Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)

Nonprofit IT trade association that administers the CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ exams and many other vendor-neutral IT certification exams.

bit depth

Number of colors a video card is capable of producing. Common bit depths are 16-bit and 32-bit, representing 65,536 colors and 16.7 million colors (plus an 8-bit alpha channel for transparency levels), respectively.

polyphony

Number of instruments a sound card can play simultaneously.

hang time

Number of seconds a too-often-hung computer is airborne after you have thrown it out a second-story window.

binary numbers

Number system with a base of 2, unlike the number systems most of us use that have bases of 10 (decimal numbers), 12 (measurement in feet and inches), and 60 (time). Binary numbers are preferred for computers for precision and economy. An electronic circuit that can detect the difference between two states (on- off, 0-1) is easier and more inexpensive to build than one that could detect the differences among ten states (0-9).

grayscale depth

Number that defines how many shades of gray the scanner can save per dot.

IP address

Numeric address of a computer connected to the Internet. An IPv4 address is made up of four octets of 8-bit binary numbers translated into their short- hand numeric values. An IPv6 address is 128 bits long. The IP address can be broken down into a network ID and a host ID. Also called Internet address.

multiboot installation

OS installation in which multiple operating systems are installed on a single machine. Can also refer to kicking a device several times in frustration.

toner cartridge

Object used to store the toner in a laser printer. (See also laser printer, toner.)

component failure

Occurs when a system device fails due to a manufacturing or some other type of defect.

CD (compact disc)

Originally designed as the replacement for vinyl records, has become the primary method of long-term storage of music and data.

CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor)

Originally, the type of nonvolatile RAM that held information about the most basic parts of your PC, such as hard drives, floppies, and amount of DRAM. Today, actual CMOS chips have been replaced by flash-type nonvolatile RAM. The information is the same, however, and is still called CMOS—even though it is now almost always stored on Flash RAM.

optical mouse

Pointing device that uses light rather than electronic sensors to determine movement and direction the mouse is being moved.

smart battery

Portable PC battery that tells the computer when it needs to be charged, conditioned, or replaced.

FCS (Frame Check Sequence)

Portion of an Ethernet frame used for error checking, most commonly with the CRC algorithm.

remnant

Potentially recoverable data on a hard drive that remains despite formatting or deleting.

robocopy command

Powerful command-line utility for copying files and directories, even over a network.

Windows NT

Precursor to Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, which introduced many important features (such as HAL and NTFS) used in all later versions of Windows.

network printer

Printer that connects directly to a network.

thermal printer

Printers that use heated printheads to create high-quality images on special or plain paper.

activation

Process of confirming that an installed copy of a Microsoft product (most commonly Windows or a Microsoft Office application) is legitimate. Usually done at the end of software installation.

multitasking

Process of running multiple programs or tasks on the same com- puter at the same time.

a/V sync

Process of synchronizing audio and video.

burn

Process of writing data to a writable optical disc, such as a DVD-R.

Web browser

Program designed to retrieve, interpret, and display Web pages.

CMOS setup program

Program enabling you to access and update CMOS data.

shareware

Program protected by copyright; holder allows (encourages!) you to make and distribute copies under the condition that those who adopt the software after preview pay a fee to the holder of the copyright. Derivative works are not allowed, although you may make an archival copy.

bug

Programming error that causes a program or a computer system to perform erratically, produce incorrect results, or crash. The term was coined when a real bug was found in one of the circuits of one of the first ENIAC computers.

ODBC Data Source Administrator

Programming tool for configuring the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) coding standard. Data Source Administrator enables you to create and manage entries called Data Source Names (DSNs) that point OBDC to a database. DSNs are used by ODBC-aware applications to query ODBC to find their databases.

timbre

Qualities that differentiate the same note played on different instruments.

print resolution

Quality of a print image.

striped volume

RAID 0 volumes. Data is spread across two drives for increased speed.

double-sided RAM

RAM stick with RAM chips soldered to both sides of the stick. May only be used with motherboards designed to accept double-sided RAM. Very common.

ECC RAM/DRAM (error correction code DRAM)

RAM that uses special chips to detect and fix memory errors. Commonly used in high-end servers where data integrity is crucial.

system ROM

ROM chip that stores the system BIOS.

CD-ROM (compact disc/read-only memory)

Read-only compact storage disc for audio or video data. CD-ROMs are read by using CD-ROM drives and optical drives with backward compatibility, such as DVD and Blu-ray Disc drives.

terminator

Resistor that is plugged into the end of a bus cable to absorb the excess electrical signal, preventing it from bouncing back when it reaches the end of the wire. Terminators are used with coaxial cable and on the ends of SCSI chains. RG-58 coaxial cable requires resistors with a 50-ohm impedance. Also, a humanoid robot from the future designed by Skynet to destroy all human life. He'll be back.

NTFS permissions

Restrictions that determine the amount of access given to a particular user on a system using NTFS.

monitor

Screen that displays data from a PC. Can use either a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD) to display images.

logical drives

Sections of an extended partition on a hard drive that are formatted and (usually) assigned a drive letter, each of which is presented to the user as if it were a separate drive.

share-level security

Security system in which each resource has a password assigned to it; access to the resource is based on knowing the password.

D-subminiature

See DB connectors.

XT bus

See PC bus.

RJ-11

See RJ (registered jack) connector.

RJ-45

See RJ (registered jack) connector.

EIA/TIA

See TIA/EIA.

PowerShell

See Windows PowerShell.

single source

See closed source.

rails

Separate DC paths within an ATX power supply.

eSATA

Serial ATA-based connector for external hard drives and optical drives.

COM port(s)

Serial communications ports available on your computer.

PCIe (PCI Express)

Serialized successor to PCI and AGP that uses the concept of individual data paths called lanes. May use any number of lanes, although a single lane (×1) and 16 lanes (×16) are the most common on motherboards.

SATA (serial ATA)

Serialized version of the ATA standard that offers many advantages over PATA (parallel ATA) technology, including thinner cabling, keyed connectors, and lower power requirements.

program/programming

Series of binary electronic commands sent to a CPU to get work done.

address bus

Set of wires leading from the CPU to the memory controller chip (traditionally the Northbridge) that enables the CPU to address RAM. Also used by the CPU for I/O addressing. On current CPUs with built-in memory controllers, the address bus refers to the internal electronic channel from the microprocessor to RAM, along which the addresses of memory storage locations are transmitted. Like a post office box, each memory location has a distinct number or address; the address bus provides the means by which the microprocessor can access every location in memory.

user profiles

Settings that correspond to a specific user account and may follow users regardless of the computers where they log on. These settings enable the user to have customized environment and security settings.

cd (chdir)

Shorthand for "change directory." Allows you to change the focus of the command prompt from one directory to another.

differential backup

Similar to an incremental backup. Backs up the files that have been changed since the last backup. This type of backup does not change the state of the archive bit.

cylinder

Single track on all the platters in a hard drive. Imagine a hard drive as a series of metal cans, nested one inside another; a single can would represent a cylinder.

RAID (redundant array of independent disks)

Six-level (0-5) way of creating a fault-tolerant storage system: Level 0 Uses byte-level striping and provides no fault tolerance. Level 1 Uses mirroring or duplexing. Level 2 Uses bit-level striping. Level 3 Stores error-correcting information (such as parity) on a separate disk, and uses data striping on the remaining drives. Level 4 Level 3 with block-level striping. Level 5 Uses block-level and parity data striping. Also known as redundant array of inexpensive disks.

power supply fan

Small fan located in a system power supply that draws warm air from inside the power supply and exhausts it to the outside.

Tablet PC

Small portable computer distinguished by the use of a touchscreen with stylus and handwriting recognition as the primary modes of input. Also the name of the Windows XP-based operating system designed to run on such systems.

ZIF (zero insertion force) socket

Socket for CPUs that enables insertion of a chip without the need to apply pressure. Intel promoted this socket with its overdrive upgrades. The chip drops effortlessly into the socket's holes, and a small lever locks it in.

API (application programming interface)

Software definition that describes operating system calls for application software; conventions defining how a service is invoked.

antivirus program

Software designed to combat viruses by either seeking out and destroying them or passively guarding against them.

anti-static wrist strap

Special device worn around the wrist with a grounding connection designed to equalize electrical potential between a technician and an electronic device. Used to prevent electrostatic discharge.

Take Ownership

Special permission allowing users to seize control of a file or folder and potentially prevent others from accessing the file/folder.

cache (L1, L2, L3, etc.)

Special section of fast memory, usually built into the CPU, used by the onboard logic to store information most frequently accessed by the CPU.

ECC (error correction code)

Special software, embedded on hard drives, that constantly scans the drives for bad sectors.

anti-static mat

Special surface on which to lay electronics. These mats come with a grounding connection designed to equalize electrical potential between a workbench and one or more electronic devices. Used to prevent electrostatic discharge.

password reset disk

Special type of floppy disk with which users can recover a lost password without losing access to any encrypted, or password-protected, data.

DVI (Digital Visual Interface)

Special video connector designed for digital-to- digital connections; most commonly seen on PC video cards and LCD monitors. Some versions also support analog signals with a special adapter.

Mini-PCI

Specialized form of PCI designed for use in laptops.

GPU (graphics processing unit)

Specialized processor that helps the CPU by taking over all of the 3-D rendering duties.

MMX (multimedia extensions)

Specific CPU instructions that enable a CPU to handle many multimedia functions, such as digital signal processing. Introduced with the Pentium CPU, these instructions are used on all ×86 CPUs.

DPMS (display power-management signaling)

Specification that can reduce CRT power consumption by 75 percent by reducing/eliminating video signals during idle periods.

structured cabling

Standards defined by TIA/EIA that define methods of orga- nizing the cables in a network for ease of repair and replacement.

V Standards

Standards established by CCITT for modem manufacturers to follow (voluntarily) to ensure compatible speeds, compression, and error correction.

memory addressing

Taking memory address from system RAM and using it to address non-system RAM or ROM so the CPU can access it.

passive matrix

Technology for producing colors in LCD monitors by varying volt- ages across wire matrices to produce red, green, or blue dots.

DTS (Digital Theatre Systems)

Technology for sound reductions and channeling methods, similar to Dolby Digital.

preboot execution environment (PXE)

Technology that enables a PC to boot without any local storage by retrieving an OS from a server over a network.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Technology that enables a mobile device to determine where you are on a map.

Power over Ethernet

Technology that provides power and data transmission through a single network cable.

boot

To initiate an automatic routine that clears the memory, loads the operating system, and prepares the computer for use. Term is derived from "pull yourself up by your bootstraps." PCs must do that because RAM doesn't retain program instructions when power is turned off. A cold boot occurs when the PC is physically switched on. A warm boot loads a fresh OS without turning off the computer, lessening the strain on the electronic circuitry. To do a warm boot, press the CTRL-ALT-DELETE keys twice in rapid succession (the three-fingered salute).

identify the problem

To question the user and find out what has been changed recently or is no longer working properly. (One of the steps a technician uses to solve a problem.)

bar code reader

Tool to read Universal Product Code (UPC) bar codes.

tech toolkit

Tools a PC tech should never be without, including a Phillips-head screwdriver, a pair of tweezers, a flat-head screwdriver, a hemostat, a Torx wrench, a parts retriever, and a nut driver or two.

ATA (AT Attachment)

Type of hard drive and controller designed to replace the earlier ST506 and ESDI drives without requiring replacement of the AT BIOS—hence, AT attachment. These drives are more popularly known as IDE drives. (See IDE.) The ATA/33 standard has drive transfer speeds up to 33 MBps; the ATA/66 up to 66 MBps; the ATA/100 up to 100 MBps; and the ATA/133 up to 133 MBps. (See Ultra DMA.)

MAC (media access control) address

Unique 48-bit address assigned to each network card. IEEE assigns blocks of possible addresses to various NIC manufacturers to help ensure that the address is always unique. The Data Link layer of the OSI model uses MAC addresses for locating machines.

ntldr (NT Loader)

Windows NT/2000/XP boot file. Launched by the MBR or MFT, ntldr looks at the boot.ini configuration file for any installed operating systems.

Shared Documents

Windows pre-made folder that is accessible by all users on the computer.

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