Key Concepts of Computer Technology

POST

"Power-On Self-Test": procedure the computer foes through when booting to verify that the basic components of a PC are functioning.

CPU

"central processing unit" aka microprocessor -- also processor: a mircochip that processes the information and the code used by a computer. It is the "brains" of the computer.

code

(computer science) the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer program or the set of such instructions

BIOS

Basic Input/Output System: A collection of software codes built into a PC that handle some of the fundamental tasks of sending data from one part of the computer to another.

CMOS

Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor, Technology which uses battery power to retain information even when the power to the computer is turned off.

DOS

Disk Operating System: The original system used for PC's. You type in commands instead of pointing and clicking.

CMOS chip (microchip)

Powered by a small battery, it retains crucial information about what hardware a PC comprises even when the power is turned off.

RAM

Random access memory: memory or disks that can be both read and written to. A computer can jump directly to any information stored n random locations in ____ chips or on disk (ROM can be randomly accesed too, so RAM is kinda like a misnomer.)

ROM

Read-only memory: memory chips or data stored on disks that can be read by the computer's processor. The PC cannot write new data to those chips or disk drives.

PC

Stands for personal computer, and is any desktop, laptop, or notebook computer system., a small digital computer based on a microprocessor and designed to be used by one person at a time

boot or boot-up

The process that takes place when a PC is tuned on and it performs the routines necessary to get all the components functioning properly and then to load the operating system. The term comes from the concept of lifting yourself by your bootstraps.

system files

small disk files containing software code that are the first files a computer reads from disk when it is booted. On DOS and Windows systems, the files are named IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS and are hidden so that ordinarily you cannot see them in a listing of files on a disk. The system files contain the information needed, following the initial hardware boot, to load the rest of an operating system. IN DOS, one other system file is COMMAND.COM which contains the operating system's basic functions, such as displaying a list of files(directory). A boot disk must contain all three files for a PC to start up. System files may also include CONFIG.SYS, which makes some initial settings of hardware, and AUTOEXEC.BAT, a collection of commands that are executed when all other boot functions are through. IN Windows 95 and 98, the Registry -- consisting of the two hidden files, USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT -- is also necessary for Windows to run and may be considered a system file.