Chapter 8 - Understanding System Software
Pop-up menu
A list of shortcut commands that appears when an area of the screen is right-clicked or the mouse button is held down
File Systems
In computing, a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them.
Directory
a hierarchical filing system
Pull down menus
a list of options; a list of commands when you select an item from the menu
System administrator
a person responsible for maintaining a computer system
Hibernation mode
a power state in which data from RAM is saved to the hard disk and then power is shut down
Sleep mode
a power state in which power is shut off to non-essential components but some power is used and data remains in RAM
Virus
a program whose purpose is to damage or destroy computer data, cause a computer to act in unexpected ways, or interfere with the operation of network, (while concealing and replicating itself)
BIOS
an acronym for Basic Input Output System is software that controls basic computer hardware functions. BIOS is stored on a motherboard chip.
Corrupted
describes a computer file that has been damaged
Subdirectories
folders stored within the root or other folders
Hierarchical
multi leveled
User rights
settings assigned to a user account to limit or allow access to a computer system
File format
standards used to write data to a disk
Cross platform compatibilities
the ability to share files across operating systems
File fragmentation
the allocation of a file to noncontiguous sectors on a floppy disk or hard drive.
Root directory
the main storage location in a hierarchical filing system
Power-on self-test (POST)
the series of tests a computer performs while booting up
Boot
to start up a computer
File extension
two or three letters following s period that indicate the application a file was created in. example: .docx, .pdf, .jpeg