An expansion card that plugs into an expansion-card connector on the computer's system
board. An adapter card adds some specialized function to the system by providing an
interface between the expansion bus and a peripheral device. Examples of adapter cards
include network cards, sound cards, and SCSI adapters.
Software, such as a spreadsheet or word processor, designed to help you perform a
specific task or series of tasks. Application programs run from the operating system.
A copy of a program or data file. As a precaution, you should back up your system's
hard drive on a regular basis. Before making a change to the configuration of your system,
you should back up important start-up files from your operating system.
A diagnostic message in the form of a pattern of beeps from your system's speaker. For
example, one beep, followed by a second beep, and then a burst of three beeps is beep code
1-1-3.
When you start your system, it clears all memory, initializes devices, and loads the
operating system. Unless the operating system fails to respond, you can reboot
(also called warm boot) your system by pressing
<Ctrl><Alt><Del>; otherwise, you must perform a cold boot by pressing
the reset button or by turning the system off and then back on.
You can start your system from a diskette. To make a bootable diskette, insert a
diskette in the diskette drive, type sys a: at the command
line prompt, and press <Enter>. Use this bootable diskette if your system will not
boot from the hard drive.
An information pathway between the components of a system. Your system contains an
expansion bus that allows the microprocessor to communicate with controllers for all the
various peripheral devices connected to the system. Your system also contains an address
bus and a data bus for communications between the microprocessor and RAM.
A fast storage area that keeps a copy of data or instructions for quicker data
retrieval. For example, your system's BIOS may cache ROM code in faster RAM. Or, a
disk-cache utility may reserve RAM in which to store frequently accessed information from
your system's disk drives; when a program makes a request to a disk drive for data that is
in the cache, the disk-cache utility can retrieve the data from RAM faster than from the
disk drive.
Abbreviation for compact disc read-only memory. CD-ROM drives use optical technology to
read data from CDs. CDs are read-only storage devices; you cannot write new data to a CD
with standard CD-ROM drives.
The device names for the first through fourth serial ports on your system are COM1,
COM2, COM3, and COM4. The default interrupt for COM1 and COM3 is IRQ4, and the default
interrupt for COM2 and COM4 is IRQ3. Therefore, you must be careful when configuring
software that runs a serial device so that you don't create an interrupt conflict.
As they relate to DMI, manageable components are operating systems, computer systems,
expansion cards, and peripherals that are compatible with DMI. Each component is made up
of groups and attributes that are defined as relevant to that component.
A chip that controls the transfer of data between the microprocessor and memory or
between the micro-processor and a peripheral device such as a disk drive or the keyboard.
The first 640 KB of RAM. Conventional memory is found in all systems. Unless they are
specially designed, MS-DOS® programs are limited to running in conventional memory.
A chip that relieves the system's microprocessor of specific processing tasks. A math
coprocessor, for example, handles numeric processing. A graphics coprocessor handles video
rendering.
A program that allows the operating system or some other program to interface correctly
with a peripheral device, such as a printer. Some device drivers—such as network
drivers—must be loaded from the config.sys file (with a device=
statement) or as memory-resident programs (usually, from the autoexec.bat file).
Others—such as video drivers—must load when you start the program for which they
were designed.
Acronym for dual in-line package. A circuit board, such as a system board or expansion
card, may contain DIP switches for configuring the circuit board. DIP switches are always
toggle switches, with an ON position and an OFF position.
Directories help keep related files organized on a disk in a hierarchical,
"inverted tree" structure. Each disk has a "root" directory; for
example, a c:\> prompt normally indicates that you are at
the root directory of hard drive C. Additional directories that branch off the root
directory are called subdirectories. Subdirectories may contain additional
directories branching off them.
Abbreviation for Desktop Management Interface. DMI enables the management of your
system's software and hardware. DMI collects information about the system's components,
such as the operating system, memory, peripherals, expansion cards, and asset tag.
Information about the system's components is displayed as a MIF file.
Abbreviation for Display Power Management Signaling. A standard developed by the Video
Electronics Standards Association (VESA®) that defines the hardware signals sent by a
video controller to activate power management states in a monitor. A monitor is said to be
DPMS-compliant when it is designed to enter a power management state after receiving the
appropriate signal from a system's video controller.
Abbreviation for dynamic random-access memory. A system's RAM is usually made up
entirely of DRAM chips. Because DRAM chips cannot store an electrical charge indefinitely,
your system continually refreshes each DRAM microprocessor in the system.
Your system can recognize a number of specific hard drives. Each is assigned a
drive-type number that is stored in NVRAM. The hard drive(s) specified in your System
Setup program must match the actual drive(s) installed in the system. The System Setup
program also allows you to specify physical parameters (logical cylinders, logical heads,
cylinder number, and logical sectors per pack) for drives not included in the table of
drive types stored in NVRAM.
Abbreviation for data terminal equipment. Any device, such as a system, that can send
data in digital form by means of a cable or communications line. The DTE is connected to
the cable or communications line through a data communications equipment (DCE) device,
such as a modem.
Acronym for Extended Industry-Standard Architecture, a 32-bit expansion-bus design. The
expansion-card connectors in an EISA system are also compatible with 8- or 16-bit ISA
expansion cards.
To avoid a configuration conflict when installing an EISA expansion card, you must use
the EISA Configuration Utility. This utility allows you to specify which expansion slot
contains the card and obtains information about the card's required system resources from
a corresponding EISA configuration file.
A technique for accessing RAM above 1 MB. To enable expanded memory on your system, you
must use an EMM. You should configure your system to support expanded memory only if you
run application programs that can use (or require) expanded memory.
Your system contains an expansion bus that allows the microprocessor to communicate
with controllers for peripheral devices, such as a network card or an internal modem.
RAM above 1 MB. Most software that can use it, such as the Microsoft® Windows®
operating system, requires that extended memory be under the control of an XMM.
A RAM cache using SRAM chips. Because SRAM chips operate at several times the speed of
DRAM chips, the microprocessor can retrieve data and instructions faster from external
cache memory than from RAM.
Acronym for file allocation table. The file system structure used by MS-DOS to organize
and keep track of file storage. The Windows NT® and OS/2® operating systems can
optionally use a FAT file system structure.
A type of EEPROM chip that can be reprogrammed from a utility on diskette while still
installed in a system; most EEPROM chips can only be rewritten with special programming
equipment.
Abbreviation for hexadecimal. A base-16 numbering system, often used in programming to
identify addresses in the system's RAM and I/O memory addresses for devices. The sequence
of decimal numbers from 0 through 16, for example, is expressed in hexadecimal notation as
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F, 10. In text, hexadecimal numbers are often
followed by h.
Abbreviation for high memory area. The first 64 KB of extended memory above 1 MB. A
memory manager that conforms to the XMS can make the HMA a direct extension of
conventional memory. See also upper memory area and XMM.
A host adapter implements communication between the system's bus and the controller for
a peripheral device. (Hard drive controller subsystems include integrated host adapter
circuitry.) To add a SCSI expansion bus to your system, you must install or connect the
appropriate host adapter.
Abbreviation for input/output. A keyboard is an input device, and a printer is an
output device. In general, I/O activity can be differentiated from computational activity.
For example, when a program sends a document to the printer, it is engaging in output
activity; when the program sorts a list of terms, it is engaging in computational
activity.
A technique for increasing video resolution by only up-dating alternate horizontal
lines on the screen. Because interlacing can result in noticeable screen flicker, most
users prefer noninterlaced video adapter resolutions.
An instruction and data cache built in to the microprocessor. The Intel Pentium
microprocessor includes a 16-KB internal cache, which is set up as an 8-KB read-only
instruction cache and an 8-KB read/write data cache.
Abbreviation for interrupt request. A signal that data is about to be sent to or
received by a peripheral device travels by an IRQ line to the microprocessor. Each
peripheral connection must be assigned an IRQ number. For example, the first serial port
in your system (COM1) is assigned to IRQ4 by default. Two devices can share the same IRQ
assignment, but you cannot operate both devices simultaneously.
Acronym for Industry-Standard Architecture. A 16-bit expansion bus design. The
expansion-card connectors in an ISA system are also compatible with 8-bit ISA expansion
cards.
Jumpers are small blocks on a circuit board with two or more pins emerging from them.
Plastic plugs containing a wire fit down over the pins. The wire connects the pins and
creates a circuit. Jumpers provide a simple and reversible method of changing the
circuitry in a printed circuit board.
A command requiring you to press multiple keys at the same time. For example, you can
reboot your system by pressing the <Ctrl><Alt><Del> key combination.
Acronym for local area network. A LAN system is usually confined to the same building
or a few nearby buildings, with all equipment linked by wiring dedicated specifically to
the LAN.
On a system with local-bus expansion capability, certain peripheral devices (such as
the video adapter circuitry) can be designed to run much faster than they would with a
traditional expansion bus. Some local-bus designs allow peripherals to run at the same
speed and with the same width data path as the system's microprocessor.
Abbreviation for megabyte(s). The term megabyte means 1,048,576 bytes; however,
when referring to hard drive storage, the term is often rounded to mean 1,000,000 bytes.
A system can contain several different forms of memory, such as RAM, ROM, and video
memory. Frequently, the word memory is used as a synonym for RAM; for example, an
unqualified statement such as "a system with 16 MB of memory" refers to a system
with 16 MB of RAM.
The primary computational chip inside the system that controls the interpretation and
execution of arithmetic and logic functions. Software written for one microprocessor must
usually be revised to run on another microprocessor. CPU is a synonym for
microprocessor.
Acronym for management information format. A MIF file contains information, status, and
links to component instrumentation. MIF files are installed into the MIF database by the
DMI service layer. The content of a MIF is defined by a DTMF working committee and is
published in the form of a MIF definition document. This document identifies the groups
and attributes that are relevant to DMI-manageable components.
A pointing device that controls the movement of the cursor on a screen. Mouse-aware
software allows you to activate commands by clicking a mouse button while pointing at
objects displayed on the screen.
A monitor that supports several video standards. A multifrequency monitor can adjust to
the frequency range of the signal from a variety of video adapters.
Abbreviation for nonvolatile random-access memory. Memory that does not lose its
contents when you turn off your system. NVRAM is used for maintaining the date, time, and
system configuration information.
An I/O port used most often to connect a parallel printer to your system. You can
usually identify a parallel port on your system by its 25-hole connector.
You can divide a hard drive into multiple physical sections called partitions
with the fdisk command. Each partition can contain multiple logical drives.
After partitioning the hard drive, you must format each logical drive with the format
command.
A single point on a video display. Pixels are arranged in rows and columns to create an
image. A video resolution, such as 640 x 480, is expressed as the number of pixels across
by the number of pixels up and down.
An industry-standard specification that makes it easier to add hardware devices to
personal systems. Plug and Play provides automatic installation and configuration,
compatibility with existing hardware, and dynamic support of mobile computing
environments.
Acronym for power-on self-test. Before the operating system loads when you turn on your
system, the POST tests various system components such as RAM, the disk drives, and the
keyboard.
The Program Diskette Maker allows you to create program diskette sets, or master
copies, of software that Dell installed on your system. It is essential that you create
these diskette sets as soon as possible. You may need a set of master diskettes if you
ever experience problems with your hard drive and need to reinstall your Dell-installed
software. If your system includes Dell-installed software, you can select this program
from the Dell Accessories program folder.
The set of diskettes from which you can perform a complete installation of an operating
system or application program. When you reconfigure a program, you often need its program
diskette set.
An operating mode supported by 80286 or higher microprocessors, protected mode allows
operating systems to implement:
A memory address space of 16 MB (80286 micro--processor) to 4 GB (Intel386 or higher
micro-processor)
Multitasking
Virtual memory, a method for increasing addressable memory by using the hard drive
The Windows NT, OS/2, and UNIX® 32-bit operating systems run in protected mode. MS-DOS
cannot run in protected mode; however, some programs that you can start from MS-DOS, such
as the Windows operating system, are able to put the system into protected mode.
Acronym for random-access memory. The system's primary temporary storage area for
program instructions and data. Each location in RAM is identified by a number called a memory
address. Any information stored in RAM is lost when you turn off your system.
A text file included with a software package or hardware product that contains
information supplementing or updating the documentation for the software or hardware.
Typically, readme files provide installation information, describe new product
enhancements or corrections that have not yet been documented, and list known problems or
other things you need to be aware of as you use the software or hardware.
The rate at which the monitor redraws the video image on the monitor screen. More
precisely, the refresh rate is the frequency, measured in Hz, at which the screen's
horizontal lines are recharged (sometimes also referred to as its vertical frequency).
The higher the refresh rate, the less video flicker can be seen by the human eye. The
higher refresh rates are also noninterlaced.
Acronym for read-only memory. Your system contains some programs essential to its
operation in ROM code. Unlike RAM, a ROM chip retains its contents even after you turn off
your system. Examples of code in ROM include the program that initiates your system's boot
routine and the POST.
Acronym for small computer system interface. An I/O bus interface with faster data
transmission rates than standard ports. You can connect up to seven devices (15 for some
newer SCSI types) to one SCSI interface.
A computer's system and video BIOS code is usually stored on ROM chips. Shadowing
refers to the
performance-enhancement technique that copies BIOS code to faster RAM chips in the upper
memory area (above 640 KB) during the boot routine.
Acronym for Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology. A technology that allows
hard drives to report errors and failures to the system BIOS, which then displays an error
message on the screen. To take advantage of this technology, you must have a
SMART-compliant hard drive and the proper support in the system BIOS.
Abbreviation for Simple Network Management Protocol. SNMP is an industry-standard
interface that allows a network manager to remotely monitor and manage workstations.
Abbreviation for super video graphics array. VGA and SVGA are video standards for video
adapters with greater resolution and color display capabilities than previous standards.
To display a program at a specific resolution, you must install the appropriate video
drivers and your monitor must support the resolution. Similarly, the number of colors that
a program can display depends on the capabilities of the monitor, the video driver, and
the amount of video memory installed in the system.
On a system board, switches control various circuits or functions in your system. These
switches are known as DIP switches; they are normally packaged in groups of two or
more switches in a plastic case. Two common DIP switches are used on system boards: slide
switches and rocker switches. The names of the switches are based on how the
settings (on and off) of the switches are changed.
A BIOS-based program that allows you to configure your system's hardware and customize
the system's operation by setting such features as password protection and energy
management. Some options in the System Setup program require that you reboot the system
(or the system may reboot automatically) in order to make a hardware configuration change.
Because the System Setup program is stored in NVRAM, any settings remain in effect until
you change them again.
A start-up file for the Windows operating system. When you start Windows, it consults
the system.ini file to determine a variety of options for the Windows operating
environment. Among other things, the system.ini file records which video, mouse,
and keyboard drivers are installed for Windows.
Running the Control Panel or Windows Setup program may change options in the system.ini
file. On other occasions, you may need to change or add options to the system.ini
file manually with a text editor, such as Notepad.
Some devices (such as the last device at each end of a SCSI cable) must be terminated
to prevent reflections and spurious signals in the cable. When such devices are connected
in a series, you may need to enable or disable the termination on these devices by
changing jumper or switch settings on the devices or by changing settings in the
configuration software for the devices.
An application program for editing text files consisting exclusively of ASCII
characters. Windows Notepad is a text editor, for example. Most word processors use
proprietary file formats containing binary characters, although some can read and write
text files.
Abbreviation for terminate-and-stay-resident. A TSR program runs "in the
background." Most TSR programs implement a predefined key combination (sometimes
referred to as a hot key) that allows you to activate the TSR program's interface
while running another program. When you finish using the TSR program, you can return to
the other application program and leave the TSR program resident in memory for later use.
TSR programs can sometimes cause memory conflicts. When troubleshooting, rule out the
possibility of such a conflict by rebooting your system without starting any TSR programs.
The 384 KB of RAM located between 640 KB and 1 MB. If the system has an Intel386
or higher microprocessor, a utility called a memory manager can create UMBs in the
upper memory area, in which you can load device drivers and memory-resident programs.
Abbreviation for uninterruptible power supply. A battery-powered unit that
automatically supplies power to your system in the event of an electrical failure.
Abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus. A USB connector provides a single connection
point for multiple USB-compliant devices, such as mice, keyboards, printers, and system
speakers. USB devices can also be connected and disconnected while the system is running.
Abbreviation for video graphics array. VGA and SVGA are video standards for video
adapters with greater resolution and color display capabilities than previous standards.
To display a program at a specific resolution, you must install the appropriate video
drivers and your monitor must support the resolution. Similarly, the number of colors that
a program can display depends on the capabilities of the monitor, the video driver, and
the amount of video memory installed for the video adapter.
On some systems with a built-in VGA video adapter, a VGA feature connector allows you
to add an enhancement adapter, such as a video accelerator, to your system. A VGA feature
connector can also be called a VGA pass-through connector.
The logical circuitry that provides—in combination with the monitor—your
system's video capabilities. A video adapter may support more or fewer features than a
specific monitor offers. Typically, a video adapter comes with video drivers for
displaying popular application programs and operating systems in a variety of video modes.
On some Dell systems, a video adapter is integrated into the system board. Also
available are many video adapter cards that plug into an expansion-card connector.
Video adapters often include memory separate from RAM on the system board. The amount
of video memory, along with the adapter's video drivers, may affect the number of colors
that can be simultaneously displayed. Video adapters can also include their own
coprocessor for faster graphics rendering.
A program that allows graphics-mode application programs and operating systems to
display at a chosen resolution with the desired number of colors. A software package may
include some "generic" video drivers. Any additional video drivers may need to
match the video adapter installed in the system.
Most VGA and SVGA video adapters include memory chips in addition to your system's RAM.
The amount of video memory installed primarily influences the number of colors that a
program can display (with the appropriate video drivers and monitor capabilities).
Video adapters normally support multiple text and graphics display modes.
Character-based software displays in text modes that can be defined as x columns by
y rows of characters. Graphics-based software displays in graphics modes that can
be defined as x horizontal by y vertical pixels by z colors.
Video resolution—800 x 600, for example—is expressed as the number of pixels
across by the number of pixels up and down. To display a program at a specific graphics
resolution, you must install the appropriate video drivers and your monitor must support
the resolution.
A method for increasing addressable RAM by using the hard drive. For example, in a
system with 16 MB of RAM and 16 MB of virtual memory set up on the hard drive, the
operating system would manage the system as though it had 32 MB of physical RAM.
A self-starting program designed to inconvenience you. Virus programs have been known
to corrupt the files stored on a hard drive or to replicate themselves until a system or
network runs out of memory.
The most common way that virus programs move from one system to another is via
"infected" diskettes, from which they copy themselves to the hard drive. To
guard against virus programs, you should do the following:
Periodically run a virus-checking utility on your system's hard drive
Always run a virus-checking utility on any diskettes (including commercially sold
software) before using them
Abbreviation for video random-access memory. Some video adapters use VRAM chips (or a
combination of VRAM and DRAM) to improve video performance. VRAM is dual-ported, allowing
the video adapter to update the screen and receive new image data at the same time.
A start-up file for the Windows operating system. When you start Windows, it consults
the win.ini file to determine a variety of options for the Windows operating
environment. Among other things, the win.ini file records what printer(s) and fonts
are installed for Windows. The win.ini file also usually includes sections that
contain optional settings for Windows application programs that are installed on the hard
drive.
Running the Control Panel or Windows Setup program may change options in the win.ini
file. On other occasions, you may need to change or add options to the win.ini file
manually with a text editor such as Notepad.
An integrated and complete Microsoft Windows operating system that does not require
MS-DOS and that provides advanced operating system performance, improved ease of use,
enhanced workgroup functionality, and simplified file management and browsing.
High-performance server and workstation operating system software developed by
Microsoft that is intended for technical, engineering, and financial applications.
Read-only files are said to be write-protected. You can write-protect a 3.5-inch
diskette by sliding its write-protect tab to the open position or by setting the
write-protect feature in the System Setup program.
Abbreviation for extended memory manager, a utility that allows application programs
and operating systems to use extended memory in accordance with the XMS.
Acronym for zero insertion force. Some systems use ZIF sockets and connectors to allow
devices such as the microprocessor chip to be installed or removed with no stress applied
to the device.
