Term
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Definition
| An Ethernet standard that operates at 100Mbps and uses twisted-pair cabling up to 100 meters (328 ft). Also called Fast Ethernet. Variations of 100BaseT are 100BaseTX and 100BaseFX. |
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Term
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Definition
| An outdated Ethernet standard that operates at 10Mbps and uses coaxial cabling up to 500 meters long. Also called Thin Net. |
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Term
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Definition
| An Outdated Ethernet standard that operates at 10Mbps and uses thick coaxial cabling up to 500 meters long. Also called Thick Net. |
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Term
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Definition
| An Ethernet standard that operates at 10Mbps and uses twisted-pair cabling up to 100 meters long (328 ft). |
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Term
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Definition
| A processor instruction set by AMD designed to improve performance with 3D graphics and other multimedia data. |
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Term
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Definition
| The ability to use your cellular phone to browse the web, stream music and video, play online games, and use instant messaging and video conferencing. |
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Term
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Definition
| An IDE cable that has 40 pins but uses 80 wires, 40 of which are ground wires designed to reduce crosstalk on the cable. The cable is used by ATA/66 and higher IDE drives. |
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Term
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Definition
| A Certification awarded by CompTIA (The Computer Technology Industry Association) that measures a technician's knowledge and skills. |
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Term
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Definition
| A device that converts AC to DC and uses regular house current to power a notebook computer. |
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Term
| Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) |
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Definition
| A 32-bit wide bus standard developed specifically for video cards that includes AGP 1x,2x,3x,4x,and 8x standards. AGP has been replaced by the PCI Express standards. |
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Term
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Definition
| a device connected to a LAN that provides wireless communication so that computers, printers, and other wireless devices can communicate with devices on the LAN. |
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Term
| ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) |
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Definition
| Specification developed by Intel, Compaq, Phoenix, Microsoft, and Toshiba to control power on computers and other devices. |
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Term
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Definition
| A Windows server directory database and service that is used in managing a domain to allow for a single point of administration for all shared resources on a network, including files, peripheral devices, databases, Web sites, users, and services. |
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Term
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Definition
| The primary partition on the Hard drive that boots the OS. Windows 2000/XP/Vista calls the active partition the system partition. |
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Term
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Definition
| a small circuit board inserted in an expansion slot used to communicate between the system bus and a peripheral device. Also called an Interface card. |
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Term
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Definition
| The folders that are shared by default on a network or domain that administrator accounts can access. |
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Term
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Definition
| Tools that you can use to manage the local PC or other computers on the network. |
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Term
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Definition
| In Windows 2000/XP/Vista, an account that grants to the administrator(s) rights and permissions to all hardware and software resources, such as the right to add, delete, and change accounts and to change hardware configuration. |
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Term
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Definition
| A Windows 2000/XP/Vista menu that appears when you press F8 when Windows starts. The menu can be used to troubleshoot problems when loading Windows 2000/XP/Vista. In Vista the menu is called the Advanced Boot Options Menu. |
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Term
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Definition
| software installed on a computer that produces pop-up ads using your browser; the ads are often based on your browsing habits. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Vista 3D user interface. Also called Aero glass. |
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Term
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Definition
| The term Apple computers uses to describe the IEEE 802.11b standard. |
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Term
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Definition
| current that cycles back and forth rather than traveling in only one direction. In the US, the AC voltage is normally between 110and 115V. In Europe, it is 220V. |
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Term
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Definition
| a meter that measures electrical current in amps (A). |
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Term
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Definition
| A unit of measurement for electrical current. One Volt across a resistance of one ohm will produce a flow of one amp. |
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Term
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Definition
| User accounts that have not been authenticated on a computer. |
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Term
| ANSI (American National Standards Institute) |
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Definition
| a non-profit organization dedicated to creating trade and communications standards. |
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Term
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Definition
| A text file that contains information that Windows requires in order to do an unattended installation. |
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Term
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Definition
| Utility programs that protect infection or scan a system to detect and remove viruses. |
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Term
| application program interface (API) call |
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Definition
| a request from software to the OS to access hardware or other software using previously defined procedures that both the software and the OS understand. |
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Term
| ATAPI (Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface) |
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Definition
| An interface standard, part of the IDE/ATA standards, that allows tape drives, optical drives, and other devices to be treated like an IDE hard drive by the system. |
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Term
| ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) |
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Definition
| The most common form factor for PC systems presently in use, originally introduced by Intel in 1995, ATX motherboards and cases make better use of space and resources than did the earlier AT form factor. |
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Term
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Definition
A power supply that provides
a 12V power cord with a 4-pin connector to be
used by the auxiliary 4-pin power connector on
motherboards used to provide extra power for
processors. |
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Term
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Definition
A specification for a
small slot on a motherboard to accommodate an
audio or modem riser card. A controller on the
motherboard contains some of the logic for the
audio or modem functionality. |
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Term
| Authenticated Users group |
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Definition
All user accounts that
have been authenticated to access the system except
the Guest account. Compare to anonymous users. |
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Term
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Definition
The process of proving an individual
is who they say they are before they are allowed
access to a computer, file, folder, or network. The
process might use a password, PIN, smart card, or
biometric data. |
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Term
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Definition
Controlling what an individual can or
cannot do with resources on a computer network.
Using Windows, authorization is granted by the
rights assigned to user accounts and permissions
assigned to computer resources. |
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Term
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Definition
A feature of system BIOS and hard
drives that automatically identifies and configures
a new drive in BIOS setup. |
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Term
| Automated System Recovery (ASR) |
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Definition
The Windows
XP process that allows you to restore an entire
hard drive volume or logical drive to its state at
the time the backup of the volume was made. |
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Term
| Automatic Private IP Address (APIPA) |
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Definition
An IP address
in the address range 169.254.x.y, used by a
computer when it cannot successfully lease an IP
address from a DHCP server. |
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Term
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Definition
A feature of an AC adapter whereby
the device can automatically switch from 110 V to
220 V AC power, in contrast to fixed-input AC
adapters that can handle only one type of AC
voltage. |
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Term
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Definition
A hidden way to allow malware to reach
the system in secret even after the malware has
been removed. |
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Term
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Definition
The portion of a processor’s
internal bus that connects the processor to the
internal memory cache. The bus operates at a
much higher frequency than the front side bus. |
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Term
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Definition
An extra copy of a file, used in the event that
the original becomes damaged or destroyed. |
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Term
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Definition
A Windows user account that can
back up and restore any files on the system
regardless of its having access to these files. |
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Term
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Definition
A technology, software, or
device that works with older or legacy
technologies, software, or devices. |
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Term
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Definition
In relation to analog communication, the
range of frequencies that a communications
channel or cable can carry. In general use, the term
refers to the volume of data that can travel on a
bus or over a cable stated in bits per second (bps),
kilobits per second (Kbps), or megabits per second
(Mbps). Also called data throughput or line speed. |
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Term
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Definition
A fixed transceiver and antenna used to
create one cell within a cellular network. |
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Term
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Definition
A way to partition a hard drive, used by
all versions of Windows, that stores information
about the drive in a partition table at the
beginning of the drive. Compare to dynamic disk. |
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Term
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Definition
A text file containing a series of OS
commands. Autoexec.bat is a batch file. |
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Term
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Definition
The number system used by
computers; it has only two numbers, 0 and 1,
called binary digits, or bits. |
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Term
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Definition
An input device that inputs
biological data about a person; the data can
identify a person’s fingerprints, handprints, face,
voice, eye, and handwriting. |
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Term
| BIOS (basic input/output system) |
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Definition
Firmware that can
control much of a computer’s input/output
functions, such as communication with the floppy
drive and the monitor. |
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Term
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Definition
The program in system BIOS that can
change the values in CMOS RAM. Also called
CMOS setup. |
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Term
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Definition
A 0 or 1 used by the binary
number system. |
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Term
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Definition
A utility in Windows Vista
Ultimate and Enterprise editions that is used to
lock down a hard drive by encrypting the entire
Vista volume and any other volume on the drive. |
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Term
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Definition
A method of data transfer between hard
drive and memory that allows multiple data
transfers on a single software interrupt. |
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Term
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Definition
A Windows error that displays
against a blue screen and causes the system to halt.
Also called a stop error, BSOD, or Blue Screen of Death. |
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Term
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Definition
A standard for wireless communication
and data synchronization between devices,
developed by a group of electronics manufacturers
and overseen by the Bluetooth Special Interest
Group. Bluetooth uses the same frequency range as
802.11b, but does not have as wide a range |
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Term
|
Definition
An optical disc technology that uses
the UDF version 2.5 file system and a blue laser
beam, which is shorter than any red beam used by
DVD or CD discs. The shorter blue laser beam
allows Blu-ray discs to store more data than a DVD. |
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Term
|
Definition
A connector used with thin coaxial
cable. Some BNC connectors are T-shaped and
called T-connectors. One end of the T connects to
the NIC, and the two other ends can connect to
cables or end a bus formation with a terminator. |
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Term
| Boot Configuration Data (BCD) |
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Definition
A Vista file
structured the same as a registry file and contains
configuration information about how Vista is
started. The BCD file replaces the Boot.ini file used
in Windows 2000/XP. |
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Term
|
Definition
An operating system program
responsible for managing the process of loading
the OS during the boot. |
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Term
|
Definition
A startup menu that gives the user
the choice of which operating system to load such
as Windows XP or Windows Vista which are both
installed on the same system, creating a dual boot. |
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Term
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Definition
The hard drive partition where the
Windows 2000/XP/Vista OS is stored. The system
partition and the boot partition may be different
partitions. |
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Term
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Definition
The first sector of a floppy disk or hard
drive volume; it contains information about the
disk or volume. On a hard drive, if the boot record
is in the active partition, then it can be used to
boot the OS. Also called boot sector. |
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Term
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Definition
An infectious program that can
replace the boot program with a modified, infected
version, often causing boot and data retrieval
problems. |
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Term
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Definition
A Windows 2000/XP hidden text file that
contains information needed to start the boot and
build the boot loader menu. |
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Term
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Definition
The process of starting up a computer and
loading an operating system |
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Term
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Definition
The Vista program file responsible for
beginning the process of loading and starting
Vista. The program file has no file extension and is
stored in the root directory of the system partition
(which, most likely, is drive C:). |
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Term
|
Definition
A system folder in Windows 9x/Me that is
used to synchronize files between two computers. |
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Term
|
Definition
A transmission technique that carries more
than one type of transmission on the same medium,
such as voice and DSL on a regular telephone line. |
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Term
|
Definition
Temporary reductions in voltage, which
can sometimes cause data loss. Also called sags. |
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Term
|
Definition
A malicious program that infects
your Web browser and can change your home
page or browser settings. It can also redirect your
browser to unwanted sites, produce pop-up ads,
and set unwanted bookmarks. Also called a home
page hijacker. |
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Term
| BTX (Balanced Technology Extended) |
|
Definition
A form factor used by motherboards and computer cases that was expected to replace ATX. It has higher quality
fans, is designed for better air flow, and has improved structural support for the motherboard. The BTX form factor has not gained full acceptance by the computer manufacturer community. |
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