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Glossary
G-2
M54E2 System Board Manual
Disk Drive - A hardware device which
provides for the storage of data on
diskettes or hard metal disks that have a
magnetic coating. A disk drive functions
by spinning at high speed while moving a
device called the read/write head across
the disk’s surface in order to read or
write data in magnetic code.
DRAM - An acronym for Dynamic
Random Access Memory. A type of
memory chip that only keeps its memory
if supplied with regular clock pulses and
a chance to regularly refresh its data. It
is slower and more cost effective than
SRAM. See SRAM.
ECP - An acronym for Expanded
Capabilities Port. A standard set by
Hewlett Packard and Microsoft Corpora-
tion to expand the capabilities of the
parallel port.
EDO Memory - An acronym for
Extended Data Output. A type of DRAM
with built-in cache.
EISA - An acronym for Extended
Industry Standard Architecture. EISA is a
bus design standard which is fully
backward compatible with the ISA bus.
Although it is a 32-bit bus, it only runs at
8MHz. See PCI, VESA, and ISA.
EPP - An acronym for Enhanced Parallel
Port. A standard which increases the
capabilities of the parallel port.
EPROM - Acronym for Erasable
Programmable Read Only Memory. A
type of ROM chip that can be pro-
grammed with relatively simple tools
that will retain its data until erased. It
can only be erased by exposing the
circuitry in the chip to ultraviolet light.
See also Flash ROM.
External Cache - Cache which is
external to the CPU. See Cache.
Fast SCSI - A SCSI data transfer
standard that allows a rate of up to
10MB/sec.
Fast Wide SCSI - A SCSI data transfer
that allows a rate of up to 20MB/sec.
Flash ROM - A type of ROM chip that
will retain its data until erased. It can be
erased or reprogrammed by supplying it
with +12V of voltage. See ROM and
EPROM.
Full Size - A standard system board size
measuring approximately 12" x 13.75".
Gigabyte - A disk storage capacity
measurement. Approximately one
thousand megabytes or 1,073,741,824
bytes.
IDE - An acronym for Integrated Device
Electronics. A standard for communicat-
ing between a hard drive and a computer.
Internal Cache - Cache which is built
into the CPU. See Cache.
ISA - An acronym for Industry Standard
Architecture. A well-established bus
standard that originated with the IBM
AT. See PCI, VESA, and EISA.
Jumper - a small plug that fits over and
shorts pins on a circuit board. Jumpers
allow the various functions of the board
to be enabled or disabled.
Kilobyte (KB) - 1,024 bytes.
L1 Cache - See Internal Cache.
L2 Cache - See External Cache.