1. Key Terms By: Kelly, Jackson, & Merle
Chapter 2
Key Terms
By:
Kelly, Jackson, & Merle

2. Cold Boot/Hard Boot
Restarting the computer by turning off the computer then turning the power back on.
It is more stressful due to the power surge during turn on.
May also be done by pressing Reset.
May be required when a soft or warm boot fails.

3. System BIOS
Basic input/output system chips residing on the system board that controls normal I/O to such areas as system memory and floppy drives.
On-board BIOS

4. Configuration Data Setup information
Information about computer’s hardware (hard drive, floppy drive)

5. ROM shadowing
ROM programming code copied into RAM to speed up system operation

6. Autoexec.bat A startup file used by DOS.
Tells the computer what commands or programs to run after bootup.
Last program to run during boot.
Loads TSR’s
For Win 3.1 will contain command C:\Windows\Win

7. DMA Direct memory access
Chip that provides channels that a device may use to send data directly to memory, bypassing the CPU.
Not used as frequently today because of faster methods.

8. I/O addresses
Numbers that are used by devices and the CPU to manage communication between them.

9. IRQ Interrupt request number
Line on bus that is assigned to a device and is used to signal the CPU for servicing.
Lines are assigned a reference number.

10. Hardware interrupt
An event caused by a hardware device signaling the CPU that is requires service.

11. Interrupt vector table
Table that stores the memory addresses assigned to interrupt handlers.

12. Interrupt handler
Program (BIOS or device driver), that is used by the CPU to process a hardware interrupt.

13. Polling
Process by which the CPU checks the status of connected devices to determine if they are ready to send or receive data
Used for joystick

14. Video controller card Also called display adapter or video card
Interface card that controls the monitor

15. Hidden file Not displayed in the directory.
File attributes hide the file.

16. ESD Electrostatic discharge Static electricity that damages chips.
Computer can get damaged when cover is removed.

17. TSR Terminate and stay resident
Program that is loaded into memory but is not immediately executed like screen saver

18. Backup
The action of copying important files or data to a different location or storage media.
The files created to prevent the loss of the original data.