Computadoras

GLOSSARY
This glossary defines the key terms listed at the end of each chapter and other terms related to managing and
maintaining a personal computer.
100BaseT An Ethernet standard that operates at
100 Mbps and uses STP cabling. Also called Fast
Ethernet. Variations of 100BaseT are 100BaseTX
and 100BaseFX.

active matrix A type of video display that amplifies
the signal at everyintersection in the grid of electrodes, which enhances the pixel quality over
that of a dual-scan passive matrix display.

10Base2 An Ethernet standard that operates at
10 Mbps and uses small coaxial cable up to
200 meters long. Also called ThinNet.

active partition The primary partition on the hard
drive that boots the OS. Windows NT/2000/XP
calls the active partition the system partition.10Base5 An Ethernet standard that operates at
10 Mbps and uses thick coaxial cable up to
500 meters long. Also called ThickNet.

active terminator A type of terminator for singleended SCSI cables that includes voltage regulators in addition to the simple resistors used with
passive termination.

32-bit flat memory mode A protected processing
mode used by Windows NT/2000/XP to processprograms written in 32-bit code early in the boot
process.
3-D RAM Special video RAM designed to improve
3-D graphics simulation.
80 conductor IDE cable 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/100 and
ATA/133 IDE drives.
802.11a/b/g

See IEEE 802.11a/b/g.

A+ Certification A certificationawarded by
CompTIA (The Computer Technology Industry
Association) that measures a PC technician’s
knowledge and skills.
access point (AP) 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.
ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)
Specification developed by Intel, Compaq,Phoenix, Microsoft, and Toshiba to control
power on notebooks and other devices. Windows
98 and Windows 2000/XP support ACPI.

adapter address

See MAC address.

adapter card A small circuit board inserted in an
expansion slot and used to communicate between
the system bus and a peripheral device. Also
called an interface card.
administrator account In Windows NT/ 2000/XP,
an accountthat 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
configurations.
Advanced Options menu A Windows 2000/XP
menu that appears when you press F8 when
Windows starts. The menu can be used to troubleshoot problems when loading Windows
2000/XP.
Advanced SCSI ProgrammingInterface (ASPI) A
popular device driver that enables operating systems to communicate with a SCSI host adapter.
(The “A” originally stood for Adaptec.)
Advanced Transfer Cache (ATC) A type of L2 cache
contained within the Pentium processor housing
that is embedded on the same core processor die
as the CPU itself.

active backplane A type of backplane system in which
there is somecircuitry, including bus connectors,
buffers, and driver circuits, on the backplane.

adware Software installed on a computer that produces pop-up ads using your browser; the ads
are often based on your browsing habits.

Active Directory A Windows 2000 Server and
Windows Server 2003 directory database and
service that allows for a single point of administration for all shared resources on anetwork,
including files, peripheral devices, databases, Web
sites, users, and services.

AirPort The term Apple computers use to describe
the IEEE 802.11b standard.
alternating current (AC) Current that cycles back
and forth rather than traveling in only one direction. In the United States, the AC voltage from
a standard wall outlet is normally between

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