Vocabulary K-P

K

Kernel
An essential part of the operating system, responsible for resource allocation, low-level hardware interfaces, security, and more.

L

Lost Cluster Chain
This is a cluster on disk that is not registered as free, but does not have any known data in it.

M

Motherboard
The “heart” of your PC — it handles system resources (IRQ lines, DMA channels, I/O locations), as well as core components like the CPU, and all system memory.  It accepts expansion devices such as sound and network cards, and modems.

N

NTFS
Windows NT File System.

O

Oracle Database

P

Partition
A logical section of a disk.  Each partition normally has its own file system.

Partition Table
A 64-byte data structure that defines the way a PC’s hard disk is divided into logical sectors known as partitions. The partition table describes to the operating system how the hard disk is divided.  Each partition on a disk has a corresponding entry in the partition table.  The partition table is always stored in the first physical sector of a disk drive.

Path
A location of a file.  The path consists of directory or folder names, beginning with the highest-level directory or disk name and ending with the lowest-level directory name.  A path can identify a drive (e.g. C:\), a folder (e.g. C:\Temp) , or a file (e.g. C:\Windows\ftp.exe).

Peripheral
Any part of a computer other than the CPU or working memory (RAM and ROM).  For example, disks, keyboards, monitors, mice, printers, scanners, tape drives, microphones, speakers, and other such devices are peripherals.

Plug-and-Play
(PnP)  A hardware and software specification developed by Intel that allows a PnP system and a PnP adapter to configure automatically .  PnP cards generally have no switches or jumpers, but are configured via the PnP system’s BIOS or with supplied software for non-PnP computers.

POST
Stands for power-on self test.   Each time a PC initializes, the BIOS executes a series of tests collectively known as the POST.  The test checks each of the primary areas of the system, including the motherboard, video system, drive system, and keyboard, and ensures that all components can be used safely.  If a fault is detected, the POST reports it as an audible series of beeps or a hexadecimal code written to an I/O port.