Gateway E-1200, User Manual

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26 E-1200 User’s Guide
Hard drive - The drive installed inside your system that stores all your
system and data files. Depending on its configuration, the computer may
have more than one hard drive. Each drive is assigned its own drive letter. If
you have only one drive, its drive letter is C, and it is often called “the C
drive.”
I/O - Input/output. Refers to devices, such as printers, whose purpose is to
enter data into a computer or extract data from a computer. An I/O device is
accessed through an I/O address: a location in memory reserved for the
device to exchange information between itself and the rest of the computer.
Operating system -
A program that supervises the computer’s operation,
including handling I/O, networking and connectivity, and device drivers.
POST - Power-on self-test. POST tests your computer’s components
whenever you turn on the computer.
Programs
- Software installed on your system. Programs are sometimes
called applications .
RAM - Random access memory. RAM is the computer’s system memory.
You can write to and read from RAM. Information stored in RAM is
temporary and is erased when the computer is turned off.
RESET - Initiates a warm boot without POST information.
ROM - Read-only memory. Permanent computer memory dedicated to a
particular function. For example, the instructions for starting the computer
when you first turn on power are contained in ROM. You cannot write to
ROM.