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Glossary
Format
Formatting erases all information on a hard drive and sets up the file system for storing
and retrieving files. To use a new hard drive with a Windows operating system, you
need to perform a high-level format using, for example, MaxBlast 3. On Macintosh
systems, high-level formatting is often referred to as initialization. Low-level
formatting sets up the locations of sectors on the drive. Maxtor hard drives are low-
level formatted at the factory and do not need to be low-level formatted by the end
user.
Hard Drive
An electromechanical device used for information storage and retrieval, incorporating
one or more rotating disks on which data is recorded, stored, and read magnetically.
Jumper
In ATA/IDE
drives, a jumper is an electrically-conductive component that you place
over pairs of pins that extend from the circuit board on the hard drive jumper block to
connect them electronically. For example, a jumper is one way to designate a hard
drive as master or slave. The jumper block is located next to the 40-pin connector on
the hard drive.
Master
The first hard drive in a dual-drive setup. A master hard drive alone (with no slave) is
called a single drive.
Operating System
Software that allows the user and programs installed on your system to communicate
with computer hardware such as a hard drive and processor.
Partition
A way to logically divide a hard drive so that an operating system treats each partition
as if it were a separate hard drive. Each partition is assigned a unique drive letter.
Slave
The second drive in a dual-drive configuration.
