Glossary
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LaCie Big Disk User’s Manual
Overwrite –
To write data on top of existing data thus erasing the original data.
Partition, -ing –
After formatting, the hard drive is not yet ready to store files. It must be divided into sections that will contain
special information required for a Mac or PC to operate and other sections that will contain the files. This process of dividing
up the hard drive is called partitioning. A partition is just one section of the hard drive that will contain either special data put
there by Silverlining or other files and data.
Peripheral –
A generic term applied to printers, scanners, mice, keyboards, serial ports, graphics cords, disk drives and other
computer subsystems. This type of peripheral often relies on its own control software, known as a peripheral driver.
Port, hardware –
A connection component (SCSI port, for example) that enables a microprocessor to communicate with a
compatible peripheral.
Port, software –
A memory address that identifies the physical circuit used to transfer information between a microprocessor
and a peripheral.
RAM (Random Access Memory) –
Generally referred to as a computer’s “memory.” An integrated circuit memory chip that
allows information to be stored and retrieved by a microprocessor or controller. The information can be stored or accessed in
any order, and all storage locations are equally accessible.
Seek Time –
The amount of time (in thousandths of a second, or milliseconds) that it takes a hard drive’s read/write head to
move to a specific location on the disk. Average seek, then, is the average of a large number of random samplings all over
the disk. Seek time is CPU independent, meaning that seek time is the same for a disk drive, whether it is attached to a com-
puter or not.
Software –
In a nutshell, software is a set of instructions for the computer. A set of instructions to perform a particular task is
called a program. There are two main types of software: system software (an operating system such as Mac OS or Windows)
which controls the operation of the computer and application software (programs such as Word or Excel) which enable users
to perform tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet creation, graphics, etc.
Storage –
In computers, any equipment in which information may be kept. PCs generally use disk units and other external
storage media (diskettes, CD-ROMs, magnetic disks, etc.) for permanent storage of information.
Striping –
Spreading data evenly over multiple disk drives to enhance performance. Data striping can be performed on a bit,
byte or block basis for optimum application performance.
Transfer Rate –
The rate at which the drive sends and receives data from the controller. Transfer rates for reading data from
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