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Glossary
ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment)
ATA (also known as IDE) is the bus interface that replaced the controllers in original IBM
compatible PCs.
ATA/33 (Ultra ATA/33)
ATA/33 is also known as Ultra DMA Mode 2. ATA/33 is a 33MB per second data transfer
protocol for DMA commands.
ATA/66 (Ultra ATA/66)
ATA/66 is also known as Ultra DMA Mode 4. ATA/66 is a 66MB per second data transfer protocol
for DMA commands.
ATA/100 (Ultra ATA/100)
ATA/100 is a 100MB per second data transfer protocol for DMA commands.
Autodetection
A process that uses an IDE command called Identify to read disk parameters directly from a hard
drive for use in the BIOS/CMOS settings.
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
The BIOS is the first level of software contained in a computer. It provides basic, low-level control
and program routines for keyboards, video, hard disk drives, and floppy drives. The BIOS
provides the initial intelligence allowing the computer system to find an operating system to run.
Chipset
The motherboard chipset controls the flow of information from the bus to memory and the
processor.
CHS (Cylinders, Heads, and Sectors) Addressing
Three values indicating a coordinate location of a data sector on a hard disk drive.
CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)
CMOS is a memory chip for storing a data record of the components installed in a computer. A
small battery powers CMOS and allows it to retain data, even when the computer’s main power is
turned off.
Configuration
Configuration refers to the type or quantity of devices in a computer system.
Controller Card
A controller card is an add-on electronic adapter for controlling hard drives. Controller cards can
be ATA or SCSI and are sometimes called adapters.
Cylinder
A cylinder is the set of tracks accessible by the magnetic heads in a given position without
repositioning the head stack assembly.
DDO (Dynamic Drive Overlay)
This Ontrack software driver eliminates BIOS limitations in a system, allowing installation of large
drives that otherwise could not be installed to full capacity.
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