| Active
Partition |
To
run your OS from a specific partition, it must be
marked
'Active'. If you are using VCOM
System Commander, this is handled for you automatically.
Some users also refer to the active partition as 'bootable'. |
| ActiveBack™ |
Exclusive technology in VCOM
AutoSave
to automatically backup data in the background. |
| Adapter |
A
device that serves as an interface between the system
unit and a device attached to it, such as a SCSI Adapter.
Often synonymous with expansion card, card, or
board. Can also refer to a special type of connector. |
| Anti-Virus |
Software
that detects, repairs, cleans, or removes virus-infected
files from a computer. Available in VCOM
SystemSuite and VCOM Fix-It Utilities |
| Application |
A
more technical term for program. |
| Archive |
The
area where files are saved for backup purposes. It can
appear on a network drive, a local drive, or removable
media. |
| BackStep
Wizard™ |
This
is a Multi-Level advanced partition operation undo
in
VCOM
System Commander
and VCOM
Partition Commander. |
| Backup |
The process of saving files to the archive location. |
| Bank |
The
collection of memory chips or modules that make up a block
of memory. This can be 1, 2 or 4 chips. Memory
in a PC must always be added or removed in full-bank increments. |
| Bid |
With
an auction, a bid is placed to designate the amount
you are willing to pay. VCOM
Final Bid can do your bidding for
you automatically. |
| BIOS |
The
part of the operating system that provides the lowest
level interface to peripheral devices. The BIOS
is stored in the ROM on the computer's motherboard. |
| Boot |
To
start up your computer. Because the computer gets
itself up and going from an inert state, it could be said
to lift itself up "by its own bootstraps" --
this is where the term 'boot' originates. |
| Boot
Disk |
The
magnetic disk (usually a hard disk) from which an
operating
system kernel is loaded (or "bootstrapped").
MS-DOS and Microsoft ® Windows® can be configured
(in the BIOS) to try to boot off either floppy disk
or
hard disk, in either order (and on some modern systems
even from CD or other removable media). A special
floppy boot disk (often called a System Rescue Disk)
can
be created that will allow your computer to boot even
if it cannot boot from the hard disk. VCOM
Fix-It Utilities or VCOM
SystemSuite
can assist you in creating a System Rescue Disk.
Plus, both include a generic System Rescue Disk. |
| Boot
Record |
Once
the BIOS determines which disk to boot from, it loads
the first sector of that disk into memory and executes
it. Besides this loader program, the Boot Record
contains the partition table for that disk. If the
Boot Record is damaged, it can be a very serious situation!
Fix-It Disk
and Files tools maintain your hard drive and
back up your boot record and other critical disk structure
information. |
| Boot
Sector |
See
Boot Record. |
| Bootable |
See
"Active". |
| Bootstrap |
To
load and initialize the operating system on a computer.
Often abbreviated to boot. |
| Bus |
A
set of conductors (wires or connectors in an integrated
circuit) connecting the various functional units in a
computer. There are busses both within the CPU and
connecting it to external memory and peripheral devices.
The bus width (i.e., the number of parallel connectors)
is one factor limiting a computer's performance. |
| Card |
A
circuit board that usually is designed to plug into a
connector or slot. See also adapter. |
| Cache |
(Internet
Browser) - The files and graphics saved locally from web
sites you have previously visited. |
| Click |
To
click an item means to point to it with the screen pointer,
and then press quickly and release the left mouse button
at once. |
| Cluster |
Windows
allocates space to files in units called clusters.
Each cluster contains from 1 to 64 sectors, depending
on the type and size of the disk. A cluster is
the smallest unit of disk space that can be allocated
for
use by files. VCOM
Fix-It Utilities or VCOM
SystemSuite
Disk and Files tools maintain your hard drive and locate
lost clusters, either recycling them as free space or
making them into files so you can review the data. |
| CMOS |
A
part of the motherboard that maintains system variables
in static RAM. It also supplies a real-time clock
that keeps track of the date, day and time. CMOS
Setup is typically accessible by entering a specific sequence
of keystrokes during the POST at system start-up. |
| Cold
Boot |
Starting
or restarting a computer by turning on the power
supply. See also warm boot. |
| Compression |
Files can be compressed in a number of ways to save disk
space. Data, music and video files are all compressed
using different techniques that minimizes the space
used
by the specific type of data. |
| Context
Menu |
Also
called a context-sensitive menu, or a shortcut menu, a
context menu includes the commands that are commonly associated
with an object on the screen. To activate an item's
context menu, point to it with the screen pointer, then
press and release the right mouse button once. |
| Cookies |
(Internet
Browser) - Holds information on the times and dates you
have visited web sites. Other information can also be
saved to your hard disk in these text files, including
information about online purchases, validation information
about you for members-only web sites, and more. |
| CPU |
Stands
for Central Processing Unit, a programmable logic device
that performs all the instruction, logic, and mathematical
processing in a computer. |
| Cross-linked
files |
Two
files that both refer to the same data. |
| Defragment |
As
modern file systems are used and files are deleted and
created, the total free space becomes split into smaller
non-contiguous blocks. Eventually new files being
created, and old files being extended, cannot be stored
each in a single contiguous block but become scattered
across the file system. This degrades performance
as multiple seek operations are required to access a single
fragmented file.
Defragmenting
consolidates each existing file and the free space
into
a contiguous group of sectors. Access speed will
be improved due to reduced seeking. A nearly-full
disk system will fragment more quickly. A
disk should be defragmented before fragmenting reaches
10%.
VCOM
Fix-It Utilities
or VCOM
SystemSuite
DefragPlus provides powerful disk defragmenting.
|
| Directory |
This
is an index into the files on your disk. It acts
as a hierarchy, and you will see them represented in Windows
looking like manila folders. |
| DMA |
Stands
for direct access memory. DMA is a fast way of transferring
data within a computer. Most devices require a dedicated
DMA channel (so the number of DMA channels that are available
may limit the number of peripherals that can be installed). |
| DRAM |
Dynamic
Random Access Memory (see also SDRAM). A type
of memory used in a PC for the main memory (such
as "512 Mbytes of RAM".) "Dynamic"
refers to the memory's method of storage - basically
storing the charge on a capacitor. |
| Driver |
A
program designed to interface a particular piece of hardware
to an operating system or other software. |
| DoD 5220-22-M |
Department
of Defense standards for eliminating data from digital
media. VCOM
SecurErase's government disk
erasure feature conforms to this standard. |
| DOS |
Disk
Operating System. Usually used as an abbreviation
for MS-DOS, a micro-computer operating system developed
by Microsoft. |
| EIDE |
Stands
for enhanced integrated drive electronics. A specific
type of attachment interface specification that allows
for high-performance, large-capacity drives. See
also IDE. |
| e-Commerce |
The ability to buy and sell over the internet. VCOM
Web Easy Professional includes built in tools to create
your
own web store. |
| Executable |
A
binary file containing a program in machine language which
is ready to be executed (run). MS-DOS and Windows
machines use the filename extension ".exe" for
these files. |
| Extended |
This
is a special partition type that holds any number of logical
drives. Only four primary partitions can exist on a single
drive. By using one primary partition as extended, the
extended partition can hold many logical partitions. (Which
leaves 3 remaining primaries for different OSes). |
| Extract |
To
extract is to return a compressed file to its original
state. Typically in order to view the contents
of a compressed file, you must extract it first, except
when
you are running VCOM
PowerDesk Pro. |
| Expansion
Card |
An
integrated circuit card that plugs into an expansion slot
on a motherboard to provide access to additional peripherals
or features not built into the motherboard. See
also adapter. |
| FAT |
See
File Allocation Table. |
| FAT32 |
See
File Allocation Table. |
| FDISK |
The
disk-partitioning program used in DOS and several other
operating systems to create the master boot record and
allocate partitions for the operating system's use. |
| File |
A
collection of data grouped into one unit on a disk. |
| File
Allocation Table |
(FAT
or FAT32) The OS uses the FAT to manage the
disk data area. The FAT tells the OS which
portions of the disk belong to each file. The
FAT links together all of the clusters belonging
to each file, no matter
where they are on disk. The FAT is a critical file:
you should be sure to back it up regularly. VCOM
Fix-It Utilities or VCOM
SystemSuite
Disk and Files tools maintain your hard drive and back
up your FAT and other critical disk structure information.
FAT32
is a newer type of FAT that was designed to handle large
hard disks. The older FAT (FAT16) can only support
partitions up to two gigabytes in size. FAT32
can handle partitions that are thousands of gigabytes.
|
| File
System |
A
system for organizing directories and files, generally
in terms of how it is implemented in the disk operating
system. |
| Firmware |
Software
contained in a read-only memory (ROM) device. |
| Folder |
Commonly
used as a standard Windows 95/NT and later term, equivalent
to the Windows 3.x term directory. |
| Format |
Defines
the system data structures in a partition, so it
is
ready to be used. A format on top of partition that
already exists will remove all of the existing data
in the partition, making it empty. Normally a surface
scan is performed as part of the format operation
to
look for and remove any defective areas of the disk.
Formats are handled automatically when you create
a
partition using VCOM
Partition Commander. In Windows there is a manual
method using the Format command in a DOS box.
|
| Fragmentation |
The
state of having a file scattered around a disk in pieces
rather than existing in one contiguous area of the disk.
Fragmented files are slower to read than unfragmented
files. |
| Free
Space |
This is space on a drive that has not been allocated to
any partition. It is also commonly referred to as unallocated
space. |
| Graphics
Adapter |
See
Video Adapter |
| Head |
A
small electromagnetic device inside a drive that reads,
writes, and erases data on the drive's media. |
| Hide
Partition |
This
makes a partition temporarily disappear. A hidden
partition's
data is still on the hard drive, but no OS can see the
data. This feature is useful when you have more than
one
OS on a PC, and as each OS is selected, the other OS's
partition is hidden.
VCOM System Commander handles hiding and unhiding
automatically for you. |
| History |
(Internet
Browser) - Stores the internet addresses (URLs) of the
web sites you have visited. |
| Heat
Sink |
A
mass of metal attached to a chip carrier or socket for
the purpose of dissipating heat. |
| HPFS |
This
is an alternative file system used by OS/2 and Windows
NT. It stands for "High Performance File System". It is
not supported by Windows 2000/XP. |
| HTML |
Standard programming language used to display web
pages over the internet. VCOM
Web Easy and VCOM
Web Easy Professional avoid the need to understand or write HTML,
with its drag and drop web site design. |
| ID
(partition) |
Each
partition has a file system ID to specify the file system
type on a partition. Different ID types include FAT, FAT32,
NTFS, SCO, Linux, and many others. An OS looks at these
types and ignores any that it does not understand, and
assigns a drive letter to those that it does understand. |
| IDE |
Stands
for integrated drive electronics. Describes a hard
disk with the disk controller integrated within it.
See also EIDE. |
| I/O
Port |
I/O
stands for input/output. I/O is the communication
between a computer and its user, its storage devices,
other computers (via a network) or the outside world.
The I/O port is the logical channel or channel endpoint
in an I/O communication system. |
| IRQ |
Stands
for interrupt request. IRQ is the name of the hardware
interrupt signals that PC peripherals (such as serial
or parallel ports) use to get the processor's attention.
Since interrupts usually cannot be shared, devices are
assigned unique IRQ addresses that enable them to communicate
with the processor. Peripherals that use interrupts
include LAN adapters, sound boards, scanner interfaces,
and SCSI adapters. |
| Jumper |
A
small, plastic-covered metal clip that slips over two
pins protruding from a circuit board. When in place,
the jumper connects the pins electronically and closes
the circuit, turning it "on". |
| Kernel |
An
essential part of the operating system, responsible for
resource allocation, low-level hardware interfaces, security,
and more. |
| Logical
Partition |
A logical partition resides in an extended partition.
While important in understanding partitions, those OSes
that support logicals do not make a distinction between
primary and logical partitions. Only Windows, DOS, OS/2,
NT, and Linux understand logical partitions. All other
OSes ignore logical partitions. |
| Lost
Cluster Chain |
This
is a cluster on disk that is not registered as free, but
does not have any known data in it. |
| Master
Boot Record (MBR) |
This
is the very first section of data on the hard drive. It
holds the start up program and information about each
primary or extended partition on that drive. It also has
a flag to indicate if a partition is active/bootable. |
| 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. |
| MultiFAT |
This
is the partition that may hold more one or more OSes
when
VCOM
System Commander
is installed. |
| NTFS |
Windows
NT File System used in Windows NT/2000/XP. |
| 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. |
| RAM |
Random
Access Memory (see also DRAM, SDRAM). A data
storage device for which the order of access to different
locations
does not affect the speed of access. This is in
contrast to magnetic disk or magnetic tape where it
is
much quicker to access data sequentially because accessing
a non-sequential location requires physical movement
of
the storage medium rather than just electronic switching.
The most common form of RAM in use today is built from
semi-conductor integrated circuits, which can either
be
static (SRAM) or dynamic (DRAM). VCOM
Fix-It Utilities or VCOM
SystemSuite
PC Diagnostics provide essential information and diagnostic
tools to help manage RAM and other critical system resources. |
| Registry |
See
System Registry |
| Resize |
You
can increase or decrease the size of Partitions used for
Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP, DOS, Linux and others. The
Resize feature in Partition
Commander and System
Commander supports most standard file systems including
FAT, FAT32, NTFS, Linux Ext2 and Linux Swap. The data
within the partition is preserved. |
| Restart
Diskette |
The
Restart Diskette is used for a special safety recovery
process when a system is powered down or accidentally
reset during a critical phase of a partition Resize, Move
or Conversion operation. The Restart disk is used to complete
the task, since the partitioning operations have not completed. |
| Restore |
The
process where one or more files are copied from an archive
backup to the original file locations or a new location
that you specify. |
| Right
Click |
To
right-click an item is to point to it with the screen
pointer, and then quickly press and release the right
mouse button once. |
| ROM |
Read-Only
Memory. A type of data storage device which is manufactured
with fixed contents. The term is most often applied
to semiconductor integrated circuit memories. ROM
is inherently non-volatile storage - it retains its contents
even when the power is switched off, in contrast to RAM.
It is used in part for storage of the lowest level bootstrap
software (firmware) in a computer. |
| SCSI |
Stands
for small computer system interface. A standard
that allows multiple devices to be connected in daisy-chain
fashion. |
| SDRAM |
Stands
for synchronous dynamic random Access memory (see also
DRAM). SDRAM incorporates new features that make
it faster than standard DRAM and EDO memory. |
| Sector |
The
tracks on a disk are divided into sectors. Clusters
contains from 1 to 64 sectors. |
| Select |
To
select an item is to identify to the computer one or more
files or folders that you wish to do something with.
This is usually done by pointing to an item, with the
screen pointer and then quickly pressing and releasing
the left mouse button once. |
| Slot |
A
physical connector on a motherboard to hold an expansion
card, SIMM, DIMM, or a processor card in place. |
| Snipe |
The
action of placing your bid just before an auction closes
to improve your chances of wining and avoid
bidding the price up. VCOM
Final Bid performs this action
automatically in the last seconds of an auction. |
| Socket |
A
receptacle usually on a motherboard, that processors or
chips can be inserted into. |
| Surface
scan |
A surface scan tests each sector of the partition for
possible faults. If a bad area is found, it is set aside,
to avoid use by the OS. While most new drives handle this
step internally, it is always wise to perform the surface
scan as part of the format process. |
| System
Registry |
The
system configuration files used by Windows 95 through
XP to store settings about user preferences, installed
software, hardware and drivers, and other settings
required
for Windows to run correctly. The system updates
the registry every time you add new hardware or a new
program to your system. When the registry becomes
"broken," it can cause serious system problems.
VCOM
Fix-It Utilities
or VCOM SystemSuite
System Registry tools clean, repair, and optimize your
registry files. |
| System
Rescue Disk |
See
Boot Disk. |
| Terminator |
Most
commonly found in relation to a SCSI chain, this functions
to prevent the reflection or echoing of signals that reach
the ends of the SCSI bus. Usually terminators are
hardware circuits or jumpers. |
| TrueDOS™ |
The
ability for VCOM
System Commander
to create a real DOS prompt choice for Windows Me/98/95.
Without System Commander, Windows Me provides no way
to
get to a true DOS prompt. |
| Unzip |
To
unzip is to extract (see extract) a Zip archive. |
| UUencode |
Many
file formats are 8-bit (also called binary) which means
that the basic unit of information - a byte - comprises
8 on/off signals. Email, however, is a 7-bit (or
text) medium, preventing the transfer of 8-bit data. UUencoding
compensates for this restriction by converting 8-bit data
to 7-bit data. UUencode accomplishes this by joining
all of the file's bits together into a single stream,
and then dividing the stream into 7-bit chunks.
The data are then emailed and received by someone who
must UUdecode it. |
| Video
Adapter |
An
expansion card or chip set built into a motherboard that
provides the capability to display text and graphics on
the computer's monitor. If the adapter is part
of an expansion card, it also includes the physical connector
for the monitor cable. If it is a chip set on the
motherboard, the video connector will be on the motherboard
also. |
| Virus |
A
virus is a program written to cause mischief or damage
to a computer system. A mild virus might only be
a slight nuisance, or even amusing. However, most
viruses do damage, whether to your files, your registry,
or even your hardware. Viruses are hard to detect,
easy to propagate, and difficult to remove. Your
computer can pick up a virus when you copy a seemingly
normal file from a diskette or download it from the Internet.
VCOM
Fix-It Utilities
or VCOM SystemSuite
VirusScannerTM detects and eliminates viruses
from your computer system. |
| Warm
Boot |
Rebooting
a system by means of a software command as opposed to
turning the power off and on. See also cold boot. |
| Wizard |
A
wizard is a series of dialog boxes that guides you step
by step through a procedure. |
| Unhide |
This
makes a partition visible if previously hidden. |
| Unused
space |
This
is the space in a partition that has not be used for data
or programs. It is available for new additions. An empty
or new partition has all of the space available for use. |
| zip |
To
zip (notice the lower case z) a file is to
compress it into an archive so that it occupies less
disk space.
Normally, a file cannot be used when it is zipped, but
zipped data can be used when running VCOM
PowerDesk Pro
or other tools. |
| Zip
archive |
An
archive of one or more Zip-compressed files. When
used as a noun, Zip is typically capitalized. Compressed
files can come in many formats besides Zip, and VCOM
PowerDesk Pro
can help you deal with virtually any of them. |
| Zip
file |
A
Zip archive that Windows presents as a single file.
In general, the contents can not be accessed unless the
archive is decompressed, except when you are running VCOM
PowerDesk Pro. |
