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Computer terminology-II

Hibernate:

Also known as smart battery, hibernate is a utility designed to keep the desktop settings and
program settings currently being used or worked on when laptop computer loses its power. When
the computer is turned back on, the hibernate feature restores your programs and settings exactly
as you left them when the computer was turned off.

Users with laptops using Microsoft Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT
generally utilize PHDISK or HDPREP to set their computer into hibernate mode.

Users using laptops with later versions of Microsoft Windows, such as Microsoft Windows 2000
or Windows XP, commonly uses the hibernate utility included with the operating system.
Windows 2000 and Windows XP users can enable the hibernate feature by following the below
steps.

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Open the Power Icon.
3. Within the Power Options Properties window click the Hibernate tab and check
the checkbox for enabling hibernation.

Bootstrap Loader:
Also known as bootstrapping or boot loader, a bootstrap loader is a program that resides in the
computers EPROM, ROM, or other non-volatile memory that automatically executed by the
processor when the computer is turned on. The bootstrap loader reads the hard disk drives boot
sector to continue the process of loading the computers operating system.

The boot loader has been replaced in computers that have an Extensible Firmware Interface
(EFI). The boot loader is now part of the EFI BIOS.

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Bourne Shell:
The Bourne shell was first developed by Steven Bourne at AT&T and is commonly using for
scripting. The Bourne shell is executed at the Linux or Unix prompt by running the bsh or sh
command.

Boot volume:
Refers to that portion of the hard disk drive that contains the operating system, its supporting file
system, and what hard disk drive contains the operating system.

Config.sys:
A system file used with MS-DOS and OS/2 that is loaded each time the computer first boots up.
This file controls components connected to the computer such as memory and other hardware
devices.

CUI:
Short for Character User Interface or Command-line User Interface, CUI is another name for
a command line.

Command line:
Sometimes referred to as the command screen, the command line is a user interface that is
navigated by typing commands at prompts, as opposed to using the mouse to perform a
command. For example, the root MS-DOS command line prompt is generally C:\> (as shown in
the picture to the right) and in Unix or Linux may be % or >. Unlike a GUI operating system, a
command line only uses a keyboard to navigate by entering commands and does not utilize
a mouse.

Because a command line interface requires unique commands, this type of interface is often more
difficult to learn because of the need to memorize dozens of different commands. However, a
command line operating system can be a very valuable resource and should not be ignored. For
example, users who have Microsoft Windows may find trivial tasks such as renaming 100+ files
in a folder a very difficult task; however, this is something that can be done in a matter of
seconds through a simple command at the command line.

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Command key:
Also known as the beanie key or open apple key or just command, the command key is a key
found on all Apple Macintosh computer keyboards that is located between the alt or option key
and the space bar key. This key enables a user to quickly perform tasks by pressing it in
conjunction with one or more other keys. Users that are not familiar with the Apple Macintosh
but are familiar with IBM compatible computers can relate this key to the Microsoft Windows
key.

Chevron:
1. A "V"- or ">"-like marking. Many software programs have several types of chevron-like
markings that enable the user to expand a menu and/or view other options that may not
currently be visible. For example, Microsoft Windows users may notice that their menus
have two down arrows at the bottom of their menu to display any menu option that has
not been used recently.

2. These type of markings are also referred to as a guillemet, angled quotes, fast forward,
and rewind and are displayed as either " « " or " » ".

Device manager:
First introduced with the release of Microsoft Windows 95, the Windows Device Manager is a
Windows feature that allows a user to view detected hardware devices and the status of each
device. Device Manager is available in Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, 2003, XP, Vista,
and 7.

Disk operating system:

1. Short for Disk operating system, DOS is an acronym often used to describe MS-DOS.
2. Short for Disk operating system, DOS refers to any type of operating system that runs
from a disk drive. Today all operating systems could be considered disk operating
systems.
3. Short for Denial of Service, a DoS attack is a form of attacking another computer or
company by sending millions or more requests every second causing the network to slow
down, cause errors or shut down. Because it is difficult for a single individual to generate
a DoS attack, these forms of attacks are often created from another company or college
and/or worms are created to create zombiecomputers to create a DoS attack.

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Dual boot:
Term used to describe a computer that utilizes multiple operating systems on the same computer.
Using a dual boot you could haveWindows 98, Windows 2000, and other operating systems on
the same computer.

Cursor:

1. Also known as a caret, a cursor is a visual representation on the screen that allows the
user to specify where they want text to be placed. Commonly, this cursor is
a vertical flashing line more commonly known as a i-cursor.
2. When referring to the mouse, the cursor is used to describe the object used to point,
click, drag and drop items on a GUI operating system.

Control panel:
A section in Microsoft Windows that enables a user to modify the computer's settings. Changing
the mouse settings, display settings, sound settings, and keyboard settings are just a few of the
examples of what can be modified in the Control Panel.

EFS:
Short for Electronic File System, EFS is a feature found in Microsoft
Windows 2000 and Windows XP (NTFS 5.0 and above) that allows for files and folders to be
encrypted. EFS is another step that helps protect all the files on your computer.

Enhanced mode:
Most often, you will see this term used in the phrase 386-enhanced mode. This is Microsoft
Windows mode used by 386, 486, and Pentium computers to take advantage of virtual memory,
allowing computers to run more than one program at a time so the programs don't interfere with
each other's allocation of memory.

This is the standard mode used by Windows for Workgroups and can be run by Windows 3.1
requiring at least 2MB of RAM. It also allows DOS applications to be run within a window in
Windows.

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Epoch:
The operating system starting time that is used as a beginning point to determine the computers
current time and date by counting the number of ticks that have elapsed since the epoch.

ERD:
Short for Emergency Repair Disk, an ERD is a diskette that creates backups of important
system files and settings and is used to help troubleshoot and fix issues for Microsoft Windows
NT and Windows 2000 users. The ERD is used in conjunction with the Windows repair option
and you will be prompted for the diskette when needed. Note: The ERD is not to be confused
with a standard boot diskette as it cannot be used alone.

The ERD is capable of performing such checks as:

1. Verifying the boot sector is not corrupt.

2. Repairing any startup files.
3. Locate any missing or damaged system files.

ESCD:
Short for Extended System Configuration Data, ESCD is a format for storing information
about Plug and Play devices in the BIOS.

Executable files:
An executable file is a file that is used to perform various functions or operations on a computer.
Unlike a data file, an executable file cannot generally be read because it has been compiled. On
an IBM compatible computer, common executable files are .BAT, .COM, .EXE, and .BIN.
Depending on the operating system and its setup, there can also be several other types of
executable files.

Explorer:
Also known as Windows Explorer, Explorer is used in Microsoft Windows 95 and above to
explore and manage the files on the computer drives. Although similar, Microsoft Explorer is not
the same as "My Computer" and is not "Microsoft Internet Explorer", even though Internet
Explorer is sometimes improperly referred to as Explorer.

To open Explorer a user can do any of the below steps.

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• Right-click the Start button and click Explorer.

• Click Start, Programs, and then Windows Explorer or Explorer.
• Click Start, Run, and type explorer and press enter.
• Users with a keyboard that has the Windows logo can use the shortcut of holding
the Windows key and E at the same time.
• Open the windows or winnt directory and double-click the explorer.exe file.

External command:

A MS-DOS command that is not included in command.com. External commands are commonly
external either because they require large requirements and/or are not commonly used
commands. Below are examples of MS-DOS external commands currently listed in the
Computer Hope database.

Append Fasthelp Pathping Taskkill

Arp Fc Ping Telnet
Assign Fdisk Power Tracert
At Find Print Tree
Attrib Format Reg Undelete
Backup FTP Route Unformat
Cacls Gpupdate Runas Xcopy
Chcp Graftabl Scandisk
Chkdsk Help Scanreg
Chkntfs Hostname Setver
Choice Ipconfig Sfc
Cipher Label Share
Comp Loadfix Shutdown
Compact logoff Smartdrv
Convert Mem Sort
Debug Mode Subst
Defrag More Sys
Delpart Msav Systeminfo
Deltree Msbackup
Diskcomp Mscdex
Diskcopy Mscdexnt
Doskey Mwbackup
Dosshell Msd
Dumpchk Nbtstat
Edit Net
Edlin Netsh
Expand Netstat
Extract Nlsfunc
Nslookup

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Fatal exception:

Also known as a Fatal OE, a fatal exception is a software error that is caused when a software
program attempts to access an illegal instruction, invalid data, or other code and/or doesn't have
the proper privilege level.

Files:

A portion of a software program that is used to store data, information,

settings, and/or commands used with that program.

A file is created by the aid of another program. For example, a user may create a text document
in notepad or through the MS-DOS edit command.

Files manager:

1. In general, refers to a software program that is often a portion of the operating

system that helps a user manage all the files on their computer. For example, all file
managers allow the user to view, edit, copy, and delete the files on their computer.
2. When referring to Microsoft Windows 3.x, File Manager is program included
with Windows 3.x that enabled users to manage their files on the computer. File
Manager was replaced with Explorer and My Computer with the introduction of
Windows 95. Although Windows 95 and Windows 98 users still have the ability to run
these programs.

File menu:

Also known as the file menu, a menu is a list of commands and/or choices offered to the user.
Menus are commonly used in GUI operating systems and allow a user to quickly access various
options the software program is capable of performing. File menus are commonly accessed using
the computer mouse; however, may also sometimes be accessed using shortcuts and/or
the keyboard. Below is a visual example of what a menu may look like in a GUI environment.

Fstype:

Short for File System type, fstype is a statement used in a Unix and/or Linux environment that
declares the type of file system type being used or specified. For example, hfs and swap are types
of fstypes.

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File System:

Commonly used method of organizing and retrieving files from a storage medium such as a hard
drive. File systems usually consist of files separated into groups called directories. Directories
can contain files or additional directories.

Autoexe.bat:

Short for automatically executed batch file, the autoexec.bat is used in MS-DOS and early
versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems (Windows 3.x and Windows 95) that holds
and runs other programs that are listed in the file.

For example, c:\windows\win is used to run Windows 3.x automatically each time the computer
boots.

Korn shell:

When referring to Unix, Linux or one of the Unix / Linux variants, Korn refers to a shell used to
navigate through the command line. If available, the user can execute the Korn shell by typing
ksh (k for korn and sh for shell).

KDE:

Short for K Desktop Environment, KDE is a software project started by Matthias Ettrich
in 1996 and is a GUI setting for Linux / Unix systems. KDE has become a popular GUI and is
included with many variants of Linux, BSD, and Solaris.

Goobuntu:

This is an alternate operating system developed by Google that is based on Ubuntu Linux and
the Gnome desktop that is used by some of the Google employees. At this time Goobuntu is a
distribution that is only being used internally and is not something Google has any plans of
releasing or allowing users to download.

Logical device:

Device's name, as given by the operating system it is used in. One physical device may have
more than one logical device, in other words, one physical device may have more than one name
to the operating system.

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Msconfig:

Microsoft software utility first introduced with Windows 98 and included with all other versions
of Windows released after it that enables users to quickly and easily configure how their
computer starts and what programs and/or services automatically load each time the computer
starts.

OS/2:

Jointly developed by Microsoft Corp. and IBM to operate with Intel Corp.'s
microprocessors, OS/2 was originally a 16-bit operating system that was designed to work
with 286 processors and first introduced in1987. Today, OS/2 is a graphical interface similar to
Windows; however, it can also be run through command-line entries, such as DOS. In fact, many
OS/2 and DOS commands are the same.

In 1992, a new 32-bit version was released to operate with 386 and above PCs and at this time
was now solely an IBM product. Later in 1994, IBM released a version it called OS/2 Warp that
included Internet access and additional features. At the same time Microsoft was working on
OS/2 version 3.0; however, it later became Microsoft Windows NT.

OS/2 never became as popular as the other Microsoft operating systems, and software developers
never created a substantial number of programs to run primarily under OS/2. Although some
computer experts say later versions of OS/2 are superior to Windows, Windows and the number
of products created for it still dominate the market today.

IBM officially announces on July 14, 2005 that all sales of OS/2 will end on December 23, 2005
and that all support from IBM for OS/2 will end on December 16, 2005.

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