Operating instructions

IIs, for example, had backside buses running at half the speed of the processor.
See also frontside bus and EDB (external data bus).
Backup or Restore Wizard A utility contained within Windows that allows a
user to create system backups and set system restore points.
bandwidth A piece of the spectrum occupied by some form of signal, such as
television, voice,fax data, etc. Signals require a certain size and location of band
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width in order to be transmitted. The higher the bandwidth, the faster the signal
transmission, allowing for a more complex signal such as audio or video. Be
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cause bandwidth is a limited space, when one user is occupying it, others must
wait their turn. Bandwidth is also the capacity of a network to transmit a given
amount of data during a given period.
bank The total number of SIMMs or DIMMs that can be accessed simulta
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neously by the chipset. The “width” of the external data bus divided by the
“width” of the SIMM or DIMM sticks.
baseband Digital signaling that has only one signal (a single signal) on the
cable at a time. The signals can only be in one of three states at one time: one,
zero, and idle.
baseline Static image of a system’s (or network’s) performance when all
elements are known to be working properly.
basic disks A hard drive partitioned in the “classic” way with a master boot
record (MBR) and partition table. See also dynamic disks.
baud One analog cycle on a telephone line. In the early days of telephone
data transmission, the baud rate was often analogous to bits per second. Due
to advanced modulation of baud cycles as well as data compression, this is no
longer true.
beep codes A series of audible tones produced by a motherboard during the
POST. These tones identify whether the POST has completed successfully or
whether some piece of system hardware is not working properly. Consult the
manual for your particular motherboard for a specific list of beep codes.
binary numbers A number system with a base of 2, unlike the number sys
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tems most of us use which have bases of 10 (decimal numbers), 12 (measure
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ment in feet and inches), and 60 (time). Binary numbers are preferred for
GLOSSARY 9
Passport / Mike Meyers‘ A+ Certification Passport / Meyers / 226308-3 / Glossary
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