Specifications

109
Glossary
Access
Time
A factor in measurement of a memory storage device’s operating speed. It is the
amount of time required to perform a read operation. More specifically, it is the
period of time between which the memory receives a read command signal and the
time when the requested data becomes available to the system data bus.
Address
A number that identifies the location of a word in memory. Each word in a memory
storage device or system has a unique address. Addresses are always specified as a
binary number, although octal, hexadecimal, and decimal numbers are often used for
convenience.
APM 1.1
(Advanced Power Management) A software interface specification that allows
operating system device drivers to control the power management functionality of
aPC.
ANSI
(American National Standards Institute) An organization dedicated to advancement
of national standards related to product manufacturing.
ATA
(AT Bus Attachment) An interface definition for PC peripherals. See IDE.
Autotype
A convenient method of IDE device detection whereby the system BIOS queries the
IDE device to obtain operational parameters. If the device supports autotype, this
information is passed to the BIOS where it is used to automatically configure the
drive controller.
BIOS
(Basic Input/Output System) Firmware in a PC-compatible computer that runs when
the computer is powered up. The BIOS initializes the computer hardware, allows the
user to configure the hardware, boots the operating system, and provides standard
mechanisms that the operating system can use to access the PC’s peripheral devices.
BDA
(BIOS Data Area) BIOS Data Area. A 256 byte block of DRAM starting at address
400H that contains data initialized and used by the System BIOS detailing the system
configuration and errors encountered during POST.
BIOS
Extension
An object code module that is typically integrated into the FBD or placed into a
ROM that is accessible on the peripheral bus (PCI, ISA, etc.) in the address range
0C0000h through 0DFFFFh. BIOS extensions have a pre-defined header format and
contain code that is used to extend the capabilities of the System BIOS.
BIOS Image
Information contained in the flash boot device in binary file format consisting of
initialzation data, setup configuration data, diagnostic sequences, and other
instructions necessary to start up a computer and prepare it to load an
operating system.
BIOS
Recovery
A process whereby an existing, corrupt BIOS image in the flash boot device is
overwritten with a new image. Also referred to as a flash recovery.