Specifications

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Glossary
 A 
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.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI): An organization dedicated to
advancement of national standards related to product manufacturing.
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.
 B 
Basic Input/Output System (BIOS): 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.
BIOS Data Area (BDA): 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.