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SIMM (Single In-line Memory Module): A unit of RAM used for memory expansion.
SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface): A standard interface providing an expansion
bus for connecting devices such as disk drives to a computer. You can connect
up to seven SCSI devices to a single SCSI port.
software: The computer programs or instructions that tell the hardware what tasks to
perform. The general classes of software are operating systems, applications,
and utilities.
stop bit: In asynchronous serial communications, one or more bits indicating the end of a
block of characters.
synchronous: Having a constant time interval between successive bits, characters, or
events. Synchronous data transmission requires both the sending and
receiving devices to use special synchronizing characters to correct variations
in timing between the devices. See also asynchronous.
system disk: A diskette that contains the operating system files that are needed to start
the computer. Any physical diskette can be formatted as a system disk. A
system disk is also called a bootable disk.
system prompt: In MS-DOS mode, one or more characters that indicate the operating
system is ready for you to enter a command. You can enter an operating-
system command or start a program from a system prompt.
System Configuration Information file (.SCI): This file allows you to create a backup of
the configuration and store it. You will be able to restore the system
configuration from the .SCI file.
striping: See disk striping.
swap area: An area of hard disk that acts as an extension of RAM. Programs, or parts of
programs, that are in active use but currently in a waiting state can be shifted
to this area (swapped out) so that others can run in RAM. It is a form of virtual
memory. Also called a swap file.
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