Dell PowerVault 715N User Manual page 23

A comprehensive set of diagnostic tests for your Dell system. You can run the diagnostics from either the utility partition
on your hard drive or from a set of diskettes that you create from the Resource CD. See your Installation and
Troubleshooting Guide for more information about using the system diagnostics.
device driver
A program that allows the operating system or some other program to interface correctly with a peripheral device, such
as a printer. Some device drivers, such as network drivers, must be loaded from the config.sys file (with a device=
statement) or as memory-resident programs (usually, from the autoexec.bat file). Others—such as video drivers—must
load when you start the program for which they were designed.
DIMM
Acronym for dual in-line memory module. A small circuit board containing DRAM chips that connects to the system board.
DIN
Acronym for Deutsche Industrie Norm.
directory
Directories help keep related files organized on a disk in a hierarchical, "inverted tree" structure. Each disk has a "root"
directory; for example, a C:\> prompt normally indicates that you are at the root directory of hard drive C. Additional
directories that branch off of the root directory are called subdirectories. Subdirectories may contain additional directories
branching off of them.
DMA
Abbreviation for direct memory access. A DMA channel allows certain types of data transfer between RAM and a device to
bypass the microprocessor.
DRAM
Abbreviation for dynamic random-access memory. A system's RAM is usually made up entirely of DRAM chips. Because
DRAM chips cannot store an electrical charge indefinitely, your system continually refreshes each DRAM microprocessor in
the system.
drive-type number
Your system can recognize a number of specific hard drives. Each is assigned a drive-type number that is stored in
SDRAM. The hard drive(s) specified in your system's System Setup program must match the actual drive(s) installed in
the system. The System Setup program also allows you to specify physical parameters (logical cylinders, logical heads,
cylinder number, and logical sectors per pack) for drives not included in the table of drive types stored in SDRAM.
ECC
Abbreviation for error checking and correction.
EEPROM
Acronym for electrically erasable programmable read-only memory.
EMC
Abbreviation for electromagnetic compatibility.
EMI
Abbreviation for electromagnetic interference.