Dell E521 - Dimension Motherboard UW457 0UW457 Owner'S Manual Download

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Glossary

SAS

— serial attached SCSI — A faster, serial version of

the SCSI interface (as opposed to the original SCSI
parallel architecture).

SATA

— serial ATA — A faster, serial version of the ATA

(IDE) interface.

ScanDisk

— A Microsoft utility that checks files, folders,

and the hard disk’s surface for errors. ScanDisk often runs
when you restart the computer after it has stopped
responding.

SCSI

— small computer system interface — A high-speed

interface used to connect devices to a computer, such as
hard drives, CD drives, printers, and scanners. The SCSI
can connect many devices using a single controller. Each
device is accessed by an individual identification number
on the SCSI controller bus.

SDRAM

— synchronous dynamic random-access memory

— A type of DRAM that is synchronized with the optimal
clock speed of the processor.

serial connector

— An I/O port often used to connect

devices such as a handheld digital device or digital camera
to your computer.

Service Tag

— A bar code label on your computer that

identifies your computer when you access Dell Support at

support.dell.com

or when you call Dell for customer

service or technical support.

setup program

— A program that is used to install and

configure hardware and software. The

setup.exe

install.exe

program comes with most Windows software

packages.

Setup program

differs from

system setup

shortcut

— An icon that provides quick access to

frequently used programs, files, folders, and drives. When
you place a shortcut on your Windows desktop and
double-click the icon, you can open its corresponding
folder or file without having to find it first. Shortcut icons
do not change the location of files. If you delete a
shortcut, the original file is not affected. Also, you can
rename a shortcut icon.

SIM

— Subscriber Identity Module — A SIM card

contains a microchip that encrypts voice and data
transmissions. SIM cards can be used in phones or
portable computers.

smart card

— A card that is embedded with a processor

and a memory chip. Smart cards can be used to
authenticate a user on computers equipped for smart
cards.

S/PDIF

— Sony/Philips Digital Interface — An audio

transfer file format that allows the transfer of audio from
one file to another without converting it to and from an
analog format, which could degrade the quality of the file.

standby mode

— A power management mode that shuts

down all unnecessary computer operations to save energy.

Strike Zone

™ — Reinforced area of the platform base

that protects the hard drive by acting as a dampening
device when a computer experiences resonating shock or
is dropped (whether the computer is on or off).

surge protectors

— Prevent voltage spikes, such as those

that may occur during an electrical storm, from entering
the computer through the electrical outlet. Surge
protectors do not protect against lightning strikes or against
brownouts, which occur when the voltage drops more than
20 percent below the normal AC-line voltage level.

Network connections cannot be protected by surge
protectors. Always disconnect the network cable from the
network connector during electrical storms.

SVGA

— super-video graphics array — A video standard

for video cards and controllers. Typical SVGA resolutions
are 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768.

The number of colors and resolution that a program
displays depends on the capabilities of the monitor, the
video controller and its drivers, and the amount of video
memory installed in the computer.

S-video TV-out

— A connector used to attach a TV or

digital audio device to the computer.

SXGA

— super-extended graphics array — A video

standard for video cards and controllers that supports
resolutions up to 1280 x 1024.