194
Glossary
N
network adapter
— A chip that provides network capabilities. A computer may include a
network adapter on its system board, or it may contain a PC Card with an adapter on it.
A network adapter is also referred to as a
NIC
(network interface controller).
NIC
— See
network
adapter
.
notification area
— The section of the Windows taskbar that contains icons for
providing quick access to programs and computer functions, such as the clock, volume
control, and print status. Also referred to as
system tray
.
ns
— nanosecond — A measure of time that equals one billionth of a second.
NVRAM
— nonvolatile random access memory — A type of memory that stores data
when the computer is turned off or loses its external power source. NVRAM is used for
maintaining computer configuration information such as date, time, and other system
setup options that you can set.
O
optical drive
— A drive that uses optical technology to read or write data from CDs,
DVDs, or DVD+RWs. Example of optical drives include CD drives, DVD drives,
CD-RW drives, and CD-RW/DVD combo drives.
P
parallel connector
— An I/O port often used to connect a parallel printer to your
computer. Also referred to as an
LPT port
.
partition
— A physical storage area on a hard drive that is assigned to one or more logical
storage areas known as logical drives. Each partition can contain multiple logical drives.
PC Card
— A removable I/O card adhering to the PCMCIA standard. Modems and
network adapters are common types of PC Cards.
PCI
— peripheral component interconnect — PCI is a local bus that supports 32-and
64-bit data paths, providing a high-speed data path between the processor and devices
such as video, drives, and networks.
PCI Express
— A modification to the PCI interface that boosts the data transfer rate
between the processor and the devices attached to it. PCI Express can transfer data at
speeds from 250 MB/sec to 4 GB/sec. If the PCI Express chip set and the device are
capable of different speeds, they will operate at the slower speed.
PCMCIA
— Personal Computer Memory Card International Association — The
organization that establishes standards for PC Cards.
book.book Page 194 Monday, April 14, 2008 4:23 PM
Summary of Contents for XPS M1730
Page 1: ...w w w d e l l c o m s u p p o r t d e l l c o m Dell XPS M1730 Owner s Manual Model PP06XA ...
Page 12: ...12 Contents ...
Page 18: ...18 Finding Information ...
Page 19: ...About Your Computer 19 About Your Computer Front View 1 13 2 4 8 7 10 5 9 3 11 14 12 6 15 ...
Page 46: ...46 Using the Keyboard ...
Page 54: ...54 Using a Battery ...
Page 102: ...102 Setting Up and Using Networks ...
Page 148: ...148 Troubleshooting ...
Page 162: ...162 Adding and Replacing Parts ...
Page 184: ...184 Appendix ...
Page 208: ...208 Index ...
