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Cylinder
A cylinder is the set of tracks accessible by the magnetic heads in a given position
without repositioning the head stack assembly.
DMA (Direct Memory Access)
Direct Memory Access is a protocol for transferring data to and from main memory
without passing it through the processor. DMA improves speed and efficiency by allowing
processing to continue while new data is retrieved from the drive.
Electrostatic Discharge
The rapid discharge of electricity caused by static buildup which can damage or destroy
electronic equipment.
FAT (File Allocation Table)
The File Allocation Table is a group of sectors in a partition containing a map to address
chains for files in a partition. There are two FAT copies in a partition.
FAT16
FAT16 uses a 16 bit field to address clusters in a logical partition. FAT16 is limited to
approximately 2.1 gigabytes and 65000 clusters. FAT16 is compatible with DOS,
Windows 3.1, 3.11 and 95 A, Windows NT 3.5 and 4.0, and OS/2.
FAT32
FAT32 uses a 32 bit field to address clusters in a logical partition. FAT32 allows partitions
larger than 2.1 gigabytes and provides millions of clusters. FAT32 is compatible with
Windows 95 SR2 and 98.
Fdisk
Fdisk is a DOS program used to partition a hard disk drive.
Format
A process which creates FAT tables for a partition.
Head
A head is an electromagnetic coil and metal pole that write and read back magnetic
patterns on a disk.
IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics)
IDE (also known as ATA) is the bus interface that replaced the controllers in original IBM
compatible PCs.
Interface Data Transfer Rate
The interface data transfer rate is the speed at which a hard disk drive transmits and
receives data from the interface.
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Table of Contents
Troubleshooting
