bad sector
an area of the disk that has become unusable
boot sector
the first sector of a data storage device that contains the code for bootstrapping a system
bootstrapping
the process by which a small program actually initializes the operating system installed on a computer
cluster
the smallest logical storage unit on a hard disk
disk drive
a mechanism that reads data from a disk and writes data onto a disk
disk file system
a type of file system used for storing and recovering the files on a storage device, such as a hard disk, that is directly or indirectly connected to a computer
disk platter
a round, flat, magnetic metal or ceramic disk in a hard disk that holds the actual data
endianness
the way bytes are ordered in a system
FAT32
the 32-bit version of this file system uses smaller clusters, which results in a more efficient storage capacity
floppy disk
a portable magnetic disk with a shell made of either flexible or rigid plastic material
IDE (integrated drive electronics)
a type of interface used to connect a disk drive to a computer in which the controller is built into the drive itself
lost cluster
a FAT file system error that results from how the FAT file system allocates space and chains files together
master boot record (MBR)
the first sector of a data storage device such as a hard disk
network file system
a type of file system that provides access to files on other computers on a network
NTFS (New Technology File System)
a type of file system used on Windows operating systems that provides features, such as security and file compression, that FAT does not provide
Parallel ATA (PATA)
a type of interface that offers a connection between a hard drive and a computer, in which communication can only flow in one direction at a time
partitioning
the creation of logical drives on a disk
Registry Checker
a part of the Windows 98 operating system that is used to backup and restore the registry and fix errors in the registry
Registry Monitor
a program that can be used to monitor changes to the registry as they occur
sector
the basic physical unit of hard drive data storage; a series of these, which are predefined, form a circle on the hard drive platter called a track
Serial ATA (SATA)
a type of interface that offers a point-to-point connection between a hard drive and a computer, in which communication can flow both ways at the same time
special purpose file system
a file system where the files are organized by software during runtime
USB (Universal Serial Bus)
a type of interface used to connect peripherals such as hard drives, modems, printers, scanners, and digitizers to a computer
ZFS (Zettabyte File System)
a self-managing, general-purpose file system used in Sun's Solaris 10 operating system
Blu-ray
the next generation optical medium patented by Sony
CD-ROM
a type of compact disc that holds data that a computer can read
compact disc (CD)
an optical disc that is used to store different kinds of data
digital versatile disc (DVD)
an optical disc that holds more data than a CD
flash memory card
a solid-state electronic flash memory data storage device
HD DVD
a type of optical disc that is a successor to a standard DVD and holds more data
iPod
a portable digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Computer
iTunes
a digital media player application that is typically used to interact with an iPod
magnetic tape
a recording medium that consists of a thin plastic strip with a fine magnetic coating
Zune
a portable digital audio player designed and marketed by the Microsoft Corporation
BIOS (Basic Input/output System)
the program a personal computer's microprocessor uses to get the computer system started after a user turns it on. It also manages data flow between the computer's operating system and attached devices such as the hard disk, video adapter, keyboard, mouse
booting
the process of loading an operating system onto a computer's main memory, or random access memory (RAM). Once the operating system is loaded, the computer is ready for users to run applications
boot sequence
the steps that a computer takes after it has been powered on
CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor)
this technology is used in the transistors that are manufactured for most of today's microchips; computers contain a small amount of this type of memory, which is battery-powered, to hold the date, time, and system setup parameters
cold boot (hard boot)
the startup of a computer from a powered-down, or off, state
firmware
the software programs or instructions stored in the read-only memory (ROM) of a hardware device that provide the necessary instructions during the boot process for the computer to find the installed operating system and continue to boot up. It is consider
kernel
the principle part of an operating system that loads first and is stored in physical memory (RAM). It is designed to be as small as possible and only contain essential instructions to maintain critical functions such as memory, process, and disk managemen
NVRAM (nonvolatile random access memory)
memory that maintains its information even when the computer is turned off, by connecting it to a battery source
warm boot (soft boot)
the process of restarting a computer that is already turned on, via the operating system. Restarting returns the computer to its initial state. This is necessary when a program encounters an error, and it is impossible to recover from it
cache
a set of duplicate data that is stored in a temporary location to allow rapid access for computers to function more efficiently
driver
a program that allows the operating system of a computer to communicate with a hardware device attached to the computer
metadata
data about data, or more simply, embedded electronic data not necessarily seen on the monitor or a printed document
net file
a command that displays the name of all open shared files on a system and the number of file locks, and closes individual shared files and removes file locks
net sessions
a command that shows not only the names of users accessing the system via a remote login session but also the IP addresses and the types of clients from which they are accessing the system
nonvolatile information
memory information that does not require power to remain stored, such as the swap file stored on a computer's hard drive
port
a logical connection that allows data to be sent from one connection to another directly. There are 65,536 of these available on a computer, with the first 1,024 being well-known (0-1023)
process
a section or instance of an application or program that is being run sequentially
promiscuous mode
the state of a network interface card where it will register all network traffic, rather than only that traffic arriving with the card's own MAC address as the destination
service
a process requiring no user interaction that runs on a computer and facilitates the functioning of the computer operating system and associated applications
swap file
a space on a hard disk (nonvolatile memory) used as the virtual memory extension of a computer's random access memory (RAM)
volatile information
memory information stored in the random access memory (RAM) of a computer that requires electricity to remain stored there
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
a service provided by a server in which the server assigns a client machine an IP address upon request
event
any occurrence that the operating system or program wants to keep track of or alert the user about
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
a general purpose specification for markup programming languages that allows the user to define specific elements to aid in sharing structured data among different types of computers with different operating systems and applications
password cracking
the process of taking a password hash and attempting to determine the associated password that generated that password hash