CET1171 - Introduction to Microcomputer Service and Maintenance Acronyms

Take the Online Acronym Spelling Test Now!(disabled between semesters)

Industry Acronyms Study Guide

----Start Copy and Paste----
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
AMR - Audio/Modem Riser
ANSI - American National Standards Institute
APM - Advanced Power Management
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
AT - Advanced Technology
ATA - Advanced Technology Attachment
ATAPI - Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface
ATX - Advanced Technology extended
BIOS - Basic Input/Output System
CD-ROM - Compact Disc - Read Only Memory
CHS - Cylinder/Head/Sector
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CNR - Communications/Networking Riser
COM - Communications (serial) port
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CRC - Cyclical Redundancy Check
CRT - Cathode Ray Tube
DBx - Data Bus (x = number of pins)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DINx - Deutsche Industrie Normung (x = number of pins)
DIP - Dual Inline Pin (Package)
DMA - Direct Memory Access
DOS - Disk Operating System
DDR - Double Data Rate
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
ECC - Error Correction Code
EDC - Error Detection Code
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
EIDE - Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics
EISA - Extended Industry Standard Architecture
ESD - Electrostatic Discharge
ESDI - Enhanced Small Disk Interface
ESCD - Extended System Configuration Data
FAT - File Allocation Table
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPM - Fast Page Mode
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FRU - Field Replaceable Unit
FSB - Front Side Bus
GB - Gigabyte
GHz - Gigahertz
GUI - Graphical User Interface
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HMA - High Memory Area
Hz - Hertz
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
I/O - Input/Output
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
KB - Kilobyte
Kb - Kilobit
LED - Light Emitting Diode
LPT - Line Printer (parallel port)
MB - Megabyte
Mb - Megabit
MBR - Master Boot Record
MCA - Microchannel Architecture
MHz - Megahertz
NIC - Network Interface Card
NVRAM - Nonvolatile Random Access Memory
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer
OS - Operating System
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
POST - Power On Self Test
RAM - Random Access Memory
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
RIMM - Rambus Inline Memory Module
RJ-11 - Registered Jack type 11
RJ-45 - Registered Jack type 45
RMA - Return Merchandise Authorization
ROM - Read Only Memory
RS-232 - Recommended Standard type 232 (serial communications)
RTC - Real Time Clock
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SIMM - Single Inline Memory Module
SIPP - Single Inline Pin Package
SMM - System Management Mode
SPDIF - Sony Phillips Digital Interface
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
TB - Terabyte
UMA - Upper Memory Area
UMB - Upper Memory Block
VESA - Video Electronics Standards Association
VGA - Video Graphics Array
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
----End Copy and Paste----

The student should Copy and Paste the above into a Notepad or Word document and print it. Most of the terms below are not actually acronyms, but some are contractions, you should know what words were contracted to create the terms. Then go online and find what each acronym spells out and fill it in on the lines provided. The student should then read a few definitions of each term and write out a definition on the back of a 3x5 card with the acronym on the front of the card. Then practice by shuffling your cards, then spell each one out and then define it. Then flip to the next card. When the student can go through the deck without difficulty a large part of the final exam is in the bag!

----Start Copy and Paste----
bit - binary digit
bps - bits per second
bus - set of parallel wires that each carry a single place value binary bit of a binary number
byte - 8 bit binary number
cache - high speed memory that is used to read ahead and write behind to/from slower memory
chipset - set of chips on the motherboard that directly communicate with the CPU transfering
data to/from the CPU to the rest of the system codec - coder/decoder computer - anything that can input raw data, process the data and output information motherboard - the main circuit board of the PC holding the chipset and to which the CPU is
mounted power supply - the device in the PC that converts wall current AC into the low voltage DC
needed by the electronic chips of the PC's devices proprietary - unique design of the original equipment manufacturer that can only be replaced
by the same item from the same manufacturer protected mode - the native mode of the Intel x86 family processors after the 8088 in which
RAM is managed such that no application may directly address RAM outside of its alloted RAM
space register - location onboard the chip that numbers can be stored and modified (math and logic
operations can be performed on the numbers only in the registers) real mode - native mode of the Intel 8088 processor that treats all addressable RAM as a single
flat addressable RAM space (programs have direct access to each other unimpeded) ----End Copy and Paste----
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