MSI ATX Motherboard G52-MA00362 User Manual

Page 84

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Glossary

PnP (Plug and Play)

A set of specifications that allows a PC to configure itself automatically

to work with peripherals. The user can "plug" in a peripheral device

and "play" it without configuring the system manually. To implement

this useful feature, both the BIOS that supports PnP and a PnP expan-

sion card are required.

POST (Power On Self Test)

During booting up your system, the BIOS executes a series of diagnostic

tests, include checking the RAM, the keyboard, the disk drives, etc., to

see if they are properly connected and operating.

PS/2 Port

A type of port developed by IBM for connecting a mouse or keyboard to a

PC. The PS/2 port supports a mini DIN plug containing just 6 pins.

Most modern PCs equipped with PS/2 ports so that the special port can

be used by another device, such as a modem.

USB (universal serial bus)

A hardware interface for low-speed peripherals such as the keyboard,

mouse, joystick, etc. USB provides a maximum bandwidth of 12 Mbit/

sec (Mbps) for connecting up to 127 peripheral devices to PC. USB fea-

tures hot swap capability and multiple data streams, allows external

devices to be plugged in and unplugged without turning the system off.

Virus

A program or a piece of code that infects computer files by inserting in

those files copies of itself. The virus code is buried within an existing

program, and is activated when that program is executed. All the vi-

ruses are man-made, and often have damaging side effects.

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