Compaq Presario Internet PC - Manual (Page 118)

G LOSSARY 4 M Y P RESARIO —G ETTING S TARTED AND B EYOND
close session When a session is closed,
information about its contents is written
into the CD’s Table of Contents, and a
lead-in and lead-out are written to prepare
the CD for subsequent session.
Ctrl+Alt+Delete Pressing and holding
down the Ctrl key, then the Alt key, then
the Delete key, and then releasing all three
keys, to close a program that is locked (not
responding). (Unsaved data is lost.) Use
Ctrl+Alt+Delete a second time to shut
down a computer that is locked. Unsaved
data is erased from memory. When the
computer restarts, it displays an error
message that Windows was not properly
shut down and it scans the hard disk for
errors. Before installing new software,
close all open programs. Then use
Ctrl+Alt+Delete to close all programs,
one by one, that run in the background—
except Windows Explorer and Systray.
These two programs are needed for the
installation. If you accidentally close
Windows Explorer or Systray, shut down
the computer. Restart the computer and
close the programs again. Insert the
installation CD (or diskette), and follow
the manufacturer’s instructions. Closing all
programs, including those running in the
background, ensures a clean installation
without file conflicts.
component a device installed inside the
computer. Examples are the CD-ROM,
CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, Zip, diskette,
and hard drives, memory chips, modem,
graphics and sound cards. See peripheral.
cursor The blinking vertical line on the
screen that indicates where the next
character appears when you type.
D
data Information that can be processed by
a computer.
database A collection of similar data that
is designed for easy retrieval of useful
information.
dedicated line A telephone line that is
always connected to the modem (inside the
computer) to provide constant access to the
Internet. A separate telephone line is used
for phone calls. See modem.
default The option that the program
automatically chooses for you when you
do not indicate a choice yourself. For
example, when you print a document, the
Print dialog box asks which pages to print
(the default is All) and how many copies to
print (the default is 1). You can change the
settings, and you can designate the new
settings as the default.
desktop See Windows desktop.
desktop computer A personal computer
designed to be set on a desk. It is not
portable like a laptop or notebook
computer.
dialog box A small window that requests
information from the user before a
command can be carried out digitally.