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Term
|
Description
|
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FAQ
|
Frequently
Asked Questions. Lists of questions on a certain topic and their
answers. Often found on the Internet, they can be a good source
of information, but not always reliable. |
|
FAT
|
File
Allocation Table. A chart or index on a hard drive used by the
operating system to keep track of files. DOS searches the FAT
for a file's starting cluster and gathers file information from
that and associated clusters. FAT (or FAT16) uses 16 bits to address
each cluster on a drive and can only recognize drives up to 512
Mb. The size of each cluster on a 512 Mb drive would be 32 Kb.
This means that a 33 Kb file would take up 2 clusters or 64 Kb
of drive space. |
|
FAT32
|
A
32-bit version of the File Allocation Table which first shipped
with Windows95 SR2. FAT32 uses 32 bits to address each cluster
and can support drives as big as two Terabytes. The older FAT
used 16-bits to address each cluster and was limited to drive
sizes of 512 Mb. Each cluster in a FAT32 system is only 4 Kb which
also helps to save space on your hard drive. |
|
FDD
|
See
Floppy Disk Drive. |
|
FDISK
|
A
DOS utility used to configure and partition hard drives and prepare
them for DOS use. |
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Field
Replaceable Unit
|
See
FRU. |
|
File Allocation
Table
|
See
FAT. |
|
File Extension
|
Under
DOS naming conventions, the file extension is the three character
portion that follows the file name and identifies the type of
file. |
|
File Transfer
Protocol
|
See
FTP. |
|
Firewall
|
Software
or hardware, used on networks, that prevents outside or undesired
access. |
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Firmware
|
Software
or programming code that is permanently burned onto a ROM chip. |
|
Flash
ROM
|
A
type of ROM chip that can be reprogrammed electronically while
in circuit using a specific flash program. |
|
Form Factor
|
The
physical size and shape of a device. In motherboards it pertains
to the size and shape of the board, but it also describes the
physical layout of the different components and devices on the
motherboard. With system cases, it describes certain specific
features and what kind of motherboard fits inside. |
|
FPM
|
Fast
Page Mode. A type of DRAM that accesses several addresses at once
( a page ). The CPU selects the info needed from that page and
processes it, then asks for another page from memory. |
|
Fragmented
File
|
The
distribution of a file on disk so that it's written in non-contiguous
clusters or spread over different portions of the disk. Tracking
down all associated clusters can slow down read/write operations. |
|
Freenet
|
Freenet
is the name often given to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
that provides a specific group of people or a specific area with
free Internet access. Often this access is very basic, time limited
and used mostly for e-mail. |
|
Freeware
|
Software
application programs that are free to use and distribute. Often,
these programs are written by home programmers and distributed
via the Internet at no cost and no future obligation to buy. |
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FRU
|
Field
Replaceable Unit. A component or device in a computer that can
be repaired or replaced without sending the unit back to the manufacturer. |
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FTP
|
File
Transfer Protocol. A standard way to transfer many types of files
between computers or over the Internet. The protocol has built
in error checking. |
