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Term
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Description
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Main Memory
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Random-access memory (RAM) used by the central processing unit (CPU) for storing program instructions and data currently being processed by those instructions. (See also random access memory.)
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Mass Storage
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Auxiliary memory used in conjunctions with main memory; generally having a large, on-line storage capacity.
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Master/Slave (M/S)
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Also known as Dual Drive Support. Two drives may be accessed via a common interface cable, using the same range of I/O addresses. The drives are jumpered as device 0 or 1 (Master/Slave), and are selected by the drive select bit in the Device/Head register of the task file.
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MaxBlast
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MaxBlast Plus is the installation utility that Maxtor provides to its customers. This software is shipped on a diskette that is bootable. The self-booting feature is provided by the Micro House Operating System (MHOS) that runs the EZ-MAX software. There are two utilities that come with MaxBlast, they are EZ-Max and EZ-Drive. EZ-Max is a utility that has been designed to allow users to quickly and easily install new Maxtor IDE hard drives. It will automatically identify the attached hard drives, (such as Model, Serial Number, Cylinders, Heads, and Sectors.) analyze the system BIOS, (such as the date of the BIOS build, manufacturer, etc..), the system processor type, and if the user requests, launch the EZ-Drive program. The EZ-Drive program will automatically detect the status of the hard drive and prompt the user of their installation options. It will partition, format, and if desired, transfer the operating system to the new drive. EZ-Drive will also detect if the BIOS is unable to properly control the drive, and install EZ-BIOS if such support is needed. MaxBlast has since evolved into the Maxblast Plus utility below.
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MaxBlast Plus
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MaxBlast Plus is the installation utility that Maxtor provides to its customers. This software is shipped on a diskette that is bootable. The self-booting feature is provided by the StorageSoft® that runs the software's GUI interface . The utility that comes with MaxBlast Plus is DriveGuide (DG.exe). MaxBlast Plus is a utility that has been designed to allow users to quickly and easily install new Maxtor IDE hard drives. It will automatically identify the attached hard drives, (such as Model, Serial Number, Cylinders, Heads, and Sectors.) analyze the system BIOS, (such as the date of the BIOS build, manufacturer, etc..), the system processor type, and if the user requests, launch the DriveGuide program. The DriveGuide program will automatically detect the status of the hard drive and prompt the user of their installation options. It will partition, format, and if desired, transfer the operating system to the new drive.
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Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
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MTBF ratings are measured in hours and indicate the durability of hard disk drives.
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Megabyte (MB)
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A confusing term, it can mean either 1,000,000 bytes decimal (106) or 1,048,576 bytes digital (220). Many manufacturers define 1MB as 1,000,000 bytes. See: Decimal vs. Digital for further details.
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Memory
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Any device or storage system capable of storing and retrieving information. (See also storage definitions.)
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Microcomputer
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A computer whose central processing unit is a microprocessor. It is usually, but not necessarily, desktop size.
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Microprocessor
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A central processing unit (CPU) manufactured as a chip or a small number of chips.
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Missing Pulse
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A term used in surface certification. It is when a prerecorded signal is reduced in amplitude by a certain specified percentage.
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Model Number
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Most hard disk drive model numbers contain a lot of descriptive information. The heart of the number lists the capacity, while prefixes and suffixes denote other aspects of the drive.
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Modified Frequency Modulation (MFM)
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A method of encoding digital data signals for recording on magnetic media. Also called "three frequency recording". Recording code that only uses synchronizing clock pulse if data bits are not present. Doubles the lineal bit density without increasing the lineal flux reversal density, compared to Frequency Modulation.
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Modified Modified Frequency Modulation (MMFM)
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A recording code similar to MFM that has a longer run length limited distance.
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Modulation
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1. Readback voltage fluctuation usually related to the rotational period of a disk.
2. A recording code, such as FM, MFM, or RLL, to translate between flux reversals and bits or bytes.
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