Seagate OneTouch OneTouch Installation Guide Mac - Page 41

: Glossary

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Glossary Byte - A unit of storage on a drive that holds a single character. A byte is equal to 8 bits. Capacity - The amount of information, measured in bytes, that can be stored on a drive. Also known as storage capacity. Daisy chain - A hardware configuration in which peripheral devices are connected to each other in a series. The FireWire interface, for example, supports a daisy chain of up to 62 drives. Data Transfer Rate - The speed at which data transfers to and from the drive. External Hard Drive - A external peripheral device containing a hard drive mechanism connected to a computer via a FireWire or USB interface. FireWire - The FireWire interface is a high-performance, serial bus defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as a standard for connecting digital devices together. It is ideal for connecting computers and hard drives to digital video and audio equipment. Format - Formatting erases all information on a hard drive and sets up the file system for storing and retrieving files. On Macintosh systems, high-level formatting is often referred to as initialization. Low-level formatting sets up the locations of sectors on the drive. Your drive was formatted with the FAT32 file system at the factory. GB - (Gigabyte) Equal to 1,000,000,000 (billion) bytes. For a detailed explanation, refer to page 29. Hard Drive - An electromechanical device used for information storage and retrieval, incorporating one or more rotating disks on which data is recorded, stored, and read magnetically. Hot-Swap - This feature allows you to connect and disconnect external devices while the computer and the devices are running. External drives, such as the Maxtor Personal Storage 5000 can be hot-swapped. KB - (Kilobyte) Equal to 1,000 (thousand) bytes. MB - (Megabyte) Equal to 1,000,000 (million) bytes. Mb - (Megabit) When used to describe data storage, equal to one million bits. Mbps - (Megabits per second) When used to described data transfer rates, it refers to one million bits per second. 7 Operating System - Software that allows the user and programs installed on your system to communicate with computer hardware such as a hard drive and processor. Partition - A way to logically divide a hard drive so that an operating system treats each partition as if it were a separate hard drive. Each partition is assigned a unique drive icon. Glossary 37

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Glossary
37
7
Glossary
Byte –
A unit of storage on a drive that holds a single character.
A byte is equal to 8 bits.
Capacity –
The amount of information, measured in bytes, that
can be stored on a drive. Also known as
storage capacity
.
Daisy chain –
A hardware configuration in which peripheral
devices are connected to each other in a series. The FireWire
interface, for example, supports a daisy chain of up to 62 drives.
Data Transfer Rate –
The speed at which data transfers to
and from the drive.
External Hard Drive –
A external peripheral device containing
a hard drive mechanism connected to a computer via a FireWire
or USB interface.
FireWire –
The FireWire interface is a high-performance, serial
bus defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) as a standard for connecting digital devices
together. It is ideal for connecting computers and hard drives to
digital video and audio equipment.
Format –
Formatting erases all information on a hard drive and
sets up the file system for storing and retrieving files. On
Macintosh systems, high-level formatting is often referred to as
initialization. Low-level formatting sets up the locations of sectors
on the drive. Your drive was formatted with the FAT32 file system
at the factory.
GB –
(Gigabyte) Equal to 1,000,000,000 (billion) bytes. For a
detailed explanation, refer to page 29.
Hard Drive
–
An electromechanical device used for
information storage and retrieval, incorporating one or more
rotating disks on which data is recorded, stored, and read
magnetically.
Hot-Swap –
This feature allows you to connect and disconnect
external devices while the computer and the devices are running.
External drives, such as the Maxtor Personal Storage 5000 can
be hot-swapped.
KB –
(Kilobyte) Equal to 1,000 (thousand) bytes.
MB –
(Megabyte) Equal to 1,000,000 (million) bytes.
Mb –
(Megabit) When used to describe data storage, equal to
one million bits.
Mbps –
(Megabits per second) When used to described data
transfer rates, it refers to one million bits per second.
Operating System –
Software that allows the user and
programs installed on your system to communicate with
computer hardware such as a hard drive and processor.
Partition –
A way to logically divide a hard drive so that an
operating system treats each partition as if it were a separate
hard drive. Each partition is assigned a unique drive icon.