Random access memory (RAM) is the best known form of computer memory. RAM is considered "random access" because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that intersect at that cell.
The opposite of RAM is serial access memory (SAM). SAM stores data as a series of memory cells that can only be accessed sequentially (like a cassette tape). If the data is not in the current location, each memory cell is checked until the needed data is found. SAM works very well for memory buffers, where the data is normally stored in the order in which it will be used (a good example is the texture buffer memory on a video card). RAM data, on the other hand, can be accessed in any order.
In this article, you'll learn all about what RAM is, what kind you should buy and how to install it.
Dynamic RAM
Similar to a microprocessor, a memory chip is an integrated circuit (IC) made of millions of transistors and capacitors. In the most common form of computer memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a transistor and a capacitor are paired to create a memory cell, which represents a single bit of data. The capacitor holds the bit of information -- a 0 or a 1 (see How Bits and Bytes Work for information on bits). The transistor acts as a switch that lets the control circuitry on the memory chip read the capacitor or change its state.
A capacitor is like a small bucket that is able to store electrons. To store a 1 in the memory cell, the bucket is filled with electrons. To store a 0, it is emptied. The problem with the capacitor's bucket is that it has a leak. In a matter of a few milliseconds a full bucket becomes empty. Therefore, for dynamic memory to work, either the CPU or the memory controller has to come along and recharge all of the capacitors holding a 1 before they discharge. To do this, the memory controller reads the memory and then writes it right back. This refresh operation happens automatically thousands of times per second.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Hard Drive & Storage
Storage Review
StorageReview.com attempts to address a topic that seems sadly neglected in the online community: hard disk and storage-related performance. No, they're not glamorous. No, we can't come up with loads of interesting screen shots and pictures (hard drives tend to look very similar to one another after a while). Hard drive performance is, however, vital to the overall performance of your PC.
The Whole Drive Guide
Advice for the gigabyte-addicted: How to upgrade to today's best and biggest--or keep your current hard disks running smoothly.
SCSI Planet Hard Drive Comparisons
Comparison of 150+ SCSI hard drives with a link directly to the manufacturers information and datasheets. You'll also find plenty of other SCSI info here.
Maxtor Interactive Jumper Guide
Well, obviously, they haven't made it any easier for the user since the most popular search words these days seem to be "Maxtor jumper settings". What is it about these guys not putting the simple little diagram on the drive?
ISA Multi-input/output Controller Cards Support
Can't find jumper settings for those old controller cards laying around? You might check here. I love Gigagon Data Corp's motto...striving to eliminate the nightmares of zero-support products.
Hard Drive Technology and Data Recovery
Excellent article "Data Removal and Erasure From Hard Drives" Also info on history, design, controllers, interfaces, Explained well from Data Recovery Labs.
Western Digital Drive Parameters
(including obsolete)
The BIOS IDE Harddisk Limitations
This article targets at these PCs that have a system BIOS dated from 1992 to 1998 which can limit the usable capacity of your new drive.
Quick Guide to a Win98 Fresh Start fdisk and reformat
This is a very simple, but adequate guide for starting fresh in Win98. Fdisk seems to needlessly puts the scare in us. If you have formatted your drive without fdisk...then you haven't done a real format at all.
SCSI Info Central
Gary Fields gives you the latest SCSI FAQ, SCSI Game Rules and other SCSI related stuff. The FAQ has a very nice layout. You almost forget it is a white paper. This guy knows his SCSI.
PC-Disk; Hard Drive Database
Incredible resource! A little confusing at first on picking model #'s, but dig a little further & you will be pleasantly surprised. "Big" hard disk database with over 5.000 disks, jumper settings and layouts! It passed my torture test w/ flying colors. Old, new, network, SCSI, etc.
Dan Kegel's Fast Hard Drives Page
It seems that the most important consideration in a disk drive is its rotation speed. 4500 to 5400 are no longer common speeds....
Ontrack Jumper Viewer
A graphical, interactive Java applet for quickly finding jumper settings for IDE/ATA hard drives. This viewer is similar to the one in Ontrack's Disk Manager hard drive installation utilities. But with the online version, you always have access to their most current database of hard drives.
The Red Hill Guide to Hard Drives
A real decent run down on hard drives, manufacturers, performance, SCSI, etc. with comparisons.
Zip & Jaz Drive Click Death
Find out more about a set of serious data threatening problems being encountered with increasing frequency among users of Iomega's Zip and Jaz removable media mass storage systems. Download the FREE 55Kb "Trouble In Paradise" by Steve Gibson and see if that is your problem. Make sure and check out the rest of his site here.
SCSI Troubleshooting Guide
Troubleshooting SCSI connections. Scroll down the page.
Hard Disk Partitioning: Why and How
Hard Disk Partitioning, Why and How (for MS-DOS/Windows PCs) by Stan Brown.
Hard Drive Specifications and Jumper Settings
Full specs & jumper settings for the following Maxtor & Seagate drives. The (#) is how many of that drive type. Maxtor PCMCIA (7) SCSI (36)Seagate IDE/AT (90) IPI (24) MFM (24) RLL (12) SCSI (90) SMD (18)
Enhanced IDE FAQ & Utilities
The Enhanced IDE FAQ is an attempt to answer the most common questions concerning EIDE hard disks, CD-ROMs, tapes, interfaces and setup.
source : http://hardwarehell.com
StorageReview.com attempts to address a topic that seems sadly neglected in the online community: hard disk and storage-related performance. No, they're not glamorous. No, we can't come up with loads of interesting screen shots and pictures (hard drives tend to look very similar to one another after a while). Hard drive performance is, however, vital to the overall performance of your PC.
The Whole Drive Guide
Advice for the gigabyte-addicted: How to upgrade to today's best and biggest--or keep your current hard disks running smoothly.
SCSI Planet Hard Drive Comparisons
Comparison of 150+ SCSI hard drives with a link directly to the manufacturers information and datasheets. You'll also find plenty of other SCSI info here.
Maxtor Interactive Jumper Guide
Well, obviously, they haven't made it any easier for the user since the most popular search words these days seem to be "Maxtor jumper settings". What is it about these guys not putting the simple little diagram on the drive?
ISA Multi-input/output Controller Cards Support
Can't find jumper settings for those old controller cards laying around? You might check here. I love Gigagon Data Corp's motto...striving to eliminate the nightmares of zero-support products.
Hard Drive Technology and Data Recovery
Excellent article "Data Removal and Erasure From Hard Drives" Also info on history, design, controllers, interfaces, Explained well from Data Recovery Labs.
Western Digital Drive Parameters
(including obsolete)
The BIOS IDE Harddisk Limitations
This article targets at these PCs that have a system BIOS dated from 1992 to 1998 which can limit the usable capacity of your new drive.
Quick Guide to a Win98 Fresh Start fdisk and reformat
This is a very simple, but adequate guide for starting fresh in Win98. Fdisk seems to needlessly puts the scare in us. If you have formatted your drive without fdisk...then you haven't done a real format at all.
SCSI Info Central
Gary Fields gives you the latest SCSI FAQ, SCSI Game Rules and other SCSI related stuff. The FAQ has a very nice layout. You almost forget it is a white paper. This guy knows his SCSI.
PC-Disk; Hard Drive Database
Incredible resource! A little confusing at first on picking model #'s, but dig a little further & you will be pleasantly surprised. "Big" hard disk database with over 5.000 disks, jumper settings and layouts! It passed my torture test w/ flying colors. Old, new, network, SCSI, etc.
Dan Kegel's Fast Hard Drives Page
It seems that the most important consideration in a disk drive is its rotation speed. 4500 to 5400 are no longer common speeds....
Ontrack Jumper Viewer
A graphical, interactive Java applet for quickly finding jumper settings for IDE/ATA hard drives. This viewer is similar to the one in Ontrack's Disk Manager hard drive installation utilities. But with the online version, you always have access to their most current database of hard drives.
The Red Hill Guide to Hard Drives
A real decent run down on hard drives, manufacturers, performance, SCSI, etc. with comparisons.
Zip & Jaz Drive Click Death
Find out more about a set of serious data threatening problems being encountered with increasing frequency among users of Iomega's Zip and Jaz removable media mass storage systems. Download the FREE 55Kb "Trouble In Paradise" by Steve Gibson and see if that is your problem. Make sure and check out the rest of his site here.
SCSI Troubleshooting Guide
Troubleshooting SCSI connections. Scroll down the page.
Hard Disk Partitioning: Why and How
Hard Disk Partitioning, Why and How (for MS-DOS/Windows PCs) by Stan Brown.
Hard Drive Specifications and Jumper Settings
Full specs & jumper settings for the following Maxtor & Seagate drives. The (#) is how many of that drive type. Maxtor PCMCIA (7) SCSI (36)Seagate IDE/AT (90) IPI (24) MFM (24) RLL (12) SCSI (90) SMD (18)
Enhanced IDE FAQ & Utilities
The Enhanced IDE FAQ is an attempt to answer the most common questions concerning EIDE hard disks, CD-ROMs, tapes, interfaces and setup.
source : http://hardwarehell.com
Motherboard Manufacturers / Vendors Directory
Older Motherboard Manuals
Manuals for A-trend, Fordlian, Full Yes, Edom, Superpower, QDI, Freetech / Flexus, Chicony, and other hard-to-find boards.
Motherboard Proxy
If you are needing info on a pre 2000 board, then you might check out this site. Decent database, however last entry I can find is April of 2000.
Lost Circuits BIOS Guide
This article is meant to shed some light on the various parameters accessible in the mainboard BIOS through setup.
Hacking Your Password
When you really need to hack your password...You must discharge the CMOS. This article covers an assortment of ways to do this. (At your own risk of course.)
BIOS Central
Great source for machine specific BIOS post codes and beep codes. Should be Post Code Central, but more BIOS content is expected soon.
The BIOS Web
Rundown of the BIOS including, how to identify, upgrade info, how POST operates, error messages, beep codes, setup utility info and much more. Plenty of other references. Worth checking out.
Adrian's Rojak Pot "BIOS Optimization Guide
Explains various settings in the BIOS Features Setup , Chipset Feature Setup, Integrated Peripherals and the cool part is the comments section. Post your comment, whether a question, unclear, or you just outright disagree.
The Bios Companion
Extracts from The BIOS Companion, the book that should come with your motherboard - it explains in plain English all the things you wanted to know about those secret settings, and more! The information is well presented and is well above A+ standard.
Weekly BIOS Tweaks
This page is only possible with the "valuable" input of Phil Croucher, author of "The BIOS Companion" Here are new extracts each week. (or any other info that Phil decides to throw our way, for getting the most from our computers.)
Wim's Bios Page
Allot of coverage. company lists, flash BIOS, message board etc.
Motherboard Manuals Data and More
Hey, Web Head Quarters is back! Great site for finding info and manuals for 486 and older Pentium motherboards. Diagnostic Software Tools, bios info, testing tips and more.
Intel i815 / i815E Motherboard Roundup
Good article that talks about the chipset, tells what to look for in a i815 / i815E board, and compares ten of the contenders. From Anand Tech.
Identify Your Motherboard (Award)
Part of the BIOS serial number identifies the vendor: Wim has a great breakdown of vendors by translating your bios. Also, plenty of other BIOS related material.
Identify Your Motherboard (AMI)
How to translate from the who made your motherboard for AMI based BIOS. Also, plenty of other BIOS related material.
The Flash BIOS Site
If you want general info about flash bios, want information about flash bios programmer devices or if yours is dead and it must be re-programmed, Arthur Kerkmeester will do it for $5. Chip and MB mfgrs. If you have an EPROM burner, you'll love this site.
POST (Power On Self Test) Error Codes
This is a pretty extensive list of the POST (Power On Self Test) error codes, incl. beep, for most IBM PCs and compatibles from Unicore Software. They have been around...
PC BIOS - General Guidelines
Phoenix Technologies has merged with Award Software and here you will find answers to the most frequently asked BIOS questions they receive. A very good BIOS rundown.
Motherboard Ratings Survey & User Reviews
A good motherboard ratings survey results from SysOpt's never ending "great" info collection. Pretty extensive list of user reviews.
PC Builder Motherboard Section
From the PC Buyers Guide. Excellent reviews, specs, CPU reports, benchmarks, building and upgrading info, etc. from Graeme S. Bennett Excellent resource I frequent often.
-->
Motherboard Home World
Manufacturers, Chips, Vendors, Reviews, Recommendations, Buying Secrets, Search, Chipsets, Mobo ID tools and more. (IMHO, Spot was better.)
PCGuide - Ref - System BIOS
The system BIOS is the lowest-level software in the computer; it acts an interface between the hardware (especially the chipset and processor) and the operating system.
Motherboard Manual Page
"Great" collection of slightly older motherboard manuals! Allot of good info on motherboards, BIOS, upgrading etc. From House of Hall.
Unicore Software
BIOS upgrades for your Award, Mr. Bios, Phoenix and AMI. Good info in their support area. Most of their info comes from the book above, The BIOS Companion.
FTP root at ftp.megatrends.com
BIOS for AMI boards, Upgrades & Manuals, other manuals, tech tips, Mega Raid, Utility etc. Good ftp if you know what you are looking for.
Motherboards and More
A Open Component Solutions is a component company of Acer. Get all the motherboard info, manuals, BIOS Updates etc here. (not to mention other components as well)
The AMI Bios Survival Guide
The guide is a little dated, (1997) but still an incredible source of information. There are a number of places suggested to find further information, This information was edited by Jean-Paul Rodrigue and Phil Croucher and represents the work of many contributors.
Intel Motherboard Manuals and Jumper Settings
Through PII...with thumbnails.
Intel Data Sheets and Programming Manuals
This page contains pointers to Intel documentation.
source : http://hardwarehell.com
Manuals for A-trend, Fordlian, Full Yes, Edom, Superpower, QDI, Freetech / Flexus, Chicony, and other hard-to-find boards.
Motherboard Proxy
If you are needing info on a pre 2000 board, then you might check out this site. Decent database, however last entry I can find is April of 2000.
Lost Circuits BIOS Guide
This article is meant to shed some light on the various parameters accessible in the mainboard BIOS through setup.
Hacking Your Password
When you really need to hack your password...You must discharge the CMOS. This article covers an assortment of ways to do this. (At your own risk of course.)
BIOS Central
Great source for machine specific BIOS post codes and beep codes. Should be Post Code Central, but more BIOS content is expected soon.
The BIOS Web
Rundown of the BIOS including, how to identify, upgrade info, how POST operates, error messages, beep codes, setup utility info and much more. Plenty of other references. Worth checking out.
Adrian's Rojak Pot "BIOS Optimization Guide
Explains various settings in the BIOS Features Setup , Chipset Feature Setup, Integrated Peripherals and the cool part is the comments section. Post your comment, whether a question, unclear, or you just outright disagree.
The Bios Companion
Extracts from The BIOS Companion, the book that should come with your motherboard - it explains in plain English all the things you wanted to know about those secret settings, and more! The information is well presented and is well above A+ standard.
Weekly BIOS Tweaks
This page is only possible with the "valuable" input of Phil Croucher, author of "The BIOS Companion" Here are new extracts each week. (or any other info that Phil decides to throw our way, for getting the most from our computers.)
Wim's Bios Page
Allot of coverage. company lists, flash BIOS, message board etc.
Motherboard Manuals Data and More
Hey, Web Head Quarters is back! Great site for finding info and manuals for 486 and older Pentium motherboards. Diagnostic Software Tools, bios info, testing tips and more.
Intel i815 / i815E Motherboard Roundup
Good article that talks about the chipset, tells what to look for in a i815 / i815E board, and compares ten of the contenders. From Anand Tech.
Identify Your Motherboard (Award)
Part of the BIOS serial number identifies the vendor: Wim has a great breakdown of vendors by translating your bios. Also, plenty of other BIOS related material.
Identify Your Motherboard (AMI)
How to translate from the who made your motherboard for AMI based BIOS. Also, plenty of other BIOS related material.
The Flash BIOS Site
If you want general info about flash bios, want information about flash bios programmer devices or if yours is dead and it must be re-programmed, Arthur Kerkmeester will do it for $5. Chip and MB mfgrs. If you have an EPROM burner, you'll love this site.
POST (Power On Self Test) Error Codes
This is a pretty extensive list of the POST (Power On Self Test) error codes, incl. beep, for most IBM PCs and compatibles from Unicore Software. They have been around...
PC BIOS - General Guidelines
Phoenix Technologies has merged with Award Software and here you will find answers to the most frequently asked BIOS questions they receive. A very good BIOS rundown.
Motherboard Ratings Survey & User Reviews
A good motherboard ratings survey results from SysOpt's never ending "great" info collection. Pretty extensive list of user reviews.
PC Builder Motherboard Section
From the PC Buyers Guide. Excellent reviews, specs, CPU reports, benchmarks, building and upgrading info, etc. from Graeme S. Bennett Excellent resource I frequent often.
-->
Motherboard Home World
Manufacturers, Chips, Vendors, Reviews, Recommendations, Buying Secrets, Search, Chipsets, Mobo ID tools and more. (IMHO, Spot was better.)
PCGuide - Ref - System BIOS
The system BIOS is the lowest-level software in the computer; it acts an interface between the hardware (especially the chipset and processor) and the operating system.
Motherboard Manual Page
"Great" collection of slightly older motherboard manuals! Allot of good info on motherboards, BIOS, upgrading etc. From House of Hall.
Unicore Software
BIOS upgrades for your Award, Mr. Bios, Phoenix and AMI. Good info in their support area. Most of their info comes from the book above, The BIOS Companion.
FTP root at ftp.megatrends.com
BIOS for AMI boards, Upgrades & Manuals, other manuals, tech tips, Mega Raid, Utility etc. Good ftp if you know what you are looking for.
Motherboards and More
A Open Component Solutions is a component company of Acer. Get all the motherboard info, manuals, BIOS Updates etc here. (not to mention other components as well)
The AMI Bios Survival Guide
The guide is a little dated, (1997) but still an incredible source of information. There are a number of places suggested to find further information, This information was edited by Jean-Paul Rodrigue and Phil Croucher and represents the work of many contributors.
Intel Motherboard Manuals and Jumper Settings
Through PII...with thumbnails.
Intel Data Sheets and Programming Manuals
This page contains pointers to Intel documentation.
source : http://hardwarehell.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
