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SuperFetch
Windows Vista introduced a number of new I/O functions to the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. They are intended to shorten the time taken to boot the system, improve the responsiveness of the system, and improve the reliability of data storage. I/O subsystem Vista modifies the behavior of asynchronous I/O operations. With the new asynchronous I/O APIs, a thread, different from the one that issued the I/O request, can be notified when the operation completes. With this, a single thread can issue all the I/O requests, and then switch to a different worker thread. If this thread is the one that handles the data after the I/O request completes, then a thread-switch, which causes a performance hit, may be avoided. Windows Vista also introduces synchronous I/O cancellation. During a synchronous I/O request, the application is blocked until the request is serviced or fails. In Windows Vista the application may issue a cancellation request. Applications that cancel the operat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prefetcher
The Prefetcher is a component of Microsoft Windows which was introduced in Windows XP. It is a component of the Memory Manager that can speed up the Windows boot process and shorten the amount of time it takes to start up programs. It accomplishes this by caching files that are needed by an application to RAM as the application is launched, thus consolidating disk reads and reducing disk seeks. This feature was covered by US patent 6,633,968. Since Windows Vista, the Prefetcher has been extended by SuperFetch and ReadyBoost. SuperFetch attempts to accelerate application launch times by monitoring and adapting to application usage patterns over periods of time, and caching the majority of the files and data needed by them into memory in advance so that they can be accessed very quickly when needed. ReadyBoost (when enabled) uses external memory like a USB flash drive to extend the system cache beyond the amount of RAM installed in the computer. ReadyBoost also has a component cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows desktop operating systems. Development was completed on November 8, 2006, and over the following three months, it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released internationally and was made available for purchase and download from the Windows Marketplace; it is the first release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform. New features of Windows Vista include an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Aero, a new search component called Windows Search, redesigned networking, audio, print and display sub-systems, and new multimedia tools such as Windows DVD Maker. Vista aim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flash Memory
Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both use the same cell design, consisting of floating gate MOSFETs. They differ at the circuit level depending on whether the state of the bit line or word lines is pulled high or low: in NAND flash, the relationship between the bit line and the word lines resembles a NAND gate; in NOR flash, it resembles a NOR gate. Flash memory, a type of floating-gate memory, was invented at Toshiba in 1980 and is based on EEPROM technology. Toshiba began marketing flash memory in 1987. EPROMs had to be erased completely before they could be rewritten. NAND flash memory, however, may be erased, written, and read in blocks (or pages), which generally are much smaller than the entire device. NOR flash memory allows a single machine word to be written to an er ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EWeek
''eWeek'' (''Enterprise Newsweekly'', stylized as ''eWEEK''), formerly PCWeek, is a technology and business magazine. Previously owned by QuinStreet; Nashville, Tennessee marketing company TechnologyAdvice acquired eWeek in 2020. The print edition ceased in 2012, "and eWeek became an all-digital publication"), at which time Quinstreet acquired the magazine from Internet company Ziff Davis, along with Baseline.com, ChannelInsider.com, CIOInsight.com, and WebBuyersGuide.com. ''eWeek'' was started under the name ''PCWeek'' on Feb. 28, 1984. The magazine was called ''PCWeek'' until 2000, during which time it covered the rise of business computing in America; as ''eWeek'', it increased its online presence and covers more kinds of worldwide technologies. History The magazine was started by Ziff Davis to cover the use of computers as business tools. Team members that started ''PCWeek'' included John Dodge, the first news editor; Lois Paul, the first features editor; and Sam Whit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Device Manager
Device Manager is a component of the Microsoft Windows operating system. It allows users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. When a piece of hardware is not working, the offending hardware is highlighted for the user to deal with. The list of hardware can be sorted by various criteria. For each device, users can: *Supply device drivers in accordance with the Windows Driver Model *Enable or disable devices *Tell Windows to ignore malfunctioning devices *View other technical properties Device Manager was introduced with Windows 95 and later added to Windows 2000. On Windows 9x, Device Manager is part of the System applet in Control Panel. On Windows 2000 and all other Windows NT-based versions of Windows, it is a snap-in for Microsoft Management Console. Types of icons Disabled device A disabled device has either been manually disabled by a user or by some way of error. In Windows 95 through XP, this is denoted by a red X. In Windows Vista and Windows 7 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AT Attachment
Parallel ATA (PATA), originally , also known as IDE, is a standard interface designed for IBM PC-compatible computers. It was first developed by Western Digital and Compaq in 1986 for compatible hard drives and CD or DVD drives. The connection is used for storage devices such as hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, and optical disc drives in computers. The standard is maintained by the X3/ INCITS committee. It uses the underlying (ATA) and Packet Interface (ATAPI) standards. The Parallel ATA standard is the result of a long history of incremental technical development, which began with the original AT Attachment interface, developed for use in early PC AT equipment. The ATA interface itself evolved in several stages from Western Digital's original Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface. As a result, many near-synonyms for ATA/ATAPI and its previous incarnations are still in common informal use, in particular Extended IDE (EIDE) and Ultra ATA (UATA). After the i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NVRAM
Non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) is random-access memory that retains data without applied power. This is in contrast to dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and static random-access memory (SRAM), which both maintain data only for as long as power is applied, or forms of sequential-access memory such as magnetic tape, which cannot be randomly accessed but which retains data indefinitely without electric power. Read-only memory devices can be used to store system firmware in embedded systems such as an automotive ignition system control or home appliance. They are also used to hold the initial processor instructions required to bootstrap a computer system. Read-write memory can be used to store calibration constants, passwords, or setup information, and may be integrated into a microcontroller. If the main memory of a computer system were non-volatile, it would greatly reduce the time required to start a system after a power interruption. Current existing types of semi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hibernation (computing)
Hibernation (also known as suspend to disk, or Safe Sleep on Macintosh computers) in computing is powering down a computer while retaining its state. When hibernation begins, the computer saves the contents of its random access memory (RAM) to a hard disk or other non-volatile storage. When the computer is turned on the RAM is restored and the computer is exactly as it was before entering hibernation. Hibernation was first implemented in 1992 and patented by Compaq Computer Corporation in Houston, Texas. As of 2020, Microsoft's Windows 10 employs a type of hibernation by default when shutting down. Uses After hibernating, the hardware is powered down like a regular shutdown. The system can have a total loss of power for an indefinite length of time and then resume to the original state. Hibernation is mostly used in laptops, which have limited battery power available. It can be set to happen automatically on a low battery alarm. Most desktops also support hibernation, mainly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intel Turbo Memory
Intel Turbo Memory is a technology introduced by Intel Corporation that uses NAND flash memory modules to reduce the time it takes for a computer to power up, access programs, and write data to the hard drive. During development, the technology was codenamed Robson. It is supported by most of the Core 2 Mobile chipset series, but not by the newer Core i Series mobile chipsets. Overview The technology was publicly introduced on October 24, 2005, at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Taiwan when a laptop that booted up almost immediately was demonstrated. The technology attempts to decrease hard drive usage by moving frequently accessed data over to the flash memory. Flash memory can be accessed faster than hard drives and requires less power to operate, thereby allowing laptops to operate faster while also being more power efficient. The Turbo memory cache connects to a motherboard via a mini-PCIe interface. It supports features available in Microsoft Windows Vista, namely Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybrid Drive
In computing, a hybrid drive (solid state hybrid drive – SSHD) is a logical or physical storage device that combines a faster storage medium such as solid-state drive (SSD) with a higher-capacity hard disk drive (HDD). The intent is adding some of the speed of SSDs to the cost-effective storage capacity of traditional HDDs. The purpose of the SSD in a hybrid drive is to act as a cache for the data stored on the HDD, improving the overall performance by keeping copies of the most frequently used data on the faster SSD drive. There are two main configurations for implementing hybrid drives: dual-drive hybrid systems and solid-state hybrid drives. In dual-drive hybrid systems, physically separate SSD and HDD devices are installed in the same computer, having the data placement optimization performed either manually by the end user, or automatically by the operating system through the creation of a "hybrid" logical device. In solid-state hybrid drives, SSD and HDD functionalities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Readydrive
Windows Vista introduced a number of new I/O functions to the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. They are intended to shorten the time taken to boot the system, improve the responsiveness of the system, and improve the reliability of data storage. I/O subsystem Vista modifies the behavior of asynchronous I/O operations. With the new asynchronous I/O APIs, a thread, different from the one that issued the I/O request, can be notified when the operation completes. With this, a single thread can issue all the I/O requests, and then switch to a different worker thread. If this thread is the one that handles the data after the I/O request completes, then a thread-switch, which causes a performance hit, may be avoided. Windows Vista also introduces synchronous I/O cancellation. During a synchronous I/O request, the application is blocked until the request is serviced or fails. In Windows Vista the application may issue a cancellation request. Applications that cancel the operat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autoplay
AutoPlay, a feature introduced in Windows 98, examines newly discovered removable media and devices and, based on content such as pictures, music or video files, launches an appropriate application to play or display the content. It is closely related to the AutoRun operating system feature. AutoPlay was created in order to simplify the use of peripheral devices – MP3 players, memory cards, USB storage devices and others – by automatically starting the software needed to access and view the content on these devices. AutoPlay can be enhanced by AutoPlay-compatible software and hardware. It can be configured by the user to associate favourite applications with AutoPlay events and actions. Overview When a user inserts a CD-ROM into a drives or attaches a USB camera, Windows detects the arrival and starts a process of examining the device or searching the medium. It is looking for properties of the device or content on the medium so that AutoPlay can present a set of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
