Computer Science Test 4 Nddc Scholarship

MDA, EGA, and VGA are all historical milestones in display technology. VGA (640x480) became a long-standing baseline. 'SVA' is not a standard term; the correct term for the evolution beyond VGA is SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array), which supported higher resolutions like 800x600 and more colors.

Dot-matrix printers use a series of small pins in the print head to strike an ink ribbon. If the characters are cut in half horizontally, it indicates that the top row(s) of pins in the print head are not firing. This is usually due to a mechanical failure within the print head or a burnt-out solenoid controlling those specific pins.

The Data Bus must be bi-directional because the CPU needs to both send data to memory (write) and receive data from it (read). In contrast, the Address Bus is unidirectional; the CPU only sends address information out to the memory and I/O devices to tell them which location it wants to interact with.

Mechanical mice use a rubber ball that turns two internal rollers (X and Y axes). Over time, these rollers collect dust, hair, and oils from the desk surface, forming a layer of grime. This prevents the rollers from spinning smoothly, causing the on-screen cursor to skip, stutter, or move erratically until the rollers are manually cleaned.

While many modern optical and gaming mice feature decorative LEDs or status lights, a 'light showing proper connection' is not a fundamental functional component of the average mouse design. The core components are the buttons for input, a sensor (ball or optical) for movement, and a connection method (cable or wireless).

ASCII is the standard for English characters. EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code) is a character encoding used primarily on IBM mainframe systems. Unicode is the modern global standard designed to represent every character from every language in the world, ensuring universal compatibility across different systems.

The Memory Bus is the physical set of wires that connects the CPU directly to the system's RAM. It consists of the data bus and the address bus working together. Its speed, often referred to as the Front Side Bus (FSB) speed in older architectures, determines how quickly the processor can fetch instructions and data from memory to be processed.

Standard x86 processor modes include Real Mode (used during boot-up), Protected Mode (allowing multitasking and memory protection), and Virtual 8086 Mode (running DOS apps within a protected OS). 'Virtual mode' is a generic term rather than a specific hardware execution state like the others, which dictate how the CPU handles memory addresses and task switching.

Every video adapter requires an Integrated Video Controller IC (Integrated Circuit). This specialized chip is responsible for generating the video signal sent to the monitor. It manages the video memory (VRAM) and converts digital data from the CPU into the visual signals (analog or digital) required to display images on the screen.

The CONFIG.SYS file is a configuration file used by DOS and early Windows versions to load device drivers and memory managers into memory before the operating system fully starts. Commands like 'DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS' are placed here to enable access to extended memory, which is essential for running more complex applications.