Power problems, protecting against, 436, 603-615
Power sags or dips, 602
Power source problems, 618
Power spikes, 601-602
Power supply (PC), 33, 319-330
and electrical problems, 329-330
form factors, 323-327
good power signal, 320-321
operational ratings, 328-329
and PC case, 323
protecting, 330-333
safety testing and certifications, 329
self-test, 320
soft switches, 321, 323
specification list, 328-329
troubleshooting, 636-637
upgrading and, 84
voltage levels, 322
Power supply, uninterruptible.SeeUPS
Power surges, 330, 601
Preventive maintenance (PM), 570-597
Preventive maintenance schedule, 570-571
Primary cache, 160
Primary partitions, 192
Primary storage, 170
Print buffer, 412-414, 417-418
Print queue, 412
Print size, 409-411
Print speed, 407-408, 413-414
Print styles, 409-410
Printed circuit boards (PCBs), 72
Printer drivers, 423, 438
Printer paper, 422-423, 429, 436
Printer standards, 435-436
Printers, 20, 401-439
characteristics, 407-411
cleaning and maintenance, 436, 437-438,
581-585
connecting to a network, 436-437
connecting to a PC, 434-436
dot matrix printhead, 413-414
evolution of, 402
and fonts and typefaces, 409-410
impact vs. nonimpact, 408
network-ready, 436
safeguards, 436-438
setting u pin Windows, 438-439
shared over a network, 436-437
and text and graphics, 408
type quality, 407-408
types and technologies, 402-411
Priority resolver (PR), 297
Processor, defined, 40.See alsoCPUs
Processor cache, 60
Processor cooling, 50-54, 626-627
Processor generations, 88
Programmable interrupt controllers (PICs), 287,
296-298Programmable read-only memory (PROM),
118, 130
Programmed I/O (PIO), 186, 306
Protocol gateway, 523
Pseudo-Static RAM (PSRAM), 137
PS/2 connectors, 463, 499
PS/2 mouse, 91
PS/2 power supply form factor, 325
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN),
510, 529 Q
QuickTime movies, 557 R
Radiant cooling, 51
Radio frequency (RF) connection, 464
Radio frequency interfaces, 499
Radio frequency interference (RFI), 330
RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User
Service), 531
RAID and RAID levels, 195-196
RAM (random access memory), 132, 134,
136-140, 161, 266
RAM/bus speeds, 135
RAMDAC (RAM digital to analog converter),
146, 256, 270
Random access, 132-133
Raster graphics, 387-388
Raster Image Processor (RIP), 386, 430
Raster vs. vector graphics, 386-389
Read the fantastic manual (RTFM), 308
Read/write heads
actuators, 179-180
floppy disk drive, 198
hard disk drive, 175-179
Real 3D cards, 265
RealAudio files, 553
RealNetworks, 559-560
RealPlayer streaming media client, 559
RealVideo tools, 560
Recording past problems for troubleshooting,
619-620
Red Book standard, 203
Reflective LCD, 391
Refresh (display) and refresh rates, 267, 377,
382-383
Registers (system), 134
Repeaters (networking), 521
Repetitive stress injuries, 455
Resistance, 33
Resistors, 36, 316
Resource conflicts, 249-251, 291-292, 307-310(^648) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide