This document defines common terms used in data recovery and computing including: - Bad block - A portion of a hard disk or memory that cannot be used due to permanent damage. - BIOS - A set of commands that manages input/output functions between the operating system and computer devices. - Bit - A basic unit of digital data that is expressed as a 0 or 1. - Block - A group of bytes that is stored, transferred, and accessed as a whole data unit. - Boot - The process the computer follows on startup to load the operating system, including cold booting from being switched off and warm booting to just start the operating system. - Buffer - A

1. B ‐ Data Recovery Glossary
Bad block – A block A portion of hard disk or memory which cannot be used because
of permanent damage. The damage could be a physical damage to the disk’s surface
or the damage to the signals omitted for data transfer.
Bandwidth – Defined as the data transfer rate or the amount of data transferred
from one point to another at any given time interval.
BIOS – Abbreviation for Basic Input/Output System. In simple words BIOS is a set of
commands in any operating system which manages input and output functions. BIOS
manage data flow between operating system of the computer and other computer
devices such as hard disk, printer, keyboard, mouse etc.
Bit – A bit is a basic unit of data and information in digital communication. It is a
single digit in binary language and is expressed either 0 or 1. Bits when grouped
together make up characters, bytes or words. 100 megabits per second means 100
million units of data are transmitted in the time of one second.
Bit density – The number of bits transmitted per unit of length or area on a hard disk
or any other storage device.
Block – A group of bytes grouped together make up blocks in computing networks.
Blocks are considered as an individual data unit and stored, transferred and accessed
as a whole. The concept of block programming has been originated in many
computer languages but the pioneer languages are ALGOL and C. A blocked
structured programming language consists of blocks nested within other blocks.
Boot – In simple words boot means to start up the computer. It is in fact the various
steps that the computer follows after it is witched on. Booting process goes on until
the operating system of the computer is eventually loaded and is ready to use.
Booting is of two kinds:


Cold Booting: When the computer is switched on from being switched off.
Warm booting: When only operating system is started without being switched off.
Boot Disk – A disk that has magnetic tendencies (hard disk) and which aids in the
loading (bootstrapped) of an operating system known as kernel. The operating
systems MS‐DOS and Microsoft Windows ? can be configured in the system when
trying to boot off, in two ways either choose hard disk, or the floppy. There is also an
option in other modern systems where a CD or removable devices can also be used.
There is a special floppy disk used to boot, which can be developed in the operating

2. system, it will help the computer to carry out the process of booting the computer
even if the hard disk cannot be managed.
Boot Record – Before the process of boot starts, it is first determined by the BIOS,
which disk to treat first. Once it has been determined, the disk is loaded into the
memory and boot begins. Loading of the disk is carried out by the loader program,
and also it contains the divider table. It is a very important component and if
damaged, can be a grave problem.
Boot Sector – Boot Record to be referred.
Bootstrap – Boot is interchangeably used for bootstrap as an abbreviation. Bootstrap
means the loading and initializing on the computer of an operating system.
BPI – The abbreviation stands for bits per inch. This unit of measure signifies the
information density which is present on the hard drive. It shows the density of bites.
Buffer – The differences caused by the varying transfer rates of data between the
sender and receiver are managed in a temporary storage region, which balances it
out. E‐g the copies to be printed are buffered by the printer itself andsaved till the
time printing is started.
Buffer Bandwidth – It is the rate at which the data from the buffer is transferred.
Buffer under Run – When a stable stream of data cannot be maintained by the
system to the CD recording software, then buffer under run occurs. The CD recorder
has a backup system, where the buffer continuously saves the data which is present
in the system to avoid problems when the system slows down or crashes. But when
before the system can recover any data, if the buffer is emptied or cleaned up, then
this situation takes over i‐e buffer under run
Build to order – It is when a computer is assembled upon the order of a customer
but not to be docked up in the inventory for later mass shipments. This build to
order approach was first incorporated by DELL computers, which was later adopted
by Gateway. Now this path is being followed by other giant players in the PC industry
i‐e HP, IBM and Compaq etc.
Bus – It is a collection of a wide range of connections and wires, which are necessary
for the functioning of a computer. It is a set of conductors which is used within the
central processing unit as well as in the external memory. The greater the width of
the bus, the higher its performance will be. Its width is described in terms of the
number of parallel connectors.
Business Model – It is the complete picture of a business in terms of its product,
pricing mix, marketing strategies, financials, and other calculations.

3. Burst Mode Transfer rate – The speed of transfer for buffer RAM on the hard disk is
known as burst mode transfer rate. This rate of transfer is not affected by the delays
in the latencies and doesn’t play the host of any type of delays.
Byte – Byte is a collection of 8 binary digits. Its singular is known as bit and is the
single unit. The amount of data a disk can store is measured in terms of megabytes.
This measuring unit signifies the total number of bits it has, divided by 8 million.
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