| Term | Description |
| Backup | Backups can be made by copying files under a different name or by copying them to another directory, another drive, or a different storage media. Backups are used to replace or restore files if they should become lost or corrupted. |
| Backward Compatible | Refers to new hardware and software that is able to support older, existing technologies. People would be a lot less likely to purchase a new piece of hardware or software if it wouldn't support all their old programs or read their previous data files. |
| Bandwidth | Bandwidth is the range of frequencies that a communication cable or channel can carry. In the computer world, it generally refers to the amount of data that can be carried by a specific cable or bus. |
| Bitmapped Image | An image in which pixels are arranged in a grid format, like a sheet of graph paper. The colors and arrangement of the pixels form the picture. This type f graphic is also called a "raster" image. Examples of bitmapped formats include .BMP (Windows Bitmap) and TIFF (tagged-image file format). |
| Binary Number System | In our everyday lives we use a decimal numbering system containing 10 digits, 0 through 9. Computers use a binary numbering system which contains only 2 numbers, 0 and 1, called binary digits or bits. |
| BIOS | Basic Input Output System - Sometimes called the ROM Bios, this is firmware that controls most of your computers basic input and output functions such as communications with the drives or the system memory. |
| BMP | Bit mapped file. A type of graphics file that is stored and written as a series of binary digits or bits arranged in a grid format. The files have a .bmp extension and can be viewed, changed, or printed from any graphics program that supports that format. See Bitmapped Image. |
| Boot Record | The boot record on your hard drives are at the beginning of each logical partition and contain info about that drive. If the boot record is on the active or bootable partition then it also contains start up procedure that boots the Operating System. This is different from the Master Boot Record. |
| Bootable Disk | A floppy disk that contains the necessary system files that will complete the computers boot up sequence and load a basic Operating System. |
| Booting | The process and functions that a computer goes through when it first starts up, ending in the proper loading of the Operating System and preparing it to receive commands. |
| Braindump | Writing down everything you can think of about a certain subject. Often, after cramming for an exam, the first thing a student will do once he's seated at the exam centre, is write down as much info as he can remember (tables, dates, names and pertinent memorized data). A braindump after an exam refers to writing down as many of the questions that can be remembered from the actual test. This can help other students to study for the same exam. |
| Buffer | A temporary storage area in a computer's memory that holds recent changes and other information to be transferred to another device in larger blocks. This helps tremendously to speed up the computing process. Access to RAM is much faster than access to a hard drive or printer. Instead of accessing a hard drive hundreds or even thousands of times, the information is stored in the much faster buffer until it reaches a pre-determined size. It is then dumped (written) to the drive in a single access. This is repeated continually. |
| Bullet | Small graphical elements used to set off items in a list. Instead of numbering each item in a list, you will often see small dots, dashes, arrows, squares, etc. to make each item in a list stand out from the other. These are called bullets. |
| Bus | The electronic pathways that link different devices to each other. In a computer, these pathways can carry data and information in digital form (binary digits or 'bits') to and from each of the different components (CPU, RAM, expansion cards, etc.) The amount of data that can be moved along a bus is determined by the number of lines or connections it has for moving binary information. For instance, a 32-bit bus will have 32 connectors and be able to move 32 bits at a time. It would be considered 32 bits wide. |
| Bus Speed | The speed (measured in megahertz, MHz) at which information or data can move across the bus on the motherboard. |
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