Flashcards
Memory
Cards in this deck (15)
- 1What is RAM used for?RAM (random access memory) is used as the main memory in a computer. it can be read and written to. RAM is volatile.
- 2What is volatile memory?it is temporary, it requires power to retain its data. when the device is switched off, the volatile memory goes.
- 3where are the data, files and programs stored when they're not being used?main memory
- 4what happens when a computer boots up? (in relation to the OS & memory)the OS is copied from secondary storage to RAM.
- 5what happens when files, documents and software applications are opened? (in relation to RAM)the files, documents and software applications are copied into RAM. They stay in RAM until they are closed
- 6describe the speed of RAMRAM is slower than the CPU cache, but way faster than secondary storage
- 7What happens when RAM is full?the computer moves data that hasn't been used recently into a location on secondary storage, known as virtual memory
- 8what is used if there are too many applications open at once?virtual memory is used
- 9how can a CPU read data that is on Virtual Memory?it moves the data back to RAM, because of slow data transfer rates on the virtual memory
- 10when is virtual memory slow?when switching between applications or using a memory-intensive application
- 11What is ROM?ROM is non-volatile memory, it can only be read... not written to.
- 12Where is ROM found?on a small chip in the motherboard
- 13what is the BIOS?The instructions needed to properly boot up a computer. The instructions are called the 'basic input output system'.
- 14What does the CPU get told to do when it reads instructions from ROM when the computer is booted up?The CPU is told to self check
- 15What memory do ROM chips use?flash memory
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- GCSE Computer Science (Computer Systems) Flashcards on Memory, created by Katie S on 04/05/2017.
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- Katie S
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