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Electronics Repair Glossary

A comprehensive A-Z glossary of electronics and repair terminology.

Beginner to Advanced Step-by-step knowledge Free to read
A B C D E F

Electronics Repair Glossary

A complete A-Z reference of electronics and repair terminology.

A
Alternating Current (AC)
Electrical current that now and then reverses direction, as used in household power supplies.
Ampere (A)
The unit of electrical current; the rate of electron flow equal to one coulomb per second.
custom chip
Application-Specific Integrated Circuit — a chip built for a specific purpose rather than general computation.
ATX
Advanced Technology eXtended — the standard form factor for PC motherboards and power supplies.
B
Ball Grid Array (BGA)
A surface-mount IC package using solder balls for connection rather than pins.
system firmware
Basic Input/Output System / Unified Extensible Firmware Interface — firmware that initializes hardware before OS loading.
Blue Screen of Death (blue-screen)
A fatal error screen shown by some working systems when the kernel hits an unrecoverable error.
Bus
A shared communication pathway that transfers data between parts in a computer.
C
Capacitor
An electronic part that stores electrical energy in an electric field between two conductive plates.
Clock Speed
The frequency at which a processor executes instructions, measured in GHz (gigahertz).
CMOS battery
A small backup battery on the motherboard that keeps firmware settings and the real-time clock.
CPU
Central Processing Unit — the primary processor that executes program instructions.
D
DDR system memory
Double Data Rate Synchronous memory — the standard RAM type used in modern computers.
Diode
A semiconductor part that allows current flow in only one direction.
Direct Current (DC)
Electrical current that flows in one direction only, as made by batteries and power supplies.
Driver (device)
Software that allows the working system to communicate with hardware devices.
E
Electrolytic Capacitor
A type of capacitor using liquid electrolyte, offering high capacitance — prone to failure from heat and age.
EMI
Electromagnetic Interference — unwanted electrical noise that disrupts circuit work.
ESD
Electrostatic Discharge — the sudden flow of electricity caused by two objects of different charge coming into contact.
F
Firmware
Software permanently stored in hardware parts that controls their basic work.
Form Factor
The physical dimensions and specifications of a computer part (ATX, Mini-ITX, etc.)
G
GPU
Graphics Processing Unit — a specialized processor for rendering graphics and visual computations.
Ground
The electrical reference point (0V) in a circuit against which all other voltages are measured.
H
Heat Pipe
A sealed tube holding a working fluid that efficiently transfers heat through phase change.
HDD
Hard Disk Drive — a storage device using spinning magnetic platters and moving read/write heads.
I
IC (Integrated Circuit)
A miniaturized electronic circuit fabricated on a semiconductor material.
transistor
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor — a high-voltage, high-current transistor used in power electronics.
IRQ
Interrupt Request — a signal from hardware to the CPU requesting immediate attention.
L
LCD
Liquid Crystal Display — a display technology using liquid crystals to modulate light.
LED
Light-Emitting Diode — a semiconductor light source used in displays and indicators.
Logic Board
The main circuit board in a device (often called a motherboard in desktops and a logic board in some compact devices).
M
Multimeter
A test instrument that measures voltage, current, and resistance.
M.
A form factor for solid-state drives and expansion cards in laptops and desktops.
MOSFET
Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor — a common transistor type used for switching and amplification.
N
Flash Memory
The type of non-volatile memory used in SSDs and USB drives.
NVMe
Non-Volatile Memory Express — a protocol for accessing flash SSDs via PCIe.
O
Ohm (Ω)
The unit of electrical resistance.
organic-LED
Organic Light-Emitting Diode — a display technology where each pixel makes its own light.
Oscilloscope
A test instrument that displays electrical signals as waveforms on a screen.
P
PCB
Printed Circuit Board — a board with conductive traces and pads that mechanically supports and electrically connects parts.
PCIe
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express — a high-speed bus interface for GPUs, SSDs, and expansion cards.
self-test
The hardware test done by system firmware at startup.
PSU
Power Supply Unit — converts AC mains power to controlled DC voltages for computer parts.
R
RAM
Random Access Memory — volatile memory used by the processor for active data storage.
Resistor
A part that opposes the flow of electric current, dissipating energy as heat.
RMA
Return Merchandise Authorization — the process for returning defective hardware to a maker.
S
storage-bus
Serial ATA — an interface for connecting storage devices like HDDs and SSDs.
Solder
A low-melting-point metal alloy used to create permanent electrical and mechanical connections on PCBs.
SSD
Solid-State Drive — a storage device using flash-based memory with no moving parts.
SMART
Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology — a system for monitoring storage drive health.
T
T-Con Board
Timing Controller board — makes timing signals for LCD panel row and column drivers.
Thermal Paste
A thermally conductive compound applied between processor and heatsink to improve heat transfer.
Transistor
A semiconductor device used for switching and amplification in electronic circuits.
U
USB
Universal Serial Bus — a standard interface for connecting peripheral devices.
UART
Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter — a hardware communication protocol for serial data.
V
Volt (V)
The unit of electrical potential difference (voltage).
VRM
Voltage Regulator Module — converts PSU voltage to precise levels needed by CPU and other parts.
W
Watt (W)
The unit of electrical power; equal to voltage multiplied by current.
WiFi
Wireless Fidelity — the brand name for IEEE 802. 11 wireless networking standards.
Z
Zener Diode
A type of diode built to allow current to flow in reverse when voltage reaches a specific level. used for voltage rule.
Informational Notice: This content is for educational purposes only. RepairsOnWheel does not provide repair services or technical support. For hands-on work on your device, please reach out to a trained professional in your area.