Bad Block/Sector
An area on the media that is damaged and thus not reliable (detected by ECC). Such areas are generally auto assigned to spare sectors
Binary
Means of storing data on media, using two digits, (i.e. 0 & 1)
Bit
Binary Digit (i.e. 0 or 1). The form in which computers process information
Block (also cluster)
A group of sectors accessed/stored as a logical unit
BIOS
(Basic Input/Output system, firmware that is permanently stored in the memory of the CPU). The BIOS ROM first performs test routines when a system is switched on. It searches for and loads the operating system from the disk and contains programs to access the system hardware
BPI
Bits per Inch, reflects Areal Density
Buffer
A part of the HDD which temporary stores data. The buffer compensates for a difference in data transfer rates and data processing rates
Byte
a number of bits, considered a unit (8 bits = 1 byte)