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B
| 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) |
