Knowledge base
Electronics and laptop repair glossary
22 terms explained in plain English — from voltage and resistance to power-good signals, SPI flash and boardview formats. Every entry shows how the idea appears on a real laptop motherboard and how to measure or check it at the bench.
Topics
- Electrical BasicsVoltage, current, resistance, power and the laws that tie them together — explained for people who fix boards.10 terms
- Passive ComponentsResistors, capacitors, inductors, fuses, ferrite beads and crystals: what they do on a laptop board and how they fail.1 terms
- SemiconductorsDiodes, MOSFETs, transistors and the small ICs you meet in every power and signal path.1 terms
- Power DeliveryRails, regulators, chargers, sequencing signals and the language of laptop power circuits.1 terms
- Signals and BusesI2C, SMBus, SPI, eSPI, PCIe, USB, eDP and the control signals that bring a board to life.3 terms
- Board AnatomyPCH, EC, BIOS chip, connectors, layers, vias and the physical parts of a motherboard.6 terms
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- ODM (Original Design Manufacturer)An ODM designs and builds products that another company sells under its own brand. Compal, Quanta, Wistron, I…
- Ohm's LawOhm's law links voltage, current and resistance: V = I × R. It explains voltage drops, short circuits and mos…
- Open CircuitAn open circuit is a break in a current path, so no current can flow. On laptop boards it comes from blown fu…
- Open-Drain OutputAn open-drain output can only pull a line low; a pull-up resistor makes it high. Power-good, reset, interrupt…