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Glossary of PC terms: E

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ECC (Error Correction Code) A hardware in the drive controller which allows correction of various read errors. Can typically correct a single burst error of 11 bits or less. This maximum error burst correction length is a function of the controller. With some controllers the user is allowed to select this length. 
Embedded servo system Drive design in which the data used by its servo system and user's data are stored on the same disk, unlike the designs utilizing a Dedicated Servo Track
Encoding The protocol used to write and read data on the recording media. Also see FM, MFM, RLL.
Endpoint see Device Endpoint
Endpoint address The combination of a device address and an endpoint number on a USB device.
Enhanced IDE (EIDE) EIDE is an interface which allows the attachment of up to 2 devices per connector. See also ATA-2.
Erasing data from the disk There are a few different levels of data erasure from the disk.  At first, when the file is erased, it just means that the system will not consider this data as the file, will not provide access to it, and will not prevent it from being overwritten by another data.  This means that when the file has just been erased, there is still a good chance of recovering it before it is over-written.  Later, the data that belong to this file will be replaced with another data, making file recovery impossible. This process poses a security risk, when some of the previously erased data could be accessed and recovered by a stranger.  To prevent this, there are special software programs that physically erase the file data from the media, making their recovery impossible.
Error Correction Code See ECC
ESDI (Enhanced Small Device Interface) Obsolete interface standard mostly used in hard drives. Had a data transfer rate up to 3 MB/s.

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