Knowledge Center
Technical Glossary
Explanations of technical terms commonly used in electronics and computer repair.
- Artifact
- Colored dots, lines, or block distortions appearing on the display due to faults in the GPU memory or processor.
- BGA
- Ball Grid Array — a package type used for soldering integrated circuits to a board, featuring solder balls on the underside.
- BIOS / UEFI
- This is the fundamental software that manages the computer's startup and hardware settings. When corrupted, the device may fail to boot; it can be reflashed using an SPI programmer.
- Component-Level Repair
- Instead of replacing the entire board, the faulty electronic component (integrated circuit, resistor, capacitor, etc.) is identified and repaired.
- Corrosion
- It is the wear/rusting that forms on the circuit board after liquid contact. If not addressed early, it damages the conductive traces.
- EC (Embedded Controller)
- It is the embedded controller that manages functions such as power, charging, keyboard, and fan in laptops. When its firmware becomes corrupted, power-on/charging issues may occur.
- GPU (Graphics Card)
- It is the component that carries out graphics operations. Overheating and power circuit failures cause loss of display or image corruption (artifacts).
- MOSFET
- A semiconductor component used for switching and current control in power circuits. When it fails, it can cause short circuit or no-power-on issues.
- Motherboard
- It is the main circuit board that connects all the components of a computer to each other. The processor, memory, graphics card, and other parts communicate through the motherboard.
- Oscilloscope
- A measurement device that displays electrical signals along the time axis. It facilitates fault detection in power supply and signal analysis.
- PWM / VRM
- The power regulation circuit that provides stable voltage to the processor and components. Faults in this area can prevent the device from turning on at all.
- Reball / BGA Reball
- This is the process of renewing the micro solder balls on the bottom surface of the BGA chip. It is applied in failures caused by poor contact.
- Short Circuit
- When electrical current flows through a low-resistance path instead of the intended path; it leads to excessive current and overheating.
- Soldering
- The process of connecting electronic components to a circuit board. In component repair, precise soldering is performed under a microscope.
- Thermal Camera
- A device used to detect abnormally heating areas and short circuits by imaging surface temperatures.
- Thermal Paste / Pad
- It is the material that provides heat transfer between the processor or chip and the cooler. Over time, it can dry out and lead to overheating problems.
- VRAM
- It is the graphics card's own memory. Faulty VRAM causes display issues such as artifacts and instability.