Coldplugging is often taken to mean the opposite of hotplugging. In other words, the inability of a (computer) system to add or remove hardware without powering the system down. Examples of devices that are coldpluggable include PCI (some PCI chipsets have hotplug support, however, but these are very expensive and almost exclusively used in server systems), ISA and IDE devices. Hot swapping (or Hotplugging) is the ability to remove and replace components of a machine, usually a computer, while it is operating. ... A drawing of the everyday computer. ... For other meanings of PCI, see PCI (disambiguation). ... In computing, a server is: A computer software application that carries out some task (i. ... Industry Standard Architecture (in practice almost always shortened to ISA) is a computer bus standard for IBM compatibles. ... ATA cables: 40 wire ribbon cable top, 80 wire ribbon cable bottom Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA), is a standard interface for connecting storage devices such as hard disks and CD-ROM drives inside personal computers. ...

In most computer systems, CPUs and memory are coldpluggable, but it is common for high-end servers and mainframes to feature hotplug capability of these components. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The terms storage (U.K.) or memory (U.S.) refer to the parts of a digital computer that retain physical state (data) for some interval of time, possibly even after electrical power to the computer is turned off. ... Mainframes (often colloquially referred to as big iron) are large and expensive computers used mainly by government institutions and large companies for legacy applications, typically bulk data processing (such as censuses, industry/consumer statistics, ERP, and bank transaction processing). ...

Sometimes, devices that would be hotpluggable may appear to only be coldpluggable because of deficiancies in the system software. For example, PS/2 devices are generally hotpluggable, but Microsoft Windows 95 and related operating systems would commonly have to be rebooted every time a PS/2 mouse was replaced, in order to detect the new mouse. Likewise, S-ATA devices are hotpluggable, but the Linux S-ATA implementation, as of this writing, requires either rebooting or reloading of the corresponding device drivers in order to detect added or removed S-ATA devices. In computing, an operating system (OS) is the system software responsible for the direct control and management of hardware and basic system operations. ... The Personal System/2 or PS/2 was IBMs second generation of personal computers. ... The Start button made its debut in Windows 95. ... Feral mouse A mouse is a mammal that belongs to one of numerous species of small rodents in the genus Mus and various related genera of the family Muridæ (Old World Mice). ... A SATA power connector. ... Tux, a cartoon penguin frequently featured sitting, is the official Linux mascot. ... A device driver, often called a driver for short, is a computer program that enables another program (typically, an operating system) to interact with a hardware device. ...

As mentioned in the article on hot swap, the terms hot plug and cold plug, can be taken to mean two different things, depending on the context. In a more generic contexts, hot plug is the ability to add or remove hardware without powering down the system, while cold plug is the inability to do so. In the context of comparing certain hot pluggable devices, however, hot plug can be taken to mean the ability of the system to autonomously detect the addition or removal of hardware as it occurs, while cold plug can be taken to mean the ability to add or remove devices without powering down or rebooting the system, but the inability of the system to detect these changes, in which case the system operator would have to tell the system software that the change has occurred. Hot swapping is the ability to remove and replace components of a machine, usually a computer, while it is operating. ...

See also

Hot swap Hot swapping is the ability to remove and replace components of a machine, usually a computer, while it is operating. ...

External links

Status of Linux S-ATA hotplug implementation as of August 12, 2005