Serial presence detect Serial presence detect In computing, serial presence detect (SPD) is a standardized way to automatically access information about a memory module. Earlier 72-pin SIMMs included five pins that provided five bits of "parallel presence detect" (PPD) data, but the 168-pin DIMM standard changed to a serial presence detect to encode much more information. When an ordinary modern computer is turned on, it starts by doing a power-on self-test (POST). Since about the mid-1990s, this process includes automatically configuring the hardware currently present. SPD is a memory hardware feature that makes it possible for the computer to know what memory is
Serial port a 9-pin D-subminiature connector is not sufficient to indicate the connection is in fact a serial port, since this connector is also used for video, joysticks, and other purposes. Some miniaturized electronics, particularly graphing calculators and hand-held amateur and two-way radio equipment, have serial ports using a phone connector, usually the smaller 2.5 or 3.5 mm connectors and use the most basic 3-wire interface. Many models of Macintosh favor the related RS-422 standard, mostly using German mini-DIN connectors, except in the earliest models. The Macintosh included a standard set of two ports for connection to a printer and a modem,