Computer term: "
Extended System Configuration Data", a
format for storing
configuration information about
plug and play (
PnP) devices, present on a computer
system, in the
CMOS memory. The ESCD is read at
boot-up, first by the
BIOS and later by the
operating system. The data is
updated each time PnP-
hardware is added or removed from the system, and it can also be
manually overridden through the
OS if desired.
The ESCD saves time and work for the BIOS since most of the time the hardware will not have changed each and every time the computer is started up, and the information in the ESCD can be used without any need for further configuration.