CBLM For Chs

COMPETENCY BASED
LEARNING MATERIAL
Sector:
Information and Communications Technology
Qualification:
Computer Hardware Servicing NCII
Unit of Competency:
Install Computer Systems and Networks
Code No. Date Date Page #
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ELC724318 Installing Computer Systems and
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Module Title:
Installing Computer Systems and Networks
ANDRES SORIANO COLLEGES OF BISLIG

Andres Soriano Avenue
Mangagoy, Bislig City
NATIONAL CERTIFICATE LEVEL 2

QUALIFICATION LEVEL
COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING MATERIALS
No. Unit of Competency Module Title Code
 1 Install Computer Installing Computer ELC724318

Systems and Systems and
Networks Networks
2. Diagnose and Troubleshoot Diagnosing and ELC724319

Computer Systems Troubleshooting
Computer Systems
3. Configure Computer Configuring Computer ELC724320

Systems and Networks Systems and Networks
4. Maintain computer systems Maintaining computer ELC724321

and networks systems and networks

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HOW TO USE THIS COMPETENCY BASED LEARNING
MATERIAL
Welcome to the Module “Installing Computer Systems and Networks”.

This module contains training materials and activities for you to complete.
The unit of competency “Install Computer Systems and Networks”

contains the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for a Computer
Hardware and Servicing NCII. This is one of the four core modules for
National Certificate Level II (NC II).
You are required to go through a series of learning activities in order to

complete each of the learning outcomes of the module. In each learning
outcome there are Information Sheets, Operation Sheets and Job Sheets
(Reference Materials) for further reading to help you better understand the
required activities. Follow these activities on your own and answer the self-
check at the end of each learning activity. You may remove a blank answer
sheet at the end of each module (or get one from your facilitator/trainer) to
write your answers for each self-check.
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask your facilitator for assistance.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
You may already have some or most of the knowledge and skills covered in
this module because you have:
 been working for some time

 already completed training in this area.
If you can demonstrate to your trainer that you are competent in a particular
skill or skills, talk to him/her about having them formally recognized so you
don’t have to do the same training again. If you have a qualification or
Certificate of Competency from previous trainings, show it to your trainer. If
the skills you acquired are still current and relevant to this module, they may
become part of the evidence you can present for RPL. If you are not sure
about the currency of your skills, discuss this with your trainer.
After completing this module ask your trainer to assess your competency.
Result of your assessment will be recorded in your competency profile. All the
learning activities are designed for you to complete at your own pace.
Inside this module you will find the activities for you to complete and at the
back are the relevant information sheets for each learning outcome. Each
learning outcome may have more than one learning activities.

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At the end of this module is a Learner’s Diary. Use this diary to record
important dates, jobs undertaken and other workplace events that will assist
you in providing further details to your trainer or an assessor. A Record of
Achievement is also provided for your trainer to complete once you complete
the module.
This module was prepared to help you achieve the required competency in
computer hardware servicing. This will be the source of information for you to
acquire knowledge and skills in this particular trade independently and at your
own pace, with minimum supervision or help from your trainer.

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 Talk to your trainer and agree on how you will both organize the
Training of this module. Read through the material carefully. It is
divided into sections, which cover all the skills, and knowledge you
need to successfully complete this module.
 Work through all the information and complete the activities in each
section. Read information sheets and complete the self-check.
Suggested references are included to supplement the materials
provided in this module.
 Your trainer will tell you about the important things you need to
consider when you are completing activities and it is important that you
listen and take notes.
 You will be given plenty of opportunity to ask questions and do actual

hands-on practice. Take every opportunity to practice your new skills at
home or at your place of work. This way you will improve both your
speed and memory and also your confidence.
 Talk to more experience workmates and ask for their guidance.
 Use the self-check questions at the end of each section to test your
own progress.
 When you are ready, ask your trainer to watch you perform the
activities outlined in this module.
 As you work through the activities, ask for written feedback on your
progress. Your trainer keeps feedback/ pre-assessment reports for this
reason. When you have successfully completed each element, ask
your trainer to mark on the reports that you are ready for assessment.
 When you have completed this module (or several modules), and feel
confident that you have had sufficient practice, your trainer will arrange
an appointment with a registered assessor to assess you. The results
of your assessment will be recorded in your competency Achievement
Record.

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Qualification : Computer Hardware and Servicing NC II
Unit of Competency : Install Computer Systems and Networks
Module Title : Installing Computer Systems and Networks
Introduction :
This module covers the required skills in installing, assembling and testing
computers and common peripherals.
It consists of three (3) Learning Outcomes that contain learning activities for
both knowledge and skills supported with information sheet, job/operation
sheet and self-check. Before attempting to perform the manual exercises,
see to it that you have already read and understood the information/operating
sheet and answer correctly the self-check provided in every Learning Activity.
Upon completion of this module, you have to undergo the assessment to be

administered by your instructor. A certificate of completion (COC) will be given
to you as a proof that you met the standard requirements for this module. The
assessment could be made in different methods as prescribed in the
competency standards.
Learning Outcomes :
At the end of this module you will able to:
1. Plan and prepare for installation

2. Install equipment / device system
3. Conduct test on the installed equipment/device system
Assessment Criteria:
1. Installation planned and prepared to ensure that safety measures,

policies and procedures followed, and that work is appropriately
sequenced in accordance with the industry standards
2. Occupational health and safety policies and procedures followed in
installing computer systems, network devices, and peripherals
3. Computer systems, network devices and peripherals installed
obtained in accordance with the established procedures and to
comply with requirements
4. Appropriate procedures in installing computer systems, network
devices and peripherals achieve in accordance with requirements
without damage or distortion to the surrounding environment and
services
5. On going checks of the quality of the quality of the work undertaken
in accordance with the established procedures
6. Devices/systems and/or installation tested to terminated in
accordance with the industry requirements
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7. Parts and/or connections removed for testing returned to pre-test
conditions in accordance with established procedures
8. Final inspections undertaken to ensure that the installed
devices/systems conforms to requirements
9. Documents in relation to the test forwarded to appropriate
personnel and/or authority in accordance with requirements
Pre-requisite:
None
Qualification : Computer Hardware and Servicing NC II
Module Title : Installing Computer Systems and Networks
Learning Outcome #1: Plan and prepare for installation
Assessment Criteria:
1. Computer systems and network devices are identified and their

functions explained.
2. Tools, equipment and testing devices needed to carry out the
installation work are properly identified and their functions
explained.
Resources:
 PC or workstation
 Tools and test instruments
 Appropriate software applications/programs
 CD’s, Tapes, Transparencies, Books

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Learning Outcome: Plan and Prepare for Installation
Learning Activities Special Instructions
1. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating
types of computers. Read Info Sheet L01-1,
a. Introduction to Computers L01-2 and L01-3
b. Personal Computers
c. Mainframe Computers Answer Self Check L01-3a
d. Supercomputers
e. Servers Read Info Sheet L01-4,
f. Minicomputers L01-5 and L01-6.
2. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating Answer all self checks that

computer hardware peripherals. follow
a. Input Devices
b. Output Devices Go to the learning center to
c. Storage Devices view a multimedia
d. Processors presentation of Computer
101.
3. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating Read Info Sheet L01-7

computer networks, its components and its Answer Self Check L01-7a
functions.

between systems software. Answer Self Check L01-8a

how individual computer components fit into Answer Self Check L01-9a
the whole.
6. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating

typical tools used in computer servicing
hardware servicing.

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Information Sheet LO1-1
Introduction to Computers
What is a computer?
A computer is an electronic device that executes the instructions in a program.
A computer has four functions:
a. accepts data
Input
b. processes
data Processing
c. produces
output Output
d. stores
results Storage The Information
Processing Cycle
Some Beginning Terms

the physical parts of the computer.
Hardware
the programs (instructions) that tell the computer
Software what to do
individual facts like first name, price, quantity
Data ordered
data which has been massaged into a useful form,
Information like a complete mailing address
the original settings; what will happen if you don't
Default change anything.
What makes a computer powerful?
A computer can do billions of actions per

Speed
second.

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Failures are usually due to human error,
Reliability
one way or another.
A computer can keep huge amounts of

Storage
data.
Different Computer Types

There is a computer for every use under heaven, or so it seems. Let's look at the kinds
of computers that there are, based on general performance levels.
Personal or micro
Computers for personal use come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny PDAs (personal
digital assistant) to hefty PC (personal computer) towers. More specialized models are
announced each week - trip planners, expense account pads, language translators...
Hand-held (HPC) PDA Tablet PC Laptop/Notebook
Desktop Tower Workstation

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Descriptions of Personal Computers
When talking about PC computers, most people probably think of the desktop type,
which are designed to sit on your desk. (Bet you figured that one out!) The tower and
the smaller mini-tower style cases have become popular as people started needing
more room for extra drives inside. Repairmen certainly appreciate the roominess
inside for all the cables and circuit boards ... and their knuckles.
A workstation is part of a computer network and generally would be expected to

have more than a regular desktop PC of most everything, like memory, storage space,
and speed.
The market for the smallest PCs is expanding rapidly. Software is becoming available
for the small types of PC like the palmtop (PPC) and handheld (HPC). This new
software is based on new operating systems like Windows CE (for Consumer
Electronics). You may find simplified versions of the major applications you use. One
big advantage for the newer programs is the ability to link the small computers to
your home or work computer and coordinate the data. So you can carry a tiny
computer like a PalmPilot around to enter new phone numbers and appointments and
those great ideas you just had. Then later you can move this information to your main
computer.
With a Tablet PC you use an electronic stylus to write on the screen, just like with a
pen and paper, only your words are in digital ink. The Tablet PC saves your work just
like you wrote it (as a picture), or you can let the Hand Recognition (HR) software
turn your chicken-scratches into regular text.

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Main Frame
The main frame is the workhorse of the business

world. A main frame is the heart of a network of
computers or terminals which allows hundreds of
people to work at the same time on the same data. It
requires a special environment - cold and dry.
Supercomputers
The supercomputer is the top of the heap in power
and expense. These are used for jobs that take
massive amounts of calculating, like weather
forecasting, engineering design and testing, serious
decryption, economic forecasting, etc.
The first Cray supercomputer

was introduced in 1976
Other Important Terms
Server
The term server actually refers to a computer's function

rather than to a specific kind of computer. A server runs
a network of computers. It handles the sharing of
equipment like printers and the communication
between computers on the network. For such tasks a
computer would need to be somewhat more capable
than a desktop computer. It would need:
 more power
 larger memory
 larger storage capacity
 high speed communications

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Minicomputer
The minicomputer has become less important since the PC has gotten so powerful on
its own. In fact, the ordinary new PC is much more powerful than minicomputers used
to be. Originally this size was developed to handle specific tasks, like engineering and
CAD calculations, that tended to tie up the main frame.
Input Devices
What is Input?
Input
Proc
essin
g
Out
put
Stor
age
Everything we tell the computer is Input.
Types of Input
Data is the raw facts given to the computer.
Programs are the sets of instructions that direct the computer.
Commands are special codes or key words that the user inputs to perform a task, like
RUN "ACCOUNTS". These can be selected from a menu of commands like "Open"
on the File menu. They may also be chosen by clicking on a command button.

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User response is the user's answer to the computer's question, such as choosing OK,
YES, or NO or by typing in text, for example the name of a file.
Keyboard
The first input device we will look at is the Keyboard. It is the most often used input
device. The layout of the keys was borrowed from the typewriter with a number of
new keys added. Several variations are popular and special designs are used in some
companies. The keyboards shown below put the function keys in different places. The
Enter and Backspace keys are different shapes and sizes. One has arrow keys while
the other doesn't. It's enough to confuse a person's fingers!!
The backslash key has at least 3 popular placements: at the end of the numbers row,
above the Enter key, and beside the Enter key. We also have the Windows keyboards
which have two extra keys. One pops up the Start Menu and the other displays the
right-click context sensitive menu. Ergonomic keyboards even have a different shape,
curved to fit the natural fall of the wrists.
Input Devices (Pointing Devices)

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A variety of pointing devices are used to move the cursor on the screen.
The most commonly used ones have two or three buttons to click for special
functions.
A ball underneath rolls as the mouse moves across the mouse pad.
The cursor on the screen follows the motion of the mouse. Buttons
on the mouse can be clicked or double-clicked to perform tasks, like
Mouse to select an icon on the screen or to open the selected document.
Many recent mice have a scroll wheel as the middle button.
There are new mice that don't have a ball at all. They use a laser to sense the
motion of the mouse instead. High tech!
Advantage: Moves cursor around the screen faster than using keystrokes.
Disadvantage: Requires moving hand from keyboard to mouse and back.
Repeated motion can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome
Trackball Instead of moving the whole mouse around, the user

rolls the trackball only, which is on the top or side.
Advantage: Does not need as much desk space as a mouse.

Is not as tiring since less motion is needed.
Disadvantage: Requires fine control of the ball with just one finger
or thumb.
Repeated motions of the same muscles is tiring and
can cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
Glidepad Uses a touch sensitive pad for controlling cursor.

The user slides finger across the pad and the cursor
follows the finger movement. For clicking there are
buttons, or you can tap on the pad with a finger. The
glidepad is a popular alternate pointing device for
laptops.
Advantage: Does not need as much desk space as a mouse.
Can readily be built into the keyboard.
Has finer resolution. That is, to achieve the same
cursor movement onscreen takes less movement of
the finger on the glidepad than it does mouse
movement.
Can use either buttons or taps of the pad for clicking.
Disadvantage: The hand tires faster than with a mouse since there is
no support.
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Some people don't find the motion as natural as a
mouse.
Game Cursor motion controlled by vertical stick (joystick) or arrow buttons

Devices (gamepad)
Advantage: A joystick gives a more natural-feeling control for

motion in games, especially those where you are
flying a plane or spaceship.
Both have more buttons for special functions than a
mouse and can combine buttons for even more
actions.
Disadvantage: More expensive
Bulky
Better ones require an additional peripheral card for
best performance
Pen Used esp. in Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)

Input Pen Input is used for:
Data Input - by writing. PDA recognizes your

handwriting. (If only your friends could,
too!)
Pointing Device - Functions like a mouse in moving a
cursor around the screen and clicking by
tapping the screen.
Command You can issue commands by moving pen
Gestures - in patterns. So a certain kind of swirl
would mean to save the file and a
different kind of swirl could mean to
open a new file.

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Advantage: Can use handwriting instead of typing
Can use gestures instead of typing commands
Small size
Disadvantage: Must train device to recognize handwriting.
Must learn gestures or train device to recognize
the ones you create
Can lose the pen which is not usually attached to
the device
Touchscreen Make selection by just touching the screen.
Advantage: It's natural to do - reach out and touch something.

Disadvantage: It's tiring if many choices must be made.
It takes a lot of screen space for each choice since
fingers are bigger than cursors.
Digitizers and Converts drawings, photos, etc. to digital signal.

Graphics Tablets The tablets have special commands
Advantage: Don't have to redraw graphics already created

Disadvantage: Expensive
Input Devices (Terminals)

A terminal consists of a keyboard and a screen so it can be considered an input
device, especially some of the specialized types.
Some come as single units.
Terminals are also called:
 Display Terminals
 Video Display Terminals or VDT
A dumb terminal has no ability to process or store data.
It is linked to minicomputer, mainframe, or super computer. The

keyboard and viewing screen may be a single piece of equipment.

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An intelligent, smart, or programmable terminal can process or store on its own, at
least to a limited extent. PCs can be used as smart terminals.

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A point-of-sale terminal (POS) is an example of a special purpose
terminal. These have replaced the old cash registers in nearly all retail
stores. They can update inventory while calculating the sale. They often
have special purpose keys.
For example, McDonalds has separate touchpads for each food item available.
Credit card readers, fingerprint scanners, and the like are special purpose devices that
send data to a computer for recognition.
Input Devices (Multimedia)
Multimedia is a combination of sound and images with text and graphics. This
would include movies, animations, music, people talking, sound effects like the roar
of a crowd and smashing glass.
Sound Input
Recording sounds for your computer requires special equipment. Microphones can
capture sounds from the air which is good for sound effects or voices. For music the
best results come from using a musical instrument that is connected directly to the
computer. Software can combine music recorded at different times. You could be a
music group all by yourself -singing and playing all the parts!
Voice Input
How do they change voice to data??

1. Convert voice sound waves to digital form (digital signal processing -DSP)

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2. Compare digitized voice input to stored templates
3. Check grammar rules to figure out words
4. Present unrecognized words for user to identify
Video Input
A digital camera takes still photos but records the pictures on computer disks or
memory chips. The information contained can be uploaded to a computer for viewing.
A video camera or recorder (VCR) can record data that can be uploaded to
the computer with the right hardware. Though it is not digital data, you can
still get good results with the right software.
Both of these take huge amounts of storage. Photos make for very large files.
A web cam is a tiny video camera designed especially to sit on your computer.
It feeds pictures directly to the computer - no tape or film to develop. Of
course you are limited by the length of the cable that connects the camera to
the computer. But like any camera, it will take a picture of what you point it
at!
So what do people do with a web cam? They use it for video conferencing over the
Internet. They show the world what's going on outside their window (weather, traffic).
They take digital pictures and make movies- family, pets, snow storms, birthday
parties, whatever.
Input (General Devices)

Scanner- The scanner works like a copy machine. It
creates a digital image of what it scanned.
Scanned text cannot be edited at this point.
Flat bed scanners open wide enough to allow you

to lay a document or book flat on the glass
surface. You can even make a scan of your hand!
A document scanner can only scan individual sheets of paper, not books
or objects.

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Bar-Code Hand-held or fixed devices that can read the bar codes on
Scanner packages.
Credit Card Swipe the credit card through the device, which reads the
Reader magnetic numbers in the magnetic strip on the card.

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Self Check LO1-3a
1. The most commonly used input device is the _____.

a. keyboard
b mouse
c. joystick
d. scanner
2. An advantage to a touch screen is that _____.
a. it is natural to touch things
b. it is not as tiring as keyboard input
c. it uses little screen space for each choice
d. none of the above
3. The instructions that tell the computer what to do are called _____.
a. Hardware
b. Software
c. Applications
4. The raw facts are called _____.
a. data
b. programs
c. commands
d. user response
5. VDT refers to _____.
a. vital data transfer
b. video desk terminal
c. virtual data transfer
d. video display terminal
6. The keys on the keyboard which may be programmed to do special tasks are the
_____.
a. arrow keys
b. numerical keypad
c. function keys
d. navigation keys
7. A mouse, trackball, and joystick are examples of _____.
a. pointing devices
b. pen input devices
c. data collection devices
d. multimedia devices
8. Sometimes called an inverted mouse _______.
a. truckball
b. trackball
c. reverse mouse
9.The term multimedia refers to _____.
a. combination of sound and images with text and graphics
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b. the combination of sound and images only
c. music only
d. movies with sound only
10. The computer message reads "Do you really want to delete the selected file(s)?"
The user clicks on the button labeled "Yes". This is an example of _____.
a. data input
b. a program
c. a command
d. user response

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Processing (Intro)
What is Processing?
Input
Proces
sing
Output
Storage
Processing is the thinking that the computer does - the calculations, comparisons,
and decisions. People also process data. What you see and hear and touch and feel is
input. Then you connect this new input with what you already know, look for how it
all fits together, and come up with a reaction, your output. "That stove is hot. I'll move
my hand now!"
The kind of "thinking" that computers do is very different from what people do.
Machines have to think the hard way. They do one thing at a time, one step at a time.
Complex procedures must be broken down into VERY simple steps. Then these steps
can be repeated hundreds or thousands or millions of times. All possible choices can
be tried and a list kept of what worked and what didn't.
People, on the other hand, are better at recognizing patterns than they are at single
facts and step-by-step procedures. For example, faces are very complex structures.
But you can identify hundreds and even thousands of different faces.
A human can easily tell one face from another, even when the faces belong to
strangers. You don't recognize Mom's face because you remember that Mom's nose is
4 cm long, 2.5 cm wide, and has a freckle on the left side! You recognize the whole
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pattern of Mom's face. There are probably a lot of folks with noses the size and shape
of Mom's. But no one has her whole face.
But a computer must have a lot of specific facts about a face to recognize it. Teaching
computers to pick Mom's face out of a crowd is one of the hardest things scientists
have tried to do yet with computers. But babies do it naturally!
So computers can't think in the same way that people do. But what they do, they do
excellently well and very, very fast.
Processing (Digital Data)
Modern computers are digital, that is, all info is stored as a string of zeros or ones -
off or on. All the thinking in the computer is done by manipulating these digits. The
concept is simple, but working it all out gets complicated.
1 bit = one on or off position

1 byte = 8 bits
So 1 byte can be one of 256 possible combinations of 0 and 1.

Numbers written with just 0 and 1, are called binary numbers.
Each 1 is a power of 2 so that the digits in the figure represent the number:
= 2 7 + 0 + 2 5 + 0 + 2 3 + 2 2 + 0 +0
= 128 +0 +32 + 0 + 8 + 4 + 0 + 0
= 172
Every command and every input is converted into digital data, a string of 0's and 1's.
Processing (CPU)
The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is the part of the computer where work gets
done. In most computers, there is one processing chip.
Main Memory stores the commands that the CPU executes and the results.
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ALU
stands for Arithmetic/Logic Unit
This is the part that executes the computer's commands.

A command must be either a basic arithmetic operation:
+ - * /
or one of the logical comparisons:
> < = not =.
Everything else has to be broken down into these few operations. Only one operation
is done in each Machine Cycle.
The ALU can only do one thing at a time but can work very, very fast.
Applications
These are the various programs that are currently running on the computer.
By taking turns with the Machine Cycle, modern computers can have several different
programs running at once. This is called multi-tasking.
Each open application has to have some data stored in Main Memory, even if the
application is on rest break and is just sitting there. Some programs (graphics
programs are notorious for this) require a lot of the Main Memory space, and may not
give it up even if they are shut down! Rather rude, actually!!
Control Unit
This is the part of the computer that controls the Machine Cycle. It takes numerous
cycles to do even a simple addition of two numbers.
The Machine Cycle Fetch - get an instruction from Main Memory

Decode - translate it into computer commands
Execute - actually process the command
Store - write the result to Main Memory
CPU
stands for Central Processing Unit
This is the part of the computer that does the "thinking."

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Input/Output Storage
When you enter new data, the keystrokes must be stored until the computer can do
something with the new data.
When you want data printed out or displayed, it must be stored somewhere handy
first.
Main Memory
This is where the computer stores the data and commands that are currently being
used.
When the computer is turned off, all data in Main Memory vanishes. A data storage
method of this type is called volatile since the data "evaporates."
Note on the left the various kinds of data that are stored.
The CPU can fetch one piece of data in one machine cycle.
Operating System
This is the instructions that the computer uses to tell itself how it "operates". It's the
answer to "Who am I and what can I do?"
Some common operating systems are DOS, various versions of Windows, OS/2,
UNIX, LINUX, System 7. These all behave in very different ways and have different
hardware requirements. So they won't all run on all machines.
Unused Storage
One hopes that there is always some storage space that is not in use.
If space runs out in Main Memory, the computer will crash, that is, stop working.
There are programs that sense when space is getting short and warn the user. The user
could then close some of the open applications to free up more space in Main
Memory. Sometimes the warning is too late to prevent the crash. Remember that all
the data in Main Memory vanishes when the power goes off. Thus a crash can mean a
lot of lost work.
Working Storage
The numbers and characters that are the intermediate results of computer operations
must be stored until the final values are calculated. These values "in progress" are
kept in temporary locations.
For example, if the computer is adding up the numbers 3, 5, and 6, it would first add 3
to 5 which yields a value of 8. The 8 is stored in working storage. Then the 8 and 6

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are added and the new value 14 is stored. The value of 14 is now available to be
displayed on the screen or to be printed or to be used in another calculation.
Processing (Processor Speed)
We all are impatient and want our computer to work as fast as possible, and certainly
faster than the guy's at the next desk!
Many different factors determine how fast your computer gets things done. Processor
speed is one factor. But what determines the processor's speed?
Processor Speed affected by:

System clock rate = rate of an electronic pulse used to
synchronize processing
(Only one action can take place between pulses.)
Measured in megahertz (MHz) where 1 MHz = 1 million cycles

per second or gigahertz (GHz) where 1 GHz = 1 billion cycles
per second.
This is what they are talking about if they say a computer is a 2.4
GHz machine. It's clock rate is 2.4 billion cycles per second.
Bigger number = faster processing
Bus width = the amount of data the CPU can transmit at a

time to main memory and to input and output devices.
(Any path bits travel is a bus.)
An 8-bit bus moves 8 bits of data at a time.

Bus width can be 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128 so far.
Think of it as "How many passengers (bits) can fit on the bus at

once to go from one part of the computer to another."
Bigger number = faster transfer of data
Word size = a word is the amount of data the CPU can process
at one time.
An 8-bit processor can manipulate 8 bits at a time.

Processors can be 8-, 16-, 32-, or 64-bit so far.
Bigger the number = faster processing

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You want a nice match between the word size and the bus size and the clock. It
wouldn't do any good to have a bus that can deliver data 128 bits at a time, if the CPU
can only use 8 bits at a time and has a slow clock speed. A huge line of data would
form, waiting to get off the bus! When computers gets clogged like that, bad things
can happen to your data. It's like people waiting to get into the theater. After a while,
some of them may leave!!
Processing (Physical Components)
There are several physical components of a computer that are directly involved in
processing. The processor chip itself, the memory devices, and the motherboard are
the main ones.
Microprocessor- a single silicon chip containing CPU, ALU, and some memory.
The ROM (Read Only Memory) contains the minimum

instructions that the computer needs to get started, called booting.
What a user does on the computer cannot change what is stored in
ROM.
There may also be another chip dedicated to calculations.
The microprocessor chip is located on a large circuit board called

the main board or motherboard.
The physical size of a computer chip is very small, as the ant below
illustrates.
Processor speed is measured in Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz

(GHz).
Memory Devices:
Vacuum tube - oldest type. Didn't hold up long and generated a lot
of heat.
Core - small metal rings. Magnets tip a ring to left or right,
which represents on and off. Relatively slow.
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Semiconductor - integrated circuit on a chip. This is what modern
computers use for memory. Pictured below is a 72-
pin SIMM.
Memory Speed
RAM (Random Access Memory) is what the computer uses as Main Memory.
Memory speed measures the time it takes to move data in or out of memory. It is
measured differently for different kinds of memory chips:
 in nanoseconds (ns ) (smaller is faster) for EDO and FPM

1 ns = 1 billionth of a second.
 in megahertz (MHz) (higher is faster) for SDR SDRAM, DDR, SDRAM, and
RDRAM.
The capacity of a memory chip is measured in megabytes or gigabytes. For example,

256 MB of RAM is required to run WindowsXP and 512MB is much better. Several
such memory boards can be installed in the computer to increase the amount of RAM
available. Motherboards have only so many slots for memory so there are limits.
Some motherboards require that all slots be filled and that all slots contain the same
size memory board. It can get frustrating as there are no warning labels about this!

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Processing (Motherboard)
Here we see a diagram and a photo of a motherboard (or main circuit board).
This one is suitable for a Pentium CPU. Nothing has been plugged in or attached yet.
Connectors
Here is where cables connect to the motherboard for things like hard drives, floppy
drives, and CD-ROM drives.
ISA slots
This board has 3 slots for the older ISA/VESA boards for things like video cards,
sound cards, internal modems, etc.
Keyboard plug
This is where the keyboard attaches, thru the back of the computer.
Memory slots
There are 4 short slots for SIMM memory.

This board has two long slots for a new kind of memory called DIMM DRAM.
This board can handle a maximum of 256 MB of memory.
From the manufacturer's description:
Two 168 pin DIMM DRAM slots (8/16/32/64 MB module)

Four 72 pin SIMM memory slots (4/8/16/32/64 MB module)
Supports maximum 256 MB with Fast Page/EDO/SDRAM DRAM
PCI slots
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This board has 4 slots for the newer PCI boards for peripherals like video cards, sound
cards, internal modems, etc.
Power Connections
This is where the power supply connects to the motherboard.
Processor socket
What is visible here is the place where the processor plugs into the motherboard.
When the processor is installed, you still can't see it because on top of it is a heat sink
and fan to keep the processor cool. Hot processors make mistakes or even melt
important parts on the chip.
Different processors are different sizes. So the socket on the motherboard has to
match the processor. Also, the circuits in the motherboard itself must be different for
different processors.
Another figure of a motherboard (with labels)
The picture below shows part of a motherboard highlighting the different bus ports.
Can you identify the ISA, PCI, AGP port? Can you show where the RAM should be
seated?

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Self Check LO1-4a
1. The information processing cycle includes the following processes:
a. input, processing, output, storage
b. input, output, manipulation, arithmetic
c. data, processing, printing, editing
d. storage, display, data, information
2. The computer's processor consists of the following parts:
a. CPU and Main Memory
b. Control Unit and ALU
c. Main Memory and storage
d. Operating system and Applications
3. CPU stands for______.
a. Core packet unit
b. Clock picket unit
c. Central processing unit
d. Central product unit
4. The arithmetic/logic unit performs the following actions:
a. checks data for accuracy
b. does calculations using addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.
c. does logical comparisons, such as equal to, greater than, less
than
d. both calculations and logical comparisons
5. The main memory of a computer must be large enough to contain _____.
a. the operating system
b. the applications
c. input/output storage & working storage
d. all of the above
6. The name of the location of a particular piece of data is its _____.
a. address
b. memory name
c. storage site
d. data location
7. A megabyte is actually equal to ____ kilobytes.
a. 100
b. 1000
c. 1024
d. 1024 x 1024
8. The clock rate of a processor is measured in ____.
a. milliseconds
b. megahertz or gigahertz
c. megabytes or gigabytes
d. nanoseconds
9. If the bus width of a processor is 16 bits, that means that the processor can
_____ 16 bits of data at a time.
a. add
b. transfer
c. count
d. think with

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10. If a processor has a word size of 32 bits, compared to a processor with a
word size of 16 bits, it can process _____ at a time.
a. twice as much
b. half as much
c. a fourth as much
d. the same amount

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Output (Intro)
What is Output?
Input
Proces
sing
Out
put
Storag
e
Output is data that has been processed into useful form, now called Information.
Types of Output
Hard copy:
printed on paper or other permanent media
Soft copy:
displayed on screen or by other non-permanent means
Categories of Output

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Text documents Graphics Multimedia
including reports, charts, graphs, combination of text,
letters, etc. pictures graphics, video, audio
The most used means of Output are the printer and the computer screen. Let's look at
the features of each.

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Output (Printer Features)
The job of a printer is to put on paper what you see on your monitor. How easy this is
to do and how successfully it is done determines whether or not you are happy with
your printer choice.
Monitor screens and printers do not use the same formatting rules. In the olden days
of computers, the way something looked on the screen could be VERY different from
how it would look when printed.
Early word processors didn't have a way to show what the printed version would look
like. Now a word processor that doesn't have print preview, would be laughed off the
shelf. Nowadays we expect to see a WYSIWYG view (What You See Is What You
Get), where you see almost exactly what the document will look like in print, while
you are still working on it.
How fast?
The speed of a printer is measured in:
cps= characters per second
lpm= lines per minute
ppm= pages per minute
The faster the printing, the more expensive

the printer.
What paper type used?

Continuous-Form Paper
Advantage: Don't need to put in new paper often

Disadvantage: May need to separate the pages and remove the strips
of perforations from the edges.
Single Sheet
Advantage: Can change to special paper easily, like letterhead or

envelopes.
Disadvantage: Must add paper more often.
What print quality?

LQ Letter Quality = as good as best typewriter output
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NLQ Near Letter Quality = nearly as good as best typewriter output
Draft used internally or for a test print
The better the quality, the slower the printing.

A more numerical measure of print quality is printer resolution. Measured in dots
per inch (dpi), this determines how smooth a diagonal line the printer can produce. A
resolution of 300 dpi will produce text that shows jagged edges only under a
magnifying glass. A lower resolution than this will produce text with stair-step edges,
especially at large sizes. Even higher resolutions are needed to get smooth photo
reproduction.
Professionals in graphics use 1200 to 2400 dpi printers. Draft quality on such a printer
would be 600 dpi.
What will it print?

Printers vary in what varieties of type they can print. You must know the limits of
your printer to avoid unhappy surprises! Modern printers can handle most anything,
but older printers may not.Yes, there are still old, clunky computers and printers in use
out there in the real world.
Typeface Set of letters, numbers, and special characters with similar design
Styles Bold, italic, underlined...

Size Is measured in points
One point = 1/72 of an inch like: 12 pt 18 pt 24 pt 36

pt
Use 10 or 12 pt for writing a letter or report.
Font A complete set of letters, etc. in the same typeface, style, and size
Color Printing in color takes longer, uses more expensive inks/toner, looks best
on more expensive papers, but can add a lot to the quality of the output

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Graphics
Pictures add a lot to a document, but not all
printers can print graphics.
Will it fit?
The footprint, or the physical size of a printer, determines
where it can be placed. You must consider several things:
 Where will you put it?

On top of a table or cabinet or on a shelf or in a
drawer?? Is there enough space for the printer and for
the blank paper and the printouts?
o Blank paper
If the paper is in a drawer underneath, can you
pull the drawer all the way out?
If the paper is in an upright stack on top of the
printer, is there room for your hand and the
paper as you put it blank pages?
o Where does the printed page wind up?

On top of the printer or out in front of it?
There must be a good match between the space you need to

work with the printer and the spot you choose to put it!
Otherwise, your print-outs may wind up puddled on the floor
or you could bash your knuckles whenever you put in a stack
of blank paper.
What kind of cable connection?

Serial cable Sends data only 1 bit at a time
Printer can be up to 1000 feet away from the
computer.
Maximum data transfer speed = 115 kilobits/s

(.115Mbits/s)
Parallel cable Sends data 8 bits at a time

Printer must be within 50 feet of the computer.
Maximum data transfer speed: 115 kilobytes/s

(.115MBYTES/s). This is 8 times faster than the
maximum serial speed.

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Newer printers may need bi-directional cable so that
the printer can talk back to the computer. Such a
cable is required if the printer can give helpful error
messages. It's startling, but nice, the first time your
computer politely says "Ink is getting low" or
"Please place paper in the AutoSheet feeder."
Oddly, Windows XP does not support

spooling for a parallel connection to a printer.
Spooling is what allows you to do other things on the
computer while the printer is processing and printing
the document. WinXP does spool when the printer
uses a USB connection.
USB cable Printer must be within 5 meters (16.5 feet) of the

computer, when connecting straight to the computer.
[You can hook up several 5 m. cables and USB hubs
in a chain - up to 25 meters.]
Maximum data transfer speed: 12 megabits/s (1.5

MBYTES/s) Lots faster!
Best choice:
The new USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection is likely your best
choice, if your printer can use it. It is faster and a USB connector can
be unplugged and re-plugged without turning off the system. USB
ports are rapidly replacing parallel ports. The printer cannot handle the
data as fast as the USB port can send it. The real limit on how fast a
printer works is in how fast printer can get the characters onto the
paper.
Serial cable may have to be used if a printer is shared in a fairly large

office, due to the length of cable needed.

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Output (Printer Types)
Any of the current types of printers satisfies the work and cost requirements for
someone. Each has strengths and weaknesses. Choose your type of printer based on
which of the features previously discussed are important to your work, then choose
the specific printer that best suits both your tasks and pocketbook.
Impact Printers
With this type of printer something strikes paper & ribbon
together to form a character, like a typewriter.
Advantages: Less expensive
Fast (some types)
Can make multiple copies with multipart paper
Disadvantages: Noisy!
Print quality lower in some types.
Poor graphics or none at all.
Types of Impact Printers

Dot Matrix Forms characters using row(s) of pins, 9, 18, or 24 which
impact the ribbon on top of the paper. Also called pin
printers.
The more pins, the smoother-looking the characters.
Most dot matrix printers have the characteristics below:

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Bi-directional - prints left to right and also right to left
Tractor feed - uses sprockets to pull continuous-feed
paper
Friction feed - uses pressure to pull single sheets
Advantages: Inexpensive
Can do multi-copy forms
Disadvantages: Can be slow
Loud
Graphics of low quality, if possible at
all
A dot-matrix y &
an enlargement
Animation
showing how
columns of pins
print the letter y
(courtesy of Bill
Lewis)
Chain and Uses characters on a band or chain that is moved into place
Band Printers before striking the characters onto the paper.
Advantages: Very fast
up to 3000 lpm (lines per minute)
Disadvantages: Very expensive
Very loud
Non-Impact Printers
This type of printer does not involve actually striking the
paper. Instead, it uses ink spray or toner powder.
Advantages: Quiet!
Can handle graphics and often a wider variety of fonts than impact
printers.
Disadvantages: More expensive
Slower

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Types of Non-Impact
Printers
Ink Jet Sprays ink onto paper to form characters
Advantages: Quiet
High quality text and graphics.
Some can do color.
Disadvantages: Cannot use multiple-copy
paper
Ink can smear
Thermal Uses heat on chemically treated paper to form

characters. Fax machines that use rolls of paper
are also of this type.
Advantages: Quiet
Disadvantages: Relatively slow
Expensive, requiring special
paper
Cannot use multiple-copy
paper
Page Works like a copy machine, using toner and a

Printer heat bar. Laser printers are in this category.
Advantages: Quiet
Faster than other non-impact
printers, from 4 to 16 ppm
(pages per minute)
High quality print and
graphics. Some can do color.
Disadvantages: More expensive than impact
printers
Cannot use multiple-copy
paper
Output (Screen Features)

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The device which displays computer output to us has various names:
Screen from "computer screen" or "display screen"

Monitor from its use as a way to "monitor" the progress of a program
VDT = video display terminal from early network terminals
CRT = cathode ray tube from the physical mechanism used for the screen.
VDU = visual display unit to cover all the mechanisms from desktop CRTs to
LCD flat screens on laptops to LED screen on palmtops
Making Colored Pictures

CRT screen:
A standard monitor screen is a CRT (cathode ray tube). The screen is coated on the
inside surface with dots of chemicals called phosphors. When a beam of electrons
hits a dot, the dot will glow.
On a color monitor these phosphor dots are in groups of three: Red, Green, and Blue.
This RGB system can create all the other colors by combining what dots are aglow.
There are 3 signals that control the 3 electron beams in the monitor, one for each
RGB color. Each beam only touches the dots that the signal tells it to light. All the
glowing dots together make the picture that you see. The human eye blends the dots to
"see" all the different colors.
A shadow mask blocks the path of the beams in a way that lets each beam only light
its assigned color dots. (Very cool trick!)
LCD screen
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens use an entirely different technique. The screen
is still made of dots but is quite flat. LCD displays are made of two layers of a
polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution in between. An electrical signal
makes the crystals line up in a way that keeps light from going through entirely or just
partly. A black screen has all the crystals lined up so that no light gets through.
A color LCD screen uses groups of 3 color cells instead of 3 phosphor dots. The
signal for a picture cleverly lets just the right spots show their colors. Your eye does
the rest.
Scan Pattern
There are two patterns used by CRT monitors to cover the whole screen. Both scan
across the screen, in a row 1 pixel high, from left to right, drop down and scan back
left. (LCD screens do not use these methods but display the whole screen at once.)
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The non-interlaced pattern scans each row of pixels in turn, from top to bottom. This
type is more prone to flicker if the scan has not started over by the time the phosphor
dots have quit glowing from the last scan. This can make your eyes hurt or even make
you nauseous.
The interlaced pattern scans every other row of pixels. So the odd rows are done,
then the even rows, in the same left to right to left way. But since the rows of pixels
are very close together, the human eye doesn't notice as easily if a row has gone dim
before it is rescanned. Much friendlier to your eyes and stomach.
Light vs. Ink
Colors created by glowing dots are not quite the same as those created by ink on the
printer. Screens use the RGB system described above. Inks use the CMYK system
using the colors Cyan (a kind of blue), Magenta (a kind of red), Yellow, and
blacK. This is why what you see on your screen is not quite the same color when you
print.
Physics Lesson:
Color from mixing pigments: Ink and paint make colors by the colors that they
reflect. The other colors are absorbed, or subtracted, from the light hitting the
object. The primary colors for inks and paints are traditionally said to be red, yellow,
and blue. It is more accurate to say magenta, yellow, and cyan. These cannot be
created by mixing other colors, but mixing them does produce all other colors.
Color from mixing lights: Lights show the colors that the light source sends out
(emits). The colors from different light sources are added together to make the color
that you see. A computer screen uses this process. The primary colors for lights are
red, green, and blue-violet. Mixed together, they can produce all the other colors.
Color from optical mixing: The illusion of color can be created by tricking the eye.
Artists of the Impressionist period created paintings using only dots of color.
Newspaper photos are made of dots, also. The human eye blends the colors to "see"
shapes and colors that were not actually drawn with lines, just suggested by the dots.
Screen Features
Size Desktop screens are usually 14 - 19 in. by diagonal measurement.
(This is how TV screens are measured, too.) Larger sizes are
available, at a significantly higher cost. Prices are dropping, however.
Resolution Determines how clear and detailed the image is.

Pictures on a screen are made up of tiny dots.
1 dot on screen = 1 pixel (from "picture element")
The more pixels per inch, the clearer and more detailed the picture.

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One measure of this is the dot pitch, the distance between the dots
that make up the picture on the screen. However, different
manufacturers measure differently. Most measure from dot center to
the center of the nearest same color dot. Some measure from the
center of a dot to an imaginary vertical line through the center of the
nearest dot of the same color, giving a smaller number for the same
dots as the previous method. Some monitors use skinny rectangles
instead of dots and so must use a different method altogether. So, dot
pitch has become less useful as a measure of monitor quality. A dot
pitch of .28 is very common and .26 should be good for nearly all
purposes, however it is measured.
Refresh Rate How often the picture is redrawn on the monitor. If the rate is low, the
picture will appear to flicker. Flicker is not only annoying but also
causes eye strain and nausea. So, a high refresh rate is desirable. 60
times per second is tolerable at low resolutions for most people. 75
times per second or more is better and is necessary for high
resolutions.
Type Old types = CGA, EGA, VGA

Current type = super VGA
Determines what resolutions are available and how many colors can
be displayed.
Type Stands for Resolution(s)
Color Graphics
CGA 320 x 200
Adapter
Extended Graphics
EGA 640 x 350
Adapter
Video Graphics
VGA 640 x 480
Adapter
800 x 600, 1024 x 768, or 1280 x
SVGA Super VGA
1024 etc.
New systems now come with super VGA with a picture size of 800 x
600 pixels (as a minimum) and 16 million colors
Color The number of colors displayed can vary from 16 to 256 to 64

thousand to 16.7 million. The more colors, the smoother graphics
appear, especially photos.
The number of colors available actually depends more on the video

card used and on how much memory is devoted to the display. It takes
8 bits to describe 1 pixel when using 256 colors. It takes 24 bits per
pixel when using 16 million colors. So a LOT of memory is needed to
get those millions of colors. Video cards now come with extra

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memory chips on them to help handle the load.
Reverse video example:
Cursor/ The symbol showing where you are working on the screen, like:
Pointer
and
In the olden days of just DOS, there were few choices for the cursor.
The invention of the blinking cursor was a tremendous event. Under
Windows there are a huge number of basic to fantasy cursors to
choose from.
Scrolling Moving the lines displayed on the screen up or down one line at a
time

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Type of Screens
Monochrome one color text on single color
background, i.e. white letters on
blue, or green characters on black
Color various colors can be displayed.
(This one is easy!)
CRT Formerly most common type of monitor, which uses a

cathode ray tube.
Liquid Crystal Display Used in laptops esp. Large flat
(LCD) monitors are becoming the most
common now, especially if you do
not have desk space for a large CRT
monitor.
Plasma Screens Used for very large screens and
some laptops. Flat, good color, but
much more expensive.
Output (Other Devices)

Special tasks require special equipment.
There are a number of special-use output devices. More are announced every day.
From recording earthquake tremors to displaying CAT scans, from recording analysis
in a sound studio to displaying metal fatigue in aircraft structures, we have more and
more special tasks that use computers and thus require print or screen display.
Examples:
Data projectors Microfilm (COM)
Projects the image onto a wall Computer Output Microfilm

screen The computer directly generates the microfilm
images.

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Large Format Printers Sound
Used especially for building plans and Computers can output voice
engineering drawing and really large pictures. messages, music, data as sound. Of
course you have to have speakers
Plotters use a pen to draw continuous lines and and a sound card.
are favored for engineering drawings, which
require both large sheets of paper and precise
lines.

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Self Check LO1-5a
1. When a computer prints a report, this output is called_____.

a. hard copy
b. soft copy
c. COM
2. Output which is made up of pictures, sounds, and video is called_____.
a. COM
b hard copy
c. graphics
d. multimedia
3. An impact printer _____.
a. is loud
b. has a mechanism somewhat similar to a typewriter
c. can use multipart paper
d. all of the above
4. A dot-matrix printer uses ____ to form the letters.
a. bars
b. codes
c. pins
d. laser
5. For a test print of a newly created document, you should use____ quality
print.
a. letter
b. near letter
c. draft
d. outline
6. A laser printer is an example of a _____ printer.
a. dot-matrix
b. continuous-form
c. chain
d. nonimpact
7. An individual dot on a computer screen is called a(n)_____.
a. character
b. screen point
c. font
d. pixel
8. A screen which can only display white letters on a blue background is a
_____ monitor.
a. monochrome
b. CGA
c. EGA
d. VGA
9. Which of the following is not an output device?
a. pen plotter
b. data projector
c. dot-matrix printer
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d. keyboard
10. The speed of a printer can be measured in_____.
a. ppm
b. lps
c. pps

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Storage (Intro)
What is Storage?
Input
Process
ing
Output
Stor
age
Storage refers to the media and methods used to keep information available for later
use. Some things will be needed right away while other won't be needed for extended
periods of time. So different methods are appropriate for different uses.
Earlier when learning about processing, we saw all the kinds of things that are stored
in Main Memory.
Main Memory = Primary Storage
Main memory keeps track of what is currently being processed. It's volatile, meaning
that turning the power off erases all of the data.
Poof!!

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For Main Memory, computers use RAM, or Random Access Memory. These
memory chips are the fastest, but most expensive, type of storage.
Auxiliary Storage = Secondary Storage
Auxiliary storage holds what is not currently being processed. This is the stuff that is
"filed away", but is ready to be pulled out when needed.
It is nonvolatile, meaning that turning the power off does not erase it.
Auxiliary Storage is used for:
 Input - data and programs

 Output - saving the results of processing
So, Auxiliary Storage is where you put last year's tax info, addresses for old
customers, programs you may or may not ever use, data you entered yesterday -
everything that is not being used right now.
Storage (Magnetic Disks)
Of the various types of Auxiliary Storage, the types used most often involve some
type of magnetic disk. These come in various sizes and materials, as we shall see.
This method uses magnetism to store the data on a magnetic surface.
Advantages: high storage capacity
reliable
gives direct access to data
A drive spins the disk very quickly underneath a read/write head, which does what
its name says. It reads data from a disk and writes data to a disk. (A name that
actually makes sense!)
Types of Magnetic Disks

Diskette / Floppy Disk
Sizes:
5¼" 3½"
(not used much now!) (starting to die out, too)

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Both sizes are made of mylar with an oxide coating. The oxide provides the magnetic
quality for the disk. The "floppy" part is what is inside the diskette covers - a very
floppy piece of plastic (i.e. the mylar)
Other Removable Magnetic Media
Several other kinds of removable magnetic media are in use, such as the popular Zip
disk. All of these have a much higher capacity than floppy disks. Some kinds of new
computers come without a floppy disk drive at all.
Each type of media requires its own drive. The drives and disks are
much more expensive than floppy drives and disks, but then, you
are getting much larger capacities.
Hard Disks
These consist of 1 or more metal platters which are sealed inside

a case. The metal is one which is magnetic. The hard disk is
usually installed inside the computer's case, though there are
removable and cartridge types, also.
Technically the hard drive is what controls the motion of the

hard disks which contain the data. But most people use "hard
disk" and "hard drive" interchangeably. They don't make that
mistake for floppy disks and floppy drives. It is clearer with
floppies that the drive and the disk are separate things.
There are other kinds of storage devices that are not magnetic, such as flash drives, or
are not disks, such as magnetic tape. These will be discussed later.
Storage (Disk Format)
All magnetic disks are similarly formatted, or divided into areas, called
tracks
sectors
cylinders
The formatting process sets up a method of assigning addresses to the different areas.
It also sets up an area for keeping the list of addresses. Without formatting there
would be no way to know what data went with what. It would be like a library where
the pages were not in books, but were scattered around on the shelves and tables and
floors. You'd have a hard time getting a book together. A formatting method allows
you to efficiently use the space while still being able to find things.
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Tracks
A track is a circular ring on one
side of the disk. Each track has a
number.
The diagram shows 3 tracks.
Sectors
A disk sector is a wedge-shape piece of the disk, shown in yellow.
Each sector is numbered.
On a 5¼" disk there are 40 tracks with 9 sectors each.
On a 3½" disk there are 80 tracks with 9 sectors each.
So a 3½" disk has twice as many named places on it as a 5¼" disk.
A track sector is the area of intersection of a track and a sector,

shown in yellow.
Clusters
A cluster is a set of track sectors, ranging from 2
to 32 or more, depending on the formatting scheme
in use.
The most common formatting scheme for PCs sets

the number of track sectors in a cluster based on
the capacity of the disk. A 1.2 gig hard drive will

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have clusters twice as large as a 500 MB hard
drive.
1 cluster is the minimum space used by any read

or write. So there is often a lot of slack space,
unused space, in the cluster beyond the data stored
there.
There are some new schemes out that reduce this

problem, but it will never go away entirely.
The only way to reduce the amount of slack space

is to reduce the size of a cluster by changing the
method of formatting. You could have more tracks
on the disk, or else more sectors on a track, or you
could reduce the number of track sectors in a
cluster.
Cylinders
A cylinder is a set of matched tracks.
On a double-sided floppy, a track

from the top surface and the same #
track from the bottom surface of the
disk make up a cylinder. The
concept is not particularly useful
for floppies.
On a hard disk, a cylinder is made

of all the tracks of the same # from
all the metal disks that make up the
"hard disk".
If you put these all together on top
of each other, you'd have something
that looks like a tin can with no top
or bottom - a cylinder.
The computer keeps track of what it has put where on a disk by

remembering the addresses of all the sectors used, which would
mean remembering some combination of the cylinder, track, and
sector. Thank goodness we don't have to remember all these
numbers!
Where the difference between addressing methods shows up is in the

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time it takes for the read/write head to get into the right position. The
cylinder method writes data down the disks on the same cylinder.
This works faster because each metal platter has a read/write head for
each side and they all move together. So for one position of the
read/write heads, the computer can put some data on all the platters
before having to move the heads to a new position.
What happens when a disk is formatted?

1. All data is erased.
Don't forget this!!
2. Surfaces are checked for physical and

magnetic defects.
3. A root directory is created to list where

things are on the disk.
Storage (Disk Capacity)
The capacity of a magnetic disk depends on several factors.
We always want the highest amount of data stored in the least possible space. (People
are so greedy this way!) So the capacities of storage media keep increasing while cost
keeps decreasing. It's a lovely situation for the user!
Capacity of a Disk depends on:

1. # of sides used:
single-sided double-sided

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2. Recording density -
how close together the bits can be on a track sector of the innermost track
3. # of tracks on the disk
Capacity of Disks
5¼" floppy - 360 KB or 1.2 MB
3½" floppy - 720 KB or 1.44 MB
Hard disk
early ones = 20 MB
currently = 120+ GB
(March 2003) where 1 GB =
1 gigabyte =
1024 MB
The future???
Advances in technology for the read/write head and for the densities on the disks are
bringing larger and larger disk capacities for about the same price. In fact, you cannot
find a small capacity drive to buy, even if you wanted one! 120 GB drives are
plentiful (March. 2003) and for the same price that we used to buy 1 Gig drives

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(under $200). It's enough to make you cry to think of what we paid over the years and
what we could get for those dollars today. Ah, well. That's the way the computer
world works!
Storage (Accessing Data)
The process of accessing data has 4 steps.

1. Seek
2. Rotate
3. Settle
4. Data transfer
Measured
Step Click to start and stop animations
as:
1. seek seek time
move the head to proper (ms)
track
2. rotate rotational
rotate disk under the head to delay
the correct sector (ms)
3. settle settling time

head lowers to disk; (ms)
wait for vibrations from
moving to stop
(actually touches only on
floppies)
4. data transfer data
transfer rate
copy data to main memory
(kbs)
where ms stands for millisecond = .001 second and kbs is kilobytes per second.
Total time to transfer a kilobyte:
for floppies, 175 - 300 ms

for hard drive, 15 - 80 ms
new hard drives, .0146 ms (66.6 MB per sec).
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This is seriously fast!!
(Jan. 2000)
Clearly, getting data from a hard disk is immensely faster than from a floppy.
Storage (Caring for Disks)
To keep your storage media happy and healthy you must observe certain
precautions.
Each medium has its own particular weaknesses and hazards to avoid. Be careful or
suffer the consequences - lost data, which means, at best, lots of lost time and effort!
This section is about floppy disks and hard disks only. Other storage media are
discussed later.
Care of Floppy Disks

Common sense would say not to do anything that would physically damage the disk
or that would erase the data. The following admonitions apply to all types of floppy
disks.
Avoid
Smoke, dust,
Heat Magnetism
dirt, salt air
Don't
Touch the Mylar Bend Pu

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Using Floppy Disks
Improper preparation or use of a floppy disk can ruin your day, and even your floppy
drive. A few pointers are in order.
Use standard computer disk labels. Note that some labels wrap across the top as
pictured at the right. Others fit entirely on the front of the disk.
Write on the label!! If your disks are not kept strictly at home,
every label should include your name and something about what's
on the disk. (On 5¼" disks, use a felt-tip marker only. A pen or
pencil can damage the disk inside.)
Seal all edges down firmly. A loose corner might stick to the inside
of the floppy drive, creating a major mess in there.
Put the label in the right spot. Don't cover the holes in the corners
of 3½" floppies. Don't stick to the metal slide .
Most important, insert the floppy right side up! The label goes on top, the round
metal part is on the bottom. The edge with the metal slide goes in first.
Care of Hard Disks

There are fewer precautions for hard disks since they
are more protected by being sealed in air-tight cases. But
when damage does occur, it is a more serious matter.
Larger amounts of data can be lost and hard disks are
much, much more expensive that floppy disks.
Hard disks can have problems from magnetic fields and

heat like floppies do, but these are very rare.
Most problems occur when the read/write head (looks

like a pointer in the photo) damages the metal disk by hitting or even just touching it.
This is called a head crash.
When the computer is on, the hard disk is spinning extremely fast. Any
contact at all can cause pits or scratches. Every scratch or pit is lost data.
Damage in the root directory turns the whole hard disk into a lovely
doorstop! It's completely dead.
So the goal here is to keep that read/write head where it belongs, just

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barely above the hard disk, but never, ever touching it.
Don't
Jar the
computer while Turn the computer off and
the disk is quickly back on before Drop it - ever.
spinning. spinning has stopped.
Storage (Caring for Data)
Besides protecting the physical medium you are using to store data, you must also
consider what you can do to safeguard the data itself. If the disk is kept from
physical harm, but the data gets erased, you still have a major problem.
So what can you do to safeguard the data on which you rely??
This keeps your files from being overwritten with new ones.
Write protect
Floppy disks:
For floppies and many other kinds of removable media, you can do this physically.
5¼" = cover the Write Protect notch with tape
3½" = open the Write Protect slide
Other removable media:

Look for a small write-protect switch on the device.
Hard disks and devices without a switch:

Make files Read-Only and/or Hidden to keep them from being overwritten. This is
done by changing the file attributes using whatever system you have for managing
files.
Or assign a password to each file, which can be done with some programs and some
USB drives.

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Or go all the way and encrypt the files. This will require special software and
remembering the decryption key.
Backup
Make multiple copies of important data often.
The more important the files are, the more copies in more places you need.
Antivirus
Use an antivirus program continuously.
Computer viruses are sneaky computer programs that can erase your data and
even your whole system. Many viruses are merely annoying and are created as
practical jokes. But there are a number of very damaging viruses out there, plus
others that are out to steal your passwords or use your computer to damage or
annoy others.
Your computer gets a virus by downloading an infected file from the internet or your
office network, or by first using a removable disk in an infected computer and then
accessing a file on that removable disk with your own computer. This makes it
difficult to keep a virus from spreading.
Once you have disinfected your computer, it can get re-infected from a removable
disk that was used between the time you were infected with the virus and when you
disinfected it. A number of nasty viruses hide for quite a while before doing their
nasty things. So you can infect a lot of your own backups and other disks and spread
the infection, all unknowingly, to others. So run an antivirus program that actively
looks for viruses all the time. Don't wait until you have symptoms. A lot of damage
can be done before you figure out that you have a virus.
Storage (Optical Disks)

An entirely different method of recording data is used for optical disks. These
include the various kinds of CD and DVD discs.
You may guess from the word "optical" that it has to do with light. You'd be exactly
right! Laser light, in fact.
Optical disks come in several varieties which are made in somewhat different ways
for different purposes.
How optical disks are similar

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 Formed of layers
 Data in a spiral groove on starting from the center of the disk
 Digital data (1's and 0's)
 1's and 0's are formed by how the disk absorbs or reflects light from a tiny
laser.
The different types of optical disks use different materials and methods to absorb and
reflect the light.
How It Works (a simple version)
An optical disc is made mainly of polycarbonate (a plastic). The data is stored on a

layer inside the polycarbonate. A metal layer reflects the laser light back to a sensor.
To read the data on a disk, laser light shines through the polycarbonate and hits the
data layer. How the laser light is reflected or absorbed is read as a 1 or a 0 by the
computer.
In a CD the data layer is near the top of the disc, the label side.
In a DVD the data layer is in the middle of the disc. A DVD can actually have data in
two layers. It can access the data from 1 side or from both sides. This is how a double-
sided, double-layered DVD can hold 4 times the data that a single-sided, single-
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Read Only:
The most common type of optical disk is the CD-ROM, which stands for Compact
Disc - Read Only Memory. It looks just like an audio CD but the recording format is
quite different. CD-ROM discs are used for computer software.
DVD used to stand for Digital Video Device or Digital Versatile Device, but now it
doesn't really stand for anything at all! DVDs are used for recording movies.
The CDs and DVDs that are commercially produced are of the Write Once Read
Many (WORM) variety. They can't be changed once they are created.
The data layer is physically molded into the polycarbonate. Pits (depressions) and
lands (surfaces) form the digital data. A metal coating (usually aluminum) reflects the
laser light back to the sensor. Oxygen can seep into the disk, especially in high
temperatures and high humidity. This corrodes the aluminum, making it too dull to
reflect the laser correctly.
CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks should be readable for many, many years (100?
200?), but only if you treat them with respect.
Write Once:
The optical disks that you can record on your own computer are CD-R, DVD-R, and
DVD+R discs, called writable or recordable disks.
The metal and data layers are separate. The metal layer can be gold, silver, or a silver
alloy.
Go for the Gold: Gold layers are best because gold does not corrode. Naturally,
the best is more expensive. Sulfur dioxide can seep in and corrode silver over time.
The data layer is an organic dye that the writing laser changes. Once the laser
modifies the dye, it cannot be changed again. Write Once! Ultraviolet light and heat
can degrade the organic dye.
Manufacturers say that these disks have a shelf-life of 5 - 10 years before they are
used for recording. There is no testing yet about how long the data will last after you
record it. Humph!
A writable disk is useful as a backup medium when you need long-term storage of
your data. It is less efficient for data that changes often since you must make a new
recording each time you save your data. Pricing of the disks will be important to your
decision to use writable disks.
Rewrite:
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An option for backup storage of changing data is rewritable disks, CD-RW, DVD-
RW, DVD+RW, DVD+RAM.
The data layer for these disks uses a phase-changing metal alloy film. This film can be
melted by the laser's heat to level out the marks made by the laser and then lasered
again to record new data.
In theory you can erase and write on these disks as many as 1000 times, for CD-RW,
and even 100,000 times for the DVD-RW types.
Care of Optical Disks (CDs, DVDs)

Your CDs and DVDs are not going to last forever. They certainly store data longer
than floppy disks! Mis-handling your optical disk can quickly make your data
unreadable. Even fingerprints can do damage over time.
Data loss comes from:
 Physical damage - breaking, melting, scratching...

 Blocking of laser light by dirt, paint, ink, glue...
 Corrosion of the reflecting layer
Here are some do's and don'ts for keeping your CDs and DVDs healthy.
 Cleaning:
o Keep it clean!
o Handle by the edges or center hole.
o Put it back in its case as soon as you are finished with it. No laying
around on the desktop!!
o Remove dirt and smudges with a clean cotton cloth by wiping from the
center to the outer edge, NOT by wiping around the disk. Wiping in a
circle can create a curved scratch, which can confuse the laser.
o For stubborn dirt, use isopropyl alcohol or methanol or CD/DVD

cleaning detergent.
 Labeling:
o Don't use an adhesive label. The adhesive can corrupt your data in just
a few months!
o Don't write on or scratch the data side of the disk - ever!
o Don't scratch the label side.

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o Don't write on the label side with a pencil or pen (scratches!)
o Don't write on the label side with a fine-point marker or with any
solvent-based marker. Use markers for CDs. (Solvent may dissolve the
protective layer.)
 Storage:
o Store optical disks upright on edge, like a book, in a plastic case

designed specifically for them. Not flat for long periods!
o Store in a cool, dark environment where the air is clean and dry. NO
SMOKE! Low humidity.
 How you treat it:
o Keep away from high heat and high humidity which accelerate
corrosion.
o Keep out of sunlight or other sources of ultraviolet light.
o Keep away from smoke or other air pollution.
o Don't bend it!
o Don't use a disk as a coaster or a frisbee or a bookmarker!
Recording
 Check disk for flaws and dirt BEFORE recording on it.

 Only open a recordable disk just before you plan to record on it.
 After recording, make sure the disk works as you expect: Read data; run
programs.

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Storage (Other Devices)
Invention springs eternal in the computer industry. So more and different devices are
brought out all the time, especially for special uses.
The history of computing suggests that some new technology will take over the
market in the near future. Guessing which one will win the race is what makes
fortunes in the stock market!
Flash Memory Several different brands of removable storage cards, also

called memory cards, are now available. These are solid-
state devices (no moving parts) that read and write data
electrically, instead of magnetically.
Devices like digital cameras, digital camcorders, and cell phones

may use CompactFlash, SmartMedia, or another flash memory card.
Laptop computers use PCMCIA cards, another type of flash memory,

as solid-state hard disks.
USB drive This new type of flash memory storage device does
not yet have a generally accepted name. Each
company calls it something different, including
flash drive, flash pen, thumb drive, key drive, and
mini-USB drive.
All are small, about the size of your thumb or a large car key, and
plug into a USB port on the computer. No drivers are needed for
Windows XP, 2000, or Me. Plug it in and the computer reports a new
hard drive!
Such small flash drives can have storage capacities from 8 MB to 1

GB or more! Much better than a floppy disk!
Some flash drives include password protection and the ability to run
software right off the USB drive. So cool!
Removable Several types of special drives that compress data

hard drives are available. A regular external hard drive can be
used for backup, too.
The image at the right is of an external Zip drive

with a disk sticking out.

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Mass storage Businesses with very large sets of data that need easy access use sets
of cartridges with robot arms to pull out the right one on command.
Smart cards A chip on the card itself tracks changes, like

deducting purchases from the amount entered
originally on the card. Smart cards are already
used in Europe and at colleges instead of using a
handful of coins at vending machines and at
laundromats.
Another use involves a new sensor technology which lets a smart

card read your fingerprint right on the card. The digital image of the
fingerprint is then transmitted to a database to compare it with the
one on file for that card. You can prove you are really you!!
Optical cards A chip on the card holds information like health records and auto
repair records. They can hold more data than the smart cards since
they don't need to do any processing.

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Self Check LO1-6a
1. Auxiliary storage is _____.

a. used to store work while it's being processed
b. for hard copy only, like a filing cabinet
c. is another name for primary storage
d. is used for work that is not being processed
2. The amount of data that can be stored on a disk depends in part on_____.
a. the thickness of the magnetic coating
b. the number of tracks on the disk
c. the rotational speed of the disk
3. The most commonly used auxiliary storage device(s) is/ are _____.
a. a filing cabinet
b. floppies and tapes
c. hard disks and removable storage devices
d. tapes and hard disks
4. To protect the data on a 3½“ floppy, you should write-protect the diskette by
_____.
a. sliding the slide to open the hole
b. sliding the slide to close the hole
c. using tape to cover the notch
d. swipe the disk with a magnet so the data can't be read
5. Access time (the time it takes to access data) depends on _____.
a. rotational delay
b. seek time
c. settling time
d. transfer rate
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
6. Formatting a disk _____.
a. erases all data on the disk
b. makes a backup copy of the data on the disk
c. moves the data around on the disk to save space
d. all of the above
7. To care for data on disks you should do all of the following except ____.
a. avoid exposing disks to high heat
b. avoid exposing disks to dust and smoke
c. avoid bending the disks
d. keep the disks near magnets to keep the magnetic charge
strong
8. A gigabyte is equal to _____.
a. a thousand kilobytes
b. 1024 megabytes
c. 1024 x 1024 megabytes
d. a million megabytes
9. Tape storage is primarily used for _____.
a. backups
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b. installing new programs
c. rarely used software
10. The type of auxiliary storage which uses a laser is _____.
a. tape storage
b. hard disk
c. optical disk
d. LCD

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Computer to Computer (Intro)

Computer communication is the transmission of data and information over a
communications channel between two computers, which can be several different
things.
Communications between computers can be as simple as cabling two computers to

the same printer. It can be as complex as a computer at NASA sending messages
through an elaborate system of relays and satellites to tell a computer on Mars how to
drive around without hitting the rocks.
Depending on the context, for computer communications you might use the terms:
Data Communications for transmission of data and information over

a communications channel
Telecommunications for any long-distance communications,

especially television
Teleprocessing for accessing computer files located elsewhere
Communications Channel
A communications channel, also called a communications line or link, is the path that
the data follows as it is transmitted from one computer to another.
Computer to Computer (Transmission Media)

With such complex communications channels, we need to be aware of the
capabilities and limitations of the various media in use.
Transmission media just means the physical materials that are used to transmit data
between computers.
Cable

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For communications between computers that are linked by cable, there are three
choices.
Twisted wire (phone line)

Advantage: Easy to string
Cheap
Disadvantage: Subject to interference = static and
garble

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Coaxial cable (round insulated wire)
Advantage: Not susceptible to interference
Transmits faster
Disadvantage: Heavy & bulky
Needs booster over distance
Fiber optic line (glass fibers)
Advantage: Smaller
Lighter
Faster (speed of light!)
No interference
Disadvantage: Expensive
Harder to install and modify
Broadcast
For longer distances or when cables are not practical, other transmission media come
into play. We're getting really high tech here!
It may seem odd to call microwaves, radio waves, or light a "physical" medium. All
are electromagnetic in nature. Sometimes they are treated by scientists like streams of
teeny, tiny particles and other times like waves on the beach. In their "particle" life,
they do behave like a bunch of physical particles. So it's not quite as odd as it first
appears. (But all those electromagnetic things are plenty odd!)
(infrared, light, radio)

Advantage: Flexible
Portable
Wireless
Disadvantage: Slower data transfer than hard-wired
methods
Subject to interference
Microwave
Advantage: Speed of light

Uses a few sites
Disadvantage: Line-of-sight only
Satellite
Advantage: Always in sight

Disadvantage: Expensive uplink and downlink facilities

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Computer to Computer (Modems)
Signals
Two types of signals are used for data transmission:
Digital and Analog.
A digital signal is a stream of 0's and 1's. So this type is particularly

appropriate for computers to use.
An analog signal uses variations (modulations) in a signal to convey

information. It is particularly useful for wave data like sound waves.
Analog signals are what your normal phone line and sound speakers
use.
Modems
Often communications between computers use the telephone system for at least part
of the channel. A device is needed to translate between the analog phone line and the
digital computer. Such a device is the modem, which comes from
Modulate/Demodulate, which is what a modem does. It modulates a digital signal
from the computer into an analog one to send data out over the phone line. Then for
an incoming signal it demodulates the analog signal into a digital one.
Though rather small, modems are very complex devices. There are entirely too many
commands, protocols, and configuration choices available. Once you get a modem set
up and working right the first time, you probably won't have to tinker with it much
afterwards. Hurrah!!
Transmission Rate

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Confusion abounds when it comes to measuring the transmission rate of a modem.
Throughput is the term for the entire process - how much data is moved during a
certain amount of time. Since the modem is only part of the process of moving data,
getting a faster modem may not speed up your data transfers.
There are two different parts of the data transfer to measure: the digital process and
the analog process.
Digital
The rate of digital transmission is measured in bits per second (bps). Common rates
for regular modems are 28.8 Kbps, 33.6 Kbps, and 56 Kbps where the K stands for
thousand. Completely digital devices (discussed below) are much faster. Faster is
better, of course. 2400 bps would send a 20-page single-spaced report in 5 min. (This
is SLOW!!)
Analog
The analog side is measured in baud where 1 baud is one change in the signal per
second. Most people use bps and baud as though they were the same. For speeds of
2400 bps and under, this is true, but is it not so for the higher speeds where more than
one bit is transmitted per signal change.
Physical types
There are three physical types of modems:
External
which plugs into a serial port on the back of the
computer
Advantages: Can be moved to a different computer easily.

Does not take up a slot inside the computer.
Lights on front are visible to show what the modem is doing.
Disadvantages: Takes up deskspace.
Adds more cables to the tangle.
Internal
where the phone line plugs directly into card through
the back of the computer
Advantages: Saves deskspace.
Saves a cable.
Disadvantages: Requires an internal peripheral slot.
(They get filled up.)
Must use software display to see the
lights that show what the modem is
doing.

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Acoustical
where the telephone handset is placed into the device,
which is connected to the computer (Old technology!
Not many of these around any more.)
Advantages: Can use a phone without having to
move the phone wire.
Disadvantages: Bulky.
Connection much more prone to static
and interference.
Only a standard handset will fit.
Digital Modems
A digital modem does not have to convert between analog and digital signals.
Technically it's not a "modem" at all since it is not modulating and demodulating. A
digital modem is faster than an analog modem.
To get the increase in speed you will have to pay extra (of course!). Digital modems
are more expensive and so are digital data lines from the phone company. The phone
company has to install additional equipment for some kinds of digital modems.
Normally a digital modem can receive data at a much higher rate than it can send it
out. That works out fine for most people because they are only sending out a few
responses instead of whole web pages or data files.
Warning: Once you have used a high speed device, you will be spoiled forever!
Types of Digital Modems
ISDN modem
(Integrated Services Digital Network) - a digital device using a digital phone
line. It actually should be called a terminal adapter, but the name modem has
stuck. An ISDN device is capable of higher rates than an normal modem, 64
Kbps for a single line and 128 Kbps for a bonded dual line. ISDN adapters
cost more than normal modems and also require special arrangements with the
phone company (and more $$ for them, of course!). Fiber optic line is best for
the highest ISDN transmission rate, but the copper wires used in most homes
and offices will work also.
Note: To get the highest speeds out of your ISDN modem, you'll need a high
speed I/O (input/output) card in the computer to which to connect the modem.
DSL (commonly used for ASDL)

(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) - a new technology that allows a single
regular telephone line to serve for normal phone calls and digital data at the
same time.

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An ADSL modem receives data (downloading) at rates ranging from 384
Kbps to 8Mbps, depending on the particular kind of service. Even the slowest
type is 4 times faster than the best ISDN!
The sending (uploading) rate is much slower, thus the "asymmetric" part of
the full name for this kind of service. That is not a problem for most people
since they do not need to upload much data at a time.
Besides great speed, ADSL does not require a separate phone line and you are
connected all of the time. No more dialing up! You can use a regular phone
on the same line and at the same time that you are surfing the Internet. No
more busy signals to your friends and relatives!
Another plus is that you can easily hook up all of the new parts yourself. This
saves a LOT of aggravation since you won't have to wait on the phone
company or the cable TV guy to show up.
Cable modem
Hooks up to your cable TV line and can receive up to 1.5 Mbps or more. You
must have cable TV service with a cable company that also provides data
service. You may need a special cable box to which you connect your TV and
your computer. You will be sharing the line with all of the cable customers
hooked up to your particular cable line. The actual transfer rate you get will
depend on how many people are using the cable at the same time. Once cable
modems become popular in your neighborhood, your speed will slow down
noticeably. Most companies now restrict the top speed level and balance the
load better than they used to do. A cable modem connection is certainly faster
than ISDN. Most cable accounts are faster than most DSL accounts.
How Device Speeds Compare
The table below will help you see just how much faster the different transfer rates are.
To read the table, look at the speed in the top row, which is in kilobytes per second.
Below it you will see how long it takes to transfer 1 MB, 10 MB, and 1000 MB at that
speed. Check out the last row. This one really shows the difference between analog
modems and the digital kind. The times go down from days to hours or even minutes!
Remember that just because your device is able to send and receive at a certain rate
does not mean that it will ever actually work that fast. There are many other factors in
the communications channel that can reduce the transmission speed from the
maximum.
Throughput ISDN Cable ADSL

(Kbps) 14.4 28.8 50 128 256 1544 8000
File Size Download Time
9.26 4.63 2.6 1 31.25 5.18 1
1 MB
min min min min s s s

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1.54 46.3 26.6 10.4 5.2 51.8 10
10 MB
hr min min min min s s
1000 MB 6.4 3.2 1.85 17.4 8.6 1.4 16.6
(gigabyte) days days days hr hr hr min
Protocols
To talk to each other, modems have to exchange a good bit of information, since
there are so many different types and speeds of modems around. That's what the high
pitched squeals and squawks are that you can hear when an analog modem is trying to
connect. It's modem talk for "So, who are you? Do you speak my language? Well,
maybe we can find a common language so these guys can get connected."
A digital modem does not make noises (an advantage!) but it must do the same kind
of negotiation with the device at the other end to come up with a common language,
called a protocol.
A protocol defines what information is exchanged and in what order. The names of
the protocols are of the form v.##. So you'll see things like v.25bis, v.34, and v.120.
Some protocols are more stable or faster than others at certain tasks.
Computer to Computer (Software)

You can't just hook up your computer to a network or a modem and start sending and
receiving data. The computer needs instructions on how to do this. You need some
kind of communications software. Since there are a number of different
communications tasks, there are different kinds of programs that manage those tasks.
Dialing
Dialing software tells the computer how to place a call on the phone line
connected to it. It also displays messages about the progress of the call or
lack thereof. A list of phone numbers for frequently called, or frequently
forgotten, numbers is an important feature.
These capabilities are often included in other software packages.

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File Transfer
One of the most common uses of computer to computer communications is to
transfer files from one to the other.
Downloading means to transfer a file to your computer from

elsewhere.
Uploading means to transfer a file from your computer to

another.
Programs that manage this process include many file management features. You need
to be able to see what files are available, their sizes, and the folders you can put the
transferred file in. You may want to rename the file or create a new folder for your
new file.
Such a program will also handle the process of connecting to the other computer.
Many of the names of these programs include the letters FTP, which stands for File
Transfer Protocol. (Yes, another kind of protocol. And there are more!!)
Terminal Emulation
Programs running on a network or that connect to a computer bulletin board (BBS),
make an assumption about what kind of keyboard is being used. Keyboards for
terminals used on networks often have assigned special functions to certain keys.
They may even have keys that don't exist on standard keyboards. In order to work
with the network programs, you need a program that will disguise your keyboard and
make the network think that you are one of them! You must emulate, that is mimic,
the keyboard that is expected.
A terminal emulation program will make:
look like to the network or BBS.

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Data Encryption
When sending data over a communications channel, there is always the possibility
that someone will see your data that you didn't mean to. If your data is of a sensitive
nature, like your credit card number, or if it is secret, like the formula for Coca-Cola,
you'd probably like to keep strangers from reading it.
A data encryption program encodes your data, just like spies do. So to read it, a
person would need the right decoding program and the right password or file to give
that program so it would know what to do exactly.
Computer to Computer (Networks)

A network is a set of computers which are linked together on a permanent basis.
This can mean two computers cabled together on the same desk, or thousands of
computers across the world.
Advantages: Enables users to share hardware like scanners and printers. This
reduces costs by reducing the number of hardware items bought.
Allows users access to data stored on others' computers. This keeps

everyone up-to-date on the latest data, since it's all in the same file,
rather than having to make copies of the files, which are immediately
out-of-date.
Can even let users run programs that are not installed on their own
computers but are installed elsewhere in the network. This reduces the
effort for networks administrators to keep programs configured
correctly and saves a lot of storage space.
Disadvantages Accessing anything across a network is slower than accessing your

: own computer.
More complexity adds new problems to handle.
Less customization is possible for shared programs and folders.

Everyone will have to follow the same conventions for storing and
naming files so others can find the right files.
Sharing is hard for some folks!
LAN

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A LAN is a Local Area Network. This
would include networks where the
computers are relatively close together. So
LANs would be within the same office, a
single building, or several buildings close
together.
The graphic at the right shows two

buildings with 4 departments connected as
a LAN.

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WAN
A WAN is a Wide Area Network,
which would be all networks too large
to be LANs. There doesn't seem to be a
clear line between the two
designations. A WAN would be most
useful for large companies with offices
or factories in widely separated areas,
like Microsoft, IBM, Ford, AT&T, etc.
Computer to Computer (Network Configurations)

There are a number of ways that computers can be connected together to form
networks.
The pattern of connections depends in part on the distances involved since that
determines what hardware must be used. It also depends on the degree of stability
needed for the network. That is, how important is it that the whole system can't crash
at the same time. These choices carry dollar costs, too. Better costs more, sometimes a
LOT more.
Each device in the network, whether it's a computer, printer, scanner, or whatever, is
called a node.
Star
The star pattern connects everything to one host, which is
the computer that handles the network tasks and holds the
data. All communications between computers go through
the host. This configuration is good for businesses that have
large amounts of rapidly changing data, like banks and
airline reservation offices.
Advantages: Gives close control of data.

Each PC sees all the data.
User sees up-to-date data always.
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If a computer other than the host fails, no other computer is
affected.
Disadvantages: If host computer or its software goes down, the whole network
is down.
(A backup computer system would be necessary to keep going
while repairs are made.)

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Bus
The bus pattern connects the
computer to the same communications
line. Communications goes both
directions along the line. All the
computers can communicate with each
other without having to go through the
server.
Advantages: Any one computer or device being down does not affect the others.
Disadvantages: Can't connect a large number of computers this way. It's physically
difficult to run the one communications line over a whole building,
for example.
Ring
The ring pattern connects the computers and other devices
one to the other in a circle. There is no central host
computer that holds all the data. Communication flows in
one direction around the ring. This configuration is good
when the processing of data can be done on the local PC.
Advantages: Requires less cabling and so is less

expensive.
Disadvantages: If one node goes down, it takes down the
whole network.
In the token ring form of a ring network, a token is

constantly passed along the network. A device must wait
until the token is at that device. Then it can attach the
message it wants to send to the token. When the token
reaches the intended recipient device on the network, it will
release the message. The token circulates very fast, but this
obviously means that most of the time a device will have to
do some waiting before it can send out a message.
Connecting Networks
Networks can be connected to each other, too. There are difficulties in doing so,
however. A combination of software and hardware must be used to do the job.

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A gateway connects networks of different kinds, like
connecting a network of PCs to a main frame
network. This can be complex!
A bridge connects networks of the same type. This

job is simple.
A router connects several networks. A router is

smart enough to pick the right path for
communications traffic. If there is a partial failure of
the network, a router looks for an alternate route.
Suppose the accounting, advertising, and shipping departments of a company each

have networks of PCs. These departments need to communicate with each other, but
only sometimes. It would be easier and cheaper to connect them to each other than to
put them all on the same larger network. The best arrangement would be for the
departmental networks to be of the same kind so that a bridge could be used.
Computer to Computer (Network Servers)

Problem: You need a list of customers who have outstanding balances with your
company of over $1000.
If you are on a network, what happens next when you request data depends on the
setup of the host computer, the server. A server is faster and more powerful than the
computers connected to it on the network.
File Server
When you ask for customers with outstanding balances of over $1000, a computer
set up as a file server will send out a copy of the whole Customers file to your
computer. Your computer does the search through the file for the customers that meet
the criteria of "Balance > $1000".
This is fine unless the Customers file is large. Then it would take a long time just to
download the file to your computer. It would also take a long time to search through
such a large file.
Client Server

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When you ask for the customers with balances of over $1000, a computer set up as a
client server does the search itself and sends only the results to your computer.
This is best when the file is large or changes rapidly. It takes advantage of the extra
power of the server and avoids the "dead time" of a long download.

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Self Check LO1-7a
1. The path that data travels between two computers is NOT called a _____.
a. communications channel
b. communications link
c. communications line
d. communications bridge
e. none of the above
2. Twisted wire, coaxial cable, and microwave are types of transmission
_____.
a. chains
b. media
c. data
d. information
3. Fiber optics have the advantage of _____.
a. being cheaper to install
b. being easier to install than twisted wire
c. having no interference
d. using direct line-of-sight
4. A modem is used to _____.
a. change incoming analog signals to digital signals and outgoing
digital signals to analog signals
b. connect two computers using telephone lines
c. connect two computers using a satellite uplink
d. connect a computer to a shared printer
e. both a and b
f. both b and d
5. The line that is most often used for telephones is _____.
a. twisted pair
b. coaxial cable
c. fiber optics
6. To move a copy of a file from one computer to another over a
communications channel is called _____.
a. file compression
b. file encryption
c. terminal emulation
d. file transfer
7. A LAN is a _____ network.
a. Long Array
b. Local Area
c. Land Access
d. Line Area
8. Sharing of hardware resources like a scanner could be done with _____.
a. LAN
b. WAN
c. Internet
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9. In a File-Server arrangement, the PC _____.
a. does the processing of the data into information
b. does none of the processing of data into information
c. searches the server for data
d. sends the results of a search to the server
10. An airline reservations network would most likely be in a _____
configuration.
a. star
b. bus
c. ring
d. gateway

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System Software (Intro)

System software is a catch-all term for the programs that handle the running of your
computer's hardware. The two main categories are:
operating systems utility programs
Operating Systems
Between the hardware and the application software lies the operating
system. The operating system is a program that conducts the
communication between the various pieces of hardware like the video
card, sound card, printer, the motherboard and the applications.
What can a computer do without an operating system?
Not much!! Let's look at what happens when you turn on your computer, before the
operating system is involved.
The first screen you see when you turn your computer on will be about the BIOS
(Basic Input/Output System) of your
computer. The BIOS is a set of instructions
on a ROM chip (Read-Only Memory) that
controls how the hardware and the operating
system communicate. It's a very limited set
of instructions.
Notice the instruction to "Hit DEL if

you want to run Setup." Other
keys might be used for a different brand of
BIOS. Don't do this unless you know what
you are trying to do. Setup allows you
change certain features of your computer at a
very basic level, but doing it wrong can keep
it from working right or even at all!
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An older BIOS might not understand your newest, spiffiest piece of hardware. In this
case you would have to get a new motherboard or an updated BIOS. A newer
motherboard will have a BIOS that can be updated using software. It may require
making a physical change on the inside of your computer, running a special software
program, then resetting the motherboard back the way it was. (This is a task only for
the brave and technically skilled since you can ruin a motherboard very easily!)
After the BIOS has gone through its morning wake-up routine, you'll see on your
screen something about running the POST (Power On Self Test). This is a set of tests
of the hardware. If, for example, your keyboard is not plugged in or is broken, you
will see a message about "Keyboard failure" and the computer will stop where it is in
the POST. There are tests included for the hard drives, memory, and the buses, too.
This is only a quick check-up though and does not guarantee that everything is
perfect.
That's it for what the computer can do without an operating system. It can wake up
and twitch a little, but it can't move or talk yet. Its nervous system is not working.
Next the computer looks for some kind of operating system. It will usually be set up
to look in the floppy drive first and then on the hard drive. This way if your hard drive
fails, you have a way to get the system working enough to diagnose the problem.
Enough of the operating system to get started will fit on a 3½" floppy disk. This part
of the operating system has various names. Kernel, master program, supervisor,
control program are a few. In PCs using DOS or Windows the term kernel is used.
When the kernel is loaded, the computer looks for three files:
command language The command language interpreter is the program that turns
interpreter your keystrokes into all those 1's and 0's for the processor to
swallow. For DOS and Windows 95 the program is
command.com.
config.sys From the config.sys the computer finds what devices are
connected, such as a mouse, CD drive, or scanner. The file tells
where to look for the directions, called drivers, for using these
devices.
Here is an example of a config.sys that might be used with Windows 95, with
explanations in blue on the right. The blue parts can't be in the real file. Win95
doesn't require a config.sys unless there are devices that you want to run in DOS
mode.
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /eisa This device manages the high

memory. Very important.
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS This device manages the rest of
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memory. Very important.
DEVICEHIGH=C:\PIONEER\ATAPI_CD.SYS /S:3
/D:MSCD001
This device operates the CD drive.
The HIGH part says to load the driver
HIGH in memory, so the HIMEM
device must be loaded too.
autoexec.bat This file does optional tasks like loading programs that you
want to start every time your computer is turned on. You may
see a lot of messages on the screen as the various programs are
started. This file also tells the computer where to look for files,
called the path. Many programs add their own directories to
the path when they are installed. The path can get too long to
function right!
Here's an example of an autoexec.bat that might be used under Windows 95, with
explanations on the right in blue. The blue parts can't be in the real file. Win95
doesn't require an autoexec.bat but you might want to change some of the defaults or
to have some things to run in DOS mode.
@C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~3\NAVBOOT.EXE /STARTUP Starts Norton's Antivirus

program
@SET TEMP=H:\TEMP These two lines tell
@SET TMP=H:\TEMP programs where to put
temporary files
@c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /d:ATAPI_CD.SYS Starts driver for CD- ROM
@ECHO OFF Allows some lines to not
show onscreen when this file
is run
@PROMPT $p$g Sets how the command line
will look
@SET Tells where to look for files
PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\; when full name with
directories is not given
REM This is a remark. If a line starts with REM the
computer ignores the rest.
So this is a way to write
yourself notes about what
the lines do.
The @ in the front of a line keeps that command from displaying on the screen as it is
executed. Some people want to see them ALL. Most of us would rather not think about
it!
By the way, if you look on your hard drive under Windows for these files, you might
not see them. The default installation of some versions of Windows hides system files,
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which includes autoexec.bat and config.sys. To view such files you must change a
setting. From any My Computer or Explorer window, on the View menu, select
Options. Then choose the View tab. There is a choice there to show or not show
system and hidden files.
DOS - When your pretty graphical interface breaks, you may have to go to the
command line to fix it. Even within Windows, it can be faster to type a command on
the Run line than to find the right icon to start a program. So, a knowledge of DOS
commands is not yet useless. See DOS Commands
So we see that without the operating system, the computer is paralyzed. Let's look
now at the types and functions of operating systems.
System Software (Functions)

All operating systems must handle the same basic tasks. These functions can be
divided into three groups:

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Allocating System Resources
The operating system directs the traffic inside the computer, deciding what resources
will be used and for how long.
Time Time in the CPU is divided into time

slices which are measured in
milliseconds. Each task the CPU does is
assigned a certain number of time slices.
When time expires, another task gets a
turn. The first task must wait until it has another turn. Since time slices
are so small, you usually can't tell that any sharing is going on. Tasks can
be assigned priorities so that high priority (foreground) tasks get more
time slices than low priority (background) tasks.
Memory Memory must be managed also by the

operating system. All those rotating turns
of CPU use leave data waiting around in
buffers. Care must be taken not to lose
data!! One way to help out the traffic jam
is to use virtual memory. This includes
disk space as part of main memory. While
it is slower to put data on a hard disk, it increases the amount of data that
can be held in memory at one time. When the memory chips get full,
some of the data is paged out to the hard disk. This is called swapping.
Windows uses a swap file for this purpose.
Input and Flow control is also part of the operating system's

output responsibilities. The operating system must manage
all requests to read data from disks or tape and all
writes to these and to printers.
To speed up the output to printers, most operating

systems now allow for print spooling, where the
data to be printed is first put in a file. This frees up the processor for other
work in between the times data is going to the printer. A printer can only
handle so much data at a time. Without print spooling you'd have to wait
for a print job to finish before you can do anything else. With it you can
request several print jobs and go on working. The print spool will hold
all the orders and process them in turn.
Monitoring System Activities

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System A user or administrator can check to see
performance whether the computer or network is getting
overloaded. Changes could be made to the way
tasks are allocated or maybe a shopping trip is
in order! System performance would include
response time ( how long it takes for the
computer to respond when data is entered) and CPU utilization
(comparing the time the CPU is working to the time it is idle.)
System Some system security is part of the operating system,

security though additional software can add more security
functions. For multiple users who are not all allowed
access to everything, there must be a logon or login
procedure where the user supplies a user name or ID and
a secret password. An administrator must set up the
permissions list of who can have access to what programs and what
data.
File and Disk Management
Keeping track of what files are where is a major job. If you can't find a
file, it doesn't help to know that it is safe and secure somewhere. So an
operating system comes with basic file management commands. A user
needs to be able to create directories for storing files. (Dumping
everything in one pile soon becomes the needle-in-the-haystack story.) A
user needs to copy, move, delete, and rename files. This is the category
of operating system functions that the user actually sees the most.
A more technical task is that of disk management. Under some operating systems
your hard disk can be divided up, or partitioned into several virtual disks. The
operating system treats each virtual disk as though it were a physically separate disk.
Managing several physical and/or virtual disks can get pretty complex, especially if
some of the disks are set up with different operating systems. (Some folks are never
satisfied with just one of anything!)
System Software (Types)

There are two basic types of operating systems:
single program and multitasking.

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A single program operating system allows only one program to run at a time.
This means that if you are working in a spreadsheet and want to write a
memo, you must shut down the spreadsheet application and open up a word
processor. This is annoying, especially if you need to quote some data from the
spreadsheet in your memo! So new operating systems were designed that allowed
multiple programs to run at the same time.
The simplest form is multi-tasking. What this really means is that the
programs are taking turns with the processor. It allows a single user to have
the spreadsheet and the word processor open at the same time, and even more.
Now the user can see to copy data from one to the other. Much better!!
The computer must decide on how many time slices each program gets. The active
program gets the most. Next is programs that are doing things but which aren't the
foreground program. Last is programs that are open but aren't doing anything. They
need a little bit of time every now and then to see if they are supposed to do
something yet.
The next step up in complexity is multiple users. On a network

several users can be using the same computer or even the same
program on that computer. This is called time-sharing.
If a computer has multiple CPUs, it can do multiprocessing. Rather than a single

CPU giving out turns to various programs, the different CPUs can work
simultaneously. Speed increases immensely. Of course cost does, too!
It is possible for a computer to use more than one operating system

through the use of virtual machines."Virtual" means it's not really
there. But programs written for different operating systems are fooled
into thinking their required operating system is present.
Common Operating Systems

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Originally the operating system was created by each company that manufactured a
processor and motherboard. So each operating system was proprietary, that is,
unique to each manufacturer. Problem: changing to a new computer meant your
software had to be replaced! Not good marketing. So there was pressure early on to
standardize things so that software could be transferred to the new (and of course
better!) computer. This required more standardization in operating systems.
The winner in the PC market was MS-DOS, Microsoft's Disk Operating

System, and its twin at IBM, PC-DOS, also written by Microsoft. Now it's
hard to recall those days when each computer had its own unique operating
system. More on DOS Commands
Windows 95 and Windows 98 are actual operating systems on their own.

The previous versions of Windows use DOS as the operating system and
adding a graphical user interface which will do multitasking. But with
Windows 95 Microsoft released an operating system that can take advantage of the
32-bit processors.
Windows Me (Windows Millennium Edition) is an upgrade of Windows 98, release

date Sept. 14, 2000. The system resources required for this operating system
are significantly higher than previous versions of Windows.
Windows NT (the NT apparently came from New Technology) is an

operating system for client-server type networks. The last version of NT has a
user interface that is practically identical to Windows 95. Since Windows NT
was designed for the higher demands of networks, it had higher demands itself for
disk space and memory.
Windows 2000 is an upgrade of Windows NT rather than of Windows 98.
Windows XP is an upgrade to Windows 2000. It comes in two versions -

Home and Professional. The Professional version contains all the features of
the Home version plus more business features, like networking and security
features.

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Windows Vista was released in early 2007. It has higher requirements for memory and
processor speed than previous versions of Windows. Vista comes in
several different flavors for home and business purposes.
Windows CE is for small devices like palmtop and handheld computers. Lite
versions of a number of major applications are available to run on these
devices. You can link your small computer to a regular one to synchronize
documents and data.
The Apple Macintosh is a multitasking operating system that was the first graphical
interface to achieve commercial success. The Mac was an immediate
success in the areas of graphics production, and still commands the lion's
share of that market. Apple made a major marketing error when they
decided to keep their hardware and software under tight control rather than licensing
others to produce compatible devices and programs. While the Apple products were of
high quality, they were always more expensive than comparable products that were
compatible with Microsoft's DOS operating system. Apple's share of the computer
market has dropped to an estimated 2.4% worldwide and 3.48% of the US market.
This is an example of how a near lock on a market can be lost in a twinkling.
The current version is Mac OS X, which is version 10. Since January 2002, all new
Mac computers use Mac OS X. Subversions are named Jaguar, Panther, Tiger,
Leopard....
IBM's 32-bit operating system, OS/2, was a popular system for businesses
with complex computer systems from IBM. It was powerful and had a nice
graphical interface. Programs written for DOS and Windows could also run
on this system. This system has never really caught on for PCs and is no
longer marketed. After Dec. 31, 2006, this operating system will not be supported at
all.

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UNIX is an operating system developed by Bell Labs to handle complex scientific
applications. University networks are likely to use UNIX, as are Internet
Service Providers. A lot of people have experience with UNIX from their
college work. Many computer old-timers love UNIX and its command line
interface. But all those commands are not easy to remember for newcomers. X-
Windows is a graphical interface for UNIX that some think is even easier to work
with than Windows 98.
Linux is an operating system similar to UNIX that is becoming more and

more popular. (And it has the cutest logo!)
It is a open-source program created by Linus Torvalds at the University of
Finland, starting in 1991. Open source means that the underlying computer
code is freely available to everyone. Programmers can work directly with
the code and add features. They can sell their customized version of Linux, as long as
the source code is still open to others. You can find more info at the Linux home site.
Changes
Other operating systems exist and new ones may still appear and take over the market
position of the popular ones discussed above. Nothing in computers is so sure as
change!
Microsoft, for example, has adopted a schedule for phasing out online support and
updates for its operating systems.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycleconsumer.mspx
For example, under this schedule, Dec. 31, 2002, is the EOL (End of Life) date for all
versions of MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT3.5. There will be
no more security updates and no technical support of any kind from Microsoft for
products that have passed their EOL date.
System Software (Utility Programs)

Utility Programs
A utility program performs tasks related to the maintaining of your

computer's health - hardware or data. Some are included with the
operating system. But someone always thinks they have a better
version for you to buy. And they are frequently right!
File Management programs make it easier to manage your files. In the high
days of DOS it didn't take much to improve on the text-only type-it-all-
yourself methods that DOS provided. Many programs were written to help
the user find files, create and organize directories, copy, move, and rename files.
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Some even used the mouse to point and click to accomplish these tasks. You don't
appreciate the vastness of the improvement until you've tried to do these things from
the command line. The newer graphical interfaces that come with current operating
systems have reduced the need for alternate file management programs.
Disk Management programs involve formatting and defragmenting disks.

Defragmenting means putting files on the disk so that the whole file is in
sequence. This reduces the time to access the file. Some disk management
programs even let you specify that certain files that are accessed often, like
the operating system itself and frequently used programs, are at the front of the disk.
Anything that speeds things up will have customers.
Memory Management software handles where programs put their current

data in RAM. They move certain memory-resident items out of the way.
This can effectively increase the memory available by getting all the
unused pieces together in one spot, making a useable amount.
A backup program, which also restores the backed up data, is a

must if you have any data at all that you want to keep around for
a while. The software will compress the data to take up the least
space (Recall the problem with slack space we found in the discussion of
Data Recovery programs are for those who just said "Whoops!" They
attempt to recover deleted or damaged (corrupted) files.
Data Compression programs squeeze out the slack space generated by the
formatting schemes, as discussed under Storage: Disk Format.
Security Software
This category includes a number of different kinds of programs, all of which are
trying to protect your computer and your data from attacks and damage and being
controlled without permission. No one program can protect against all of the bad guys
out there. Using a set of overlapping programs is the best way to keep your computer
and its data safe.
What you need protection from:
 Viruses copy themselves to other disks to spread to other computers. They can
be merely annoying or they can be vastly destructive to your files.
 Trojans hide inside something else to sneak in unwanted programs. You don't
know that they are there, like the famous Trojan horse. These are often used to
capture your logins and passwords.
 Worms are unwanted programs that are transferred over network or Internet
connections to spread themselves quickly.
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 Spyware programs lurk on your computer to steal important information, like
your passwords and logons and other personal identification information and
then send it off to someone else.
 Zombie programs take control of your computer and use it and its Internet
connection to attack other computers or networks or to perform criminal
activities.
 Phishing (pronounced like the word 'fishing') is a message that tries to trick
you into providing information like your social security number or bank
account information or logon and password for a web site. The message may
claim that if you do not click on the link in the message and log onto a
financial web site that your account will be blocked, or some such disaster.
 Spam is email that you did not request and do not want. One person's spam is
another's useful newsletter or sale ad. Spam is a common way to spread
viruses, trojans, and the like.
 Browser hijacking occurs when one of the nasties takes control of your
browser, sending you to sites that you did not mean to go to. This may be a
porn site or it may look like a real banking, sales, or credit card site. The
purpose is to steal your personal and financial information.
Anti-virus programs monitor the computer for the activity of viruses and
similar nasties.
Anti-spyware programs similarly monitor your computer, looking for known trouble-
makers as well as suspicious behavior.
Anti-spam software tries to identify useless or dangerous messages for you.
A firewall blocks attempts to access your files over a network or internet connection.
Your network router or modem or both may have a hardware firewall built into it.
That will block incoming attacks. But you still need a software firewall on your
computer to block outgoing attacks. Your computer can become infected through
shared disks or even from another computer on the network. So you need to monitor
what your computer is putting out over the network or internet also.

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Self Check LO1-8a
1. The operating system for a computer does the following:

a. manages the disks and files
b. manages the computer's resources
c. manages the computer's memory
d. all of the above
2. Spooling helps because _____.
a. it is a more secure method of accessing data
b. print jobs go more smoothly with less stop and go
c. the computer is released to do other things while still printing
3. A proprietary operating system is ____.
a. unique to a manufacturer
b. similar to those of other manufacturers
c. used by many different computer manufacturers
d. properly configured to operate
4. A computer's BIOS will ____
a. check for the presence of peripherals like mouse, sound card,
scanner
b. run a check of memory
c. be loaded first when the computer is powered on
5. Windows versions before Windows 95 _____
a. are proprietary operating systems
b. are not operating systems at all
c. rely on DOS as the operating system
d. were the first successful graphical operating systems
e. both a and d
f. both b and c
g. a, b, c, and d
6. A backup program _____.
a. makes a copy of files you select.
b. returns you to the previous program
c. undoes the last change you made
7. The autoexec.bat file can tell the computer where to look first for
executable files. This set of locations is called _____.
a. the path
b. the command directory
c. home
d. the system directory
8. When a computer is "swapping", it is _____.
a. moving data from the hard drive to the floppy drive
b. moving data from memory to the swap file on the hard drive
c. moving data between registers in memory
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9. A computer virus can be _____.
a. annoying only
b. damaging to your data
c. copied without your knowledge onto floppies used in the infected
computer
d. all of the above
10. A foreground task has more _____ than a background task.
a. buffers
b. microseconds
c. registers
d. time slices

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How Components Fit Together
Indicates a user tip, something that may be useful to know.
Indicates a warning about potential hazards.
How Components Fit Together (The Front)

When you look at the front of your computer, you will probably see something a little
different from the diagram to the right. There are a huge number of variations on the
market. However, certain features are either standard or at least very common. We'll
look at them starting with the bottom of the diagram.
Buttons
Power
The Power button is most important. If you can't find this one, you won't get too far
with your computer! This is either a push button or a flip switch that turns on the
computer. Computers now put this on the front, but older models may have it on the
side or even the back of the computer. There is an LED light to show you that the
power is on.
Reset
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The Reset button is used to restart the computer quickly. When the Reset button is
pressed, called a Warm Boot, the computer shuts down but does not stop the hard
drive's spinning. It then immediately starts up again. This saves time since if the hard
drive is turned off, you must wait about 30 seconds to be sure that it has completely
stopped before turning the power back on.
Recall from the lesson on Storage: Caring for Disks that restarting the hard drive
too soon can damage it.
Sometimes it is necessary to do a Cold Boot, that is let the drive stop first and let
the internals cool off for a bit before restarting, in order to clear up a computer glitch.

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Turbo
The Turbo button is now obsolete on nearly all computers. This button made the
computer's CPU run at a higher clock rate. On earlier models there were times this
was not desirable. Thus a button to switch the Turbo mode on and off. More recent
models don't use this feature.
Drives
The hard drive is not accessible from the outside of the computer.
Hard Drive It is completely internal. There is a LED light, however, to let you
know when the drive is being accessed. On most machines you
can clearly hear the drive starting up and when the head is moving
around. Each drive has a different sound.
If your drive starts making a sound that is different from

normal, something is wrong. It may be a software problem that is
causing the drive to hunt around too much or it may be a hardware
problem. Either way something needs to be fixed.
Drives with removable media will be accessible from the front.

Removable This includes the two sizes of floppy drives, tape drives, CD-
Media ROM drives, and other newer kinds like Zip drives.
Drives
Each drive will have a small LED light that will light up when that
drive is being accessed. These are in green on the diagram.
You probably don't have all of these different kinds of drives.

Notice that only a certain number will fit in the spaces provided in
your case. There are external versions, too, that plug into the back
of the computer. These are handy if you don't have room for
another device or if you want to use the device on more than one
computer. The internal types are usually faster though.
Sound is also an important diagnostic tool for these drives. Pay

attention to what your drives sound like under normal conditions
so you'll be able to catch problems right away.
A badly behaving drive can ruin the media you put in. If you
suspect something is going wrong with a drive, don't use media
with important data on it for testing. Use either a blank or
something with unimportant data until you can be confident that
the drive won't trash it!

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Most new computers now have rectangular
USB port USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports on the front
as well as on the back of the computer. It's
much easier to use the ports on the front for
connecting cameras and USB drives, like the one at the right.
A USB device can be connected or disconnected at any time

without having to shut down or reboot the computer. For USB
drives, be sure the activity light is off. You may need to Stop the
device using the menu from the Safely Remove Hardware

icon (in WinXP's notification tray).
The label is the just the logo of the company that

Label manufactured or assembled the computer.
How Components Fit Together (The Back)

External devices connect to the computer in the back. The diagram below shows the
most common connections. But the arrangement of these is quite varied from machine
to machine. The name-brand computers often have unique designs with special
connectors for the peripherals that are sold with the computer.

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Connectors
Note that many of the connectors

come in two types: male and female.
The male has the pins while the
female has the holes.
Male Female
Power
The power cord connects the computer to electrical power. It is a thick, round cable
with a three-prong plug on one end and a three-hole plug on the other.
If you are ever working on the inside of the case, be SURE that this cord is
disconnected, else you might find out what it feels like to stick your finger in an
electrical socket. Zap!
Fan
The fan that you can see on the back of the computer is not a connection, but it is
critical to the health of your computer. It cools the power supply.
There is at least one other fan inside the computer, which keeps air flowing inside the
case to remove the heat that all this processing generates. If things get too hot inside
the casing, the CPU will fail to calculate accurately. You will get wrong answers, the
wrong commands will be executed, there may be unpredictable crashes of your

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programs. This could be annoying or disastrous, depending on exactly what happens.
If you have trouble only after the computer has been on for awhile, you can put HEAT
on the top of your list of suspects.
Never block the vent holes in your computer's case. Blow the dust off the blades
from time to time.
Noise: When your computer first starts up, most of the noise you hear comes from the
fans.
If you ever fail to hear a fan running, don't operate the computer until it is fixed or
you'll be risking serious damage from heat.
Keyboard
The keyboard plugs into the computer with a round connector, which can only fit one
way. Recent keyboards use a PS/2 connector, which is smaller than the old style
keyboard connector. The standard color coding scheme uses purple for the keyboard
connector and port, to make it easy to find the right port for each connector. Not all
manufacturers use the standard scheme.
The barrel of the connector usually has a mark or channel or a flat area to show
where the "top" of the plug is. That spot should match the "top" of the computer-side
port. In tower cases the "top" is not toward the top of the case when it is in use, but
toward the "top" as it is laying open for being worked on.
Connecting or disconnecting a device with a PS/2 connector can cause a power

surge to your motherboard, which can ruin it. The damage will not be visible, but it
will definitely not be repairable.
Some cases make it a little hard to get the keyboard plugged in firmly. When
computer boots, it checks for the presence of a keyboard and will not continue if it
can't find one. If this happens while your keyboard is plugged in, first shut down the
computer and unplug the keyboard, then plug it up again. Try to be sure that the plug is
fully seated. Then reboot.
Keyboards can fail, especially after a session with spilled liquids or crumbs. So
keep such away from your computer working area. Your keyboard may recover from a
swimming session after it dries out if the liquid did not leave anything behind like

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sugar or tea leaves.
Heavy use will eventually wear out the electrical contacts in the keyboard, as in any
electrical device.
PS/2 Mouse
Newer mice use a PS/2 connection instead of a serial connection. The port and the
connector are light green, if the manufacturer has followed the standard color scheme.
Connecting or disconnecting a device with a PS/2 connector can cause a power

surge to your motherboard, which can ruin it. The damage will not be visible, but it
will definitely not be repairable. (I didn't get this warning myself until AFTER I
discovered it by expensive, accidental experiment!
USB
The Universal Serial Bus will soon be used for nearly all peripherals instead of the
variety you see in the diagram. The computer chip on the main board can
automatically recognize any USB device and assign the resources and power that it
needs. This avoids the hair-pulling sessions that commonly go with the installation of a
new device.
A USB device can be connected or disconnected at any time without having to shut
down or reboot the computer.
A USB device can send data at 12 Mbps for devices like scanners and printers or at 1.5
Mbps for keyboards and joysticks.
If you connect a hub to the USB port on the back of the computer, you can then

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connect up to 127 other USB devices to the hub. They will have to share power and
resources, of course, but many can work at the same time. No more problems with
running out of connectors!
Most USB cables are 5 meters long (16.5 feet). This length allows for the signal to get
through properly. If you need a longer cable, you can hook up several 5 m. cables and
some USB hubs in a chain - up to 25 meters.
Serial Ports
Serial ports come in two sizes, 9 pin and 25 pin. The computer-side connector will be
male. (Older video types use the female 9-pin type.) Often there will be one of each
size showing in the same slot on the back of the computer. Notice that the connector
has angled sides so that the plug can fit only one way. Many devices use a serial port,
including the computer mouse and external modems. A serial port sends data one bit at
a time.
There is another kind of port that newer mice used, called a PS/2 port or
mouse port. A mouse port should be colored green. Purple is for the
keyboard.
Parallel Port
A parallel port is used primarily by printers. Scanners and external storage devices of
many types also connect to the parallel port. USB connections are replacing the
parallel port.
A serial port sends data one bit at a time while parallel ports can send 8 bits at a time.
The parallel port uses a 25 pin female connector.

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Video
The monitor cable plugs into a port on the video card with places for 15 pins, but there
are not 15 pins on the cable connector. The sides of the plug are sloped so there is only
one way to insert the plug.
Digital monitors have a different connector without pins and require a digital video
card.
The video connector seems to be easier to knock off than the other connectors.
There are screws on either side to fasten it down. Keeping it fastened down will
protect the pins in the plug from getting bent. It is easy to bend the pins by pushing too
hard when the pins and holes are not quite lined up. You may think that you have a
good connection. If the color is not right on the monitor after you've connected it back
up, you have probably bent the pin that carries the instructions for red. It seems to be
the one bent most often.
You can straighten a pin that is out of alignment by carefully using a small flat
blade of a knife or screwdriver to move the pin back in place. If it's really kinked, take
hold of the pin with needle-nosed pliers and gently straighten it. Be VERY gentle. You
don't want to get into the problem of replacing the video plug.
Sound Card
A sound card has holes (ports) for connecting a microphone, speakers or headphones,
and an outside sound source with a single prong plug. There is also a serial port for
connecting devices like musical keyboards and synthesizers.
Recent devices are color-coded to help you match the connector to the correct port.
Audio line IN is blue, microphone is pink, Audio line OUT (speakers) is lime green.
Some sound cards do not have the plug-in holes colored or even marked as to which is
which. If you can't find the documentation that came with the sound card, you'll have
to experiment to see which one your speakers go in.
Once you figure it out, mark the holes with fingernail polish or something so you
won't have the experience of working for hours to "fix" your sound when the only

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problem is that the speakers are plugged into the wrong hole. (Personal experience is
talking here!)
Some sound cards have a volume control wheel but others rely on software volume
controls. Some kinds of speakers have volume control knobs or slides.
If you want a manual control and your speakers don't have one, you can buy a
device that you can reach easier than the back of the computer and faster than on-
screen volume controls. It doesn't seem to have a particular name. The speakers plug
into this simple device which is basically a knob to turn. Then the device plugs into the
sound card's hole for speakers. Stick the knob device onto the side of the monitor or
your desk and you're all set.
Modem
An internal modem has connectors for phone lines, both "in" and "out". The "in" line
runs from the telephone wall outlet. The "out" line runs from the computer to another
device, usually either a FAX machine or a regular telephone.
Network
Network cable may be a

coaxial cable. It's round,
insulated, and has a single wire in the
middle. There is a collar to screw down to make the connection firm.
A network patch cable is round but the connector is similar to a telephone connector
but wider.

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How Components Fit Together (The Inside)
While you may not often tinker with the insides of your computer, it is a good idea to
know a little about what it is like in there. The diagram shows a basic arrangement.
(This tower case is taller than normal and has wide feet for balance.)
The first task is to remove the case so we can see what's inside. Click on the parts in
the diagram and you'll be moved to a description. Use the Return to Top arrows to get
back to the diagram for another choice.
To look at the inside of your computer, you

Removing the Case must first remove the outer casing.
First unplug everything from the back. Then

remove the 4 or more screws on the back that
hold the case on. There are lots of other screws
visible, so be careful to get just the ones that
hold the case together. You'll likely need a
Phillips-head screwdriver for this. That's the
kind with the X-shaped tip. Put the screws
where you can find them again when you're
done and where you won't step or kneel on one.
They do hurt!
[Some cases do not have screws. The side

panels slide and then lift off. It can be hard to
tell what slides which way.]

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Once the screws are out, the case should slide
off. Some cases need to be lifted up in the back
a little so you can pull a lip loose at the front
edge.
Now you can look around inside.

Ground yourself by touching something
metal like the power supply or metal parts of
the case before touching ANYTHING inside
the computer. Static electricity kills computer
parts!!!
Some people wear a special wristband to
discharge static as they work on computers.
Access Slots The access slots are openings in the back of the
computer to allow devices to connect. The
peripheral cards have a metal tongue which fits
into the opening and contains the connectors.
The tongue is held in place with a screw at the
top.
If the top of the tongue doesn't lie flat on
top of the screw hole, the peripheral card is not
all the way down in the slot.
In the example diagram the tower has extra

Extra Bays bays, or places to put drives and other devices.
When selecting a computer, be sure the
case has an extra bay for that future device you
don't know about yet.
Hard Drive The hard drive is entirely internal. The only

thing you can see on the outside is a LED light
that lights up when the hard drive is in use. On
the inside you can't see much more.
The hard drive is a rectangle about the size of a

medium paperback book. It's about the same
size as the 3½" floppy drive.

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There are two connectors on the back end - one
for a set of colored wires to the power supply
and one for a 40-pin ribbon cable to the
motherboard or to a controller card.
Connecting things backwards inside a
computer is sometimes possible, even though
good design would shape the parts so that
they'll only fit one way. But just because it's
possible, doesn't mean it's not damaging to the
devices connected. So be careful. If the
connector has a pin marked as "1" (you may
need a strong light to see), it is important that
you plug the cable in the right way!
There are also some pins which can be joined

together with a jumper. This is a little piece
that slides over two pins at the same time.
Placing a jumper over pins closes the circuit,
changing the path of the electricity. Different
combinations of open and closed jumpers are
used depending on whether you have just one
hard drive or more than one. You need the
manual for the hard drive to know for sure how
to set the jumpers.
Keep all manuals until you get rid of that
piece of hardware. If you trade or sell it, be
kind and send the documents, too. It can be
hard to get replacements.
Motherboard The layout of the motherboard was illustrated

in the lesson on Processing.
Peripheral Cards A peripheral is a device that connects to the

motherboard and includes such things as a
monitor, mouse, keyboard, modem, scanner,
digital camera, and printer. Many of these
devices attach to a expansion card (also called

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a controller card, adapter card, interface card,
expansion board) which is connected to the
motherboard via a expansion slot, or socket.
Recall from the lesson on Processing the
diagram and picture of a motherboard.
Inserting and removing these cards can be

tricky at times. If a new card doesn't seem to
work, be very sure that it is inserted all the
way. If the motherboard flexes too much while
you are pushing the card into the slot, you may
break it or the card. In many cases you can
place a flat book like a phone book under the
computer case to block the flexing enough for
you to get the card inserted.
The bottom edge of a peripheral card may

have a gap or two. Be careful to line these up
with the corresponding spots in the socket
before applying pressure to insert the card.
When selecting a computer, be sure that

there are unused slots for peripherals. You may
need to add one that you haven't thought of yet.
The power supply converts the electricity from

Power Supply the wall outlet into the flavor that the computer
can digest. While all power supplies look pretty
much alike, they are not all alike in what they
put out.
It is critical that the power supply

provide exactly the right kind of
power or the motherboard will be
fried! Be careful when you are
replacing the power supply or
motherboard that they match.
Notice the sets of colored wires coming out of

the power supply. One or two of the wider
connectors must be connected to the
motherboard. Other connectors power your
hard drive, floppy drive, and CD-ROM drive. A

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peripheral device must get power either from a
wall outlet or from the computer. In the latter
case the peripheral's card would have a
connection to the power supply.
The diagram shows 3 different kinds of

Removable removable media drives, that is, drives for
Media Drives which you insert and remove the object that
contains the data. Floppy drives were the first
such drive invented. CD-ROM drives are now
standard equipment on most new systems. Tape
drives are used mostly for backing up data in
large quantity.
All of these drives must be connected to the

power supply and to the motherboard. You can
imagine how crowded it gets inside the
computer case with all of these cables running
around. Indeed you can run out of physical
space and connections for the devices that you
want. Sometimes it just won't all fit!
External devices that connect to the parallel or

USB port come in handy when there is no more
room inside the case. To switch between
devices all you have to do is switch the
connection. That's much easier than having to
dig around inside the computer case to
physically switch out a device!! You don't even
have to shut down the computer to switch USB
devices. No wonder they are so popular!
How Components Fit Together (Power Protection)

It is obvious from the number of cables running around that
there is a lot of electricity involved in a computer system. The
power in electrical lines is not as steady as you might think. It
varies as demand peaks and wanes, as lightning strikes near
power lines, as equipment is brought on line or taken off.
This exposes the system to three kinds of damage:
Fried Parts A power spike is a huge jump that lasts for fractions of a second.
One large spike can destroy the CPU and other chips on the

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motherboard.
To block these fluctuations, a computer and all it's accessories

should be plugged into a surge protector. These come with
different protection levels for different loads, and so different
prices. You'll have to decide how much protection you are willing
to pay for.
Not all devices that look alike actually are alike. Power outlet
strips look very much like the strip-style surge protectors but give
no surge protection at all. They are just a way to connect multiple
devices to a single wall outlet.
Under-the-monitor styles also can be merely a convenient way to

plug everything in, with no protection. So check carefully that you
are buying what you think you are buying!
Accelerated Aging
A power surge sends more electricity through the line than normal for several
seconds. A brownout is a period of lower voltage. It causes lights to dim but it may
not be low enough for devices to shut down.
When the voltage fluctuates in your power line, over time the repeated small
peaks and dips shorten the life span for computer parts. They wear out sooner. So, in
addition to blocking high voltages, you need the ability to smooth out these variations
by pumping up the voltage when it drops and stepping it down when it's too high.
This is called conditioning.
Most protection devices also have noise filters to remove the interference caused by
the magnetic fields of nearby devices. You may have seen the speckles and lines in a
TV picture when a vacuum cleaner or refrigerator motor starts up. All electrical
devices have magnetic fields. Electric motors, sound speakers, and low-flying
airplanes are among the worst offenders at generating interference.
Dead Data
If the voltage drops too low, the computer shuts down without warning. A voltage
drop that makes your lights blink and the TV flicker can make the computer stop in its
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tracks.
All unsaved changes to your documents and data are lost. You can actually
damage, or corrupt, files this way. If the computer was in the act of saving data to the
hard drive, the hard drive may be ruined.
You need a guaranteed source of power. An Uninterruptible Power

Supply (UPS) is a combination of surge protector, power line
conditioner, and battery power supply.
The least expensive ones will power your computer for 5 or 10

minutes. So in a power outage you have the time to save your work
and close everything down properly. A much more expensive UPS
setup can keep your network running all day when the power is
completely out. If there is a brownout, the UPS cuts on instantly and
keeps the computer running as if nothing had happened. When the power is stable
again, it cuts itself off.
You must plug all the computer's devices into the back of the UPS, including the
phone line going to your modem. Otherwise you are leaving a back door open for
disaster to walk through.
Self Check LO1-9a
1. Pushing the Reset button on the front of a computer will _____.

a. cold boot the computer
b. warm boot the computer
c. reset the computer to the original settings
d. nothing as this feature is outmoded
2. A parallel port is most often used by a ______.
a. printer
b. mouse
c. monitor
d. external storage devices
3. To remove static before touching the inside of a computer, you should
_____.
a. touch something metal
b. touch something wooden
c. wash your hands
d. unplug the computer
4. A device that provides emergency power to your computer, conditions the
voltage, and protects against powers surges is called a _____.
a. PSU = Power Supply Unit
b. USP = Universal Surge Protector
c. UPPS = Universal Power Protection and Supply
d. UPS = Uninterruptible Power Supply
5. The drive that receives a diskette is the _____ drive.
a. floppy

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b. CD-ROM
c. zip
d. hard
6. The computer must be off to connect or disconnect a _____ port.
a. parallel
b. serial
c. USB
d. PS/2
7. The cable connecting the hard drive to the motherboard _____.
a. is a ribbon cable
b. has a single prong
c. has angles sides to prevent plugging in upside down.
d. is color-coded to prevent misconnection
8. A period of low voltage on your electric power lines is a _____.
a. power surge
b. power spike
c. blackout
d brownout
9. A device that is connected to the motherboard is _____.
a. called an external device
b. called an adjunct device
c. must connect using ribbon cable
d. called a peripheral device
10. The device that converts power from a wall outlet to the type that the
computer needs is the _____
a. power source
b. power converter
c. power supply
d. UPS

Created Revised 124
11/01/2008
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COMPETENCY BASED

ANDRES SORIANO COLLEGES OF BISLIG

NATIONAL CERTIFICATE LEVEL 2

COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING MATERIALS

No. Unit of Competency Module Title Code

 1 Install Computer Installing Computer ELC724318

2. Diagnose and Troubleshoot Diagnosing and ELC724319

3. Configure Computer Configuring Computer ELC724320

4. Maintain computer systems Maintaining computer ELC724321

Code No. Date Date Page #

Welcome to the Module “Installing Computer Systems and Networks”.

The unit of competency “Install Computer Systems and Networks”

You are required to go through a series of learning activities in order to

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

 been working for some time

Code No. Date Date Page #

Code No. Date Date Page #

 You will be given plenty of opportunity to ask questions and do actual

 Talk to more experience workmates and ask for their guidance.

Code No. Date Date Page #

Unit of Competency : Install Computer Systems and Networks

Module Title : Installing Computer Systems and Networks

Upon completion of this module, you have to undergo the assessment to be

At the end of this module you will able to:

1. Plan and prepare for installation

1. Installation planned and prepared to ensure that safety measures,

Qualification : Computer Hardware and Servicing NC II

Module Title : Installing Computer Systems and Networks

Learning Outcome #1: Plan and prepare for installation

1. Computer systems and network devices are identified and their

 Tools and test instruments

 Appropriate software applications/programs

 CD’s, Tapes, Transparencies, Books

Code No. Date Date Page #

2. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating Answer all self checks that

3. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating Read Info Sheet L01-7

4. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating Read Info Sheet L01-8

5. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating Read Info Sheet L01-9

6. Identifying, explaining, and differentiating

Code No. Date Date Page #

A computer is an electronic device that executes the instructions in a program.

A computer has four functions:

Some Beginning Terms

What makes a computer powerful?

A computer can do billions of actions per

Code No. Date Date Page #

A computer can keep huge amounts of

Information Sheet LO1-2

Different Computer Types

Hand-held (HPC) PDA Tablet PC Laptop/Notebook

Desktop Tower Workstation

Code No. Date Date Page #

A workstation is part of a computer network and generally would be expected to

Code No. Date Date Page #

The main frame is the workhorse of the business

The first Cray supercomputer

Other Important Terms

The term server actually refers to a computer's function