COMPUTER

APPRECIATION

Designed by Legitimate ICT

 HANDOUT

TYPES BASED ON MODE OF COMPUTER

It is the type of computer that was classified based on internal function and it is designed to process
digital data, analogue data or both analogue and digital known as hybrid.

They are the following:

1. Digital
2. Analogue
3. Hybrid

1. Digital computers: used for keeping counts. They often help us carry out addition, multiplication,
subtraction, division, and compares. They are used at shops, schools, homes, and factories, e.g.
calculators, adding machines etc.
2. Analog computers: used for measurements. E.g thermometer, measuring scale, barometer,
speedometer.
3. Hybrid: this is a combination of digital and analog computers. It is applied in both counts keeping
and measuring e.g. micro computers and mini computers.

PARTS OF A COMPUTER

The three major parts of the computer include

(1) The Monitor (V.D.U i.e Video Display Unit)

(2) The Central Processing Unit (CPU)
(3) The Keyboard

Peripherals

The computer peripherals are those equipments (outside the monitor, the CPU & Keyboard) which can be
attached and used with the computer e.g. includes, mouse, plotter, scanner, joystick, printer, light pen,
modem, external disc drive, Fax machine, Telephone, UPS (Uninterruptible power supply).

Designed by Legitimate ICT

HISTORY OF COMPUTER

Computing with machines start in middle east by the invention of a counting instrument by the
Babylonians called the abacus.

The 1st group of computers called the mainframe was developed in the u.s.a in 1960; the second group of
computers called the minicomputer were developed. These were followed in 1970 by the
microcomputers.

TYPES OF COMPUTERS

Computer is being classified in the following

1. Types based on size and data processed

2. Types based on mode of operation

TYPES BASED ON SIZE AND DATA PROCESSED

These are type’s classified based on size and data processed.

They are the following

1. Micro computers
2. Mini computers
3. Mainframe computers

MICRO COMPUTERS:

These were developed in 1970. Modern PCs (personal computers) seen almost everywhere are
microcomputers. They use silicon chips called the microprocessor for their circuits. They are small and
can stand on the table. Some can be carried from place to place like traveling bags.

Types of micro computers:

a. Laptop
b. Desktop
c. Notebook

Notebook: a microcomputer, small enough to be held with one hand and operated with other. Also called
palmtop computer.

Laptop: this is a microcomputer with the keyboard and CPU joined together. The screen is attached to the
CPU, and it is small enough to fit into a briefcase.

LESSON THREE

HARDWARE

Hardware is a general name given to all parts of the computer that wer can see, feel or touch.

Designed by Legitimate ICT

Groups of hardware device

The hardware could be group into three, viz;

1. Input devices
2. Processing devices
3. Output devices

1. Input devices: used for sending data or information into the computer e.g. keyboard, mouse,
scanner and joystick.
2. Processing devices: used for perfoming the actual processing e.g. CPU, modem.
3. Output devices: these are devices through which processed data (information) are sent out from
the computer e.g. printer, monitor, information displayed on the screen is called SOFT COPY
OUTPUT.
Information printed on the paper is referred to as hardcopy, output, while information stored on
disk for future use is referred to as intermediate output.

THE MONITOR:
The monitor, which is also known as the VDU (video display unit) is an output device used for
interaction between the computer and the user. It looks just like a TV set. Information on the
monitor is called softcopy output.
There are two major types of monitor
1. Colour monitor 2. Monochrome monitor

THE COLOUR MONITOR: displays its output on screen in many colours up to sixteen to 256 colours,
or more, monitors are in different sizes and shapes, viz 12” 14” 17”, 19”, 21” etc, inches size monitors.
The most commonly used today is the 14’’ version.

THE MONOCHROME: (single colour) monitor: displays texts only in one colour e.g white text on
black background.

Fig: 2i UPS

BOOTING

Booting is a process by which the computer performs series of routine tests called power on self test
(POST) when it is powered on. The boot process can be said to stretch from the point of power on to the
time it is ready to accept instructions or commands.

BOOTING METHODS

Designed by Legitimate ICT

 1. COLD BOOTING: this refers to booting the computer ON by switching on the power button on
the CPU.
2. WARM BOOTING: this method restarts the computer. It is done by either simultaneously
pressing the ALT+CTRL+DEL keys on the keyboard or by the using the RESET (restart) button
on the CPU or clicking on the restart button on the monitor screen.

THE CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The CPU is where the actual processing is done

The CPU contains the microprocessor, including different input and output devices called BIOS (BIOS) =
Basic input and output system) all embedded on the mother board. The CPU functions as the brain of the
computer and is the most important part of the computer. If it fails, the computer cannot do any work.
Other things we might see externally on the CPU include; Power Button, Reset Button.

Key lock, Turbo Switch, LED (Light Emitting Diode). Inside the system unity (the CPU) are the disk
drives (CD and Floppy Drives), the hard dist, the power supply unit and the main circuit board (the
Mother Board)

The main electronic parts attached to the motherboard include the following

Fig. 3a Motherboard

THE MOTHERBOARD: this is a block of memory chip, which performs the actual processing. It is the
model of this chip that determines the model of the particular computer e.g 8086, 8088, 386, 286, 486,
Pentium (1, 2, 3, m). The higher the model configuration the faster the operating speed of the computer.

iii. ROM (READ ONLY MEMORY) CHIPS: startup and self test routines

iv. Controller Circuits (Cards): Form points of linking signals from the main board to some input/ output
devices such as hard disk and floppy disk drives.

Fig. 3d: Card

Designed by Legitimate ICT

v. Expansion Slots: these are where there controller cards and other circuit boards are fixed. Extra slots
are normally made available for connecting more circuit boards with extra memory for connecting to
local networks, mainframes, alternative displays, hard disks, modems etc.

vi. IDE Cabel: (Integrated Device Electronics): this cable acts as interface between the motherboard and
various drives in the CPU for data transmission.

Fig. 3e: IDE Cable

KEYBOARD

The keyboard is an input device used to send data into computer. The computer keyboard has the same
setting as the typewriter keyboard but the computer keyboard has more keys than that of the typewriter.

TYPES OF KEYBOARD

There are basically two types of keyboard

a. Standard keyboard: has about 85 keys

b. Enhanced Keyboard: has 101-104 keys or more, hence has more keys than the standard
keyboard.

GROUPS OF KEY ON KEYBOARD

1. Function Keys: these are usually labeled F1, F2, F3, etc
There are ten (10) function keys on the standard keyboard and twelve (12) on the enhance
keyboard.
2. Alphabet keys: these are keys bearing alphabet A to Z
3. Alphanumeric keys: they combine alphabets and numbers including symbols for typing
arithmetic formulae.
4. Numeric keypad and cursor control: these have numbers, arrows and other symbols marked on
them. They are used for typing numbers and moving the cursor to any direction on the screen.
5. Special keys: these are used for a particular job e.g. CTRL keys, SHIFT keys, CAPS LOCK key
etc. the largest keypad is the space bar. According to alphabets, we have:
a. QWERTY keyboard: (this is the most commonly used)
b. DVORAK keyboard

This grouping is based on the arrangement of the alphabets on the keyboard.

FLASH DRIVE

Each of these disk is in various sizes and capacities

Designed by Legitimate ICT

The disk drive is where the disk is inserted or slotted in for operation hence hard disk drive (HDD) for the
hard disk, floppy disk drive (FDD) for the floppy disk, and the compact disk drive (CDD) for the
Compact disk (CD).

THE HARD DISK DRIVE

The hard disk drive is a fixed disk inside the CPU, and is used for storing data. A hard disk can hold more
information than a floppy disk. The hard disk can be partitioned into several parts and given logical drive
names such as Drives C: D: E: et.c by default. It is normally assigned the drvie letter C: hence the prompt
C:/> which normally appears after booting a computer in DOS environment represents the hard disk
drive.

The hard disk drives are produced in different capacities e.g 20MB, 40MB, 300MB, up to 1GB, 2GB,
80GB and above where MB stands for megabyte and GB stands for Gigabyte.

Note: 1MB x 1024 = 1GB) the smallest capacities of hard disks normally go with the older models of
computers.

Fig. 5a CD/CD Drive

THE COMPACT DISK (CD)

Compact Disk is an option disk used to store digital data. Standard CDs have a diameter of 120mm and
can hold up to 700MB of data. CD is in two major media formats CD ROM (write once i.e. read only
memory) and CD-R (rewritable)

DVD (Digital Video Disk) can hold up to 4.7GB and 8.5GB of data

Designed by Legitimate ICT

LESSON FOUR

THE COMPUTER ROOM

Sample rules and consideration

1. The computer room must be kept very neat and dust-free

2. It should be air-conditioned
3. There should be sufficient illumination to make the room bright
4. No smoking, because smoke particles could rest on some electrical components and act as insulator.
5. It should be kept out of bounds to visitors.
6. All electrical and electronic equipments must be switched off when not in use
7. Use of voltage stabilizers and surge suppressors to link the whole computer system is advisable to
check irregular flow of electric current into the computers.
8. At the end of the day’s work, every electronic machine must be switched off.

Why use the computer

What we could achieve using the computer in places are numerous e.g.

a. Accuracy
b. Speed
c. Quality
d. Cost
e. Security and protection

ACCURACY: computers make calculations and measurement more accurately than human beings. They
can check spellings accurately when preparing large volume of documents.

SPEED: preparation of documents, storage and retrieval of information are done faster with the
computer.

COST: computer save the cost of information preparation and storage. A single document of about 1000
pages could be prepared only once and retrieved for use many times. Also a large number of pages of a
document on paper could be stored in one diskette.

QUALITY: the computer output is always better than that of a manual typewriter

SECURITY & PROTECTION: some control measures such as passwords & key lock are used to
protect information stored in the computer.

The computer can help us perform the following:

 Keep records and call them up at will

 Entertainment e.g. games playing
 Drawing and making good designs
 Produce documents fast and accurately
 Perform various logical and arithmetic operations

Designed @ Mentus Computer College

  Play music
 Count money and check theft in the bank

PLACES WHERE COMPUTER COULD BE USED:

PLACES PURPOSE

1. Homes: entertainment, lessons, and record keeping

2. Schools: entertainment, teaching and record keeping
3. Banks: record keeping, money counting, theft contro
4. Offices: record keeping, typing and document preparation
5. Shops: counting money, recording of sales and purchase etc.
6. Industries: production of goods and record keeping

DISK & DISK DRIVES

A disk is functionally a medium for storage of data. There are different types of disks in use in the
computer; these includes

1. Hard disk
2. Floppy disk
3. Compact disk (CD)

FLOPPY DISK (DISKETTE)

The diskette (floppy disk) is both an input and output medium. It is an input medium because we can send
data into the computer using it.

It is also an output medium because we can store programs in it for future use. Diskettes are made of the
same materials as video and cassette tapes.

All of them are magnetic in nature.

Fig. 5b: floppy disk drive/diskette

Two common types of diskettes include: 51/4 (5.25) inch diskette

31/2 (3.5) inch diskette

DISKETTE PROTECTION RULES

1. Do not place heavy objects on it

2. Do not bend or fold it
3. Do not keep in an extremely hot or extremely cold place an do not expose it to sunlight
4. Always keep it in its jacket or envelop after use
5. Do not write on a diskette with pen or pencil
6. Do not keep magnets or items made with magnet near it

Designed @ Mentus Computer College

7. Keep away from dust.
8. Insert and remove gently from the disk drive

Low density (DS, DD) = 360kb

High density (DS, HD) = 1..2mb

NB: DS, DD = Double Sided, Double Density

DS, HD = Double Sided, high Density

The 3.5” Diskette

Low density (DS, DD) = 720kb

High density (DS, DD) = 1.44mb

FLOPPY DISK DRIVE CARE

1. Make sure the drive is empty before inserted a floppy disk

2. Insert diskette into the drive with the label up and towards you
3. Remove diskette before you turn off the computer
4. Keep dust, dirty and smoke away from the drive
5. Do not remove a diskette when the disk access indicator light is ON.
6. Do not put anything other than the required diskette type into the drive
7. Do not attempt to put more than one diskette at a time into a particular drive
8. Use the drive cleaning kits to clean a drive when it is dirty

BITS & BYTES

A bit simply refers to a binary digit which refers to 0s and 1s (zeros & ones) and implies ‘base 2’ in the
Number system. Hence the number 0110 is a four bit number, and 8 bits = 1 byte.

Each character in the computer is represented by one byte of space. Hence a character such as the letter
‘A’ in the computer occupies a byte of space.

Note: 1kb = 1024bytes = 210 bytes

1MB = (1024)2bytes = 220bytes

1GB = (1024)3bytes = 230bytes

Where KB= kilobyte (Kilo – thousand)

MB = megabyte (Mega – million)

GB = gigabytes (Giga – billion)

In summary, data held by the computer is measured in characters called bytes, (character per second)
print job.

PRINTERS
Designed @ Mentus Computer College
In computers, a printer is a device that accepts text and graphic output from a computer and transfers the
information to paper, usually to standard size sheets of paper. Printers are sometimes sold with
computers, but more frequently are purchased separately. Printers vary in size, speed, sophistication, and
cost. In general, more expensive printers are used for higher-resolution color printing.

TYPES OF PRINTERS

DOT MATRIX:

Dot Matrix printers commonly used for printing invoices, purchase others, shipping forms, labels, and
other multi-part forms. A type of printer that produces characters and illustrations by striking pins against
an ink ribbon to print closely spaced dots in the appropriate shape. Dot-matrix printers are relatively
expensive and do not produce high-quality output. However, they can print to multi-page forms (that is,
carbon copies), something laser and ink-jet printers cannot do.

INK-JET PRINTERS:

These sprays ionized tiny drops of ink onto a page to create an image. This is achieved by using
magnetized plates which direct the ink’s path onto the paper in the desired pattern. Almost all ink-jets
offer a colour option as standard, in varying degrees of resolution. They used liquid ink and are capable of
producing high quality prints which almost match the quality of a laser printer. Examples of inkjet
printers include; DeskJet, bubble jet etc.

LASER PRINTERS:

These operate by shining a laser beam to produce an image on a drum. The drum is then rolled through a
pool, or reservoir, or toner, and the electrically charged portions of the drum pick up ink. Finally, using a
combination of heat and pressure, the ink on the drum is transferred on the page. Laser printers use
powdered ink (toner) and print very fast. Colour laser printers are also available but relatively expensive.

PLOTTERS

Designed @ Mentus Computer College

These are large scale printers that are very accurate at reproducing line drawings. They are commonly
used for technical drawings such as engineering drawings or architectural blueprints.

Note: inkjet printer and laser printers are the most popular printer types for home and business use. Dot
matrix printers was popular in 70’s and 80’s but have been gradually replaced by inkjet printers for home
use. However, they are still being used to print multi-part forms and carbon copies for some businesses.

SHARING OF PRINTERS:

A printer can be shared between two or more computers. This is achieved by using printer connector
called Data Switch. Examples, we have AB, ABC, ABCD, ABCDE, etc. switches, where the number of
alphabets represents the number of components that can share the printer

AB- data switch can support two computers only

ACB- supports three computers

ABCD- supports four computers etc.

Essentially, the data switch acts as a channel for sending data from the computer to the printer. It also acts
as a selector in that it checks which of the computers is selected and hence determines which output that
should be sent to the printer.

Fig. 6a: ABCD Data Switch

Select switches

A data switch can be manual or automatic. The manual data switch requires switching to the desired
computer manually, via the select switch as shown in fig. 6a above. This is unlike the automatic data
switch that automatically sends data to the printer without requiring any form of manual switching by
using self adjustable internal switches.

Designed @ Mentus Computer College

THE COMPUTER MEMORY

The computer memory is a temporary storage area. It holds the data and instructions that the Central
Processing Unit (CPU) needs. Before a program can be run, the program is loaded from some storage
medium into the memory. The computer memory is the information or data storage area in the computer.
Everything that goes into the computer is first stored in the memory for processing.

TYPES OF MEMORY

There are two major types of memory, viz;

i. RAM (Random Access Memory)

ii. ROM (Read Only Memory )

THE RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY)

The ram is the memory area of the computer that holds data only when the computer is powered ON. As
soon as the computer is off, every data on the RAM will be lost. Hence the RAM is a temporary storage
memory. One can read from there and equally write to it. RAM can also be called Read/Write Memory

Fig. 5a: RAM

THE ROM (READ ONLY MEMORY)

The ROM hold data even if the computer is turned off boot up programs for example are stored in the
ROM such that any time the computer is booting, these programs are read from the ROM as many times
as the computer is restarted. Hence, the ROM is a permanent storage memory

Fig. 5b: ROM CHIPS

Read / Write Memory

THE COMPUTER NETWORK

A computer network or data network is a telecommunications network which allows

computers to exchange data. In computer networks, networked computing devices exchange data
with each other using a data link. The connections between nodes are established using either
cable media or wireless media. The best-known computer network is the Internet.

Network computer devices that originate, route and terminate the data are called network nodes.
Nodes can include hosts such as personal computers, phones, servers as well as networking

Designed @ Mentus Computer College

hardware. Two such devices can be said to be networked together when one device is able to
exchange information with the other device, whether or not they have a direct connection to each
other.

There could be a central computer, called the server, with a number of terminals to it. Each user operates
from a terminal. Essentially, a terminal is made up of the monitor and the keyboard. Reference is made
from this terminal to the CPU.

TYPES OF NETWORK

1. Local area network (LAN)

2. Wide area network (WAN)

The Local Area Network (LAN): this refers to a system network with a small area or location. A
network of computers within a particular building is a local area network.

The Wide Area Network (WAN): this as the name implies refers to a system of network covering a
wide area or region. A large company which has her various sections thrown apart could adopt a wide
area network system.

Special operating systems that are used in network environment e.g. Novell NetWare, MS Windows for
Workgroup, MS LAN MANAGERS, etc.

Peripherals, however full tower (tower has considerable height) could be place either on the table or on
the floor.

The laptop and notebook cases are smaller and can’t be easily carried from the laptop case.

COMPUTER OPERATION MODES

There are three main modes of computers operation namely:

1. Stand-alone mode: As the name implies, there is absolute monopoly by the use as he has total
control of the use the machine. He continues to use this machine until he is satisfied, or until there is
power failure. This means that at any given time, only one job is being run. This mode is prevalently
found in most microcomputer systems.
2. Batch processing mode: this is mainly in mainframe environment. Here the jobs are fed into the
computer as they come, although sometimes, priority is given to some urgently needed jobs. This
mode is cost effective because large volumes of work could be handled at a time. In most cases, the
batch jobs may be punched on cards, on magnetic tapes or disks. These jobs are then fed into the
computer through the card readers, magnetic tapes, or magnetic disk drives. This method is normally
used with mainframe computers that are not networked.
3. Time-Sharing Mode (Network): in a time-sharing mode, there are many users on terminal that are
linked up to a central processing unit (CPU).

In the time-sharing process, many programs being run by many users from different terminal might be in
the computer memory at the same time. Time sharing is therefore a technique which lets the programmer
or other.

Designed @ Mentus Computer College

Fig. 8 (A – C)

MODELS/ SPEED OF COMPUTERS

As we have earlier mentioned under the CPU, computer models exist viz; the 8086, 8088, 286, 386, 486,
586, 686, Pentium etc. these models actually refer to the microprocessor chip on the Motherboard, and the
Motherboard itself. Generally, the higher the model of a computer, the higher the speed and the capacity/
capability of the components that goes with it, such as the hard disk, the RAM e.t.c.

Apart from the configuration of the chip, the RAM is another very important component of the CPU that
affects the processing speed of the computer. Different computers can function with different capacities
from 1MB, 2MB, 4MB, 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB or higher.

THE COMPUTER CASES

This refers to as the housing units of the CPU in terms of size and or design. A computer case, also
known as a computer chassis, tower, system unit, cabinet, base unit or simply case, is the enclosure that
contains most of the components of a computer (usually excluding the display, keyboard and mouse).

Designed @ Mentus Computer College

LESSON SIX

COMPUTER VIRUS

A computer Virus is a programmer in any computer language, meant to cause the computer to
malfunction. A computer virus is a malware that, when executed, replicates by reproducing itself or
infecting other programs by modifying them. Infecting computer programs can include as well, data files,
or the boot sector of the hard drive. When this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be
"infected". The term computer virus was a misnomer until it was coined by Fred Cohen in 1985. Viruses
often perform some type of harmful activity on infected hosts, such as acquisition of hard disk space or
CPU time, accessing private information, corrupting data, displaying political or humorous messages on
the user's screen, spamming their contacts, logging their keystrokes, or even rendering the computer
useless.

MODES FO TRANSMISSION

Virus could be transferred from one computer to another through the diskettes, CD, flash drive, and
through the internet. When a computer is infected with virus and one make use of it by copying or
running programs with one diskettes, the diskettes could be infected by the virus and at any time one uses
such a diskette on another computer; the virus could be transferred from the diskette to the computer.

Virus is harmful to the computer because it can destroy programs on the diskette or the hard disk an can
even prevent the computer from booting when it attacks the boot sector of the hard disk. It can also
prevent your programs form running.

Examples of computer virus; Stoned Virus, No 17, Michael Angelo, Data Lock, Black Patch, Jerusalem
Doddle, Anti-CMOS, etc.

HOW TO DETECT AND REMOVE VIRUS

If boot failure occurs in our system or your program fails to run, it is advisable to check whether virus is
responsible for the failure. This is achieved by using any utility package generally referred to as ANTI-
VIRUS programs. With such antivirus packages, virus could be deleted and removed.

Some of the anti-virus packages include:

 Dr. Solomon anti-virus tool kit,

 Central point anti-virus CPAV
 MacAFee
 NORTON DISK DOCTOR
 IBM ANTI-VIRUS etc.
 Kaspersky Anti-Virus.
 Norton Security.
 F-Secure Anti-Virus.
 Avira Antivirus Pro.
 Panda Antivirus Pro.
 Trend Micro Antivirus + Security.
 BullGuard Antivirus.

Designed @ Mentus Computer College