Computer Form 1 Notes.
Computer Form 1 Notes.
com
COMPUTER
FORM 1 NOTES
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO
COMPUTERS
This chapter introduces the student to what a computer is, classifies computers into
different categories, compares the different classes of computers and also introduces
the keyboard as a basic input device.
Data is the name given to facts. For example, in a school, the number of students in a
class, the number of teachers, names of students, the name of customers in a business.
Information is result from processed data. For example adding some numerical values
like the numbers 14 and 17 into the computer will give you the result of 31. The later is
information you required. Information can be defined as data computed into a more
useful form than raw form.
Program is a series of instructions written in the language of the computer for them to
obey and perform specific tasks as outlined by the instructions.
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A Computer can therefore be defined as “an electronic machine that takes in data
(facts) in the raw form, processes the data to give out in another form called
information”.
When a computer is fed with data, it passes through four basic steps before the data can
be displaced;
(i) Input Process – the user will type the data from say the keyboard (to be
introduced later in the chapter) and the computer will accept the dame and store
within it.
(ii) Storage Process – the data that is fed into the computer at the same time is held,
even during the time of processing and after processing; it can further be stored
for further reference. These data are held in computer memory.
(iii) Processing – the computer will manipulate the data held within it to a more useful
form – results (information).
(iv) Output Process – the user is given the information he desired.
The four basic processes can be summarized in the following way by looking at the
same terms of information processing cycle.
Organizing data for processing – to get quality results (information) you must have
quality data to start with. Unreliable original data generates unreliable results. If you
give a computer garbage, you get garbage in return. Its called GIGO – Garbage In –
Garbage Out.
A Processing Cycle is repeated, it means, if the same resources are used in the same
way, the same outcome will result. The standard cycle followed to process data and
deliver information comprises of 4 major functions:
(i) Input Function - the input function gathers and collects stored data items
and enter them into the system for processing. Input can come from many sources,
for example from files kept in the office, banking institutions and accounts.
(ii) Storage Function – this function allows the user to store data being processed in
the memory of the computer as well as to store the information for future use.
(iii) Processing Function – the desired operation by the user is carried out on the
data keyed in and stored in the memory so as to turn it into meaningful information.
(iv) Output Function – the data stored is processed and then output into files, printed
as hard copies or displayed on the screen for the user.
Note: For any information processing system to run smoothly on a day-to-day basis, the
processing activities must be organized. A system has little work if it provides helpful
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information on one day and useless information the next day. Output should be useful
the first time and every time for the system.
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d) Microcomputers
Of the types of computers, microcomputers are the slowest. However, they
counteract this disadvantage because they are easy to use and the cost of purchase is
also low.
A microcomputer gets its name from the fact that its main computing component,
the microprocessor (to be introduced later) is located in one integrated circuit (IC) or
what we call a Chip. Microcomputers fit nicely on desktops, for that reason they are
sometimes known as Desktop Computers. They are also referred to as Personal
Computers since many individuals purchase them for personal use.
1.2.3 By Purpose
Classification by purpose falls into 2 categories:
a) Special Purpose Computers
These are computers that are single task oriented. In other words, they are designed
to solve only a particular type of problem. Examples include embedded computers in
our common digital watches.
b) General Purpose Computers
These are computers that can perform a vast number of operations or solve
problems of different varieties. Most of the computers in use today are general purpose.
However, it is wise to note that general-purpose computers can always be adapted with
special programs to do a job specified hence becoming special purpose computer.
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c) Embedded Computers
These are computers attached to other computers that help in operating them. E.g.
computers embedded in lifts, petrol pumps, digital watches and so on.
1.2.4 By Use
It is worthy noting that we categorize these computers according to what it is used
for and when it is used. Under this category, the list is endless. For this reason we will
limit ourselves to only five main types.
(i) Personal Computers or Desktop Computers
These are also known as Microcomputers. They get their name from the fact that they
fit nicely on the desktop. They can also be used on the desk in the office environment
or for personal use at home.
(ii) Home based Computers
These computers are those designed to be used at home. An individual may install
only games program in it or a word processor to enable them write letters, still some
would install accounting packages to enable them budget and control their finances at
home.
(iii) Lap top Computers
These computers get their name from the fact that you can place them on your laps
while using. They are very small computers that have the structure of a briefcase i.e.
you open and close the same way. These have a keyboard attached to them and a flat
screen together with a mouse ball and chargeable batteries. This means that you can use
them in the rural areas where the is no electricity.
Laptop computers also have ports (small slots) through which you can attach an
external keyboard, mouse or external drive like drive A:.
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Function Keys are identified as F1 through F12, they can be programmed to ease
the work of frequently used operations. Cursor control keys of direction keys ( )
the ones with arrows, move the cursor on the CRT (screen).
Other special keys include: Delete keys and backspace keys which deletes
characters. Delete key deletes a character that is in front of the cursor whereas backspace
key delete characters before the cursor. Insert key will insert characters from text.
Others e.g home key will take you to the top of the document and end key to the end of
the document.
Computer keyboard employ one or more control keys. Control works just like the
shift key on a keyboard in that they cause other keys to perform functions different from
their normal operations. Example, if you hold shift key down and press the letter “e”,
you get a different character “E”. Holding down the control key while you press any of
the other keys causes still another character to be sent to memory.
Like the control keys, the escape key is used to cause other keys to perform special
functions. Unlike the control keys, however, it is not held down while pressing another
key. Once sending a signal to the computer system, for that purpose. If you press another
key following Escape, it will cause the computer to execute a function established by
the program in use.
1.3.2 SUMMARY
A computer is a device that takes data in one form and processes it to give out in
another form called information.
Computers can be classified by: Size, The way they process data, By Purpose and
by use.
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Typical keyboard is the same as a typewriter keyboard, has: standard keys, Numeric
Keypad, Function keys, Cursor Control keys or Direction keys, Control Keys,
Alternate keys, Escape keys e.t.c.
1.3.3 QUESTIONS:
i. Define a Computer.
iv. What are the 4 basic functions a Computer will perform on data.
vi. Discuss the layout of a typical keyboard and functions of the different keys
CHAPTER 2
COMPUTER COMPONENTS
This chapter introduces the student to the computer hardware system. At the end of
the chapter, the student should be able to: differentiate between hardware and software,
identify the elements of a computer systems’ hardware, explain the functional
organization of the elements of a computer system, describe the central processing unit,
describer the types of input and output devices, describe the types of secondary storage
devices and media and finally be able to distinguish between system software and
application software.
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Fig. 2.1
KEY:
C.P.U - Central Processing Unit
A.L.U - Arithmetic Logic Unit
DOS - Disk Operating System
ROM - Read Only Memory
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APPLICATION
INPUT SOFTWARE OUTPUT
OPERATING
SYSTEM
HARDWARE
FEEDBACK
Fig. 2.3
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Processor
Control Arithmetic/Logic
Unit Unit
Input Input
Devices Devices
memory
C.P.U
Monitor
C.P.U.
Disk Drive
Mouse
Keyboard
Fig. 2.6
Arithmetic Logic Unit forms the second part of the CPU. The ALU performs the
calculations and makes comparisons between units of data. The last component is the
Control Unit (CU), the work of which is to control the operations of the hardware for
example by issuing commands to all elements of the computer as per the dictations of
memory. (e.g from the input devices to memory, from memory to output devices, etc).
The Central Processing Unit determines the power of a computer hardware system
which is described in terms of :
(i) Size of Memory, which is measured by the number of characters of data it can
store
(ii) Speed of the Control and Arithmetic Logic Unit, which is measured in millions of
instructions per second (MIPS).
The work of the various input devices such as terminal keyboard, disk storage units
and tape storage units is to send data into the CPU, whereas the work of the output
devices such as printers, visual display units, disk and tape units is to give out the results
from the processing operations.
The Central Processing Unit also “houses” Registers. The latter is a small part in
the CPU that holds data before processing or probably after. They store data to be
processed and thereafter partial results. Registers are of different kinds performing
different functions:
(i) Ordinary Counter Register (OC) – This register addresses the next instruction to
be expected or we could say it contains the addresses of the next instruction to be
executed.
(ii) Instruction Register (IR) – This register contains the actual instruction under
execution.
(iii) Accumulator Register – This register stores data to be processed or the results of
a partial execution.
The processor communicates with the main memory through 2 registers:
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Execution of an Instruction
The execution of an instruction of the central processing unit is performed through the
following steps:
(i) Storage of the next instruction to be executed from the main memory to the
instruction register (IR);
(ii) Modification of the contents of the OC registers the address of the next instruction;
(iii) Recording of the instruction recently stored;
(iv) Localization of the data needed by the instructions in the memory;
(v) Storage of data if necessary into the internal registers of the CPU generally the
accumulator;
(vi) Execution of the instruction;
(vii) Storage of the results in the appropriate place;
(viii) Return to step (i) for the execution of the next instruction.
The Processor
The Control and Arithmetic/Logic Units are usually considered as a hardware
device separate from the memory. This is because the size of the memory may vary
independently from the Control and Arithmetic/Logic Units. As separate devices they
are known as Processor.
Processors used in microcomputers are known as microprocessors (refer to chapter
1), but conceptually they are the same processors found in larger computer systems.
Memory
A computer’s memory stores data before, during and after processing as well as
the application program in use at the time. These data are stored in cells of the memory.
Each memory cell contains one byte of data (a byte = 8 characters: a character is say a
letter of the alphabet, or a number). Therefore, one cell will contain eight characters
called a byte.
The size of the computer memory is measured in terms of “Kilobytes” or
“Megabytes” or “Gigabytes”. Since “Kilo” stands for 1,000 and “Mega” for 1,000,000,
computer memory is measured by the thousands or millions of bytes that can be stored
in memory at one time.
In computer usage, the prefix “Kilo” actually stands for 1024 bytes and “Mega”
for 1,048,576 bytes (explanation later in form 2 – Number systems).
Computer memory is sometimes known as Primary memory Storage, Main
Memory and RAM (Random Access Memory).
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Primary Memory
Primary storage or RAM is the computer’s working bench. All data to be
processed must first be recorded in it and all output of results draws data from it.
Primary storage has 2 crucial characteristics. The first is that data can only be stored
temporarily, and two, it cannot store a great deal of data.
Secondary Storage
These characteristics of primary storage give rise to the requirements to store large
quantities of data in machine readable form that can be fed into RAM in small segments
for processing. Units that do this are called secondary storage devices also referred to
as Auxiliary Storage or Backing Storage. (Description of these devices latter in the
chapter).
The two most prevalent of these are disks and magnetic tapes. These media offer the
ability to store data off line, meaning that data can be processed from time to time by
the computer system and are not stored permanently as part of the hardware
configuration. When needed, they are mounted on data reading and writing device,
called drops, as required by their application programs.
(i) The processor receives data from main storage, performs operations on them, then
the result is given back to the same.
(ii) Data then goes to the main memory comes from input devices or secondary
devices, and data from the main memory goes to backing storage or output devices.
(iii) The ALU and CU combine to form the processor as discussed.
2.7.1 Keyboard
Please refer to 1.4 for full keyboard explanations. Using the keyboard is a matter
of knowing which command you want to issue to the machine or what entries in the
form of characters you want to make; then simply type in the right characters from the
keys of the keyboard.
2.7.2 Mouse
This is another type of input device but as opposed to the keyboard, it doesn’t have
keys. A mouse has usually two buttons (but not always). When installed in your
machine, a pointer is always seen on the screen. Underneath the mouse is a rotating ball
which with the slight movement of the device on a pad, the pointer will correspondingly
move on the screen by the same distance and to the right direction. To issue an
instruction to the system, the user simply needs to click (press the mouse button once –
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usually the left) a menu and choose a command he wishes to issue or click a command
he would want to use. You can use a mouse also to draw different shapes of your style
apart from simply clicking commands. A mouse (mice – plural) is usually employed in
Windows Applications without which the Windows Operating System become
incomplete.
You operate a joystick by moving it in various directions. It caries out the same
functions as the locate keys (cursor control) on the keyboard. But it is faster and lets
you move in 8 directions instead of four.
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2.7.6Laser Scanner
This input device is used to scan a picture or other documents from print onto the
screen and hence can be available for storage in the computer memory for processing
or future reference. Some printers come with inbuilt scanners. However, we have small
scanners (manual) that are held in the hand while scanning an object to the monitor into
the memory. You can scan for example your photograph,
signature, and logo on other documents. Another scanner is known as flat bed which is
used by placing the document to be scanned on it.
Fig. 2.7.6 Laser Scanner
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where data is stored when keyed in is made, and finally there is a tape drive where after
completing a given batch of data, then you re-locate. One of the terminals is usually
dedicated for a supervisor to the system that oversees the whole operation.
2.7.14 Printers
Printers are necessary when hard copies of displayed work on the monitor have to
be sent to customers, report prepared by the Management and the Board of Directors
and so on must be printed. It’s not disputable the fact that other electronic means of
transmitting information are now available. Printed-paper, however, still remains the
most popular means of communicating the same information. Printers fall into three
main categories classified by the amount of printed work the device is able to produce
in one operation.
a) Page Printers
These printers print a whole page at once. They are sometimes known as image
printers. They produce the images by laser or electrostatic means. The quality of output
from such printers is sufficiently high for business correspondence. They use toners just
like a photocopy.
It is important to note that the length of a line is not standard as it differs with the
requirement of the application in use. However, most of the printers will print between
120 and 144characters per line. This will require approximately paper width of about
14 inches so as to accommodate the said character scale. 132 characters are often the
most common width. These use cartridges.
c) Character Printers
Form or print one character as a time on the paper. This rate of printing varies
between 20 and 600 characters per second depending on the mechanism or use in the
different makes employed. These printers make use of ribbons.
There are many different types of character printers. The first is called Daisy
Wheel Printer, which creates fully formed letters much like a typewriter sometimes
called Letter Quality Printer. The output is often good enough for business
correspondence.
a) The Whole
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The second is Dot Matrix Printer, which creates characters as spools of dots in a
rectangular matrix. The speed of the dot matrix printer is much higher than that of a
daisy wheel but the quality of the former is not sufficient enough for business
correspondence. A dot matrix printer has a print head consisting of a number of small
pins between 9 and 24 depending on the make. A printer with a 9 pin print will give a
poor quality print compared to that of a 24 pin print head since the dots in the former
are widely spaced apart. If a dot matrix is to produce a better quality output, sometimes
referred to as Near Letter Quality (NLQ), then a line is printed twice with the print head
being moved along very slightly in the second printing so that those moved spaces
between the dots are filled into ensure continuity. One advantage with the dot matrix
printers is that they can print from either side, meaning the print head does not have to
move say to the left side of the paper in order to begin printing but begin from the right
as well. With the dot matrix printer you simply need to change the ribbon of different
colour to get a colored output.
Another way to categorize printers is by whether or not the print head strikes the
paper. If it does, it is called Impact Printer and if it does not it is called a Non-Impact
Printer. Dot matrix and Daisy wheel printers fall in the former category; all strike the
paper while printing.
Non-impact printers are usually the fastest since they minimize the amount of physical
movement required during the printing process. Examples of non-impact printers
include Thermal Printers, Inkjet and Electrostatic Printers.
Impact Printers are usually noisy given the physical motion involved during the
printing process when the printing device strikes the paper. To get multiple copies from
impact printers, all you need to do is interlace a carbon paper between the papers.
The slowest of all non-impact printers, form characters by burning them on specially
treated paper. They operate at about 30 characters per second.
Thermal Printer
b) Electrostatic Printers
They form characters by charging the paper electrically. The paper is then passed
through a toner solution. Particles of the toner solution (ink) stick to the electrically
charged areas of the paper. When the paper is heated, the particles melt thus producing
the characters. They are quite fast; some print about 300 pages per minute.
c) Ink Jet Printers
These printers “spit” streams of ink to the surface of the paper. The ink then drips almost
immediately. They are fairly slow. They produce from about 50 to 100 characters per
second. These printers offset their relative disadvantage of slowness by their low cost
and multiple colour printing.
2.7.15 Voice Output
Computer voice output is common place. For example a computer could be
programmed to offer telephone information service, like directory help. Others let you
know if you dialed a wrong number or if the number you are calling is out of order or
busy and the like.
2.7.16 Plotter
This is an output device used to produce graphical output like drawing graphs, charts,
maps or electric circuits. The design of the graph, circuit is done on the computer then
the output is sent to the plotter. Plotters are of two types: one that has a single sheet
sometimes called Flat Set Plotter and the second uses a continuous sheet which rolls
continuously on drum like cylinders: also known as Drum Plotters.
2.7.17 Microfiche/Microfilm
Microfiche and Microfilm are both better known collectively as microform. The later is
a document photographed and hence stored in a film. Microfiche is a sheet of film that
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measures 105mm x 148mm whereas a microfilm is actually a 16mm roll film. A typical
16mm will hold the equivalent of 3,000 A4 Pages. One typical microfiche will hold the
equivalent of about 98 A4 Pages.
Usually this technique of giving output to a microfilm/microfiche or microform
is usually referred to as COM (Computer Output to a Microform). The technique is
simple, a machine called a microfilm Recorder reads output that is relayed onto a
magnetic tape for the computer, once read, the output is copied out on
microfilm/microfiche. The application of COM is suitable where an organization has to
store data over a long period of time or where backup copies need to be made. Records
that need to be out a long time would include: receipts and invoices of an organization
or say catalogues in a library or a bookstore.
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Physical Record
I I I
R 100 Logical R 100 Logical R 100 Logical
G Records G Records Records
Physical Record
A group of records is called Physical Records or Block. Each record in the group
is known as a Logical Record. The number of logical records in a physical record is
referred to as the Blocking Factor. A blocking factor of ten will indicate that ten logical
records make up one physical record or block. The term block refers to a group of
logical records, all of which are read onto or written from RAM at once. The physical
records, or block, are suspended from each other by blank spaces on the tape known as
Inter-record Gap (IRG). Sometimes known as Interlock Gap.
Magnetic tape is a sequential medium, this means that records appear on it in
sequential order for example personal records will appear by: employee number,
account number and so on. Because data is stored on tape sequentially, they must also
be processed sequentially. If a tape file has only 60,000 records, access to record number
50,747 can be had only by reading through all of the proceeding 50,746 records. This
is usually a very slow way of accessing data.
magnetic fluids on the disk surface using the usual data coding schemes. Magnetization
in one direction represents a zero in the other direction a one.
To use a disk one has to mount it on a spindle that causes it to rotate. A read/write
head, similar to that of magnetic tape, moves back and forth across the disk radius
rotating and storing data as required. The read/write head can move to different sections
of a record without necessarily having to write or read this section; only when the
instruction was prompted!
Disk Drive is the device on which the disk is mounted when used to store and
retrieve data. The device can position the read/write head in a number of portions along
the disk radius. As the disk rotates past the read/write head, data is recorded in a circular
track. This means therefore, that there are as many concentric tracks displayed on the
surface of the disk, as there are positions for read/write head. This is illustrated in Fig.
2.9.2 (a)
Each track is divided into sections or blocks, similar to the blocks of data in
magnetic tape. Each sector has an address. To store/retrieve data, the system finds the
disk address used to contain data by moving the read/write head to the appropriate track
where it waits until the desired sector passes by.
Fig. 2.9.2 (b) shows how a track is divided into sectors and how the sector contains
an address used to locate where data is stored on the disk. A hard disk with a capacity
of 300k for example contains forty tracks (40) of nine sectors each; having a total of
360 sectors available on each side; of a two-sided disk for a total of 720 sectors. Each
sector contains 512 bytes or 4096 (512 x 8)characters, so the disk offers a total data
storage capacity of 368,649-bytes. Such a disk is said to be a 360k disk following the
conception that “k” equals 1,024 (360 x 1024= 368640).
Read/Write
Head
Track Disk
Access
Rotation Arm
Spindle
Fig. 2.9.2(a)
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Address Data
Fig. 2.9.2(b)
Disk storage media take different forms. Hard disks are rigid in nature. They
contain the most data. Hard disks may be fixed in their devices or may be removed.
They are usually 14” in diameter, although it is unusual to the smaller had disks in
microcomputers. One such system is known as Winchester, so named because its
prototype makes use of two drops of thirty million bytes each has effectively the “30-
30”. It uses a 14” plotter. Later versions called Mini-Winchester or Mini-winns” used
8” or 6” and one-quarter inch plotters, which are stored in the drives and can store up
to 85,000,000 bytes.
One advantage of CDs to magnetic disks is that loosing of data is not as rampant
as with the latter. One disadvantage is that some (i.e CD-R) CDs are not reusable. They
are usually referred to as WORM, which stands for Write Once Read Many times.
Reading from the CDs tends to be slower than that of the magnetic disks. However,
with the advert of CD-RW (Re-writable CDs) you can use a CD writer to delete obsolete
work and write new data.
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2.10 SUMMARY
Computer Hardware is defined as all the electrical, electronic and mechanical
components of the computer together with their devices used at the peripheral.
Software are programs that are used to run the computer together with the associated
documentation.
Computer hardware comprises of Input devices, Output devices and the Central
Processing Unit.
CPU is consisted of Arithmetic and Logic Unit which performs arithmetic and logic
comparisons, the control unit which coordinates the activities of the hardware (I/O
operations) as per the dictates of the memory, memory which stores data being
processed, results and the application in use, registers which are slam areas in the
CPU that holds data before processing and probably after.
Storage Devices are in two forms: Primary Storage devices, the Main Memory and
Secondary Storage devices which supplements the main memory.
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Input devices include: Keyboard, mouse, paper scanner and magnetic ink holder.
Other data capture methods include: speech, magnetic, optical character readers and
optical mark reader.
Output devices include: Printers – which could be line, page or character printers,
they are also categorized by whether the print head strikes the paper while printing
– impact and non-impact printers, visual display Unit, (or monitor) – displays the
text/graphics for the user to see and plotters for plotting graphical output, electric
circuits, charts etc.
Secondary storage media and devices include: Magnetic tapes and disks, optical
disks and mass storage media.
System software are programs that control the entire operation of the computer
together with the associated documentation. An application program is software that
is usually applied on one area of operations only. They could be standard packages
or user developed packages.
2.11 QUESTIONS
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CHAPTER 3
SAFE USE AND CARE OF COMPUTERS
This chapter lets the student to be aware of the computer, its safety rules and how to
apply them. The safety rules to be observed regard personnel, materials and equipment
in the computer laboratory. The student is also expected to state correctly safety
precautions required in the lab and be able to identify possible causes of loss of data
and their precautions.
it may lead to data from the organization being exposed to rivals or would be “hackers”
– those who gain access to the system without authority.
Any mechanical or technical faults noted should always be reported to the
technical personnel immediately for attention. Non-technical personnel should never
attempt to deal with such a fault!
It is important also that every personnel make routine backup copies of every work
done in the lab as this will save the organization from any data loss in the event of
disaster.
Shutting down and booting of computers is very important. Strict procedures
depending on the operating system specification should be adhered to, otherwise
damages to the disk in the long run and fragmentation of files and storage in the storage
location will happen. This will cause delays in reading and writing to the same. All
equipment should not be moved around the lab rather they should always be used where
they are installed!
Changing of peripherals from one machine to another is not an encouraged
practice. Let a mouse meant for machine A remain the machine; if it does not work,
please ask a technical personnel to attend to it, but do not interchange it with another!
Fire and other accidents in the lab are possibilities. Such accidents would include
electrocution of an employee/student, slipping and falling on a slippery floor.
Fire is a big threat to data loss and equipment. Every lab should always offer
training of how to handle fir in thee event of such calamity and of course fir-fighting
equipment like fire extinguishers for example hand held CO2 and BCF extinguishers
should always be available.
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Data should also always be kept in fireproof safes to avoid loss of data loss in such
event. Insuring of equipment and software in the organization with insurance firms will
help since after such an accident, the firm is paid.
Windows provide adequate ventilation in labs. Such windows must not be very
wide as such will always be vulnerable to entry by intruders. Any ventilation apart from
the window should always be higher up and very small in size. Every ventilation again,
mostly windows, should have a well-dropped curtain so as to keep private the operations
in the lab.
3.6.1 Cabling
Cables in the lab should be properly located either on false floor or ceiling or along
the walls so as to avoid interference for example with communication coolers in the lab.
Cables put haphazardly may result in possible power disconnection if stepped on or
pushed around.
3.6.4 Ventilation
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It is a good practice to include ventilation in a computer room but the same should
not provide an entrance to hackers to tamper with data.
VDU LEGISLATION
This is a legislation (British) that was passed in 1990 for frequent users of
computer screens in the lab. It states as follows:
1. One should not use a computer for more than one hour continuously.
2. While using the VDU, the eyes should not look at the screen directly but at an angle
of 30-60.
3. The distance from the screen should be between 300mm-480mm.
4. While using the keyboard, the arms and elbows should be at right angles and parallel
to the ground.
5. The seats and desks in the lab should be adjustable to the users height this is to aid
(iv) and avoid Repetitive Strains Injuries (RSI) of the fingers and wrists. The seats
should have backrests!
6. All seats in the lab should be fitted with castors – to make them mobile and less
noisy.
Air Conditioning
Air conditioning is very essential in the computer room where main frames are
housed or some minicomputers together with their associated peripherals. Most devices
however, usually contain their own environmental controls that are automatic for
example fans, filters and sealed units.
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Accessibility
While installing equipment in the lab, there must be a provision for a through
route, which is also important for emergency exit. Only for security purposes should
such a route be closed.
Corridors of the lab must be high enough with double doors and floors, stairs or
lifts must be strong enough t bear the load of equipment. It is often recommended that
ground floor should be used but this again has many security risks.
Reception should always be spacious enough to allow for storage of trolleys (used
for moving equipment around the lab).
Equipment Sitting
Design of the sitting equipment should always be such that it ensures the
workflow of the operator and minimizes the walking distance from one equipment to
another. This means for example that the location of a stand-alone computer and the
printer should be close enough to ease the work!
General:
Only authorized personnel should be allowed into the computer room.
The lab should not have any outside walls to keep off intruders.
The lab should have small windows’ provision for ventilation.
Video cameras should be on to monitor the activities of the personnel and
intruders.
e) Fire
Alarms should be in place as discussed earlier. Automatic detection of smoke and
electrocuting system should be provided for. In the computer room, there should be
hand held Co2 and BCF extinguishers. The personnel should be given evacuation
training in the event of the fire break out.
f) Flooding
Computer labs should never be sited in basements where they are vulnerable to
floods. No water pipes should be placed under, over or in the computer rooms. This is
because water is likely to destroy equipment, programs and data in the lab.
g) Power
The computer room should have independent power supply, stable and adequate
with shrouded panic off button. Problems with power supply come in three main forms:
(i) Supply interruption – is caused by a number of factors that include transformer
failure, cutting of supply lines by accident, by people, lightening and so on.
(ii) Spike – this is a voltage level imposed onto the supply by interface source such as
switches, electro-mechanical devices and so on.
The problem caused by spikes is generally loss of data as soon as power is
removed. Disk files also get corrupted when store cycles are interrupted by
removal of power.
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The lab should therefore have a positive pressure, suitable building materials to
reduce dust, special floor covering to reduce the dumpness and so on.
3.6.7 Lighting
The computer lab should have adequate lighting. This lighting should be large
enough to minimize reflections and glare on the part of the user. There should also be a
provision for emergency lighting.
Power supply interruption - is one form which can be caused by transformer failure,
cutting of supply lines, by accident, by people, lightening and the like, inadvertent
switching off of the machine also could interrupt power supply.
Spike – is the second form of power supply problem, this is a situation where a
voltage level is imposed onto the supply by interference source such as switches,
electromechanical devices and so on.
All these forms of power problems especially supply interruption and spikes result in
damage to disk heads which often crush when power is suddenly removed. This will
mean loss of data since it will be hard to read or write to such a disk. Spikes often result
in serious loss of data since RAM being volatile losses data immediately power supply
is cut off.
Disk files also get crumpled when stores are interrupted by removal of power.
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3.7.2 Virus
A virus is a peace of software (program) that replicates itself without the user
intending it or noticing it. Viruses often affect our computers having been brought about
by hardware/software engineers who move from one computer to another carrying out
demonstrations or through external infected disks, which are brought into the lab. Such
disks are often infected with boot sector virus (boot sector is the first partition of the
hard disk/floppy). When it (infected disk) is put into the drive, it will be loaded into
memory. The disk is now infected since the memory to which it must be loaded first is
now infected.
A virus usually has many effects for example replication where a virus divides
itself repeatedly thus spoiling the data on the screen/memory/or disk.
Viruses have so many effects they cause to data/information and to the user. What
we need to note here is simply the fact that viruses will change or modify the data that
was stored to take a different format that is never useful to the operator.
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3.8 PRECAUTIONS
The following precautions should be put in place to avert the possible loss of data
through the risks identified above.
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The mode of storage to these magnetic disks is by magnetism of the positive and
the negative charges of the data to be stored. If disks are kept next to magnets, it is
possible that the demagnetization of this sequence could be altered. This will of course
destroy the data stored in the disk.
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3.9 SUMMARY
Factors to consider when designing a computer lab are the following: Dimension,
accessibility, sitting of equipment, health and safety of personnel, lighting, power
supply, physical security and noise.
For safety precautions on the lab, the following should always be considered: Fire
fighting equipment, standard furniture, proper lighting, dust/dump-proof lab, proper
installations, stale power supply and burglarproof doors.
Possible causes of data loss and programs are the following: power failure, viruses,
accidental erasure, erasing of disks, poor storage and handling of disks and
unauthorized access by hackers and other intruders.
The following are precautions to be taken in the event of data loss from such risks
mentioned.
Use UPS, large batteries and generators in the event of power failure.
Use of anti virus software, write protecting disks.
Movement restrictions.
Disabling disk drives to protect against viruses or accidental erasure.
Use of undeleted and unformatted utilities.
Use of backup copies and heat resistant safes.
Disks should be stored away from water, fire or excessive temperatures and
away from magnets and should be kept in dust free environments.
Use of passwords and encryption methods to protect files against unauthorized
access by people.
3.10 QUESTIONS
4. What safety precautions and practices should be put into place in a computer lab?
6. List and discuss the factors to be put in place as recovery measures to the above
data threats to an organization
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CHAPTER 4
OPERATING SYSTEMS
This chapter will introduce the student to what operating terms are, the functions and
types. It will also serve to explain how disk Operating System (DOS) organizes
information. The student is expected to use some DOS commands for file and disk
management and be able to list external and internal DOS commands at the end of the
chapter.
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The Operating System controls reading of data coming in from the various input
devices into the memory and writing of data to output devices such as printers.
The Operating System will ensure that each time the user types in commands those
inputs are accepted into the memory, and if the latter is busy the it holds the same
temporarily on buffers until the memory is free and also does the same to output data
awaiting to be displayed on the monitor or to be sent to the printer if the same are busy.
There are majorly two types of Operating Systems that we will discuss in this
section.
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KENYA
Fig. 4.4.2
To be able to specify which file to open, the user has to specify to the operating
system the data path or path to that file. For example, to open a filename Milimani, the
following path must be specified: Kenya\Nakuru\Milimani.
A path is often defined as a logical, sequential list of directories and
subdirectories leading to a filename. The names of directories and subdirectories are
separated from each other by determinates which could be a backslash(\) or a hyphen (-
) or a slash (/) depending on the Ms-Dos version in use.
The directory names have extension DIR wheras the files have TXT. The
directory named Kenya under which the subdirectories Nakuru, Mombasa and Nairobi
are stored is called root directory.
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COUNTRY\KENYA\NAKURU\MILIMANI
The operating system will ensure that disk on a volume label Country is located
first if it is the one mounted, before it searches for the actual file in the specific
directories.
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The command has a command name COPY. The arguments are ANN 1 and
ANN 2. This command copies a file known as ANN 1. The new copy is named ANN
2.
N/B: ANN 1 and ANN 2 are arguments and are separated from each other by a blank
space. They are also separated from the command name by a blank space.
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In this case, Dos will display the particular information about that file or tell you
that it is not on disk.
The asterisk wildcard is a many character wild card. It fills out a filename or
extension from its position to the end of the name in the above EXE file, the asterisk is
the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth character if they exist in the filename beginning with
SAME.
Another wild card used in the Dos command if? It is usually called a one
character wild card. When it appears in a command, you can substitute it with one
character e.g.
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DIR ?AME*.DBF, will substitute ? with any character as long as the next line
i.e AME is part of that filename. So if it is a command, like DIR SAME*??? Would be
the same as DIRD SAME*.* when the three questions marks in the former stand fir
three character.
Suppose you were to go straight to the root directory i.e. KENYA, all you need
to type in at the prompt is:
CD\ <ENTER>
If you want to see the subdirectory of a current directory, type DIR. <ENTER>.
For example if you have made Nakuru your current directory, to see subdirectory
like Milimani simply enter the latter command!
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When you copy a file to protect against loss of data we say you are backing up a
file. The copy command requires 2 parameters/arguments to accomplish the task. It is
a resident command.
(i) The first argument is the name of the file to be copied.
(ii) The second argument is the filename for the copy. If the file is not on the
logged drive, then drive identification must be included.
4.6.6.1 Copying from the same Drive
Thus: Copy SAME1.DBF ZAME2.DBF
The above command will copy file named SAME1 on the same drive and give it
a new name ZAME2.DBF. it is important to note that if you are copying within the
same drive, then the new file must have a different name.
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N/B: You could also use the command PRESS CTRL + P which will sent everything
on the CRT to the printer. To stop printing pre CTRL + P again.
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Procedure:
(i) To Format a non system or data disk
Simply enter FORMAT followed by a drive identification if the new disk is not to be in
the logged drive i.e.
FORMAT or FORMAT B:
This command will prompt Dos to load format program and display the
following message:
INSERT NEW DISKETTE FOR DRIVE A: and strike any key when ready. In
the file case or
INSERT NEW DISKETTE FOR DRIVE B: and strike any key when ready in
the second case.
Simply put the new diskette in the indicated drive and press any key. Dos will
display:
Formatting …
After a few minutes, Dos repeats
Formatting……Format Complete
362496 bytes total disk space
362496 bytes available on disk
Format another (Y/N)
To which you will answer “Y” or “N” press Y if you want to format another
otherwise press N key from the keyboard.
The messages displayed are the same as the ones above with addition of the ones
indicating that system transferred and how much space it required.
A disk with the system includes some hidden files the names of which do not
appear when you look at the contents of the disk, and a file called COOMAND.COM.
These files form the resident portion of Dos.
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NB: you can add Dos to any diskette as long as there is enough space to store the
three files. If a disk already has hidden files and you try to use SYS command to place
them on the disk anyway, you will get an error message indicting that there is no room
on the disk for the system. The only way to replace the hidden files once installed is
only by formatting the disk again.
Procedure:
The format for DISKCOPY includes two parameters:
(a) Source Drive and
(b) Destination Drive.
To be able to execute the command, enter the following:
DISKCOPY A:B:
This command will copy the contents of the entire drive A: to the one in drive
B:.
NB: Everything on the disk in B:, the destination drive, will be destroyed by the
operation. After the command, Dos will prompt you to insert the disks.
You can as well specify DISKCOPY B:A: if you intend to copy from drive B: to
drive A:.
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This method is often effective for disks that are full, otherwise we would use the
command:
COPY A:*.*B:
To copy all the files in drive A: with any extension to a disk in drive B. this
command as opposed to diskcopy, will always check for faulty areas on the destination
drive and mark them so that no data is kept in them.
4.8 SUMMARY
An Operating System is a set of program “housed” within the system software that
standardizes the way the computer’s resources are made available for the user to
applications software.
Operating Systems could be single user of multi user. Ms-Dos commands can be
divided into File Management Commands and Disk Management Commands.
Some Dos commands are internal (or resident) and some are external (non-resident
or transient) which means they have to be logged first before they can be used.
Examples of file management commands are: Deleting, copying and renaming files,
viewing, changing and creating directories. Examples of Disk Management
commands are: Copying disks, labeling disks and formatting disks.
4.9 QUESTIONS
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6. List some of the internal and external Dos commands that you know.
(ii) How would you format a Diskette? How can you include an Operating
System to a formatted diskette?
(iii) What are the two ways of Adding Dos to a formatted disk?
(iv) Write down the command for Adding Volume Label to Disk.
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