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COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Definitions of terms:

 System – Refers to a collection of entities that collectively work together to achieve a stated goal. e g
Digestive system
 Entity/ sub system – it can be a place, a person or an object.
 Computer system – it is a collection of three entities hard ware ,software and live ware that can
work together to receive , process, manage and present information in meaningful format .

Sub division of a computer system

1. Hardware –physical or tangible components that make up a computer system. Classifications
of hardware
 input devices
 Central processing unit
 Output devices
 Storage devices
Software- A set of instructions that direct a computer on what to do. Classifications\
categories of software
 System software
 Application software
Live ware – Refers to human attachments to the computer .Classifications of live ware
 Users
 Programmers
 Computer engineers
The computer Hardware

Hardware

CPU Peripheral Devices

CU ALU Input Output Storage

devices Devices Devices

CU- Control unit.

ALU- Arithmetic and logic unit.
CPU- Central processing unit.

Input Devices

- These are peripheral devices though which data and instruction are entered and transferred into
machine –readable format for processing.

Classification of input devices

- Input devices are classified according to the method of data entry
 Keying devices
 Pointing devices
 Scanning devices
 Other technologies used to capture data.

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Keying Devices

- They convert typed numbers, letters and special characters into machine readable format before
processing takes place.

Types of keying devices

 Traditional keyboard – common type of keying device
 Flexible keyboard - portable keyboard that can be folded and packed into a bag
 Ergonomic keyboard –its specially designed to provide comfort and alleviate wrist strain
 Keypad –its aminature (small )keyboard used on portable devices i.e. PDA & mobile phone
 Braille keyboard- a keyboard design for use by the blind and its keys are raised by dots.

Pointing Devices

- These are devices used in controlling pointer cursor on the screen.

Type of pointing devices

1. Mouse –this is a box –like device with a sensor button and a ball that slides it on the flat
surface(mouse pad)

Function of a mouse
 Pointing items on the screen .(click)
 Openning files and folders (double click)
 Moving (dragging) items on screen
 Drawing using paints.
Types of mouse
 Standard mouse – it as a ball underneath, two buttons and an optional scroll button
located between the left and right buttons.
 Optical mouse –it doesn’t have moving parts. It has a tiny digital camera that takes
pictures as it moves on flat surface and hence shows pointer position on the screen.
 Cordless mouse – its battery powered mouse that uses radio or infrared waves instead of
being physically connected to system unit

2. Track ball- it’s an up side down mouse with a ball at the top. Instead of moving the device on a
flat surface, the user rotates the ball using a finger.
3. Joystick- its an input device that looks like lever used to control pointer on the screen and also it
is used to play computer games
4. Light pen –this is alight sensitive –pen – like device. It detects the command or item being
eliminated by it.

Characteristics of light pen

 They are handheld
 Provide direct input
 They are used as design aid

Scanning Devices

Scanning – capturing data from an object and converting it into digital format.
Scanning devices –Are devices that capture data from a main document or object and convert it into
digital form or bitmap (picture image).

Types of scanners
a) Hand held scanners- It is held within the hand and moved slowly down the document being
scanned. It’s cheap and aimed at the low end home user market.

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b) Flatbed Scanners- They are larger than hand held or sheet feed scanners, but produce high
quality images as a result of their better construction. It allows document to be placed on a flat
scanning surface. It works like a photocopier.
c) Sheet Feed Scanners- The document is fed into the scanner, and is digitized as it passes through
the scanner. It has the advantage of small size and lower cost but limits on size of paper and speed
of scanning.

Types of scanning devices

1. OPTICAL SCANNERS

- They capture data using optical or light technology

- Alight beam passes over an object and image is analyzed by a specialized software
Examples –
a) Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)

- Detects marks on apiece of paper using infrared light

- They are used to mark multiple choice questions.
Application areas –
1. Multiple choice exam readers
2. Insurance premium collection
3. Payroll data entry
4. Supermarkets
5. Marked research questions
6. Traffic surveys

b) Optical character Reader (OCR)

- These are documents readers which recognize and read typewritten, computer printed or hand
written characters and transforms the image into a soft copy that can manipulated using a word
processor

Application areas-
 Cheques
 Electricity meter
 Sale order forms
 Stock taking sheets

c) Optical barcode reader (OBR)

- They are used to capture data coded as line of varying thickness called barcodes
Application areas –
 Supermarket

2. MAGNETIC SCANNERS

- These are scanners (documented readers ) used to capture data using magnetic ink or coded onto
a magnetic strip
Examples –
Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR)
- Used to read data written using magnetic ink
Application areas –
 Reading cheques in banks
 Local authority (for paying rates by installments )

3. DIGITIZERS OR GRAPHICAL TABLE

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- These are input devices that convert graphical drawings \ images on a paper into digital data
convey them to go as computer input
Application areas –
 Verification of signature in banks insurance companies
 Engineering and architectural drawings

4. DIGITAL CAMERAS
- They capture images that are stored in digital form i.e. memory cards instead of film.
- Digital cameras store images that can be edited, printed or uploaded to the internet or downloaded
to a local computer.

Other Input Technologies

1. Touch Screen

- The user is able to touch the screen using a finger or stylus in order to write or select an item
- The screen has infrared light which is interfered by fingers to give an out put
Application areas-
 Retail shops
 Air ports
 Smart phones
 Personal digital assistant

2. Voice Input

- This is where micro phones are to enter data inform of speech into the computer. It’s suitable for
physically challenged users.
Disadvantages of voice input
- It cannot differentiate speech related aspects i.e. accent and tones

3. Interactive White Board / Smartboard

- It is a large interactive display that connects to a computer. The computer display is projected onto
the board’s surface, where the user control the computer
Application areas –
 Classrooms
 Corporate board rooms
 Seminars
 Broadcasting studios

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SUMMARY TABLE OF INPUT DEVICES

CLASSIFICATIONS EXAMPLES UNDER EACH CLASSIFICATION

Keying devices Keyboard
- Traditional keyboard
- Flexible Keyboard
- Ergonomic keyboard
- Key pad
- Braille key board
Pointing Devices a. Mouse
- Standard mouse
- Optical mouse
- Cordless mouse
b. Trackball
c. Joystick
d. Light pen
Scanning Devices a) Optical scanners
-OMR
Types of scanners -OCR
 Hand held -OBR
 Flatbed b) Magnetic Scanners –MICR
 Sheet feed c) Digitizers/Graphical tables
d) Digital Camera
Other technologies a. Touch Screen
b. Voice input
c. Interactive board/Smart bard

Factors considered when purchasing an input device

i. Initial maintenance cost and operational costs

ii. Input speed
iii. Nature of business
iv. Nature and type of computer system used
v. Volume of data to be inputted and processed
vi. Data input accuracy
vii. Mode of operation
viii. Time taken to change the input into readable format

The Central Processing Unit

- This is the brain or heart of the computer

- It’s sometimes called computer processor or microprocessor
- The CPU controls all the activities / functions of the other part of the system
- It’s housed in a system unit and mounted on a motherboard
- The CPU is made up of three functional units;
 Arithmetic and Logic Unit
 Control unit
 Main memory

i. Arithmetic And Logic Unit

- The ALU does the computing, calculations, processing and comparison

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- It also does all the arithmetic operational e.g. additional, subtraction, division & multiplication.
- It does logical operations e.g. < >, sorting and matching.
- This is the calculator of the computer
- It seeks data to work on
- It seeks instructions on how to work upon the data from the memories
- It addresses data and instruction.
- It has a temporary storage location for data and results from processing; this is called Registers.

ii. Control Unit

- It supervises / coordinates all processing activities in the input, out put and storage
- Fetches the programs, data and instructions
- Decodes the programs, data and instructions
- Execute the programs, data and instructions
- Interprets the programs, data and instructions
- Directs sequence of events
- Establishes timing of events
- CU coordinates all activities using a system clock
- System clock –sends electric signals as a means of communications in CPU. It determines the
speed of the CPU.

iii. Main Memory / Primary Storage

- Its a temporary store of data and programs that require immediately by the CPU
- It stores short time and high speed access of information.

Types or Classification of main memory.

1. RAM – Random Access Memory
2. ROM- Read Only Memory

Read Only Memory.

- It stores programmed instructions and data permanently or semi permanently

- ROM contents cannot be changed / altered
- Information can be read but cannot be written
- The memory is static memory
- Its non –volatile memory (its contents cannot be lost easily when the computer is switched off)
Types of Rom
1. Masked Read Only Memory (MROM)
2. Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM)
3. Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory(EPROM)
4. Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory(EEPROM)

Random Access Memory (Ram)

- Its also called a working storage
- Its used to hold / store instruction and data needed by the currently running applications
- It’s called Random Access Memory because its contents can read directly regardless of the
sequence in which it was stored.

Characteristics of Random Access Memory

 Data can be read (retrieved) and written (stored).
 RAM is a temporary (volatile) storage because its contents are lost when the computer is
switched off.
 Its contents are user defined. The user dictates what is to be containing in the RAM.
 Its contents can be easily be changed.

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Types of Random Access Memory

1. Static Ram (SRAM)

- A fast memory mostly located inside a microprocessor.

- For this reason , SRAM is used on special memories i.e. cache memory which enhances high
speed processing by holding data and instructions that are instantly required by the processor

2. Dynamic Ram (DRAM)

- Slower type of RAM compared to SRAM.

- It’s called dynamic because stored instructions can change or leak away even with constant power
supply.
- DRAM requires periodic recharging (refresh) to maintain its data storage.

Special Purpose Memories

- Minute types of memories which are included inside the micro processor or input/ out put
devices , in order to enhance its performance
Examples:
 Buffers
 Registers
 Cache memory

a) Cache Memory
- Its a temporary in the CPU it’s a fast type of RAM .There are three types of Cache memories
namely :
- Level one – Also known as primary cache located inside the microprocessor
- Level two – Also known as external cache that may be inside the micro processor or mounted on
the mother board
- Level three – Is the latest type of cache that works with 1-2 optimize system performance

b) Buffers
- -They are special memories that are found in input / output devices. Input data is held in the input
buffer while processed output is held in output buffer.
c) Registers
- As opposed to buffers, registers hold one piece of data at a time and are inside the CPU
Examples of registers –
 Accumulator – This temporarily holds the results of last processing step of ALU
 Instructions register - This temporarily holds data just before it is interpreted into a
form that CPU understand
 Address registers – This temporarily holds the next piece of data to processed
 Storage registers-this temporarily holds a piece of data that is on its way to and from
the CPU and the main memory

Memory Capacity

- Memory and storage capacity is measured in bytes

- Byte – is equivalent to a single character
- Characters – can be numbers from 0-9
- The smallest unit in measurement is the Bit

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OTHER UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS

1 byte = 8 bits
1nibble = 4 bits
1 kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes
1megabyte (MB) =1024 KB
1gigabyte (GB) =1024 MB

Factors to Be Considered In Selecting a Memory Chip or Use in the Computer

 Memory capacity of the chip

 Memory organization ( how data is stored ) e.g. bit or a word
 Physical dimension and packaging i.e. compactable with slot on the mother board
 The cost of the memory chip
 Its availability on the market.

OVERALL FUNCTIONING OF THE CPU ORGANIZATION

Instructions THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU) Instructions

CONTROL UNIT (CU)
Controls all activities

ARITHMETIC AND LOGIC UNIT

(ALU)
Calculates and compares data

MAIN MEMORY
Results of processing Data to be processed
Input Unit Stores data and instructions temporary Output Unit

Output to be stored Data to be processed

SECONDARY STORAGE DEVICES

Backing stores for data and instructions

- CU, ALU and the Main memory use electrical pathway or links referred to as buses.
Bus—it’s an electrical pathway of data and information in the computer system.
- The are three types of buses :-

CONTROL BUS- This is the path way for all timing and controlling functions sent by the control unit to
other parts of system

ADRESS BUS – this the pathway used to locate the storage in the memory where the next instruction data
to be processed is held

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DATA BUS – this is path way where the actual data transfer takes place

Types of Processors

- A processor consists mainly of an in-built set of instructions known as instruction set.

Classification of Processors

1. complex instruction set computer (CISC)

- These are processors made up of large number of computer instruction set

- Examples of processors in this category are:
 AMD K 5
 CYRIX 6x86
 PENTIUM PROCESSORS
 INTEL PROCESSORS

2. Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC)

- These processors have fewer instructions set compared to CISC, and there instruction are
simple
- Examples of processors in this category are:
 POWER PC
 SPARC

Other Examples of Processors

 INTEL 8086
 INTEL 8088
 INTEL 80186
 INTEL 80286
 INTEL 80386
 INTEL 80486
 PENTIUM
 AMD K5
 PENTIUM PRO
 PENTIUM NMX
 PENTIUM 2
 AMD K 6
 CYRIX 6x86
 PENTIUM 3
 AMD ATHRON
 PENTIUM 4

Output Devices

- These are peripheral devices that allows the computer to communicate the or information to user.
- These devices accept electrical signals from the CPU and convert into a form that can be
understood by user.

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Types / Classification Of Out Put Devices

- They are classified into two:

 Soft copy output devices
 Hard copy Output Devices

1. Soft Copy Output Devices

- This is a tangible output displayed on the screen heard or spoken

- It is a transient form of out put i.e. for a short time
- Its contents are lost when the computer is switch off
Examples;
 Monitors(VDU)
 Speakers(Sound out put)
 Data projectors
 Light emitting diodes

Monitors / VDU / Screen

- Visual display unit (VDU) or screen is used to display information in form of text, pictures, and
video
- It enables the user to monitor what is going on in the computer
- There are three common types of monitors;

1. Cathode Ray Tube

- It consist of a long glass tube with an electron gun on one end and a screen on the other
- The shoots electrons to illuminate the screen
- The electrons are coated with tiny phosphorus dots
- The dots consist of three primary colors; red, green and blue
- So many pixels are arranged on the screen to form images

2. Liquid Crystal Display

- LCD monitors is made up of a special liquid

- They are less bulky unlike CRT
- They consume less power
- They have little eye strain effect on the eyes
- They are mostly used with portable computers
- LCD’s are made using two technologies;
 Passive matrix – here LCD’s creating images by scanning the entire screen. These screens require
little power but have poor clarity.
 Active matrix – these screens are made using thin film transistors hence called TFT (transistors
film technology) monitors. They consume more energy than passive matrix but offer better clarity

3. Gas Plasma Display

- They resemble LCD but they use gas instead of liquid crystals
- They consists of millions of pixels that are illuminated by charged neon gas
- Unlike the LCD’s images displayed on GPD‘s do not suffer from angle distortion
- It is used to produce high definition TV’s (HDTV’s) and wall display screens

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Monitors Display Terminologies;

 Pixels – stands for picture elements , are tiny dots which are used to form the images
displayed on the screen
 Color depth- refers to numbers of colors which can be displayed by the pixel. Its
measured in bits
 Resolution – This is the number of pixels per inch on the screen usually given by
dots per inch (dpi)
 Refresh rates – since CRT cannot hold an image for a long time , images in video
RAM is used to refresh the one on the screen as long as necessary . If a screen has a
low refresh rate, the images tend to flicker hence causing eye strain.
- Refresh rate is the number of times the image are replaced on the screen
 Display size – is measured in inches as the diagonal length of the screen measured
from top right to bottom left

Video Graphic Adapters

- Monitors must be connected through a video port to a video adapter plugged or integrated on the
mother board. A video adapter determines the resolution and clarity of the monitor
Examples of video adapters;
 Colors Graphic Adapters (CGA)
 Enhanced Graphics Adapters (EGA)
 Video Graphic Array(VGA)
 Super Video Graphic Array(SVGA)
 Extended Graphic Array(XGA)
 Super Extended Graphic Array(SXGA)
 Ultra Extended Graphic Array(UXGA)

Sound Output Devices

- These are devices that produce sounds such as beeps, audio or digital
- Examples;
 Speakers

- Computer systems have either in built or external devices

Data Projectors
- They are used to display output onto a plain white screen like a wall or a white board.
Light Emitting Diodes
- These are indicators that display when an electric signal is passed through them i.e. red light or
green light displayed on the screen by the system unit to help the user to know whether it is on or
off.

2. Hard Copy Out Put Devices

- This are tangible output that can be felt i.e. paper

- It can be read and stored
- It is relatively permanent /stable form of output
Examples;
a) Printers
b) Plotters

1. Printers
- These are out put which produces graphics on a paper
- The quality of hard copy depends on the printer printing mechanism
Types of printers

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a. Impact Printers

- They print using striking mechanism. They create marks on a paper by striking the inked ribbon or
carbon paper
- Examples;
 Dot matrix
 Daisy wheel
- They are noisy and slow

i. Dot matrix
- It has a set of pins on the printers head which strikes on an ink ribbon Placed over the paper

i. Daisy wheel
- -It has a removable flower like wheel consisting of embossed characters. When printing, the
rotated to align the characters and then the characters is hit by an hammer
- -They produce low copy print out s.

b. Non Impact Printers

- They produce characters without physically striking the stationary

- They print using ink thermal or laser mechanism
- They are faster and quite

Ink-Jet Printer

- They use print by spraying tiny ink droplets onto a paper to create an image
- A color may have back and white cartridges that contain cyan, magenta, and yellow compartments
- They are expensive to run and maintain due to high cost of replacement of the cartridges
Thermal Printers

- They use thermal technology to heat ink which is normally in coax or resin from melting point
before fusing it into the paper
- They are used in point of sale terminals to print receipt and barcodes
- they produce high copy printouts
- They are expensive to purchase and run.

Laser Printers

- Operate by shining a laser beam to create an image on a rotating drum.

- As the beam hits the drum, it ionizes some region which attracts ink tones particles.
- They are faster compared to the other two
- They are cheaper to run and produce copies of high quality
- They are expensive to purchase.

Photo Printers

-They are special purpose printers designed to print photos.

Difference between Impact and Non Impact

IMPACT PRINTERS NON-IMPACT PRINTERS

- Slow - Faster
- Uses inked ribbon - Uses cartridges ,thermal ,and electrostatic

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principles
- Cheaper - Relatively costly
- Noisy - Quite
- Multiple can be produced - Multiple copies impossible
- Striking the stationary - Not striking the stationary

Factors Considered when purchasing a printer

 Print quality
 Initial cost
 Running cost
 Speed
 Color printing

2. Plotters

- A large type of hard copy out put devices

- Its is used for printing geographical, architectural and engineering drawings e.g. maps, advertisement
posters etc.

Secondary storage devices and media

Other names for secondary storage

 Secondary memory
 Auxiliary storage devices/backing store
 Back ups storage devices/back store
 External memory /storage devices
 Peripheral memory

Disadvantage of main memory

 It is limited in capacity
 Very expensive
 Volatile
 High energy consumption

- Therefore there is need to store data in permanent and enough space i.e. secondary devices.
- They are called secondary devices because they are not accessible to the CPU.

Advantages of secondary devices

 Are very accurate
 Less expensive
 High capacity
 Non volatile
 Re-usable
 Low energy consumption
 They are used for back-up information

Classification of secondary storage

They are classified according to

a) Portability i.e. removable and fixed
b) Technology used to store and retrieve data i.e. magnetic, optical, magneto –optical and solid state.

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Examples of storage devices

 Magnetic types
 Magnetic drum
 Floppy disks
 Hard disks
 Optical
 Zip disks
 Flash disks
 Jazz disks
 High capacity floppy
 Memory stick
 Laser servo 120-super disks

1. Removable storage media

- These are storage media not housed inside the computer.

- Data is read and written into the media using a device known as a drive
Examples
 Magnetic tapes
 Floppy disks
 Zip disks
 Jaz disks
 High capacity floppy
 Laser Servo 120 SuperDsiks
 Optical disks
 Solid state devices e.g. memory stick and flash disks [flash pen] drives

I. Magnetic

- Made up using a thin ribbon of Mylar coated with a thin layer of magnetic materials composed of
iron oxide.
- Data is stored in block separated by inter record gap [IRG]
- The data is recorded as a series of magnetic dots
- They are sequential or serial access devices i.e. they read a record one after another

Advantages of magnetic tapes

 They hold a lot of data in a compact space
 Are easily portable
 Are not expensive
 Holds records of different lengths
 Can be erased and can be re- used

Disadvantages of magnetic tapes

 There is slow access to data because of linear storage of data on the tapes
 Can easily be dangled by dust, magnet and heat leaving toughing dropping and watering e.g.
 Storage space is wasted because of inter-record gaps [IRG]

Application areas
 Pay roll application
 Mailing application
 Nominal roll application

II. Floppy disks/diskette

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- Made up of a small flexible round disk coated with magnetisable iron oxide covered with a plastic
protective case.
- Its covered with a plastic protective case.
- To read and write into a floppy disk the computer uses a floppy drive
Examples of diskette
 5.25 inch diskette (1.44 MB)
 3.5 inch diskette (2.88 MB)
Structure of the floppy disk
Metal shutter

HD
Plastic jacket

Personal documents Label

Personal documents
FOR SPIE Write protection notch
FOR SPIE

Structure of the floppy disk platter

Sector

C Tracks

Tracks-These are Concentric circles that represent one complete rotation of the disk containing data on a
floppy disk platter.
Sector- It is the smallest unit that can be written to or read from the disk, Sub- division of tracks on a
floppy disk platter.
III. Zip disks
- Is a high capacity magnetic diskette that resembles a floppy disk
- A zip disk has a high storage capacity and physically thicker than 3.5 diskette
- It can hold as much as 250mb

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- Zip disks mostly come with separate portable external zip drives.

IV. Jazz disks

- Jazz disks resemble zip disks is very sense only that they can hold as much as 2 GB
- Data is read or written using internal or external jazz drives.

V. High capacity floppy

- High capacity floppy disks are known as HIFD disks have high capacity diskette that can store
up to 200MB of data
- HIFD drive can also read the magnetic 144MB diskette.

VI. Laser servo 120super disks

- It is a diskette that resembles the 3.5 inch diskette but use optical technology
- Has a greater storage capacity and speed of data retrieval [240MB] 15-120 drives can read and
write both 3.5 inch floppy disks and the 120 Mb Superdisks

VII. Optical storage media

- Optical storage media is where data is written and read using a laser beam.
- A laser beam is a very strong concentrated light
- Two reasons why optical storage media are used are;
 They store very large volume of data
 Data stored in them is more stable and more permanent than the magnetic media.

Examples of optical media

a. Computer disks [CD]

- They hold large quantities of data and information [700MB]
- They are mostly used to store data and information that require a lot of space such as video clips,
soft ware, and sounds e.t.c
- They are available in three forms
 Compact disk read only memory [CD-ROM]
 Compact disk-renewable [CD-RW]
 Compact disk- recordable [CD-R]

- NB- CD-ROM’s and CD-R’s are referred to as write once and read many (WORM)
- Data is only recorded once but can be read many times as possible.

b. Digital versatile disk/digital video disk

- They resemble compact disk but have a high storage capacity of up to 17GB
- Are suitable for recording motion pictures such as video because they offer better sound and
picture quality than CDs
c. Optical card
- Resembles magnetic ink character recognition [MICR] card but data is read and written optically
- They are mostly used in banking and other business organization to record customer’s details.
d. Optical tapes
- This is similar to magnetic tape only that data is stored on it by using optical technology.
-
VIII. Solid state storage media
- Are non-volatile storage media that employs integrated circuits rather than mechanical magnetic or
optical technology
- They are referred to as solid state because they do not have movable parts.
Examples
- Flash disk of or flash pen
- Memory stick

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2. Fixed storage media/hard disk/hard drive

- Housed inside the computer hence the name fixed disks

- However some hard disks are removable
- Made up of metallic disk plotters together with a read or write read, house in a protective metal
case.
- Have enough a high recording density
- Data can be accessed faster than with floppy disks
- The read or write head floats just above the surface of the rapidly rotating disk to read or write
data
- Most computer hard disk is connected to the mother board via a channel called controller.
Examples
- Integrated drive electronic [IDE]
- Enhanced IDE

Structure of the disk platters

Spindle

Read/Write heads

Disk platters Comb

Cylinder

Care of magnetic storage media

- Do not expos ea magnetic media to strong magnetic fields, this would dis-orient the dipoles
causing erasure of record data.
- Do not a magnetic media to excessive heat. Heat energy leads to loss of magnetic strength in
materials.
- Do not drop magnetic media on the ground because the impact weakens magnetism.
- Do not bend or fold a magnetic media or put heavy weight on them to avoid breaking or damaging
it.
- Do not touch the magnetic surface.
- Do not remove a media from the drive when it is still being accessed by the computer because this
may result to data loss.

Power supply and peripheral devices interfacing

Power supply unit and adaptor

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- A computer system must be connected to ac power supply but internal devices require dc power
the computer system has internal power supply
- The power supply unit is mounted on system unit casing.

Peripheral devices interfacing

- This refers to connecting a peripheral device to a computer through ports either cables or wireless
connectivity.

Types of interfaces/computer ports

 Parallel interfaces/parallel ports

- They transmit information simultaneously using a set of many conductors. [Wires]
- Its one way transmition cables
- They transmit data faster over a short distance.
Examples of parallel cable connections
1. Printers
2. Scanners
3. Zip disks
Examples of parallel ports
 LPT1 [line printer one]
 Centronics port
 25-pin holes

 Serial interface/serial ports

Examples of serial ports
 COM ports [communication ports]
 RS-232 port
 25 pin or 9- pin
- They support transmission of data from one bit at a time hence has a slower than parallel ports.
- They are reliable because they can transmit data for a long distance [15m]
- It allows a two way communication [to and from]
- Most widely used
Examples of peripheral devices connected to the serial port
 External modems
 Mouse
 Serial printers

 Universal serial bus [USB] interface

- This is a standard serial interface that set to replace the convectional parallel and serial cables and
ports
- It transmits only 1 bit at a time
- It provides a high speed and qualify data transmition over distance of approximately 5m
- Allow convection of many peripheral devices
- It can be daisy-chaired through a single port known as root hub
Types
 Low speed USB
 High speed USB

Examples of peripheral devices connected to the USB

 Mouse
 Key board
 Phone
 Printers

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 Modems e.t.c

 Small computer system interface [SCSI]

- These transmit data in parallel but are faster than the parallel cables.
- It allows connecting to a multiple devices.

 Personal system I 2 [Ps/2]

- Mainly for connection of mouse and key board.

 Video graphic away [VGA] interface

- It is used to connect a monitor of a data project.
- Shaped like letter D with 15 pins

 Firewire interface
- Firewire of IEEE 1394 has the same feature as the USB but transmit data faster than USB.
- It is mostly used for streaming video from a digital video camera.

 Audio inter face

- Audio interface is used to connect speakers and microphones.

 Infrared and Bluetooth

- Infrared is a wireless interface that uses infrared enabled devices.
- Blue tooth is also a wireless interface that uses short range audio broadcast to connect to any
Bluetooth enabled devices.

Summary table of interfaces

SYMBOL PORT
Parallel

Serial

USB

SCSI

Ps/2 for mouse

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Ps/2 for keyboard

Basic computer set up and cabling

Precautions
- Disconnect all the devices from the power sources before starting to work on them
- Do not work on any peripheral devices without the guidance of the teacher
- Never work a lone because you need help din case of an emergency.
- Discharge any static electricity that might have built up on the hands by touching an earthed
metallic objects and then wearing an antistatic wrist member.This is because your body can hold
much as 200volts of static charge that can damage sensitive components on the mother board.

Tools and other requirements

- Screw drives.
- Antistatic wrist member.
- Pliers
- Devices manuals
- Devices soft ware [drives]

Mounting internal devices

- Internal devices are connected through slots and sockets.
- They connected to the mother board using special ribbon cables.

Mounting hard drives and optical drives

- They are connected to the mother board through interface connectors commonly referred to as
controllers
There are 3 types of controllers
 Enhanced integrated drive electronics [EIDE]
 Serial advanced technology attachment [SATA]
 Small computer inter face [SCSI]

- EIDE and SATA are commonly used on services.

- SATA is meant for a replacement of the older parallel ATA [PATA] and EIDE because it is more
efficient and supports hot- swapping.
- Hot-swapping-means that a drive can be removed or inserted while the computer is still on.
- EIDE controllers supports up to two drives on a single ribbon Cables this type of set up is called
master/slave configuration because one controls direct activities of both drives.

Procedure of mounting
- Wear antistatic wrist member to discharge any static charge on the body
- Determine the master and slave drive. Then determine the jumper setting
- Check that a free drive bay is available. Slide the disk into that bay and screw it into place.
- Ensure that there is a free power connector from the power supply unit and connect it to the drive.
- Identify pin 1 as labeled on the drives socket and match it with the red or brown continuous live of
the ribbon cable
- Connect the interface cable to the drives then into the controller slot on the mother board.
- If installation is complete replace the casing cover.

Installation of floppy drives

- They are installed the same way as the drives, only that there is no master slave configuration
however; you can attach two floppy drives on the same ribbon cable i.e. A and B.

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Procedure of connecting
- Identify port and interface cables then.
- Gently and carefully connect the interface cable of each device to the correct port and to the
device if it is not already fixed permanently.
- Connect the computer to the power source and switch it on.
- Observe boot up information on the screen to see weather power –on-self –test [post]
- Successfully boot means that the computer was properly set up.
Computer software

- Computer Software is a set of instructions that directs the computer on the tasks to perform and
how to perform them.
- These instructions are specially written using complete programming languages
- It also includes documentation and user guide for the programs.

Classification of software
1. Classification according to purpose
2. Classification according to acquisition
3. Classification according to End-user-license

1. Classification according to purpose

- Mainly designed to manage the hardware resources or to help to accomplish specific tasks
- Hence it can be classified as
 System software
 Application software

 System software
- This is a collection of programs that perform a variety of fundamental operations that avails the
computer resources to the user.
Functions
- Booting the computer and making sure that all the hardware elements are working properly
- Performing operations such as reviewing loading execution and storing applications.
- Storing and reviewing files
- Performing a variety of system utility functions
Categories of system software
 Operating system
 Firm ware
 Utility software
 Net working software
Operating system (OS)
- This is a set of computer programs that is responsible for execution of user programs called
information and acts as ago between [interface] between applications and the computer hardware.
- It manages input, out put and storage operations in a computer.
Examples of OS
- Ms Windows [2000, XP and vista]
- UNIX
- Linux
- Macintosh [Mac OS]
Firmware logic
- It is a micro program which is a combination of both software and hardware recorded permanently
on electronic chips.
- It is sequence program in the cu.
- Firmware is read-only-memory chip that is mounted or plugged into the mother board
- Firmware may hold on os utility program language process e.t.c.

Utility software

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- Utility soft ware is a special program that performs commonly used services.
- That makes certain aspects of the computer go on smoothly
- Such includes sorting, copying, file handling, disk management etc.

Two types of utility software

- System-level-utility-it helps the user to work with the OS and its functions
- Application-level-utility-these makes application programs run more smoothly and efficiently.

Networking software
- A type of software used to establish communication between two or more computers by linking
them using a communication channel like cables to create a computer network.

 Application software
- Also called application packages
- These are programs used in processing users specific needs/tasks they are also called off-the-shelf
or canned programs.
Examples of applications

APPLICATION SOFTWARE USES EXAMPLES

Word processor Typing documents like letters Word, Lotus Wordpro,
OpenOffice Writer etc.
Spreadsheet Calculating budgets Ms Excel, Lotus 1-2-3
Desktop publishing Designing publications Adobe PageMaker, Ms Publisher,
Adobe InDesign
Computer Aided Design Technical drawing AutoCAD
Databases Keeping records and files Ms Access, MySQL, FoxBase,
Paradox
Graphics software Designing and manipulating Corel Draw, Photoshop
graphics

2. Classification according to acquisition

In-house developed
- These are programs that are unique designed and tailored to meet a particular users needs. It is
developed by a hired programs [it is not available in shops]

Vendor off the shelf soft ware

- It is developed by soft ware engineers, packaged and then made available for purchase through a
vendor, a distributors or directly from the developers
- They are developed as a bundle of more than one closely related software to form a suite or
integrated soft ware as opposed to single-purpose soft ware
Examples of suites

 Lotus suite
 Microsoft suite
 Corel WordPerfect

Examples of single purpose

 Quick books
 Sage pastel

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Advantages of standard/off the shelf soft ware/over in- house

- They can easily be installed and run
- They are cheaper than in-house developed software
- They are readily available for almost any task
- Minor or no error since they are through tested
- They can easily be modified to meet user’s needs

Draw backs/disadvantages of off-the shelf

- They may have some features not needy by the user which may take extra storage
- They may require the user to change process and hard ware for compatibly which May in turn is
expensive
- They may lack some features required by the user

3. Classification according to end-user-licenses [EUL]

These can be categorized as

 Open source
 Propriety
 Free ware
Open sources/non-proprietary
- Refers to soft ware whose source code [programmed set of instructions] is freely made available to
the user. Users are encouraged to use, modified and distribute the modified products
- Examples
Linux OS
Proprietary
- Refers to software whose source code is hidden from users. Modification is only made by the soft
ware manufacturer.
- The software may be licensed to the user at a fee or applied freely
- Examples
-Microsoft windows OS
- Office suite-adobe page maker
- CorelDraw suite
Free ware – refers to soft ware products that are freely made available to the user.
- Some free ware may be malicious/destructive soft ware
- Examples
Grisoft antivirus [AVG]

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A COMPUTER SYSTEM

HARD WARE CONSIDARATION
 Microprocessor type and speed
 Warranty
 Cost
 Upgradeability and compatibility
 Portability
 Special user needs
 Monitor
 Multimedia capability-refers to the ability of the computer to process and out put text, sound,
video and pictures

SOFT WARE CONSIDERATION

 Authenticity
 Documentation
 User needs
 Reliability and security
 User friendly lines
 Cost

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 Compatibility and system configuration

 Portability

COMPUTER SYSTEMS REVISED