1.

Computer Hardware

1.1 Type of Computer

1.2 Computer System

1.2.1 Input devices

1.2.2 Output devices
1.3 Desktop Computer

1.3.1 Monitor

(i) Cathode Ray Tube

(ii) Liquid Crystal Display
(iii) Light Emitting Diode

1.3.2 UPS

1.3.3 Computer Peripheral

(i) Keyboard
(ii) Mouse, Touch pad
(iii) Webcam
(iv) Flash memory
(v) Printer
(vi) Projector
(vii) Microphone
(viii) Speaker

1.3.4 System Unit

(i) Motherboard
a. Chipsets
b. Slots
c. ports
d. buses
(ii) CPU
(iii) Memory

a. Primary Memory
i. RAM
ii. ROM
b. Secondary Memory
i. Magnetic
ii. Optical
iii. Solid-State
(iv) Power Supply Unit
(v) Graphical processing unit
(vi) Network interface Card
(vii) Sound card
(viii) Heat Sink fan

2. Computer software basic

 Software – a set of instructions or programs that tells a computer what to do or how to perform a
specific task (computer software runs on hardware).
 Main types of software – systems software and application software.
Application software

 Application software – a computer program that provides users with tools to accomplish a specific
task.
 Examples of application software: word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, database
management, Internet browsers, email programs, media players, accounting, pronunciation,
translation, desktop publishing, enterprise, etc.

System Software

System software – it is designed to run a computer’s hardware and application software, and make the
computer system available for use. It serves as the interface between hardware, application software, and the
user.

 Main functions of system software – allocating system resources, managing storage space, storing
and retrieval of files, providing security, etc.
 Main types of systems software – operating system, device driver, utility software, programming
software, etc.

Operating system (OS) – a software that controls and coordinates the computer hardware devices and runs
other software and applications on a computer. It is the main part of system software and a computer will not
function without it.

 Main functions of an operating system – booting the computer, managing system resources (CPU,
memory, storage devices, printer, etc.), managing files, handling input and output, executing and
providing services for application software, etc.
 Examples of operating system: Microsoft Windows, Apple iOS, Android OS, macOS, Linux, etc.
 Device driver – a software program that is designed to control a particular hardware device that is attached
to a computer.

 The main purpose of device driver – it acts as a translator between the hardware device and operating
systems or applications that use it.
 It instructs computer on how to communicate with the device by translating the operating system’s
instructions into a language that a device can understand in order to perform the necessary task.
 Examples of device driver: printer driver, display driver, USB driver, sound card driver,
motherboard driver, ROM driver, etc.

Utility software – a type of system software that helps set up, analyze, configure, strengthen, maintain a
computer, and performs a very specific task (e.g. antivirus software, backup software, memory tester, screen
saver, etc.).

Clock
Decode

Accumulator
(Register)
(register)

Current
B, +, C, instruction,
Instruction
Adress (register)
8
8

Monitor
Memory Fetch
instruction
address
8
Result data (8) and
read data (B+C)