CHAPTER 1

CONFIGURATION OF COMPUTERS
PART – A
One mark questions
1 What is a motherboard?
ANS The main circuit board o f the computer, which contains all major components.
2 What is a microprocessor?
ANS An Integrated circuit on a single silicon chip that makes up the computers CPU.
3 What is the function of north bridge?
ANS North Bridge is responsible for control of high speed components like CPU, RAM for data transfer.
4 What is the function of south bridge?
South Bridge is responsible for control of low speed components like Sound Card, Net Card, hard disk,
ANS
etc. for data transfer.
5 Expand BIOS.
ANS Basic Input Output System
6 What is a slot?
ANS It is used to add peripheral cards to a PC that give additional functionality.
7 Give the purpose of expansion slots.

ANS The expansion slot is the area of the motherboard into which expansion boards are inserted to
improve the capabilities of a computer.
8 What is the purpose of AGP?

ANS Accelerated Graphics Port slot is for inserting Graphics card which make graphics application run
faster.
9 Expand IDE.
ANS Integrated Digital Electronics
10 Expand PCI.
ANS Peripheral Component Interconnect.
11 What are ports and interfaces?

ANS Port is an open end (place) to connect an external device to the computer. Hardware used to connect an
external device to the computer, is known as interface.
12 How many bits of data are transferred along a serial port?
ANS One bit at a time.
13 Expand USB.
ANS Universal Serial Bus.
14 Give one feature of USB.
ANS Plug-n-Play devices
15 Name any one USB device.
ANS Pen Drive, Memory card.
16 What is plug-and-play?

ANS Plug and play means a any new device can be connected to the computer without even turning off
the computer.
17 Expand MIDI.
ANS Musical Instrument Digital Interface
18 Define a bus.
ANS A bus is a collection of parallel wires that form a pathway to carry address, data, and control signals
19 How does the computer communicate with other devices?
ANS Buses are used to communicate with other devices.
20 What is system bus?

ANS A bus which connects major components of a computer such as processor, memory and input and
output is called system bus.
21 What is the function of control bus?
ANS The function of the control bus is to control the access of data and addresses.
22 What is a data bus?
ANS Data bus is a set of wires that provides a path to transfer data between CPU and memory.
23 What are registers?
ANS Registers is a temporary memory of CPU.
24 What is the function of registers in the CPU?
ANS Registers is a temporary storage areas for holding data and instructions.
25 Define cache memory.
ANS The cache memory is a very high speed memory placed in between RAM and CPU.
26 Where is L1 cache located?
ANS L1 cache is located on processor.
27 Where is L2 cache located?
ANS L2 cache is located on motherboard.
28 Expand SDRAM.
ANS Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory.
29 Give the expansion of DDRRAM.
ANS Double Data Rate Random Access Memory.
30 Expand SMPS.
ANS Switch Mode Power Supply.
31 What is the use of SMPS?
ANS SMPS converts AC power from an electrical outlet to the DC power.
32 What is the approximate power consumed by a PC?
ANS Approximate power consumed by a PC is 300 to 450 watts.
33 Expand UPS.
ANS Uninterruptable Power Supply.
PART – B
Two marks questions
1 Name any two types of motherboard.
ANS XT , AT, Baby AT, ATX motherboard.
2 Explain North Bridge.
North Bridge or north chipset is responsible for control of high speed components like CPU, RAM for
ANS
data transfer.
3 Briefly explain South Bridge.
 South Bridge is responsible for control of low speed components like Sound Card, Net Card, hard disk,
ANS
etc. for data transfer.
4 Name the different I/O ports.
ANS The different types of I/O ports are Serial Port, Parallel Port, USB port, AGP port, Game Port etc
5 Explain parallel port.
Parallel port is used to connect external I/O devices like printers or scanners.
ANS It transfers data one byte (8-bits) at a time, or a group of bits at a time.
It comes in the form of 25-pin connector
6 Briefly explain USB port.
USB port is a plug and play interface device between a computer and add-on device like audio player,
keyboard, modem, scanner etc.
It supports data speed of 12 megabits/sec.
ANS
It supports up to 127 devices.
New device can be connected without switching off system.
A new device can be added to the computer without adding an adapter card
7 Name the two types of primary memory.
ANS RAM and ROM.
8 What are the sources of power supply to the computer?
ANS SMPS and UPS are the sources of power supply to the computer.
9 Explain SMPS.
SMPS: Switch Mode Power Supply - SMPS converts AC power from an electrical outlet to the DC power.
ANS It converts 230 volts of AC to 5 to 12 DC volts, and provides power to components as per requirement
of that device.
10 Explain UPS.

ANS UPS: Uninterruptable power supply - It is a to provide power backup to the system to maintain power in
the event of power failure. It keeps computer running for several minutes to few hours.
11 Name the two types of UPS
ANS The types of UPS are (1) Online UPS (2) Stand by UPS/offline UPS.
12 Explain off-line UPS.
Standby or Offline : The UPS circuit monitors the voltage level in the mains, if there is voltage problem it
ANS
switches to battery until the main supply returns to normal.
13 Explain online UPS.

Online: The inverter is directly connected to the device and it is always on to give the required
ANS (current) power to the device. If power fails, the battery backup circuit switches on and takes the
load. It is costly.
PART – C
Three marks questions
1 Explain the characteristics of a motherboard.
The characteristics of Motherboard are:
1. Form Factor: Refers to the motherboard’s geometry, dimensions, arrangements and
ANS electrical requirements.
2. Chipset: Co-ordinates data transfer between various components of motherboard.
3. Processor Socket: A rectangular connector to which a processor is mounted vertically.
2 Explain different types of motherboard.
The types of motherboard are:
ANS (a) XT (Extended Technology): This motherboard is used in earlier times, it has old type of socket
for CPU.
 (b) AT (Advanced Technology): This was the first type of motherboard used in PC 's. Its size was 12
inches wide and 11 inches long.
(c) Baby AT Motherboard: It is a combination of XT and AT motherboard. It is a the first PC
motherboard to build in sockets for I / O ports.
3 What is a north bridge? Name the devices controlled by North Bridge.
North Bridge or north chipset is responsible for control of high speed components
ANS
The different components of North bridge are CPU, RAM, Video Card, Chipset
4 What is south bridge? Name the devices controlled by south bridge.
South Bridge is responsible for control of low speed components like Sound Card, Net Card, hard disk,
ANS
etc.
5 Explain any three components of a motherboard.
Processor: The main component on the motherboard and known as brain of the computer. It consists
of Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit (CU) and set of registers.
ANS Bus: Collection of parallel wires that form a pathway to carry address, data and control signals.
I/O Ports: it used to connect external devices like printers, keyboards or scanners to the computer,
which gets connected to the computers motherboard.
6 Give the functions of BIOS.

ANS Basic Input Output System which uses CMOS for checking the components and their proper
Connections. This process is called Power On Self Test.
7 What is a slot? Explain any two slots.
It is used to add peripheral cards to a PC that give additional functionality.
ANS 1. AGP slot - Accelerated Graphics Port slot is for inserting Graphics card which make graphics
application run faster.
2. ISA slot - Industry Standard Architecture slot is used to connect modem and input devices
8 Explain the different types of I/O ports.
Serial port: They are called RS-232-C ports.
 It is used to connect mouse and modem.
 It transfers data serially one bit at a time.
 Data transfer is slow (8 times longer to transfer a byte)
ANS Parallel port: They are used to connect external I/O devices like printers or scanners.
 It transfers data one byte (8-bits) at a time.
 It comes in the form of 25-pin connector.

USB port: It is a plug and play interface device between a computer and add-on device like audio
player, keyboards, modems, scanners etc.
9 Write a note on serial port.
Serial port is called RS-232-C ports.
 It is used to connect mouse and modem.
ANS  It transfers data serially one bit at a time.
 It requires single wire to transmit one bit of data
 Data transfer is slow (8 times longer to transfer a byte).
10 Write a note on parallel port.
Parallel port is used to connect external I/O devices like printers or scanners.
ANS  It transfers data one byte (8-bits) at a time or a group of bits at a time.
 It comes in the form of 25-pin connector.
11 Explain USB port.

ANS USB port is a plug and play interface device between a computer and add-on device like audio player,
keyboard, modem, scanner etc. It supports data speed of 12 megabits/sec. It supports up to 127
 devices. New device can be connected without switching off system. A new device can be
added to the computer without adding an adapter card
12 Give the features of USB.

 USB (Universal Serial BUS) port is used to connect a variety of newer peripherals like
printers, scanners, digital cameras, web cameras, speakers, etc. to a computer.
 USB port gives an easy-to-use way to connect a variety of newer peripherals to a computer.
 USB is a plug-and-play interface between a computer and add-on devices such as audio
ANS players, modem, scanner etc.
 With USB, a new device can be added to your computer without adding a adapter card or
even turning the computer off
 USB supports a data speed of 12 megabits per second
 USB supporting up to 127 devices.
13 Explain cache memory.

The Cache memory is a high speed memory, which is between the CPU and main memory. The purpose
of cache memory is to store program instructions that are frequently referred during execution of
program. Cache memory is expensive. Computers have cache memory of sizes 256 KB to 2 MB. The
computer has built in Level 1 (L1) Cache Level 2 (L2) and Cache Level 3(L3) cache. L1 is located on
processor. L2 is a part of RAM. L3 is Located on the mother board.

ANS CACHE MEMORY

Processor L2-Cache
Memory Disk
Regs L1-Cache
L3-Cache

Mother Board
14 Explain the different types of system bus.
System Bus connects computer components like processor, memory and Input and output.
 It is also called as Internal Bus.
 It consists of three buses namely data bus, address bus and control bus.
ANS
Data Bus: It provides a path to transfer data between CPU and Memory.
Address Bus: It connects CPU and RAM for transferring address.
Control Bus: The function of the control bus is to control the access of data and addresses.
15 Write a note on registers.
Registers are high speed storage units within the CPU, but have least storage capacity. Registers are not
referenced by their address, but are directly accessed and manipulated by the CPU during instruction
ANS
execution. They are referred to as the CPU’s working memory as they are used to store data,
instructions, addresses and intermediate results of processing
16 What is primary memory? Name the two types of primary memory.

Primary Memory: Primary memory is the main memory of the computer. It stores programs and data
which are currently needed by CPU.
Functions of primary memory: To store operating system when the computer is turned on.
Temporarily store a copy of the application program. Temporarily store the data input from the
ANS
keyboard. Temporarily store the result which is generated from processing until it is transferred to
output device.
Primary memory is of two types.
1. RAM (Random Access Memory)
2. ROM (Read Only Memory
17 Briefly explain RAM.
 Random Access Memory (RAM): RAM is also called as the main memory of a computer. Ram
temporarily stores the computer operating system, application program and current data so that the
processor can reach them quickly. RAM is a volatile in nature i.e. when the power is switched off; the
data in this memory is lost.
Types of RAM
o Static RAM (SRAM)
ANS  Static RAM chip is usually used in cache memory due to its high speed.
 It stores information as long as the power supply is on.
 SRAM is more expensive than DRAM and it takes up more space.
o Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
 It is the most common type of memory chip.
 DRAM is cheaper and they consume less power.
 It uses transistor and capacitors.
18 Briefly explain ROM.
Read Only Memory (ROM): ROM is non-volatile memory i.e. the information stored in it is not lost
ANS even when the power supply goes off. It is used for permanent storage of information. The programs
stored in ROM will be used for starting of the system, the software is called BIOS.
19 Write a note on DRAM.
Dynamic RAM (DRAM) it is the most common type of memory chip. DRAM is cheaper and they
ANS consume less power. It uses transistor and capacitors. DRAM is used as the main memory of a system.
DRAM is slow compared to SRAM. DRAM needs to be refreshed frequently.
20 Write a note on SRAM.

Static RAM (SRAM) - Static RAM chip is usually used in cache memory due to its high speed. It stores
ANS information as long as the power supply is on. SRAM is more expensive than DRAM. This need not be
refreshed frequently.
21 Write a note on SMPS.
SMPS: Switch Mode Power Supply - SMPS converts AC power from an electrical outlet to the DC power.
ANS It converts 230 volts of AC to 5 to 12 DC volts, and provides power to components as per requirement
of that device.
PART – D
Five marks questions
1 Explain any five components of a motherboard.
Processor: The main component on the motherboard and known as brain of the computer. It consists
of Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit (CU) and set of registers.
Bus: Collection of parallel wires that form a pathway to carry address, data and control signals.
I/O Ports: it used to connect external devices like printers, keyboards or scanners to the computer,
which gets connected to the computers motherboard.
Expansion slots - The expansion slot is the area of the motherboard into which expansion boards
ANS
are inserted to improve the capabilities of a computer.
CMOS - is a type of memory chip to store date, time and system setup parameters. These
parameters are loaded every time the computer is started. BIOS as well as CMOS are kept
powered by small lithium ion battery located on the motherboard.
IDE - Integrated Digital Electronics, used to connect bulk storage devices like CD, DVD, Hard disk
etc. to mother board.
2 Explain the different slots in a motherboard.
(1) ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) - ISA slot is used to connect modem and input devices.
(2) AGP (Accelerated Graphic Port) – This slot is for inserting Graphics card which make graphics
application run faster.
(3) PCI slot (Peripheral Component Interconnect) - PCI slots are used to connect graphics
ANS
accelerators cards, sound card, internal modems or SCSI cards. They are much faster than ISA
cards.
(4) PCI express Expansion Slots - The expansion slot is the area of the motherboard into which
expansion boards are inserted to improve the capabilities of a computer.
 (5) PC Card: It is used in laptop computers, it includes wifi card network card etc.

3 Explain the different I/O ports and interfaces.

Serial Port, also known as communication port or Rs-232 c ports, is used for connecting
communication devices like mouse and modem.
Parallel ports are used to connect external input/output devices like printers or scanners.
USB (Universal Serial BUS) port is used to connect a variety of newer peripherals like printers,
scanners, digital cameras, web cameras, speakers, etc. to a computer.
PS-2 port was developed by IBM to interface keyboards and pointing devices like mouse, trackballs
ANS
and touch pads.
Ethernet port connects to a network and high speed Internet.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) port is a system designed to transmit information between
electronic musical instruments.
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port - It is used to connect to graphic card that provides high-speed video
performance typically required in games and other multimedia applications.
4 Explain USB.
USB is a plug and play interface device between a computer and add-on device like audio player,
keyboard, modem, scanner etc. It supports data speed of 12 megabits/sec. It supports up to 127
ANS
devices. New device can be connected without switching off system. A new device can be added to the
computer without adding an adapter card.
5 What is an internal memory? Give the features of internal memory?
Registers and primary memory are called internal memory.
Registers are high speed storage units within the CPU, but have least storage capacity. Registers are not
referenced by their address, but are directly accessed and manipulated by the CPU during instruction
execution. They are referred to as the CPU’s working memory as they are used to store data,
instructions, addresses and intermediate results of processing.
Primary Memory: Primary memory is the main memory of the computer. It stores programs and data
which are currently needed by CPU.
ANS
Functions of primary memory: To store operating system when the computer is turned on.
Temporarily store a copy of the application program. Temporarily store the data input from the
keyboard. Temporarily store the result which is generated from processing until it is transferred to
output device.
Primary memory is of two types.
1. RAM (Random Access Memory)
2. ROM (Read Only Memory
6 Explain cache memory.

The Cache memory is a high speed memory, which is between the CPU and main memory. The purpose
of cache memory is to store program instructions that are frequently referred during execution of
program. Cache memory is expensive. Computers have cache memory of sizes 256 KB to 2 MB. The
computer has built in Level 1 (L1) Cache Level 2 (L2) and Cache Level 3(L3) cache. L1 is located on
processor. L2 is a part of RAM. L3 is Located on the mother board.
CACHE MEMORY
ANS
Processor L2-Cache
Memory Disk
Regs L1-Cache
L3-Cache

Mother Board
7 Explain different types of RAM.
The types of RAM are DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM and DDR-SDRAM.
ANS SRAM - Static RAM which is high speed and used as cache memory. It does not need constant
refreshing.
DRAM - Dynamic RAM which is slow and used as main memory. It needs to be refreshed
frequently.
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic RAM. It is synchronized to the system clock. Since it is
synchronized to the CPU, it known’s when the next cycle is coming and has the data ready
when the CPU requests it.
DDR RAM - Double Data Rate RAM. It works same as SD RAM but the data transfer rate is double
when compared to SD RAM.