Electrical/electronic equipment servicing level III

Unit of competence :-Maintain and repair Computer

Objectives:
After reading this Information Sheet, you must be able to:

1. Understand what is computer, Characteristics of Computer, Limitations,

Generation, types and application of computers.
2. Know and understand the Input devices, CPU, Output devices, Secondary
storage devices.
3. Understand the System Software and Application software
4. Know and familiar with the Names, purposes, and characteristics of different
hardware devices

Introduction:
What is Computer?
A Computer can also be defined as an electronic device that processes data
based upon the instructions provided and generates the desired output.
Data vs. Information
Data are raw facts. The word raw indicates that the facts have not yet been
processed to reveal their meaning.
Data constitute the building blocks of information.
Data is unprocessed information.

Information is the result of processing raw data to reveal its meaning. Data
processing can be as simple as organizing data to reveal patterns or as complex as
making forecasts or drawing inferences using statistical modeling. To reveal meaning,
information requires context.
Information is produced by processing data.
Information is used to reveal the meaning of data.

Data Computer Information

(Input) (Process) (Output)

In Computers, there are two kinds of inputs required:

1. basic or raw data
2. Program or Software
- set of instructions to process the data.

Data

Operations or Result
Inputs Calculations (Information)
Program
Computer Output

Characteristics of Computers
The main characteristics of computers that have made them so powerful and
useful are:

1. Speed: A computer is a very fast device. It can perform in few seconds the
amount of work that a human being can do in an entire year if he works day and

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 night & did nothing else. This can be gauged from the fact that the speed of
computers is measured in terms of milli, micro, nano, or pico seconds. It is
probable that the computers we are presently working on would be processing
information at a speed of a million or a billion instructions per second.

2. Accuracy and Reliability: A computer is extremely fast and perfect in reliability

and accuracy. Since computers have tremendous accuracy, they function without
error.
However, it must be remembered that the computer is capable of doing only what
it is instructed to do. If faulty instructions are provided for processing data,
obviously, faulty answers will be given. This is called GIGO ( garbage in garbage
out).

3. Consistency (Diligence): Unlike human being, computers being machines are

highly consistent, are free from monotony, tiredness, lack of concentration, etc
and can work for hours without creating error grumbling.

4. Storage Capacity: computers can store huge amount of data. Once recorded a
piece of information is never forgotten (unless some problems takes place) and
information can be retrieved almost instantaneously. A single CD ROM can contain
the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and more!

5. Flexibility (Programmability): Computer is a versatile machine. A computer is

perhaps the first general-purpose machine devised by man. All other machines
like TV, typewriter, radio, etc do one thing they are designed for, nothing more
nothing less. Unlike this, a computer can be used to play music, type letters, send
faxes, diagnose illness, design buildings and bridges, etc, provided that it is given
the right set of instructions to do the job.

Limitations of Computers
Although computers can be applied in different areas, there are activities that
computers can’t perform. Some of them are:
1. it cannot generate information on its own
2. it cannot correct wrong input
3. it cannot make original decisions

Generation of Computers
Advances in computer technology have occurred in four major areas: cost, size,
speed, and reliability. The different phases of the technological advancement of the
computers are known as the Generation of computers. Modern electronic computers
were developed beginning from 1940s. Depending on the kind of technology they use
these computers are classified into five generations.

1. First Generation Computers (1940-1959): The major innovations in this period

are the use of vacuum tubes and stored programs. The shortcomings of the first
generation are:
- Too big in size. - High power consumption.
- Expensive. - Machine breakdown rate was very high.
- Slow on function. - Fault finding was difficult
- Low level of accuracy and reliability.

2. Second Generation Computers (1959-1965): The major innovations in this period

are the use of transistors in place of vacuum tubes and magnetic core storage.
Transistors perform similar functions as vacuum tubes but are much smaller in size,
faster, more reliable and much greater in processing capacity. Built in error detecting
devices were installed. This generation is also marked by the introduction of high
level computer programming languages like FORTRA.

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3. Third Generation Computers (1965-1972): In this generation; the integrated
solid-state circuitry (IC), improved secondary storage devices and new input-output
devices were developed. Integrated circuits are electronic components that consist of
several hundreds or even thousands of circuits on a single silicon chip. It decreased
the cost of the machine substantially and increased the machine very much.

4. Fourth Generation computers (since 1970): This generation is marked by the

use of large-scale integrated circuits (LSICs) and very large-scale integrated circuits
(VLSICs). This generation is also the Microcomputer generation. In 1971, the Intel
Corporation was able to produce a single chip, which performed all the operations of
the computer’s processor. Since it was so small it was called MICROPROCESSOR. It is
a tiny solid-state device, not bigger than a pea, which in itself is a small computer
capable of performing arithmetic and logic operations. Because of the introduction of
microprocessor, the fourth generation includes:
a. Large computers that are much faster, much less expensive and of much
greater data processing capacity than the equivalents sized third generation
computers.
b. A multitude of relatively in expensive minicomputers (actually first introduced
in the third generation).
c. Even further miniaturized computers, called Microcomputers.

5. Fifth Generation Computers: are characterized mainly by the programs they use.
They use artificial intelligence systems that attempt to achieve human like qualities
of intelligence, including the ability to reason.

Types of Computers
In general, computers can be categorized into four types based on their processing
speed, power, cost and size. Namely:

1. Super Computer: is the fastest, most powerful, most expensive & largest computer.
It generates tremendous amount of heat. Because of this, super computers demand
special cooling requirements and the room itself should be air-conditioned. To
operate Super computers, highly trained data processing professionals are required.
These computers can take inputs from over 10,000 individual computers and users at
the same time. Supercomputer is used in research organizations, military defense
systems, national weather forecasting agencies, large corporations, aircraft
manufacturers, etc.

2. Mainframe Computers: Contains multiple processor and capable of supporting a

large number of users at once (multi-user) by sharing processor time (time-sharing).
A Mainframe computer is generally found in a special computer room where
environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, dust and air conditions closely
monitored. It is an expensive machine with the capability of servicing the needs of
major business enterprises, government departments, scientific research
establishments, or the like. They are also used as the center of computer networking.

3. Mini Computer: It is smaller than mainframe in size and less powerful. They are
popularly used in scientific laboratories, research centers, universities and colleges,
engineering firms,
industrial process monitoring and control, etc. Minicomputers play a major role in
computer-aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacture (CAM). They are also
being used as assistants to Mini frame computers in processing information.

4. Microcomputers: often called Personal Computers (PCs) as many individual

purchase them for personal use. They are the smallest and most frequently category
of computer particularly for end users. They are relatively small or compact in size
and are found form
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 table-top (desktop) size to portable types in a palm. Microcomputers are affordable
by most individuals in offices, classrooms, homes and trips. Microcomputers come in
a variety of sizes and shapes. Basically they can be grouped into three: Laptop,
palmtop and desktop computers.

a. Desktop computer: is the most widely used type of personal computers (Micro
computers). Unlike Laptop and Palmtop computers, Desktop computers have
detachable parts. Since its size is larger than the other types of personal
computers, it is not easily portable.

b. Laptop Computers: are smaller versions of Microcomputers about the size of a

briefcase designed for portability. People can easily carry these PCs with them
in their car, on airplane, or when walking from one location to another. Unlike
Desktop PCs that have mostly detachable components, Laptops include all their
components (except their printer) in a single unit. Despite their size, Laptop
computers have as high capacity and processing speed as the Desktop personal
computers.

c. Palmtop Computer: is the smallest Microcomputer that is about the same size
as a pocket calculator. Palmtops are typically used for a limited number of
functions such as maintaining personal calendar, name and address files, or
electronic worksheets.

Applications of Computers
 Processing data
 Communication
 Education
 Record Keeping
 Guidance and Control
 Graphics and text Generating
 Medical diagnosis
 Simulation and Animate

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The Computer Hardware
The computer system is basically categorized into two components: the
hardware and software components.
The Hardware is the physical part of the Computer that you can see and touch. It
is the general term for the physical machines or devices that carry out the activities of
capturing, processing, storing and communicating data and information. The computer
hardware is divided into four categories:

1. Input Devices
2. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
3. Output Devices
4. Secondary Storage Devices
Input Devices
Input devices are devices through which data are entered into the computer. It is
used to convert human readable form to machine-readable form. The different devices,
which are commonly used to input data or information into a computer system, are:
Keyboard, mouse, Image Scanner, Microphone etc.

Keyboard: The keyboard is an input device used to enter information into your PC.
There are essentially dozen keyboard designs. The keys on the keyboard can be divided
into 5 sections.

1. Alphanumeric (Character Keys): These keys work just like a conventional type
writer which consists of letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), Enter key, Spacebar,
Backspace, Shift, Caps lock, etc.

2. Function Keys: These keys perform different tasks based on the type of
application you are working on. Function keys are labeled as F1, F2… F12.

3. Numeric Keys: Let you enter numerical data more easily when you are working
on numbers. To use this section of the keyboard, make sure that the Num Lock
key is ON.

4. Navigation (Cursor movement Keys): These keys are used to navigate

through your document. The keys are: Arrow keys, Home, End, Page up, Page
down, etc.

5. Computer (Special) keys: They perform different tasks when used alone or in
conjunction with other keys. Some of these keys are: Alt, Ctrl, Print Screen, Scroll
Lock, Pause, Delete, and Insert.

Mouse: The mouse is a pointing device that is used to move the insertion pointer around
the screen. It is especially helpful when you are operating a computer that uses a
graphical user interface, like MS-Windows. The buttons on the mouse are used to select
on screen options.

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Scanner: Can be used to input images (including drawings, charts, and graphs) and
words into a computer. Once the image is transferred to the computer, through the
scanner, it can be modified, or combined with other information. The major uses of
scanners are Desktop Publishing and sending fax messages.

Microphones: It captures the voices or sounds and translates them into digital signals
for the computer.

Central Processing Unit

At the center of the computer system is the processor, which is commonly
referred to as the Central Processing Unit (CPU). It executes program instructions
and performs the computer’s processing activities.
The CPU is the computer’s brain that is the microprocessor. The central
processing unit has three (3) major components:

1. The Arithmetic or Logic Unit (ALU): Contains the electronic circuitry that
performs the arithmetic (+, -, *, /) and logical (>, <, <=, >=, =) operations.
Logical operations compare one element of information with other. This
comparison is used to determine whether one unit of data or information is
less than, greater than, or equal to the other unit. For example, arranging
numbers in ascending or descending order, alphabetizing names, require
logical comparison of the alphabets in the names.

2. The Control Unit: Controls every activity of the computer. The control unit
ensures that according to the stored instructions, the right operation is done
on the right data at the right time. What our brain does for us will be done by
the control unit for the computer.

3. The Main memory: Memories are used to store programs and data. It is a
means of storage that is found within the computer itself and that is why it is
called internal memory or primary memory.

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 There are two types of primary memory:

 RAM: is a Random Access Memory (can be accessed randomly without

regard to any other memory location. The access time is the same for each
memory location.
The largest area of the memory with in a computer is composed of RAM. It
is a volatile memory that is, it holds data as long as there is current flow.
Because of this it stores data temporarily. It allows both read and write
access.

 ROM: Stands for Read Only Memory. Once programmed, it can only be
read from it. Data cannot be written on it. ROM contains programs and
instructions that enable the computer to start to the entire operating
system and other programs can be permanently stored in it by computer
manufacturers. Since the contents cannot be changed and they are not
lost when electric current is turned off, ROM is non-volatile. It has random
characteristic similar to RAM.

Output Devices
The output devices enable the user to see the results of the computer’s
calculation or data manipulations. They convert the results of a process, which is only in
machine understandable form to a form understandable by human being. Included in the
output devices are:

1. Visual Display Unit (Monitor): Sometimes also called screen, displays the output
of the processing activity for the user on a television-like screen.
Based on the technology used to make computer monitors, they can be
broadly categorized into three types.

1. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)

2. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
3. LED (Light-Emitting Diodes)

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitors

These monitors employ the CRT technology used most commonly in the
manufacturing of television screens. In this, a stream of intense high energy electrons
is used to form images on a fluorescent screen.
A cathode ray tube is a basically a vacuum tube containing an electron gun
at one end and a fluorescent screen at another end.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Monitors

Liquid crystal display, also known as liquid crystal diode, is one of the most
advanced technologies available at present. Typically, an LCD monitor consists of a
layer of color or monochrome pixels arranged schematically between a couple of
transparent electrodes and two polarizing filters. Optical effect is achieved by
polarizing the light in varied amounts and making it pass through the liquid crystal
layer.

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 In recent times, LCD monitors have become increasing popular with consumers.
Some major advantages of using an LCD monitor include:
 These monitors are compact, lightweight, and do not consume much desk space.
 Secondly, these monitors do not consume much electricity and can even be
operated by using batteries.
 Also, the images transmitted by these monitors do not get geometrically distorted
and have little flicker.

LED (Light-Emitting Diodes) Monitors

LED monitors are the latest types of monitors in the market today. Like LCD, it
is again a flat panel display making use of light-emitting diodes for back-lightning
instead of Cold Cathode Fluorescent (CCFL) back-lightning used in LCDs. Primarily,
the display is of LCD only but the back-lightning is done by LEDs.
LED monitors are said to use much lesser power than CRT and LCD. Thus, they
are also considered environmental friendly. Other core advantages of LED monitors
are:
1. They produce images with higher contrast
2. They have less negative environmental impact when disposed
3. Lifespan and durability of LED monitors is more than CRT or LCD monitors
4. Because of the technology, the monitor panels can be made very thin
5. Do not produce much heat while running
LED monitors are little expensive than the former types. There are multiple ways
by which LED back-lightning is done.

2. Printer: Printers are most widely used output devices. It produces hard copy
materials that are paper output. Different types of printers are in use today. In
general, there are two major categories of printers. Namely:

 Impact Printers
 Non-Impact printers.

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 Impact Printers: in impact printing, the paper and the character being printed come
in contact with one another. That is, striking an inked ribbon with pins forms
characters. Examples of Impact Printers are: Dot Matrix, Line and Character printers.
 Dot matrix Printers: are designed to print characters as a pattern of dots.
The print head consists of several pins with electromagnets attached at one
end. By activating the electromagnets, the pins can be made to hit the inked
ribbon. If you carefully examine the characters printed by these printers, you
identify that each character is a collection of small dots.
 Line Printers: These are high-speed impact printers that are mostly used by
large computers. Line printers print a full line (up to 144 characters) at a time.
They are able to print up to several thousand lines per minute.
 Character Printers: These printers print one character at a time. Unlike Dot
Matrix and Line Printers whose speed is measured in terms of the number of
line printed per minute, the speed of character printers is measured in terms
of the number of characters printed in one second.

Non-Impact Printers: are printers that do not bring the paper and the print material
into physical contact. The characters of the print material are produced on the paper
through a heat, chemical, or spraying process. Laser and Ink-Jet Printers are the most
frequently used kinds of Non-Impact printers.
 Laser Printers: print by depositing a black powder called toner on the
paper. When a laser printer receives information in to a laser beam (a narrow
beam of light) that in turn forms a photo conductor with the information. This
process forms the character or the image to be printed. A toner, a black
granular dust similar to the one used in photocopiers, is used in the process.
The photo conductor attracts toner particles which, when transferred to the
paper, produce the image.

Finally the image is fused to the paper by heat and pressure. The Laser printer
prints an entire page at a time, and therefore, the speed of Laser printer is
measured in terms of the number of pages that it can print per minute. They
are very fast in printing and the quality of the print is also very good.
 Ink Jet printers: These printers spray tiny streams of ink from holes in the
print mechanism on to the paper. The spray makes up a dot pattern that
represents the character or image to be printed.

3. Speakers allow you to hear sounds from the computer. Speakers can be separate
peripheral devices attached to the computer, or they can be built in to the
monitor. For speakers to work, a sound card must be installed on the
motherboard. The sound card converts sounds so that they can be broadcast
through speakers.

Secondary Storage Devices

They are also called Secondary memories or Mass Storage devices. Secondary
storage devices are used for mass storage of programs and data files. Because of the
primary storage doesn’t store user’s data permanently, their high price and limited
capacity, the need to have other type of storage to hold large amount of data for a
longer period of time in a less expensive and yet accessible manner is evident. Hence
secondary storage devices were created with this need in mind. Secondary storage
devices have the capability to store large amount of data in a machine-readable form for
a longer period of time. When needed, a data reading a writing device called drive is
used to read the data stored and transfers to the primary memory for further process.

There are three types of secondary storage:

1. Magnetic Storage
2. Optical storage.
3. Flash Memory Devices
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1. Magnetic Storage: is further divided into two:

Magnetic Tape: is the earliest form of secondary storage. Data can be stored on
and retrieved from tape sequentially. Magnetic tape is not so widely used for file
processing, but still plays an important part in the file back up for security
purposes.

Magnetic disk: are flexible plastic or metal (rigid aluminum) disks of easily
magnetizable materials. There are two types of magnetic disks on which we can
store and retrieve randomly.

Example of Magnetic Storage

Hard disk: is a high capacity magnetic disk, which is fixed in the main unit of the
computer. Hard disks cannot be removed from their disk-drive cabinets, which contain
the electronics to read and write data on to the magnetic disk surfaces. It is
advantageous than the floppy disk is that; it enables very fast accessibility of data and
can store much more amount of data (40 MB to gigabytes) in capacity.

Floppy disk: is also called diskette. It is removable and has less capacity
compared to the hard disk. The content of a floppy disk can be erased and re-used a
number of times. Two characteristics describe floppy disks: Size and Capacity. Size refers
to the physical dimension of the disk and Capacity refers to the amount of information
the disk can hold. Floppy disks come in two main sizes and capacity.
Size Capacity
3½ 720KB double density
3½ 1.44MB High density
5¼ 360KB DD
5¼ 1.2MB HD

2. Optical Storage: it uses the principle of light (laser beam), rather than magnetism
to store information. Optical disks have huge capacity.
 CD-ROM (Compact disk read only memory).
 WORM (Write once read many) that is record able CD (R-CD).
 Erasable CDs that is rewriteable CD (CD-RW).
 Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable, (DVD-R)
 Digital Versatile Disc-Rewriteable, (DVD-RW)

3. Flash memory Devices (also called solid state storage) is similar to ROM except
that it can be written to more than once. Flash memory cards are small, portable
cards encased in hard plastic to which data can be written and rewritten. They are
used in digital cameras, handheld computers, video game controllers, and other
devices.

 Jump drive or flash drive

 Memory card
 Memory stick
 SSD (Solid-State Drive or Solid-State Disk)

Other Devices

Mother board: is also known as system board (main board) that is the heart of the
computer. It is a large circuit board that holds:

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The Computer Case: The computer case contains the most important components of
the computer: the motherboard, the processor, random access memory modules, the
hard drive etc. It may not be possible to exchange the components in a laptop computer,
but in a desktop computer you have much more influence on the parts inside the case.

The Microprocessor (CPU): is the brain of the computer that makes the computer
smart.

Random Access Memory: is the working table of the computer system. RAM comes in
different modules:
1. SIMM (Single in line memory module).
2. DIMM (Dual in line memory module).

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Power Supply: It delivers electrical power to the computer system. The computer
components work with +5V, and + 12V. The power supply steps down the voltage to the
required value and changes AC to DC.

Ports: A port is the interface through which the microprocessor in the system unit can
communicate with an option such as a monitor or a printer. In other words, a port is a
connection point at which signals between the peripherals and the central computing
system enter or leave the computer. There are two common types of ports: Serial and
Parallel port.

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Video Card: A video card connects to the motherboard of a computer system and
generates output images to display. Video cards are also referred to as graphics cards.
Video cards include a processing unit, memory, a cooling mechanism and connections to
a display device.

Internal Cables / Data Cable: Data cables connect drives to the drive controller, which
is located on an adapter card or on the motherboard.

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The Computer Software
The hardware alone cannot perform any particular calculation or data
manipulation without being instructed exactly what to do and how to do it. That is,
software is a series of instructions that tell the hardware what to do. Software
(Program) makes the interface between the user and the electronic components of the
computer. It facilitates communication between a human being and a machine (the
computer). It is therefore, the combination of both hardware and software that makes a
complete computer system.
Software is also defined as the intangible parts of the Computer.

Computer software is divided into two broad categories:

a. Systems Software
b. Application Software

User Application Software Systems Software Hardware

A. Systems Software
System software (Systems Software) is computer software designed to
operate and control the computer hardware and to provide a platform for running
application software.

 Operating System: is a master control program, permanently stored on the

primary memory that interprets user commands requesting various kinds of
services such as display, print, or copy a data file, list all files in a directory, or
execute a particular program. The primary purpose of this software is to manage
the hardware for the most efficient use of computer resources and to provide an
interface between a user and an application program and the hardware. Examples
of an operating system are: MS-DOS, MS-Windows, and UNIX.

 System Support software: provides system utilities and other operating

services. System utility software is a broader line case between application
software and system software. These softwares are either used as specific tools
while development of a program or package, or to perform a limited specific task,
such as scanning the hard disk for viruses. Operating services consist of programs
that provide performance statistics for the operational staff and security monitors
to protect the data and the system.

 System Development Software: includes the computer or programming

language translators that are used to convert written programs to machine
language for execution.

Computer Programming Languages, which a programmer uses to write

computer instructions, are also part of the system software. The instructions are
translated into electrical signals that the computer can manipulate and process.

B. Applications Software
It consists of programs or instructions to perform specific task or job or
information processing activities. There are a number of application softwares. Some of
such application softwares are:

 Word Processing: Allow creating documents like letters, reports, handouts, office
memos, magazines, newspapers, etc. Examples of Word processing softwares are:
MS-Word, Word Star, and Word Perfect.

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 Spreadsheets: is a table of rows and columns to perform calculations and other
related activities on a numerical data. Examples are MS-Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, and
Quattro Pro.

 Database Management system (DBMS): are used to systematically handle,

organize, or store data and latter get the stored data in a much flexible way.
Examples: MS-Access Fox Pro.

 Desktop Publishing Programs: are used to create (publish) professional

newsletters and reports using the PC that sits on your desktop.
Examples: Page Maker, Ventura.

 Computer Aided Design (CAD): is used by engineers and designers to draw an

object.
Example: Auto CAD

 Computer Games:
Example: Chess, Solitaire, Dave, etc.

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