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Unit I: It E51 - Computer Hardware and Troubleshooting - Unit 1
Unit I: It E51 - Computer Hardware and Troubleshooting - Unit 1
Unit I: It E51 - Computer Hardware and Troubleshooting - Unit 1
UNIT I
1. 1 INTRODUCTION
A Computer is an electronic device which stores and processes information or
data to give meaningful results.
Processing is done, with the help of instructions given by the user, which are
also stored within the computer.
The data, as well as the instructions provided to the computer, are known as
INPUT, and the Processed result obtained at the end is known as OUTPUT.
A Computer comprises of
1. The Hardware
2. The Operating System (OS)
3. The Software
Examples:
Various versions of Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and RedHat Linux.
Example:
A word processing program has instructions for what to do when you press the
letter "A". The software tells the computer to take the letters as they are pressed on the
keyboard, then it tells it to add the letter to the letters you already typed and it tells the
computer to display the letter on the screen so you can see what you have typed. The
computer doesn't do anything without explicit instructions.
1. The Case
The computer case is the metal and plastic box that contains the main
components of the computer. It houses the motherboard, central processing unit (CPU),
power supply, and more. The front of the case usually has an on/off switch and one or
more optical drives. Computer cases come in different shapes and sizes.
A desktop case lies flat on a desk, and the monitor usually sits on top of it.
A tower case is tall and sits next to the monitor or on the floor.
3. The Motherboard
The motherboard is the largest and most fundamental component of a PC. Every
other hardware component is somehow attached to the motherboard. The motherboard
is the common link for every component to communicate and work together.
The motherboard has a series of slots, sockets and connectors for connecting
the various components of a PC. The memory, accessory cards, and CPU are installed
directly onto the motherboard in most cases. The drives and peripherals communicate
with the motherboard through wired connections.
There are a wide range of motherboards to choose from. They differ in features,
speed, capacity and the CPU supported. They also differ in size, shape and layout; this is
commonly referred to as the "form factor".
4. The CPU
The CPU, which stands for Central Processing Unit, is the brain of the PC. It is
often referred to as the "processor" or "chip". The CPU directs, coordinates and
communicates with the hardware components and performs all of the "thinking". The
speed of the CPU is measured in MegaHertz(MHz).
5. The Memory
Random Access Memory (RAM)
Every computer has a physical temporary internal storage place. Such temporary
internal storage place is known as RAM. RAM chips come in memory sizes of 64MB,
128MB, 256 MB, 1 GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB.
The RAM comes in two different technologies, Static RAM (SRAM) and Dynamic
RAM (DRAM). The two types differ in the technology they use to hold data, Dynamic
RAM being the more common type
Keyboard
CPU
CPU logic
Motherboard logic
RAM logic
ROM logic
Bus arbitration logic
DMA logic
Interrupt logic
Memory refresh logic
WAIT STATE logic
1. CPU
ALU is a 10 bit register which provides the high speed processing power.
2. CPU logic:
It contains the microprocessor and the subroutine chips. It provides address,
control and data bus.
3. Motherboard logic
Motherboard logic is a microcomputer with add-on peripheral interface
controller. Keyboard interface is a part of motherboard logic. Other interface controllers
are mounted as separate board on the motherboard.
ROM Chips:
There are one or more ROM chips on the motherboard. When the power is ON,
the microprocessor reads the data from the ROM. The ROM chips in the PC are byte
organized. The location of each ROM contains 8 bits.
RAM Chips:
The RAM chip in the PC are bit organized. The location of each Ram contains one
bit. 9 bit is used as the parity bit.
th
4. RAM logic
RAM logic is used to interface the RAM chips into the address and control signal.
RAM logic is used to select RAM bank with the location.
5. ROM logic
It is used to select ROM bank with the location.
7. DMA Logic
It is used for data transfer between the memory and IO controller. It receives the
request from floppy disk controller and hard disk controller.
8. Interrupt Logic
It receives several interrupt from interrupt sources. Interrupt logic send an input
to the CPU. CPU acknowledges the interrupt to the interrupt logic. Interrupt logic send
vector code to the CPU. CPU used with a code and branch this into interrupt subroutine.
Form Factors:
AT (Advanced Technology)
ATX (Advanced Technology eXtension)
microATX
Common Manufacturers:
Intel
MSI
Gigabyte
Asus
Form factors
Motherboards are available in a variety of form factors, which usually
correspond to a variety of case sizes. The following is a summary of some of the more
popular PC motherboard sizes available:
PC/XT - the original open motherboard standard created by IBM for the first
home computer, the IBM-PC. It created a large number of clone motherboards
due to its open standard and therefore became the de facto standard.
AT form factor (Advanced Technology) - the first form factor to gain wide
acceptance, successor to PC/XT. AT was released in 1984 by IBM. Also known as
Full AT, it was popular during the 386 era. Now obsolete, it is superseded by
ATX. Baby AT – In 1985, IBM introduced Baby AT. IBM's successor to the AT
motherboard, it was functionally equivalent to the AT but gained popularity due
to its significantly smaller physical size. It usually comes without AGP port.
ATX – In 1995, Intel introduced ATX- a modern form factor which quickly
replaced older Baby AT computers. The evolution of the Baby AT form factor, it is
now the most popular form factor available today.
Mini-ATX - essentially the same as the ATX layout, but again, with a smaller
footprint.
microATX – Introduced in the late 1990s, the MicroATX is basically a smaller
version of Intel’s ATX specification, intended for compact, low-cost consumer
systems with limited expansion potential. It is commonly used in the larger cube-
style cases such as the Antec ARIA.
FlexATX – The FlexATX is a natural evolution of the Intel’s microATX form factor
which was first unveiled in late 1999. A subset of microATX allowing more
flexible motherboard design, component positioning and shape.
LPX – (Low Profile eXtension) form factor was a loosely defined motherboard
format (form factor) widely used in the 1990s. Based on a design by Western
Digital, it allows for smaller cases based on the ATX motherboard by arranging
the expansion cards in a riser. This design allows the cards to rest parallel to the
motherboard as opposed to perpendicular to it. The LPX motherboard is
generally only used by large OEM manufacturers.
Mini-ITX - VIA's highly integrated small form factor motherboard, designed for
uses including thin clients and set-top boxes.
1.5 MICROPROCESSOR
The processor is an electronic device about a one inch square, covered in plastic.
Inside the square is an even smaller square of silicon containing millions of tiny
electrical parts. A processor may contain 100 million transistors. The processor is the
"brain" of the computer system.
The processor is sometimes called the Central Processing Unit or CPU. A
particular computer will have a particular type of processor, such as a Pentium or a
SPARC chip. (Processors are often called "chips.")
The following table shows the differences between the different processors that
Intel has introduced over the years.
32 bits
Pentium 4 2000 42,000,000 0.18 1.5 GHz ~1,700
64-bit bus
Pentium 4 32 bits
2004 125,000,000 0.09 3.6 GHz ~7,000
"Prescott" 64-bit bus
2. RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a type of instruction set for
a microprocessor that recognizes a relatively limited number of instructions.
One advantage of RISC is that it can execute their instructions very fast
because the instructions are so simple. Another important advantage is that
RISC chips require fewer transistors, which makes them cheaper to design
and produce.
1. Clock: A processor’s clock governs the speed at which the processor runs. The
clock determines how many cycles (pulses of power through the system) will
occur in a second.
2. Motherboard: The motherboard is the main circuit board into which the
processor is inserted. The motherboard runs at its own clock speed – the internal
bus speed. The motherboard contains all the other chipsets, controllers and
expansion slots used by the computer system.
3. System bus: The system bus is the main memory-access highway. A fast system
bus (100 MHz) is necessary for fast memory access. The Pentium II architecture
introduced a new bus connecting the processor and the integrated level 2 cache.
This is known as the backside bus, which typically runs at the same speed at the
processor. To make the distinction, the regular system bus is known as the front
side bus.
4. Cache memory: Cache memory is random assess memory (RAM) that a
computer microprocessor can access more quickly than it can access regular
RAM. Cache memory is sometimes described in levels of closeness and
accessibility to the microprocessor. L2 cache is usually a separate static RAM
(SRAM) chip.
5. Instruction Pipelining: Instruction pipelining is a method to increase the
capability of a CPU. The pipeline (a technique used in advanced microprocessors
where the microprocessor begins executing a second instruction before the first
has already been completed. That is several instructions are in the pipeline
simultaneously, each at a different processing stage) is divided into segments
and each segment can execute its operation concurrently with the other
segments.
6. Microprogram: A microprogram is a program consisting of microcode that
controls the different parts of a computer’s central processing unit (CPU). The
memory in which it resides is called a control store. It is a modern form of logic
of a computer’s control unit.
1.6 INTERRUPTS
In computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous signal from hardware indicating
the need for attention or a synchronous event in software indicating the need for a
change in execution.
Interrupts are a commonly used technique for computer multitasking, especially
in real-time computing. Such a system is said to be interrupt-driven. An act of
interrupting is referred to as an interrupt request.
Interrupts may be implemented in hardware as a distinct system with control
lines, or they may be integrated into the memory subsystem.
Hardware Interrupt
A hardware interrupt causes the processor to save its state of execution via a
context switch, and begin execution of an interrupt handler.
Hardware interrupts were introduced as a way to avoid wasting the processor's
valuable time in polling loops, waiting for external events.
Instead, an interrupt signals the processor when an event occurs, allowing the
processor to process other work while the event is pending.
Software Interrupt
Software interrupts are usually implemented as instructions in the instruction
set, which cause a context switch to an interrupt handler similarly to a hardware
interrupt. Software interrupts were introduced as a mechanism for access to shared
system routines that may also execute at higher privilege levels.
2. Maskable interrupt
A maskable interrupt is essentially a hardware interrupt which may be
ignored by setting a bit in an interrupt mask register's (IMR) bit-mask.
3. Non-Maskable Interrupt
Likewise, a non-maskable interrupt is a hardware interrupt which typically
does not have a bit-mask associated with it allowing it to be ignored.
4. Interprocessor interrupt
An interprocessor interrupt is a special type of interrupt which is generated
by one processor to interrupt another processor in a multiprocessor system.
5. Spurious interrupt
A spurious interrupt is a hardware interrupt which is generated by system
errors, such as electrical noise on one of the PICs interrupt lines.
1. Level-triggered interrupt
A level-triggered interrupt is a class of interrupts where the presence of an
unserviced interrupt is indicated by a high level (1), or low level (0), of the
interrupt request line.
A device wishing to signal an interrupt drives the line to its active level, and then
holds it at that level until serviced. It ceases asserting the line when the CPU
commands it to or otherwise handles the condition that caused it to signal the
interrupt.
Multiple devices may share a level-triggered interrupt line if they are designed
to. The interrupt line must have a pull-down or pull-up resistor so that when not
actively driven it settles to its inactive state.
2. Edge-triggered interrupt
An edge-triggered interrupt is a class of interrupts that are signalled by a level
transition on the interrupt line, either a falling edge (1 to 0) or (usually) a rising
edge (0 to 1).
A device wishing to signal an interrupt drives a pulse onto the line and then
returns the line to its quiescent state. If the pulse is too short to detect by polled
I/O then special hardware may be required to detect the edge.
Multiple devices may share an edge-triggered interrupt line if they are designed
to. The interrupt line must have a pull-down or pull-up resistor so that when not
actively driven it settles to one particular state.
Devices signal an interrupt by briefly driving the line to its non-default state, and
let the line float (do not actively drive it) when not signalling an interrupt. The
line then carries all the pulses generated by all the devices.
The elderly Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus uses edge-triggered interrupts, but
does not mandate that devices be able to share them. However, ISA motherboards
include pull-up resistors on the IRQ lines, so well-behaved devices share ISA interrupts
just fine.
3. Hybrid Interrupt
Some systems use a hybrid of level-triggered and edge-triggered signaling. The
hardware not only looks for an edge, but it also verifies that the interrupt signal
stays active for a certain period of time.
A common hybrid interrupt is the NMI (non-maskable interrupt) input. Because
NMIs generally signal major-or even catastrophic-system events, a good
implementation of this signal tries to ensure that the interrupt is valid by
verifying that it remains active for a period of time. This 2-step approach helps to
eliminate false interrupts from affecting the system.
4. Message-signalled interrupt
A message-signalled interrupt does not use a physical interrupt line. Instead, a
device signals its request for service by sending a short message over some
communications medium, typically a computer bus. The message might be of a
type reserved for interrupts, or it might be of some pre-existing type such as a
memory write.
Message-signalled interrupts behave very much like edge-triggered interrupts, in
that the interrupt is a momentary signal rather than a continuous condition.
Interrupt-handling software treats the two in much the same manner.
Typically, multiple pending message-signalled interrupts with the same message
(the same virtual interrupt line) are allowed to merge, just as closely-spaced
edge-triggered interrupts can merge.
Message-signalled interrupt vectors can be shared, to the extent that the
underlying communication medium can be shared. No additional effort is
required. Because the identity of the interrupt is indicated by a pattern of data
bits, not requiring a separate physical conductor, many more distinct interrupts
can be efficiently handled. This reduces the need for sharing.
Interrupt messages can also be passed over a serial bus, not requiring any
additional lines. PCI Express, a serial computer bus, uses message-signalled
interrupts exclusively.
System Timers
A classic system timer interrupt interrupts periodically from a counter or the
power-line. The interrupt handler counts the interrupts to keep time. The timer
interrupt may also be used by the OS's task scheduler to reschedule the priorities of
running processes.
Counters are popular, but some older computers used the power line frequency
instead, because power companies in most Western countries control the power-line
frequency with an atomic clock.
Disk Interrupt
A disk interrupt signals the completion of a data transfer from or to the disk
peripheral. A process waiting to read or write a file starts up again.
Power-off interrupt
A power-off interrupt predicts or requests a loss of power. It allows the
computer equipment to perform an orderly shutdown.
1. Burst mode: a entire block of data is transferred in one contiguous sequence, this
mode is useful loading the entire program or the data files into the memory but takes
more time for transferring.
2. Cycle stealing mode: in cycle stealing mode BR(bus request) and BG(bus grant)
signal plays a major role, in this mode the data is transferred byte by byte.
3. Transparent mode: it is same as a burst mode but data transferring is done very
fast.
Example
ISA
A PC's ISA DMA controller has 16 DMA channels of which 7 are available for use
by the PC's CPU.
Each DMA channel has been associated with a 16-bit address register and a 16-
bit count register.
To initiate a data transfer the device driver sets up the DMA channel's address
and count registers together with the direction of the data transfer, read or write.
It then instructs the DMA hardware to begin the transfer. When the transfer is
complete, the device interrupts the CPU.
DRQ stands for DMA request; DACK for DMA acknowledge. They represent
electronic signaling lines between the CPU and DMA controller.
2. Inverter or “Chopper”
The inverter stage converts DC, whether directly from the input or from the
rectifier stage described above, to AC by running it through a power oscillator.
The switching is implemented as a multistage (to achieve high gain) MOSFETs
amplifier. MOSFETs are a type of transistor with a low on-resistance and a high
current-handling capacity. This section refers to the block marked "Chopper" in
the block diagram.
3. Output Transformer
Basically transformer contains primary and secondary windings, these winding
again converts the high voltage to low voltage current by stepping down the
current.
The inverted AC is used to drive the primary winding of a high-frequency
transformer. This converts the voltage up or down to the required output level
on its secondary winding. The output transformer in the block diagram serves
this purpose.
4. Output Rectifier
Ordinary silicon diodes are commonly used. For lower voltages, Schottky diodes
are commonly used as the rectifier elements; they have the advantages of faster
recovery times than silicon diodes (allowing low-loss operation at higher
frequencies) and a lower voltage drop when conducting. For even lower output
voltages, MOSFET transistors may be used as synchronous rectifiers; compared
to Schottky diodes, these have even lower "on"-state voltage drops
The rectified output is then smoothed by a filter consisting of inductors and
capacitors.
5. Chopper Controller
A feedback circuit monitors the output voltage and compares it with a reference
voltage, which is set manually or electronically to the desired output
If there is an error in the output voltage, the feedback circuit compensates by
adjusting the timing with which the MOSFETs are switched on and off.
4. The BIOS next performs the POST(power on self test) process, the POST verifies and
tests the hardware configuration stored in the BIOS configuration information if detect
any problem it sounds "beep codes".
5. If the POST finds no problem the boot process continuous, at this point the system
BIOS looks for the video adapter‘s BIOS and starts it and virtually all peripheral devices
on the PC have their own BIOS.
6. In this stage the monitor turns on and display the video adapter‘s information
followed by information about the system BIOS itself this include information on the
manufacturer and version of the BIOS.
7. Next the BIOS begins a series of tests on the system including the amount of memory
detected on the system, this test is usually displayed on the screen as run-up counter.
8. If the BIOS supports Plug and Play(PnP) technology, information on each PnP device
is displayed on the screen.
9. At the end of the test and configuration sequence, the BIOS should display a summary
data screen.
10. At last to start the operating system running, the BIOS must first find it, in most
cases, the BOOT sequence parameters will be set to look for the OS on first the floppy
disk, second hard disk drive, third CD-ROM drive
2. Fundamental structure
The POST section, or POST code, is responsible for the tasks mentioned above,
and the environment POST constructs for the OS is known as the runtime code, the
runtime BIOS, or the runtime footprint.
3. Error reporting
The original IBM BIOS reported errors detected during POST by outputting a
number to a fixed I/O port address, 80. Using a logic analyzer or a dedicated POST card,
an interface card that shows port 80 output on a small display, a technician could
determine the origin of the problem.
1.12 MEMORY
Internal storage areas in the computer. The term memory identifies data storage
that comes in the form of chips, and the word storage is used for memory that
exists on tapes or disks.
Moreover, the term memory is usually used as shorthand for physical memory,
which refers to the actual chips capable of holding data. Some computers also
use virtual memory, which expands physical memory onto a hard disk.
There are several different types of memory:
1. RAM(Random-Access Memory)
This is the same as main memory. When used by itself, the term RAM refers to
read and write memory; that is, you can both write data into RAM and read data
from RAM.
This is in contrast to ROM, which permits you only to read data.
Most RAM is volatile, which means that it requires a steady flow of electricity to
maintain its contents.
As soon as the power is turned off, whatever data was in RAM is lost.
RAM is the most common type of memory found in computers and other devices,
such as printers.
There are two basic types of RAM:
Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
Static RAM (SRAM)
The two types differ in the technology they use to hold data, dynamic RAM being
the more common type. Dynamic RAM needs to be refreshed thousands of times per
second.
Static RAM does not need to be refreshed, which makes it faster; but it is also
more expensive than dynamic RAM. Both types of RAM are volatile, meaning that they
lose their contents when the power is turned off.
1. Floppy Disks
Relatively slow and have a small capacity, but they are portable, inexpensive, and
universal.
A soft magnetic disk. It is called floppy because it flops if you wave it.
Unlike most hard disks, floppy disks (often called floppies or diskettes) are
portable, because you can remove them from a disk drive.
Disk drives for floppy disks are called floppy drives.
Floppy disks are slower to access than hard disks and have less storage capacity,
but they are much less expensive and most importantly, they are portable.
Floppies come in three basic sizes:
8-inch
5¼-inch
3½-inch
2. Hard Disks
Very fast and with more capacity than floppy disks, but also more expensive.
Some hard disk systems are portable (removable cartridges), but most are not.
It is a magnetic disk on which you can store computer data. The term hard is
used to distinguish it from a soft, or floppy, disk. Hard disks hold more data and
are faster than floppy disks. A hard disk, for example, can store anywhere from
10 to more than 100 gigabytes, whereas most floppies have a maximum storage
capacity of 1.4 megabytes.
3. Optical Disks
Optical disks have very large storage capacity, but they are not as fast as hard
disks.
In addition, the inexpensive optical disk drives are read-only. Read/write
varieties are expensive.
A storage medium from which data is read and to which it is written by lasers.
Optical disks can store much more data -- up to 6 gigabytes (6 billion bytes) --
than most portable magnetic media, such as floppies. There are three basic types
of optical disks:
CD-ROM: Like audio CDs, CD-ROMs come with data already encoded onto them. The
data is permanent and can be read any number of times, but CD-ROMs cannot be
modified.
WORM: Stands for write-once, read -many. With a WORM disk drive, you can write data
onto a WORM disk, but only once. After that, the WORM disk behaves just like a CD-
ROM.
Erasable: Optical disks that can be erased and loaded with new data, just like magnetic
disks. These are often referred to as EO (erasable optical) disks.
These three technologies are not compatible with one another; each requires a
different type of disk drive and disk. Even within one category, there are many
competing formats, although CD-ROMs are relatively standardized.
4. Tapes
Relatively inexpensive and can have very large storage capacities, but they do
not permit random access of data.
5. Auxiliary storage
It is measured in kilobytes (1,024 bytes), megabytes (1,024 kilobytes), gigabytes
(1,024 megabytes) and terabytes (1,024 gigabytes). Auxiliary is sometimes called Mass
storage.
1. Keyboard Interface
Key board is serial data.
If we press a key, the keyboard send a scan code for the key by data.(bit by bit)
SIPO(Serial-in Parallel-out) is used to convert serial bit into parallel bit to form 1
byte.
After forming byte, it sends IRQ1 to CPU by interrupt controller.
KB logic receives then scan by PPI(Programmable Peripheral Interface )
Again the PPI converts the scan code into.
2. Printer Controller
It is a parallel interface.
Printer controller supports 2 modes
Programmed mode Interrupt mode
Recent form of PC is LPT(Line Print Terminal)1, LPT2, and LPT3.
3. CRT Controller
CGA supports both text and graphics mode and display or color CRT monitor
Video buffer acts as memory between CRT and CPU.
CPU is used to store text and graphics in video buffer.
CRT monitor retrieves the text and graphics