Introduction to Computer

Hardware & Software

Maintenance & Trouble Shooting
SPEAKER
Md.Shafiuzzaman faruki
DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER

Definition
A Computer is an Electronic machine that can read or accept data,
store them in it’s memory or any other storage device and
manipulate them according to the demand of user”.
Another way “A Computer can be defined as an electronic device which
can process large volumes of data using pre-defined instructions set by
a human being.”
Computer Generations
The word “Generation” – for computers, indicates a step in technology.
Every step includes a major change in the components used for
constructing a computer. Originally, the term ‘generation’ was used to
distinguish between varying hardware technologies and some cases of
software also.
First generation (1942 – 1955)
The computers produced between 1942-1955 are called the first generation
computers. They were extremely large with low reliability. They used
VACUUM TUBES in their circuitry.
Second generation (1955 – 1964)
The Second Generation computers used a more advanced technology by
replacing the Vacuum Tubes with TRANSISTORS. A transistor is a two-
state device made of silicon. These computers were smaller in size, easier
to manufacture, less power consuming, cheaper and more durable.
Third generation (1964 – 1975)
The third generation computers employed integrated circuits in which all
the elements of an electronic circuit were contained in a tiny silicon wafer.
The integrated Circuits (IC) based on the Small, Medium and large-scale
Integration (LSI) technology replaced the individual Transistors.
Fourth generation (1975 – 1984)
Fourth generation machines appeared in the 1970’s, utilizing still newer
electronic technology, which enabled them to be even smaller and faster
than those of third generation. The fourth generation computers used
VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) technology.
  
Fifth generation (1984 – 1990)
Scientists are now working with the fifth generation of computers. The
world is moving towards the development of what one can call ‘Super
Large Scale Integration’ – which in turn will compliment and improve
speed, miniaturization and cost reduction. Development of ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE to make computer function and take decisions almost
like human beings, implementation of expert systems, robots, and
intelligent programs.
Generation of Computers
Year Generation Type of technology
Number
1940 1 Valves (Vacuum Tubes)
1950 2 Transistor
1960 3 IC (Integrated Circuit) with LSI (Large Scale Integration)
1970 4 Microprocessor with VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration)
Late 5 Hardware and Software technology. AI (Artificial Intelligence)
1980’s 

In general, a computer perform its work by the following steps:

 1.      Data receive or data input
2.     Data storage
3.      Data manipulation or processing
4.      Output
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER
According to the technology a computer can be classified as,
1. ANALOG COMPUTER: – This type of computer is used for measuring
physical value. Such as temperature or pressure that fall along a continuous
scale.
2. DIGITAL COMPUTER: – A digital computer manipulates data using binary
(1 or 0) digits. This type of device can perform arithmetic and logical
operations.
3. HYBRID COMPUTER: – A hybrid computer is a computer in which exhibits
both the features of analog and digital systems.
According to the size, memory and performance computer can be classified as,
i. SUPER COMPUTER: - Examples of this type of computer are: CRAY – 1,
CRAY X-MP, CYBER – 205 etc.
ii. MAINFRAME COMPUTER: - Examples of this type of computer are:
UNICAV 1100/01, IBM 4341, and NCR N8370 etc.
iii. MINI COMPUTER: - Examples of this type of computer are:
NOVA3, IBMS/36 etc.
iv. MICROCOMPUTER: - Examples of this type of computer are:
IBMPC, APPLE 64, TRS 80 etc.
 Main Frame Computer Installed in our country

SL. # Year Institution Name of Generation

Computer
01 1964 AECD IBM-1620 2nd
02 1965 A.J.M IBM-1620 2nd
03 1965 J. Bank ICL-1900 2nd
04 1972 Bureau of IBM-360 3rd
Statistics
05 1978/79 BUET IBM-370 3rd
1983/84 BUET IBM-4300 4th
06 1982/83 ICS, AERE IBM-4341 4th
07 1983/84 Bureau of IBM-4300 4th
Statistics
08 1983/84 Dhaka IBM-4300 4th
University
MICROCOMPUTER:
MICROCOMPUTER - Microcomputer is a single user system where a
single user can be use only one computer. That is why it is called
personal computer. The size of this type of computer is now very
popular in the world. Here we have discussed mainly on this type of
personal computer.
Microcomputers are mainly three types:
i. Super Micro Computer
ii. Desktop Computer
iii. Laptop Computer
Again Laptop computer can be sub divided as,
i. Note book Computer
ii. Personal Digital Assistance ( PDA ) Computer
Among of them we are given our attention on commonly available used
Desktop computer.
DESCRIPTION OF MICROCOMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
A Computer can be considered as a group of three major parts combined
together. They are computer hardware, software and liveware. Sometimes
another term included with it name firmware.
Computer Hardware:
Hardware Any part of the computer that we can see or touch is
hardware. Hardware consists of various physical devices of a computer
system. it includes all the electrical, mechanical and electronic parts of a
computer. Such as the computer itself, the Printer, the Monitor, Keyboard,
Mouse etc.
Computer Software:
Software We require a set of instructions called a “program”
which will direct the hardware to produce the required result. Software is the
program that determines or controls the actions of a computer. Computer
software can be divided into basic two divisions: System Software and
Application Software.
Computer Liveware:
Liveware People, who type computerized input, write computer
programs, manage various computer operations and distribute the output can
be called the computer hardware or liveware.
Firmware:
Firmware The special program BIOS that’s permanently encapsulated in
ROM chips or fast memory are often termed firmware.
ORGANIZATION OF COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
The basic computer system consist of
1. Input Device
2. System Unit
3. Display System
4. Output Device
Input Device:
Device Input devices are used to input data / information into
computer. Input devices are: Keyboard, Mouse, Scanner, Joysticks etc.
System Unit:
Unit A system consists of Motherboard, Microprocessor, BIOS, chip
set, RAM, expansion slot, power supply unit etc.
Display System:
System The device through which we can see the result, is called the
display unit. A computer Monitor is used for this purpose.
Output Device:
Device An output unit gets information from the computer. A
monochrome or color monitor screen is the most commonly used machine-
to-man interface. We can also use a printer to produce hardcopy or paper
output. Printer or plotter is an idle output device.
BASIC COMPONENTS OF A MICROCOMPUTER

• Motherboard ( M/B )
• Microprocessor (  p)
• RAM ( Random Access Memory )
• Hard Disk Drive ( HDD )
• Monitor
• Display Adapter ( VGA/EVGA/SVGA/AGP)
• Floppy Disk Drive ( FDD )
• Keyboard ( PS/2 or Serial )
• Mouse ( PS/2 or Serial )
• Casing with power supply
Multimedia
• CD – ROM Drive
• Sound Card ( built-in Motherboard)
• Speaker
Auxiliary Devices

• Removal Drive / Pen Drive

• Printer
• Scanner
• Modem
• Wireless Keyboard
• Digital Video Camera
• Network Interface Card ( NIC )
• Microphone
• TV card
SYSTEM BOARD / MOTHERBOARD
Since their creation in 1971, all kinds of microcomputers have usually
included most of their essential electronics on a single printed circuit
board (PCB). It is called motherboard. In other way designing a
computer on board approach is most popular. The first IBM PC in
1981 had a relatively simple motherboard and lots of expansion
boards; modern computers tend to have more complex motherboards
and a smaller number of expansion boards. Eventually, most of the
PCs will have no expansion board at all, because the necessary
functions are completely incorporated on the motherboard.
Fig. Pentium Motherboard
The motherboard mainly consists of the following
components
BIOS:
Basic Input Output System controls the start up process of a
computer’s well as other basic functions such as the keyboard, Display
and disk drive. The BIOS is started in Read Only Memory (ROM),
which is not erased when the computer is shut off. AMI BIOS and
AWARD BIOS are mostly used.
BUS:
Bus is an electronic pathway along which signals are sent from one part
of a computer to another. A PC contains several buses, each used for a
different purpose.
• The address bus allocates memory addresses.
• The data bus carries data between the processor and memory.
• The control bus carries signals from the unit.
 System Clock:
It is an electronic circuit that generates a series of pulses that space the
electronic system within the computer, thus spacing, synchronizing and
coordinating the operation of the computers circuit. Clock Speed is the
internal speed of a computer or processor. The faster the clock speed, the
faster the computer will perform a specific operation.
• COM Slots : Locations on the motherboard in which we can insert
input/output connection by the port or slots is called COM slots. It is
physical connection to computer. Now in the motherboard we see several
COM ports. They are: COM1, COM2, COM3 and COM4 ports. COM port
means communication port. Serial data is communicated via this slot.
CPU: CPU means Central Processing Unit. It is the main component
of the computer. It is made of silicon that is enclosed in plastic casing.
This chip interprets and carries out instructions within a computer. CPU
can be set in the motherboard in two ways. One is socket and another is
slot.
 Diskette Drive Controller: Now a days diskette drive controller or
Floppy controller is built-in with the motherboard. In a motherboard
FDD connection has 34-pin box. The controller manages the flow of
information or communicate with the floppy drive for data transfer
purposes.
 HDD Controller: These are also built-in with the main board. There
are two connection of 40 pins to connect four IDE devices through these
controller. IDE means Integrated Device Electronics. One is called
primary IDE connector/ controller and the other is called secondary IDE
connector/ controller according to their priority.
When two IDE devices are connected in one Primary/ Secondary
connector through a 40 pin connection cable (Data bus). One device
must be set as master and the other must be set as slave. To do so
Jumper settings of the devices may have to change. Sometimes this slot
is called HDD slot.
  ISA Slots: ISA slot is one kind of expansion slot. Expansion slot is
nothing but a kind of connector on the Main board which are used to
connect various Add on cards such as VGA card, LAN Card, Sound card
etc. ISA means Industry Standard Architecture. ISA slots allow users to
install 8-bit or 16-bit expansion cards into the motherboard. These slots
are black color.
• PCI Slots: PCI slot is another kind of expansion slot. Expansion slot
is nothing but a kind of connector on the Main board which are used to
connect various Add on cards such as VGA card, LAN Card, Sound card
etc. PCI means Peripheral Component Interconnect. PCI slot
communicates data transfer by 32/64 bits. These slots are white color.
PCI slot is faster than ISA slots.
 AGP Slot: AGP (Advanced Graphics Port/ Accelerated Graphics
Processing) Slot used only display card. It is brown color. It is latest
graphic slot. Its data transfer rate is very high.
    Keyboard Slot: The port into which the keyboard’s plug is inserted.
    Mouse Slot: The port into which the Mouse’s plug is inserted.
 RAM (SIMM/DIMM) Slots: Places on the motherboard where you can
insert Single Inline Memory Module, which are small circuit boards that
have Random Access Memory chips soldered to them. RAM slots
typically accept SIMMs with either 30 pin or 72 pin connections. DIMM
means Double Inline Memory Module. It has 168 pin connections and two
notches. RIMM means Rambus Inline Memory Module. It has 184 pins
connection. It also has two notches but different setting of DIMM RAM.
 Power Slot: The point at which you plug-in the ribbon cable that
connects the computer’s power supply to its motherboard. Power slots are
of two types: one is AT (Advanced Technology) and it has 12 pins
connection, another is ATX (Enhanced Advanced Technology) and it
contains 20-pin connection.
LPT: Line Printer Terminal is the parallel port that connects a printer
to the computer. DOS assigns the names LPT1, LPT2 and LPT3 to the
first three parallel ports on a computer.
• Battery: To keep the CMOS (Complementary Metal-oxide Semi-
conductor) setup intact, a 3.6 V battery is used in the motherboard. Its
function is to continue supplying power to the CMOS for information
storage while the computer is power off. It also supplies power to clock
chips.

  LED Connections: Provides electricity to the Light Emitting Diodes

(LED’s) on the front side of the computer, which are used to indicate hard
drive activity, reset or power supply to the computer.

MICROPROCESSOR
The Microprocessor is the heart and brain inside every Personal
Computer. This tiny chip of silicon determines the speed and power of the
entire system and processing the data in the machine. The microprocessor
determines the ultimate power of any PC. Recently development has made
the chip and systems ever more powerful.
Fig. Microprocessor with Motherboard
Where are the Programs?
Without programs-the commands that tell the CPU what you want to do-the
CPU is useless. For the CPU to work, the computer must have a way to grab
programs and send them to the CPU so the CPU can do whatever you want
it to do. So where are the programs?
When your computer is turned off, all of the programs are stored on your hard
drive. In theory, you could build a computer that sends data from the hard
drive directly to the CPU, but there’s problem with that idea: the hard drive
is to slow.
CPU can process many millions, even billions, of commands every second.
Hard drives simply can’t give the data to the CPU at a fast enough speed. To
compensate for this problem, commands do not go directly to the CPU, but
rather are stored in RAM. RAM as the short-term memory of the computer,
and that’s not a bad way to look at it. Programs are loaded into RAM from
the hard drive, and then the very fast RAM gives the CPU access to the
programs. When a program is loaded into RAM and fed into the CPU to do
whatever it does, we say the program is running.
The flow of data among the hard drive, RAM, and CPU is not a one-way
process. CPU will generate the result of the programs.
 Describe the function of the CPU

• A CPU is an electronic device that takes input and performs hundreds

of different types of functions on that input. The collection of all the
functions that a CPU can perform is called the CPU’s instruction set.
Commands sent to the CPU access to the programs.
• Programs are loaded into RAM from the hard drive, and then the
very fast RAM gives the CPU access to the programs.
• Any time multiple wires are used to connect two or more devices,
those wires are called a bus. The bus that interconnects the CPU,
Northbridge, and RAM is called the front side bus.
INTEL MICROPROCESSOR

Today, Intel Corporation is the largest microprocessor manufactured

company of the world. Intel Company has moved into the role of the
largest independent company of semiconductors in the world. In 1971
first microprocessor chip was produced by Intel and the chip number is
4004. The next microprocessor chip numbers are: 8008, 8085, 8086,
8088, 80286, 80386, 80486, Pentium, Pentium Pro, P-I, P-II, P-III, P- 4,
Itanium -1, Itanium -2 etc. Processor basically is of two types: Socket
and Slot. AMD, AMD K-6, AMD K-6/2, Celeron, Athlon, Duron
processors are not manufactured by Intel Corporation. Motorola is
another largest company. Processor speed is measured in terms of
megahertz (MHz). 1 MHz is equal to 1,000,000 cycles per second.
MEMORY
Memory stores binary form of instruction and data. It provides information
to the microprocessor whenever necessary. To execute programs, the
microprocessor reads instruction and Data from memory and perform
operations in its ALU section. Memory can even be a channel of
communication between the microprocessor and its peripherals. The unit of
memory is called byte. Here 1 byte = 8 bits.
Each bytes can be hold a single typed character, usually store in a code
called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange).
Bit means 0 and 1
8 bits = 1 Byte
1024 bytes = 1 Kilobyte (KB)
1024 Kilobytes = 1 Megabyte (MB)
1024 Megabytes = 1 Gigabyte (GB)
1024 Gigabytes = 1 Terabyte (TB)
MEMORY
256K Reserved Area 1024 KB

128 K Video RAM 768 KB

Data Area 640 KB
Program Area
TSR Program
640 K Command.Com
Device Drivers
DOS
Interrupt Vectors 0
1. I0 - I.5 I0 - timer

I1 - Keyboard

2. DOS  IO. Sys, MSDOS. Sys

3. Device Driver  H / MEM. Sys, Config.Sys [ Local drives A,B,C,D,E

4. Command.Com  Basic interpreter or Internal Command by arrange

only. i.e DIR, MD, CD Find command.
5. TSR  Terminate and Stay Resident program
6. Program Area  Base file/ exe file i.e Excel.exe, Access.exe
7. Data Area  ABC.xls
8. VIDEO RAM  Block 128k Area.
The memory of a Microcomputer system mainly two types:
• Primary storage memory
• Secondary storage memory
Again, Primary storage memory again can be classified as
• RAM
• ROM
Secondary storage memory again can be classified as
1. Hard Disk
2. Floppy Disk
3. CD – ROM / DVD
4. Removal Disk
5. Tape Cartridge
6. Zip Disk
RAM ( Random Access Memory )
RAM is the main memory used inside the computer to store Program,
Data and Result. The RAM can also be called Read/Write memory,
because one can read the stored information from the RAM as well as
write or store some information into it. When power is OFF, the RAM
loses all data. Because of this property RAM is called volatile memory.

Fig. RAM Modules

RAM can be classified as
1.    Dynamic RAM (DRAM) 4. Cache Memory
2.    Static RAM (SRAM) 5. CMOS RAM
3.    Video RAM (VRAM)
1. Dynamic RAM: DRAM is cheaper and higher capacious than SRAM. It
is the main reason of using the DRAM in the computer as a main
memory. DRAM utilizes the capacitor to store the information. Once
some data are stored into it, it can’t retain the data for a long time unless
the data are again written back or refreshed after some time. This is the
main problem of DRAM. Speed of the DRAM is 66 – 100 MHz.
SDRAM is the upgrade version of DRAM. SDRAM means
Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory. SDRAM bus speed
is 100, 133, 233, 333, 667 MHz respectfully. Latest version of RAM is
call DDR (Double Data Rate) or DDR2 bus speed is 400, 800 MHz.
2. Static RAM: SRAM basically uses flip-flops to store the information.
Unlike the DRAM, information stored inside any SRAM memory
remains as it is as long as the power supply is provided to the SRAM
chip. It is faster and more cost than DRAM. Due to its cost, it is used
only as cache memory.
3. Video RAM: It is a special purpose RAM. where read and write
operations are performed simultaneously. This property makes VRAM
almost two times faster compared to other RAM’s. VRAM is used in video
card.
4. Cache Memory: It is a high-speed memory. Static RAM is used for
Cache Memory. Frequently accessed information are kept in it. When the
CPU needs some information it first check SRAM and if information is
found, read from it. When information is not available in SRAM then only
CPU has to read main memory. This method speeds up overall performance
of computer. Cache memory is of two types: Disk Cache and Memory
Cache.
5. CMOS RAM: It is a battery backed Complementary Metal-Oxide
Semi-conductor RAM with Real Time Clock (RTC) circuit. This memory
stores the information, such as date, time, size and capacity of floppy, type of
hard disk etc in it. CMOS RAM chip require a few microampere of current. It
can run for five years with a single battery. Even when the machine is
switched off, this chip can keep time and retain other information stored in it
using the power supply provided by the battery.
ROM (Read Only Memory):
A system normally contains one or more ROM chips on the motherboard.
The information stored in a ROM is not erased when the system is switch
off. In the case of RAM data is erased in the above condition. The memory
capacity if a ROM varies from 64 KB (for XT machine) to 256 KB (for AT
machine) or higher.
Basic Input Output System (BIOS): One of the important programs in
the ROM chips is BIOS. Which allows the application program to identify
hardware, such as floppy disk, hard disk, video adapter etc and to
communicate with each other.
The BIOS instructions are stored (built-in) at the time of manufacturing.
The instructions are: Power On Self Test (POST), system setup, and
utility program. At the time of booting, POST becomes active and cheeks
the Processor, Keyboard, Printer, and Disk Drive etc. The ROM chip,
which contain BIOS program sometimes called BIOS chip.
HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD):

HDD is the secondary storage memory of the computer system. In most

PCs, the hard disk is the principal mass storage system. It is a sealed unit
that holds programs, data etc and delivered them to the computer system
at an instantly on notice. The hard disk is a combination of device that
consists of electronic and mechanical parts. The capacities of HDD are:
80GB, 160GB, 200GB, 260GB, 320 GB etc. The Hard disk
manufacturing companies are: Quantum, Seagate, Western Digital,
Samsung, Cavier and Maxtor.
 Fig. Hard Disk Drive
The basic components of a hard disk drive are :
• Disk platter  Logic Board
• Read \ Write head  Air Filter
• Head Arm \ Head slider  Front pane –Bezel
• Head Actuator Mechanism  Cable & connector etc.
• Spindle Motor
The following types of Hard disk controller are used:
1. IDE (Integrated Device Electronic)
• Data transfer rate – 4 MB/sec (Max) and RPM - 5400
• ISA bus standard
• Involvement of Microprocessor is very high.
• UDMA(Ultra Direct Memory Access) – Nil
• R/W – Processor in used.
• No. of pin 40
• Maximum No. of device - 2
2. EIDE ( Enhance Integrated Device Electronic)
• Data transfer rate – 16.6 MB/sec (Max) and RPM – 5400/7400
• PCI bus standard
• Less Involvement of Microprocessor than IDE.
• UDMA(Ultra Direct Memory Access) –33 MB /sec
• R/W – Processor in used.
• No. of pin 40
• Maximum No. of device - 4
3. SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
• Data transfer rate – 33 MB/sec –100 MB / sec and RPM - 7200
• PCI bus standard
• Less Involvement of Microprocessor than EIDE.
• UDMA(Ultra Direct Memory Access) –33 MB /sec
• No. of pin 50
• Maximum No. of device - 7
4. PCMCIA(Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)
• Used in Laptop only.
HARD DISK
Disk Geometry:
• Heads/Sides/Surface (A disk has at least two surfaces)
• Tracks/Cylinders (Sectors are grouped together into tracks; tracks on hard
drives are conveniently arranged into groups called cylinders)
• Sectors: ( Data is stored on disks in bytes. The bytes are organized into
512-bytes a group called sectors).
(A) Capacity of Floppy Disk
1.      Number of Side/ Head / Surface = 2
Number of Track / Cylinder (Each side) = 80
2.      Number of Sector per Track = 18
3.      Capacity of a Sector = 512 bytes =0.5 KB
Formula:
Capacity of FDD = No. of sides × No. of Tracks × No. of Sectors per Track ×
Capacity of a Sector
 Capacity of FDD = 2 × 80 × 18 × 0.5 KB =1440 KB =1.44MB
 
(B) Capacity of a Hard Disk
 1        Number of Side / Head / Surface = 16
2        Number of Track / Cylinder = 16383
(Each side)
3        Number of Sector per Track = 63
4        Capacity of a Sector = 512 bytes = 0.5 KB
Capacity of a HDD = 16 × 16383 × 63 × 512 Bytes
= 8,455,200,768 Bytes
= 8,455,200KB
= 8,455MB
= 8.4 GB
Access Time of a Hard Disk

We measure drive speed by looking at how long it takes to find a

particular piece of data and once the piece of data has been found,
how quickly it can be read off the disk. The first is called the access
time and the second is called the data transfer rate.

 Seeks and Latency

Reading a particular sector involves two steps. First, move the head
to the desired track. Then, once the head is cover that track, wait for
the sector to spin under the head, then read the sector.
Now, moving the head takes a lot longer than waiting for the sector to
come around. So low seek times are critical to good disk performance.
Access Time Formula:
ACCESS TIME = SEEK TIME + ROTATIONAL LATENCY PERIOD
Time to find a sector = Time to move to + Time to wait for the sector
the sector’s cylinder to rotate around and appear
under the head(s)

The two components are called seek time and latency period. Seek time is the
time required for the head to position over a track. Latency period is how long
it takes for the desired sector to move under the head.
Pen Drive / Flash Memory
Now a days another type of storage device is available in the market, named
Pen drive/ Removal drive/ Flash memory. USB port is required for this
drive. Different capacity Pen drives are available in the market. i.e 256 MB,
512 MB, 1GB, 2GB or 4 GB.
CD-ROM Drive
CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) is made of aluminum
and plastic. It is a secondary storage memory, which can store 650/700
MB of data including sound and video segments. CD-ROM drive is used
only to read data from CD. The CD-ROM supplied an excellent
distributing sounds and images for multimedia systems, generally, CD-
ROM is the most used format for distributing computer software, games,
movie and music. Hard disk or floppy record data by magnetic based
recording format but CD-ROMs used a laser light method for reading
digital data from their disks.
The most dramatic change in CD-ROM drive technology relates to speed.
The initial drives had transfer rates of 150 KB per second, called 1X
speed. This driver speed is improving very rapidly from 1X to 8X, 12X,
16X, 24X, 32X, 48X, 50X, 52X and so on.
Comparison study of CD-ROM, CD-R/RW and DVD Drive

CD-ROM CD-R/RW DVD

Price 900 – 1000 1,650 – above 1,700 - above
Speed 52X 4X –48X 4X – 16X
Capacity 650700 MB 650 MB 4.7 – 17 GB
Data layer 1 1 1 or 2

N. B:
CD-ROM means Compact Disk read Only Memory
CD-R means Compact Disk Recordable or Writer
CD-RW means Compact Disk Re-Writeable
DVD means Digital Versatile/Video Disk
DISPLAY ADAPTER

The Device that changes our pulsing digital signals throughout the PC’s
that can be displayed by a monitor is called display adapter. The display
adapter has itself adapter to the demand of PC users, gaining color and
graphics abilities as well as increasing its resolution. A display card has
mainly following parts:
 Graphic chip
 VRAM
 RAMDAC
Fig. Display Card
OUTPUT DEVICE
The most common output devices used in the computer system are
Monitor and Printer. A monitor provides us with a “Soft Copy” of our
results. The result displayed on the monitor screen is not permanent where
as the printer is used to get a “Hard Copy” of our result. Printer is used to
get permanent output on the paper or some other media such as the
overhead project (OHD) film etc.
MONITOR
When we are doing something using a computer, we need some device to
see the result of our work. A computer monitor is used for this purpose.
Monitor works very much like a TV. Main difference between Monitor
and TV are: a) Monitor does not contain any tuner circuit. b) Resolution
of monitor is much higher than TV. Different sizes of monitors are: 15”,
17”, 19”, 20”, 21” etc.
The most important terms relating the monitor are: Refresh Rate (min
72 Hz), Dot Pitch (0.26mm or 0.28mm), Resolution (640X480,
800X600, 1024X768, 2048X1024) and Color Depth (256 or 16 bits or
24 bit or 32 bit color).

There are three basic types of computer monitor, such as

        Digital Monitor

        Analog Monitor

        LCD Monitor

Printers
Printer is the most commonly output device. It gives the “Hard Copy” of
the result on the paper. At present printers are capable of high quality
monochrome (single color) and multi-color printout at very high speed.
Most of the printer can also produce graphics & image other than plain text
on the paper. The different types of printer are: Dot matrix, Inkjet and Laser
etc.
CASING
It is the rectangular shape box like structure of the computer. The casing
provides secured mountings of circuit boards and mass storage devices such
as Floppy drive, Hard drive, CD-ROM drive etc. It also contains
expansion slots and cards to connect various input and output devices.
Power supply unit is attached with the casing. There are two types of casing
available in the market. Such as: Desktop Casing and Tower Casing.
Tower Casing is of two types:
a) Midi Tower Casing b) Mini Tower Casing
Fig. Back Side of Casing
Casing can be classified into two types according to the Power Supply
Unit
1. AT Casing: 12 pins connection power supply attached in the Casing is
called AT Casing. Earlier, Computer system up to 486 machine has no
feature to power OFF or ON from Keyboard. This type of casing is to be
operated by a manual switch.
2. ATX Casing: 20 pins connection power supply attached in the Casing
is called ATX Casing. Pentium & above system operate the power OFF or
ON from Keyboard. This type of casing can be operated by auto system.
POWER SUPPLY
The power supply unit is most essential part of a computer, which supplies
power to the motherboard, hard disk drive, floppy disk drive and other
drives or components. It takes 110/220/230/350/450 AC volts as input and
converts it in different voltage level as needed by the computers.
Two types of power supply are available in the market:
a.       AT Power Supply
b.      ATX Power Supply

The ATX Power Supply has additional feature of Automatic shut down,
wake on ring, keyboard ON-OFF feature etc. SMPS type power supply
is better than Non-SMPS. SMPS means Switch Mode Power Supply.
 File System, Disk Partition
HDD/Floppy Disk Management:

A Disk can be divided into two area:

1. System Area 2. Data Area

1. System Area
i. Partition Table
ii. Boot Record
iii. Master Boot Record
iv. FAT ( File Allocation Table)
v. Root Directory
2. Data Area. i. Data Area
File System has mainly three types:
1. FAT16 2. FAT32 3. NTFS
Using the FAT32 File System
When you save files, your computer uses a file system to control how your
files and folders are stored on your hard disk. Earlier versions of MS-DOS
and Windows use the FAT16 file system exclusively. Windows 98 uses
FAT16 by default, but you have the option of using FAT32. It is an
enhanced file system that improve disk performance and increase available
disk space.

Understanding How Information Is Stored

When we save a file or install a program, our computer stores the

information on our hard disk in small areas called Clusters. The smaller
the cluster size we use, the more efficiently our disk stores information.
Cluster size depends on the size of disk partition, and partition size depends
on file system. By default, most computers use just one partition. We can
divide our disk into partitions for better performance and management.
Different types of information/data may store in the different partitions.
The table below illustrates the larger partition size and smaller cluster
size available through the FAT32 file system. Partitions larger than 2
gigabyte(GB) are not supported with FAT16, and partitions smaller than
512 MB are not supported with FAT32.
Partition size FAT16 Cluster size FAT32 Cluster size
32 MB 2 KB --
128 MB 2 KB --
256 MB 4 KB --
512 MB 8 KB 4 KB
1 GB 16 KB 4 KB
2 GB 32 KB 4 KB
3 - 7 GB --- 4 KB
8 - 16 GB - -- 8 KB
16 - 32 GB - -- 16 KB
Larger than 32 GB - -- 32 KB
The FAT32 file system has the following advantages over FAT16:
• It allows programs to open more quickly, on average, 36% faster.
• It uses a smaller cluster size, resulting in more efficient use of disk
space - on average, 28% more disk space.
• It allows a hard disk of up to 2 TB to be formatted as a single drive,
eliminating the need to partition the hard disk.
• It can relocate the root directory and use backup copies of the FAT,
making your computer less vulnerable to crashes.
Startup Disk / System Disk
After assembled PC we need a startup/ system disk. Without system
disk PC cannot boot up. A disk has contained in the following files are
called startup disk or system disk. Some important system files are
listed below:

1. I\O.Sys
2. MSDOS.Sys
3. Command.COM
4. Config.Sys
5. AutoExec.bat
6. Scandisk.exe
7. Fdisk.exe
8. Format.exe
PREPARATION OF NEW HARD DISK

New Hard disk drives have no any file system or not workable. So
we prepare the disk to necessary file system for better performance
from the disk. File system is necessary to install the hard disk to
work it properly. The following steps are essential to prepare a hard
disk.

1.      Low Level Format

2.      Creating Dos Partition by FDISK Command
3.      High Level Format (DOS Format)
CREATING DOS PARTITION BY FDISK COMMAND
If the system already contains the DOS, then we can start directly with the
following steps. Otherwise it is necessary to use a bootable diskette with
FDISK command to execute the following steps.
A:\>fdisk 
Do you choose to large disk support (Y/N) ? ---------Y
HIGH LEVEL FORMAT
After finishing Hard disk partition by FDISK command, it is required High
level or DOS format the C: partition with system, which will work as
bootable partition. For this purpose it is necessary to use a bootable diskette
with format command in drive A: The command as follows
A:\> format C: \S 
Proceed with format (Y/N) ? Y 
SOFTWARE
Software can be classified into the following categories.
1. System Software
2. Application Software
3. Utilities
 Software

Application Software System Software Utilities

Operating System Translators System Utilities

Compiler Interpreter Assembler

Classification of Software
Operating System
An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between a user of a
computer and the computer hardware. Operating system is an important of a
computer system.
Translators
 A digital computer accepts digits and alphabets as input. However, this input is
not directly understood by computers. It is translated to machine language so as to
make computers understand it. Translators can be classified into the following
categories.
● Compiler ● Interpreter ● Assembler
 Compiler
 A compiler is a program that reads a program and translates it into machine code
locates and highlights errors present if any. If any error is found, the errors are
corrected by the user and the program recompiled. This process has to be repeated
until compiler gives on errors. Once the program on compilation shows no errors
the compiled program can be executed. Example: Compilers are available for
COBOL, FORTRAN, C, C++ etc.
Interpreter
 An interpreter functions like a compiler. However, it takes one statement
of a program at a time and translates into machine code.
Compilers take more time to compile, but program, once compiled, run
very fast (there is no need of translating again because compiled code is
stored in the disk). One the other hand, interpreters run the program much
slowly, as every time the program is run it needs to be interpreted- line by
line. Example of an interpreter-based language is BASIC, JAVA etc.
In operation, a compiler is more efficient than interpreter. However,
interpreters can translate faster because it deals with one line of statement
at a time. Most languages available today use compilers.
Assembler
It accepts programs in assembly language as input and produces machine
code as output. Example: Microsoft Assembler (MASM), Turbo
Assembler (TASM).
 There are four major steps of a Computer System.

Computer Hardware

System Software (Operating System)

Application/Programming Software (i.e. MS Office, Turbo

C/C++, Vbase, Banking, Games etc.)

User-1 User-2 User-3 User-4

SYSTEM/APPLICATION SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
 After completed partition and format the hard disk, it is necessary to
install an Operating System (or System Software like Windows,
Win’95/98, Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows 2000 Professional,
UNIX etc) to bring it in working condition. A system Software
installation can be done in three ways.
From
1.       Floppy disk to Hard disk
2.       Hard disk to Hard disk
3.       CD-ROM to Hard disk
3. We shall install the system software in our PC from CD-ROM to Hard
disk. In our PC we have made partition in the Hard disk as C: and D:
drive, then the CD-ROM drive is E: drive. First we go to E: drive.
Then step by step procedure for installation as given bellow:
C:\> E: 
E:\>CD Win98 
E:\WIN98>SETUP
After typing the setup command when we press Enter. Then start
installation. The later on appears screen and given OK or Yes or Next etc.

COMPUTER MAINTENANCE
Maintenance of any system is divided into two categories: preventive
maintenance and corrective/ curative maintenance or troubleshooting.
System means electronic or mechanical system. In the case of computer
preventive maintenance means routine servicing or cleaning and corrective
maintenance means troubleshooting. Computer maintenance can be
categorized into two types: Hardware Maintenance & Software
Maintenance.
HARDWARE MAINTENANCE
Hardware Maintenance explains some simple ways to keep your system
working well, including the following:
        Cleaning the keyboard
        Cleaning the system unit.
        Cleaning the disk drives and drives head.
        Cleaning the monitor and output devices.
        Cleaning the mouse and other input devices.
        To put the dust free.
        If possible computer room should be air-conditioned.
        Used dust cover.
 SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE.
SCAN DISK
Scan disk is very useful DOS command. It is used to detect and
repair the physical error of the Disk (Hard Disk and Floppy Disk).
This Scandisk command is widely used in the preliminary detected to
the disk. Scandisk detect and repair the following problems:
1. File Allocation Table (FAT)
2. File System Structure
3. Directory Tree Structure
4. Physical Surface of a Disk Drive.
Scan disks also detect and repair the following drive problem
 Hard drive, Drive space, Double space drive, Floppy disk drive To run
SCAN DISK type the command and then press Enter
C:|> Scandisk 
Or Start  Programs  Accessories System Tools  Scandisk 
Physical Drive 
DEFRAG
Defrag is also a powerful DOS command. We know data are stored in the
disk space. This data are sometime unspecified or arrangement of data are
not correct. In order to arrange these data in the disk defrag command is
used. After 15/30 days we should run defrag command. Type the following
command to run Defrag.
C:|> Defrag 
or Start Programs Accessories System ToolsDefragmenter
Physical Drive 
TROUBLE SHOOTING

 We must be thinking about the cause, nature of trouble or problem

before troubleshooting or problem is solved and making proper
decision where the problem occurs. Trouble may be divided into two
ways: Hardware trouble & Software trouble. At first we must
made a proper decision that what type of problem occur. Then step by
steps solved the problems carefully. There is no thumb role of trouble
shooting. Most of the problems are solved by trial and error basis.
We earned acquired knowledge to assemble every accessories of PC
and characteristic of each devices of PC then we are solved the
problems properly. The hardware problems are detected by software.
TROUBLESHOOTING OF A MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEM
The Computer does not start
If the Computer is not working then we will perform the following jobs:
a) Make sure the power cord is plugged in the wall and the backside of
the PC.
b) Put our hand behind the computer in front of the power supply fan. Is
the fan pushing any air?
c) If we don’t feel any air, we will check power supply to the computer.
d) If the power supply fan isn’t running, then we detected that power
supply is not properly working then change the power supply. Also
checking the power supply connection to the motherboard.
e)  Checked the cable internal and outlet.
DISK BOOT ERRORS
Sometimes we have seen some problems in the computer. First of all
we detected the problem then solved it one by one.
GENERAL FAILURE ERROR READING DRIVE C:
This error usually is caused by the BIOS. BIOS could not read the
boot sector on the hard disk. Boot sector infected by a virus and
crashed the boot sector. The boot sector could have been damaged
by above reason.
If a head of master boot record is causing the problem and there is
no physical damage to the disk, we might be able to re-create the
boot record. Then run FDISK program, which we normally use to
create and prepare disk partitions. Then we recreate the master boot
record.
    
We performed the following steps to recovery the master boot record.
a. Find our emergency boot/repair disk, insert the disk into drive A, and
reboot the PC.
b. When the command prompt appears, run the FDISK program from
the floppy disk.
c. At the command prompt, type FDISK/MBR and press Enter. Don’t
omit the MBR switch and run the FDISK program to delete the all
partitions. Then we run again the FDISK command and make a
partition. Finished the partition FDISK command makes re-create the
boot record.
d. Remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. The system will be
boot from hard disk. Then general failure 'reading drive C:' is
removed.
NON-SYSTEM DISK OR DISK ERROR
We might have a non-bootable floppy disk in drive A. If there is a
disk in drive A: remove it and attempt to reboot the system. If we
receive this error message and there is no disk in drive A: we have a
problem to the hard disk. It might be the files IO.SYS or
MSDOS.SYS are missing from hard disk. To solved this problem in
the following ways:
a. Boot the system using our emergency boot disk and working drive A:
(type A: and press Enter).
b. At the command prompt, type SYS C: and press Enter. This
command copies the system files IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and
COMMAND.COM to the hard disk. So hard disk is making it
bootable.
c. Remove the disk from drive A: and reboot the system for testing.
Some Specific Problems
Problem: No Display; No Beep
Causes:
i. Power Supply is disconnected.
ii. Processor is not properly connected to the motherboard
iii. RAM is not properly assembled to the motherboard
iv. Motherboard Problem
v. P-II (ATX)  Power ON jumper not shorted.
vi. Jumper setting error.
Solution:
i. Changed Power Supply
ii. Changed motherboard
iii. Re-assembled RAM & Processor
iv. Checked power jumper for ATX M/B.
 Problem: No Display, Some Beep
Causes:
i. VGA card loose or uninstalled
ii. Monitor not connected
iii. M/B partially damaged
iv. Monitor damaged
Solution:
i. Changed VGA card
ii. Checked Monitor connection
iii. Re-assembled RAM & Processor
iv. Checked jumper setting of M/B
v. Cheek or change M/B
Problem: No Power
 Identification:
• Cooling fans are not working
• No LEDs are working
Causes:
i. Power supply is not working properly.
ii. Power switch is disconnected in the M/B.(ATX power supply)
iii. Power supply unit is not functional
iv. Mother board is damaged
Solution:
i. To check main power supply
ii. To cheek ATX power supply
iii. Replaced Power supply unit
iv. Replaced Mother board
Some important Helpful Hints
If we encounter some minor problem with our computer, monitor, or
software, refer to the following list of general suggestions before taking
further action:
 Check that the computer and monitor are plugged into a working
electrical outlet.
 Check and see that the computer is turned on and the green power light
is on.
 Check and see that the monitor is turned on and the monitor power
light is on.
 Turn up the brightness and contrast controls of the monitor if the
monitor is dim.
 Press and hold any key. If the system beeps, then our keyboard is
properly working.
 Make sure run the Configuration utility after installing an expansion
board or other option (memory, disk drives) and before installing an ISA
board.
 Check that all switch settings have been set as instructed by the
configuration utility.
  Be sure that all the needed device drivers have been installed.
Be sure that we have made all necessary changes to the CONFIG.SYS
file.
 Be sure that we have made all necessary changes to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file (MS-DOS) or STARTUP.CMD file (MS OS/2).
 Make sure that all printer drivers have been installed for each
application.
  Take out all diskettes from the diskette drives when we turn on our
system.
Solving Software Problems
Software problems occur as a result of the following:
• The application program was not installed correctly.
        The CONFIG.SYS file was not configured correctly.
        Memory was not allocated correctly.
        The AUTOEXEC.BAT file was not edited correctly.

VIRUSES
• What is a Computer Virus ?
        How does a virus work ?
        Suggestions to keep viruses away
        Virus attack procedures
What Is a Computer Virus?

 Virus is the generic term that people are using these days to describe
any of a group of willfully destructive computer programs. The three
most common types of destructive computer programs are the Trojan
horse, the logic bomb, and the worm. A virus is just a worm with a logic
bomb or Trojan horse component.

Worms, Trojan Horses, and Bombs:

Virus Components

 A worm is a program that replicates itself. It creates an image of itself

either in a file or at a particular location on the disk. The original worm
was intended only to be an experiment.
Worm Propagation
On mainframe and minicomputer networks, worms may use something
like the electronic mail file system to propagate. A famous “Virus” in the
early days of computing was the IBM Christmas message. Under IBM’s
worldwide network, mail message used to include automatic “please
forward to person X” commands. This Christmas greeting was sent to
several users. The Internet “virus” is another example of a pure worm: all
it did was copy itself on hosts on the Internet, dragging hundreds of
computers to a halt.
Trojan Horses
A Trojan horse program acts like the Trojan horse of Greek mythology. A
malevolent program is hidden inside another, apparently useful, program.
While the “useful” program is running, the malevolent part does
something nasty, like erase your FAT and directory. When you rebooted,
you found that the FAT had been erased from your hard disk.
Time Bombs and Logic Bombs
Bomb is two type time bomb and logic bomb. It is a piece of code
embedded in a program or the operating system itself that waits for a
particular event to occur. When that event occurs, the logic bomb ”goes
off,” doing some kind of damage.
Logic bombs have been around nearly since the beginning of computing.
An early one showed up on a mainframe payroll program. The program’s
creator had inserted a clause in the payroll program that said, “If you find
I’m not on the payroll, erase all payroll files.”
Bombs show up as the more destructive part of viruses. They include
instructions like, “If it’s Friday the 13th, erase the hard disk,” or “If the
worm has succeeded in making 10 copies of itself, erase the hard disk.”
There are many other viruses: Parasitic Virus, Boot Sector Virus, Micro
Virus, Dhaka Virus, CIH Virus etc.
Suggestions To Keep Viruses Away
The most effective way to avoid catching viruses is to shut off your
computer...permanently. Don’t like that idea? How about just removing your
floppy disk drives and disconnecting from your network
Effective as those means are, they are not much good in the real world. Never
using your floppy drives so as not to catch viruses is sort of like cutting off
your hand so as not to get a hangnail. In the real world, what can you do
about viruses?
  Run virus checker programs periodically (Using Anti-Virus software)
  Don’t lose a lot of sleep about them
  Get in the habit of leaving the floppy drive empty
  Don’t use pirated software, especially games
  Avoid Web sites that cater to self-proclaimed “hackers.”
• Back up data time to time.