CHAPTER TTHREE

COMPUTER HARDWARE

Contents:
3.1. Introduction
3.2. An Overview of Information and Computer
Systems
3.3.Types of Computer Hard Ware
3.4.Components of a Computer
An Overview of Information and computer Systems

 Information
 System
 Information system-

An information system has five major parts:

people, procedures, software, hardware, and
data.
 People: trained information systems personnel are required to
run most information systems.
 Procedure: procedures are rules or guidelines for people to
follow when using software, hardware, and data.
 Software: software consists of step by step instructions that
tell the computer how to do its work.
 Hardware: is physical part of the computer
 Data: data consists of raw, unprocessed facts
 Computer System

 Computer system is the combination of :

Hardware--is the physical part of the
computer system that can be seen and felt.
and
Software-is a set of programs or instructions
that tells a computer what to do.
 Computer Hardware

 We can divide computer hardware into four:

A. Input Devices
B. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
C. Output Devices
D. Storage Devices
I. Input Devices- Input devices are used to enter information
into computer. It includes:
 Keyboard-Keyboard is an input device consisting of a set of
typewriter-like keys that enable one to enter data into a
computer.
 The keys on the keyboard are often classified as follows:
• Alphanumeric keys - Letters and numbers
• Punctuation keys - comma, period, semicolon, etc.
• Special keys- function keys, control keys, arrow keys, caps
lock, etc.
 The following are detailed descriptions of the keys
of keyboard.
• Escape key - Generally used to abort system actions.
• Function keys – their function varies from program
to program. For example F1 is often used to get
help.
• Enter key - used to enter commands or to return to
the beginning of new lines in a document.
• Backspace key - used to move the cursor backwards,
deleting a character backward.
• Delete keys - used to delete characters to the right.
• Tab key - used to move the insertion point forward.
• Caps lock key – used to write small or capital letters.
• Shift key - used to produce upper case or lower case letters and to insert
the upper character if the key has two characters.
• Control (Ctrl) key & Alt key - commonly used in combination with other
keys to enter commands example ctrl + P in Microsoft Word opens the
print dialog box.
• Insert key - used to toggle between insert and overwrite modes of typing.
• Arrow keys - used to move the cursor2 around the display screen.
• Num lock keys - used to activate/deactivate the numeric keypad3.
• Print screen keys - used to print the contents of the screen.
II. Mouse- is a hand-operated device that controls the
movement of the cursor or pointer on a display screen. It is
a small object that can be rolled along a rough flat surface.
 Mouse can have as many as three buttons whose
function depends on what program is running:
• Left-button: for left click. Example, selecting text
• Right-button: for right click. Example, see property of
file
• Middle button: for scrolling purpose. This button is
sometimes missing.
III. Optical Recognition Systems-

 It uses light to read characters, codes, and marks, and convert

them into computer understandable format.
 There are many types of optical recognition systems:
a. OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
b. OMR (Optical Mark recognition)
c. Barcode Reader
d. Image scanner
A. Optical Character Recognizers (OCR)- Optical character
recognition are scanners that read typewritten, computer printed,
and in some cases hand printed characters from ordinary
documents.
B. Optical Mark recognition (OMR)- senses the presence or
absence of a mark, such as pencil marks.
 It does not utilize letters of the alphabet.
 Instead, with the use of electronic scanners, marks and symbols
are converted into appropriate electronic signals.
 It is used to process questionnaires or exams using computer.
 The red mark is interpreted and matched against previously
entered answer key.
 Example, the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate
Examinations is corrected using this device.
C. Bar Code Reader
• Bar code reader is additional component added
to a computer that reads bar codes printed on
products.
• Bar code uses a pattern or symbols to
represent data.
D. Image Scanner
 We sometimes want to use our previously
taken images into computer.
 In such cases, we need a device that converts
the image on paper into computer format.
 This device is called image scanner.
IV. Speech Recognition Systems
 Speech recognition is the ability of computers
to recognize human speech.
 We use microphone to enter the speech into
computer.
 The computer then processes the speech and
performs the action ordered by speech.
 This is the latest technology and is still under
research.
 Light Pen -Light pen is a light sensitive pen like
device that is used in conjunction with computer
monitor.
 It is used by touching the screen with this device
to create or modify graphics.
 Touch Screen -Touch screen allow you to use
fingers instead of mouse or related input device.
 It lets you to enter data or command (e.g. button
click) by touching areas of the screen.
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 One of the basic features of a computer that affects its entire performance
is the CPU speed.
 CPU speed is measured in Hertz (Hz).
 Hertz is the number of cycles per second.
1Hz=1cycle per second.
 Larger units are KHz (Kilo Hertz), MHz (Mega Hertz), GHz(Giga Hertz), etc.
o 1 KHz = 1000 Hz
o 1 MHz = 1000 KHz
o 1 GHz = 1000MHZ
 Current CPUs are as fast as 2-3 GHz , which is 2-3 billion cycles per second.
 CPU has three sub-components:
i. Control Unit (CU)
ii. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
iii. Memory
i. Control Unit -As human brain controls the body, control unit controls the computer
hardware. Control Unit does not execute instruction by itself, i.e. does not carry out
instruction processing, but it directs other processing elements to execute instructions.
ii. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
 The purpose of ALU is to execute instruction. It performs two operations:
• Arithmetic operation
• Logic Operation
 Arithmetic operation: this includes mathematical operations like addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, etc.
 If you give your computer the instruction 2+3, this will be included in arithmetic
operation and it is executed by Arithmetic Unit.
 Logical Operation: this is concerned with the comparison of data and it is called
logical operation.
 It includes operators like less than, greater than, equal to, less or equal to, greater or
equal to, different from, etc. e.g. if mark>80, grade is 'A'.
III. Registers- When instruction is loaded from main memory into the CPU, it is placed
first in registers to wait instruction from control unit.
 Registers are temporary storage location for data prior to execution in ALU.
 III. Output Devices
 Output devices are used to get data out of a computer so that it can
be examined, analyzed or distributed to others.
 They convert information from a machine understandable form to a
human understandable form.
 The outputs are of two types:
• Softcopy is an output displayed on monitor, projector, or similar
devices and
• Hardcopy is an output printed on paper.
 Output devices include:
• The Visual Display Unit (VDU) or monitor or screen
• Printers (dot matrix, daisy wheel, laser printers)
• Plotters
• Disk drives
I. Monitors
 Monitor is the most frequent type of output device.
 It consists of a display surface called screen which displays
output to the user.
 Image is displayed on monitors using pattern of lighted
dots.
 There are three types of monitor:
A. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)
B. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
C. Plasma display
 CRT Monitor - CRT is similar in size and
technology to televisions.
 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitors -Crystal
display is most commonly used in digital watches,
clocks, calculators, etc.
 In computers, they are commonly used for portable
computers are laptops.
 Gas Plasma Display-Although gas-plasma
technology was found in older portable computers
and large displays, like the CRT television, it is now
obsolete.
II. Printers- are device that enables us to
produce a hardcopy of data/information.

III. Plotters - Plotters can produce high quality

multi-color documents.
• They can also print on large size papers, which
most printers cannot handle.
III. Storage Devices - One of the unique features of
computers is storage.
• Storage devices can be categorized into primary
storage device and secondary storage device.
1. Primary Memory or Main Memory
 Primary memory, also called Main memory, refers to
integrated circuit that stores program instructions and data.
 The CPU closely works with the main memory to perform
its activities. Memory stores three things:
 Operation system software instructions
 Application software instruction
 Data that is being processed
The primary memory can be categorized into three:
 RAM (Random Access Memory)-RAM is
temporary storage i.e. the data is lost when the
computer is off unlike secondary storage.
 Because of this it is called volatile memory.
 ROM (Read Only Memory)-ROM stores data and
programs that are permanently required by the
computer.
 CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide
Semiconductor)- contains essential information
such as RAM size and type of mouse that is
required when the computer is turned on.
2. Secondary Storage- also called auxiliary storage)
supplements the primary memory.
 include- magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk,
Floppy disk.
 etc.
 Based on information access, secondary storage
devices are divided into two:
1.Sequential Access: information is accessed
sequentially. E.g. tape recorder cassette
2.Random Access: information can be accessed in any
order. You can access the first or the last part of
information by jumping others. E.g. Floppy disk.
Components of computers
Based on their location, computer components are
classified in to system unit and peripherals.
1.The System Unit
 A system unit, also known as a base unit, is the main
body of a desktop computer.
 A system unit contains case, motherboard, power
supply and disk drives
 It typically consists of a metal or (rarely) plastic
enclosure containing the motherboard, power supply,
cooling fans, internal disk drives, and memory and
expansion cards such as video and network cards that
are plugged into the motherboard.
 A system unit contains case, motherboard, power supply and disk
drives.
Case: A computer case (also known as the computer chassis, cabinet,
tower, box or housing) is the enclosure that contains the main
components of a computer. Cases are usually constructed from steel,
aluminum, or plastic.
Power Supply: The computer power supplies have built-in power
on/off switches and power connectors for the motherboard and the
disk drives.
Motherboard: A motherboard, also known as a system board, is the
central or primary circuit board making up a complex electronic
system
Ports and Connectors: A port is a socket used to connect the
peripheral devices to system unit.
Drives: drives are devices that read data from or
write data onto storage devices.
Examples of drives include hard disk drive,
floppy disk drive, CD drive, DVD drive, etc.
2. The peripherals - is any device connected to
the system unit.
These are keyboards, monitors, mice, printers,
scanners, microphones, speakers, cameras, to list
just the most familiar ones.
 Computer software

Computer software is categorized into two:

 System Software
 Application Software
1. System software consists of programs that are related to
controlling the actual operations of the computer
equipment/resource.
 There are three types of system software:
A. Operating System
B. Utility Software
C. Language translators
 A) Operating system
 Operating system coordinates the activity
between the user and the computer. An
operating system has four major functions.
 It organizes resources such as keyboard,
mouse, printer, monitor, etc.
 Operating system coordinates the activity
between the user and the computer.
 An operating system has four major functions.
 1. Process management- In operating system terms, a process
is a program or part of a program that can be executed
separately.
 The operating system does the task of managing these
processes that are being executed and waiting to be executed.
2. Input/output Management- The I/O manager coordinates the
computers communication with outside world, flow of data to the
display screen and other output devices (printers/ plotters) and
from the key board or other input devices.
 It also handles the flow of data to and from the disk drives
(file management) and the process of preparing a disk for use,
the copying, renaming, erasing task of a file.
3.Memory Management- During processing, some areas of
memory are used to store the operating system instructions,
application program instructions, and data to be processed.
 It is the task of operating system to allocate or assign each of
these items to a memory area.
4.System Administration- Operating system as a system
administrator manages the performance of the system (e.g response
time), system security (username and password), and storage
device management (deleting files, renaming files, formatting
disks, creating directories, etc).
B) Utility Programs Utilities are programs that make computing easier.
 They perform specific tasks related to managing computer resources or files.
 There are different utility programs:
i) Troubleshooting programs enable us to recognize and correct computer
problems before they become serious.
ii) Anti-virus programs such as MacAfee, Sophos, Norton, etc they protect your
computer against viruses or other malicious programs that damage computer
iii) File compression programs are used to reduce the size of files or data so that
it takes less storage space or network band. E.g WinZip, WinRAR, etc.
iv) Uninstall program software enable us to safely and completely remove
unneeded programs/software from your computer.
v) Backup software help users to make copies of files to be used in case of the
original data are lost/damaged. This copy is called backup.
Vi. Screen savers help to prevent your work from being seen by others if you
leave your computer idle for some time.
C) Language translators
 Language translators are used to convert the
programming instruction written by users into
binary code that the computer can understand.
 They are written for specific programming
languages and computer system.
 Application software

• Application software serves the user to

perform useful functions including:
• Word processing-document creation
• Spreadsheet-electronic calculation
• Data base management
• Presentation software
The following are some of the uses of application soft
wares:
1. Word Processing - This is the most widely used
computer application. Word processing is the use of
computer to produce documents that consist primarily of
text. Such documents can also contain pictures, drawing,
photograph, etc.
2. Spreadsheet Software
• Spreadsheet software is used to organize, manipulate, and
graph numeric information.
3. Database Management system (DBMS)
• Database is a collection of related data that is stored in
computer.
4.Presentation Graphics- helps you to create
professional and exciting presentations.
5. Accounting software - enables companies to
record and report their financial transactions.
 E.g.Peachtree accounting and QuickBooks, etc.
6. Computer Aided Design- It is used by
engineers to create design for products, new
buildings, etc. E.g AutoCAD, ArchiCAD…
 Micro Soft Windows

 Whenever you open a program, file, or folder, it

appears on your screen in a box or frame called a
window.
 Windows is where the windows operating system
gets its name.
 What Windows does is provide the user with a few
more clues about the working environment and an
intuitive way of working with the files.
 Icons, which feign a two dimensional physical space,
along with a mouse make files something tangible.
1. Starting Microsoft Windows
a. Windows Desktop- it always appears on the screen when you
start Windows.
b. Windows Screen Parts-The main elements that comprise the
desktop are:
• Window is the area that displays an open program or the
contents of a folder.
• Icons are the graphic objects representing shortcuts to programs
and documents that are stored on computer.
• The Taskbar is located at the bottom of the desktop screen and it
indicates what programs are currently running on the computer,
what windows are open and the availability of programs on the
computer.