Basics of

Personal Computer

Computer

Computers are machines that perform tasks or

calculations according to a set of instructions, or
programs. The first fully electronic computers, introduced
in the 1940s, were huge machines that required teams of
people to operate.

Compared to those early machines, today's computers

are amazing. Not only are they thousands of times
faster, they can fit on your desk, on your lap, or even in
your pocket.

What is a Computer?

Computer is a electronic digital data processing device

which process the data at very high speed and also
stores the data for future use.

Almost all other electronic devices handles single task

Computer is simply all in one electronic data processing
device

PCHW

Classifications of Computers

Super Computer

Mainframe Computer

Mini Computer

Micro Computer

Earth Simulator

Top 5 Super Computers

Indian Supercomputers
Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)

PCHW

Types of Micro Computer

Desktop
Laptop

Computers

Computers

Notebook
Palm
PDA

Computers

Computers

PCHW

Classifications of PCs

PC

PC XT

PC AT

PC - ATX

PCHW

PC Hardware & Software

Hardware - Study of physical parts &
components of a computer

Software - Software is collection of programs,

instructions arranged in a sequential manner
to carry out some specified tasks.

Hardware

Computers work through an interaction of hardware and

software. Hardware refers to the parts of a computer that you
can see and touch, including the case and everything inside
it.

The most important piece of hardware is a tiny rectangular

chip inside your computer called the central processing unit
(CPU), or microprocessor. It's the "brain" of your computer
the part that translates instructions and performs
calculations.

Hardware items such as your monitor, keyboard, mouse,

printer, and other components are often called hardware
devices, or devices.

Languages Used in Computers

Machine Level Languages MLL

Assembly Language Assembler

High Level Language HLL

Interpreter

Complier

Number systems used in Computer

Binary Number Systems

Octal Number Systems

Hexa - decimal Number Systems

BCD - Binary Coded Decimal

ASCII American Standard Code for Information

Interchange

EBCDIC Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange

Code

Bit Calculation
1 is 1 bit
0 is 1 bit
4 bits = 1 nibble
8 bits = 1 byte
1024 bytes
1024 kilobytes
1024 megabytes
1024 gigabytes
1024 terabytes
1024 petabytes
1024 exabytes
1024 zettabytes

= 1 kilobyte
= 1 megabyte
= 1 gigabyte
= 1 terabyte
= 1 petabyte
= 1 exabyte
= 1 zettabyte
= 1 yottabyte

Parts of a Computer

System Board
OR
Mother Board

A motherboard is a multi-layered printed circuit board. Copper

circuit paths called tracks that resemble a complicated roadmap
carry signals and voltages across the motherboard.
A typical motherboard provides attachment points for one or
more of the following: CPU, graphics card, sound card, hard disk
controller, memory (RAM), and external peripheral devices.
It contains the chipset, which controls the operation of the CPU,
the PCI, ISA, AGP, and PCI Express expansion slots, and (usually)
the IDE/ATA controller

What is a Port?

In computer hardware, a 'port' serves as an interface

between the computer and other computers or peripheral
devices.

Physically, a port is a specialized outlet on a piece of

equipment to which a plug or cable connects.
Electronically, the several conductors making up the
outlet provide a signal transfer between devices.

The term 'port' is derived from a latin word 'porta' (gate,

entrance, door).

Software Port

A software port (usually just called a 'port') is a

virtual/logical data connection that can be used by
programs to exchange data directly.

The most common of these are TCP and UDP ports,

which are used to exchange data between computers on
the Internet.

Ports

Serial Port

Parallel Port

Game Port

PS/2 Port

USB Port

Audio Ports

IO Connectors

Data Transfer

Serial Data Transfer

Parallel Data Transfer

In telecommunication and computer science, serial

communication is the process of sending data one bit at
a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or
computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel
communication, where several bits are sent together, on a
link with several parallel channels.

Serial computer buses are becoming more common even

at shorter distances, as improved signal integrity and
transmission speeds in newer serial technologies have
begun to outweigh the parallel bus's.

USB

Universal Serial Bus

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a specification to

establish communication between devices and a host
controller (usually personal computers), developed and
invented Intel. USB is intended to replace many varieties
of serial and parallel ports.

USB can connect computer peripherals such as mice,

keyboards, digital cameras, printers, personal media
players, flash drives, and external hard drives. For many
of those devices, USB has become the standard
connection method.

USB

USB version 1.0 = 12 Mbps

USB version 2.0 = 480 Mbps

Supports 127 Devices

Hot swappable

Plug and Play

USB Cable

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a new technology intended

to replace the current dedicated ports used for
keyboards and mice.
The USB interface is specifically designed to allow easy
connection of a wide variety of devices; it is intended
to be user-friendly and truly "plug and play".
On a system equipped with USB, one can "hot swap"
devices, meaning they can be plugged into the system
or removed without needing to power the system down
or doing anything to it before the change is made.

Fire Wire 1394

The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus interface

standard for high-speed communications and real-time
data transfer, frequently used by personal computers, as
well as in digital audio, digital video, automotive, and
aeronautics applications.

Key Features

Fire Wire can connect up to 63 peripheral devices using

tree chain topology.

Supports plug and play.

Hot swapping supported i.e. no need to switch off the

system to connect/disconnect devices.

Cables can be 4.5 meters long and flexible than other

parallel cables.

IEEE 1394 Standards

FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394-1995)

FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b-2002)

FireWire S800T (IEEE 1394c-2006)

FireWire S1600 and S3200

Future enhancements (including P1394d) -6.4 Gbit/s

Expansion Slots

ISA

ISA - Industry Standard Architecture

Stands for "Industry Standard Architecture." ISA is a type

of bus used in PCs for adding expansion cards. For
example, an ISA slot may be used to add a video card, a
network card, or an extra serial port.

The original 8-bit version of PCI uses a 62 pin

connection and supports clock speeds of 8 and 33 MHz.
16-bit PCI uses 98 pins and supports the same clock
speeds.

ISA Slots

Types of Expansion Slots

Accelerated
Graphics
Port
is an interface
specification that enables
3D graphics to display
quickly
on
ordinary
personal computers.

AGP
is
designed
to
convey 3-D images (for
example, from Web sites
or CD-ROMs) much more
quickly and smoothly than
is possible today on any
system other than a
costly
graphics
workstation.

AGP Slot

AGP CARD

PCI Slots

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) is an inter connection system

between a microprocessor and attached devices in which expansion slots are

spaced closely for high speed operation. PCI transmits 32 bits at a time in a
124-pin connection (the extra pins are for power supply and grounding) and
64 bits in a 188-pin connection in an expanded implementation

PCI-64 bit expansion slots

PCI card

PCI-64 bit card

PCI-Express slot

PCI-e Lanes

PCI-e Graphics Card

PCI - Express

Memory

Computer memory refers to units or devices that are

used to store data or programs (sequences of
instructions) on a temporary or permanent basis for use
in an electronic digital computer.

Although memory is technically any form of electronic

storage, it is used most often to identify fast, temporary
forms of storage.

Memory Hierarchy

Memory Management

RAM & ROM

RAM (random access

memory) chips hold the
program and data that the
CPU is presently
processing.
RAM is called temporary
because as soon as the
computer is turned off,
everything in RAM is lost.
RAM storage is
frequently expressed in
megabytes. Thus, a
computer with 64MB RAM
has memory that hold
about 64 million
characters of data and
programs.

ROM (read only memory) chips

have programs built into them
at the factory. Unlike RAM
chips, the contents of ROM
chips cannot be changed user.
ROM chips typically contain
special instructions for
detailed computer operations.
For example, ROM instructions
may start
the computer, give keyboard
keys their special control
capabilities, and put
characters on the screen.

READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM)

ROM
PROM
EPROM
EEPROM

Random Access Memory (RAM)

SRAM

DRAM

FPM

EDO RAM

SDRAM

DDRSDRAM

DDR2SDRAM

DDR3SDRAM

RDRAM

EDO RAM

EDO DRAM, sometimes referred to as Hyper Page

Mode enabled DRAM, is similar to Fast Page Mode
DRAM with the additional feature that a new access
cycle can be started while keeping the data output of the
previous cycle active.

This allows a certain amount of overlap in operation

(pipelining), allowing somewhat improved performance.
It was 5% faster than Fast Page Mode DRAM.

EDO RAM

30 Pins EDO RAM

72 Pins EDO RAM

128MB 100Mhz SDRAM DIMM

Pictured here is the 128 megabyte (MB) 100 megahertz (MHz) SDRAM
un-buffered DIMM. This product is available for both Workstations
and Servers.
A DIMM (dual in-line memory module) is a double SIMM. Like a SIMM,
it's a module containing one or several RAM chips on a small circuit
board with pins that connect it to the computer motherboard. For
SDRAM chips, which have a 64 data bit connection to the computer,
SIMMs must be installed in in-line pairs (since each supports a 32 bit
path). A single DIMM can be used instead. A DIMM has a 168-pin
connector and supports 64-bit data transfer.

5000584MEM DDR 512MB PC266B 32X8 R0

The 512-megabyte (MB) Double Data Rate-Synchronous DRAM

(DDR-SDRAM) module supports data transfers on both edges of
each clock cycle, effectively doubling the memory chip's data
throughput. DDR-SDRAM is also called SDRAM II. DDR
SDRAM (double data rate SDRAM) is synchronous dynamic RAM
(SDRAM) that can theoretically improve memoryclock speed to
at least 200 MHz*. It activates output on both the rising and
falling edge of the system clock rather than on just the rising
edge, potentially doubling output.

DDR2SDRAM

DDR2 SDRAM is a double data rate synchronous

dynamic random access memory interface. In addition to
double pumping the data bus as in DDR SDRAM
(transferring data on the rising and falling edges of the
bus clock signal), DDR2 allows higher bus speed and
requires lower power.

The two factors combine to require a total of 4 data

transfers per internal clock cycle.

DDR2-SDRAM

In addition DDR2-SDRAM offers new features and

functions that enable higher a clock rate and data rate
operations of 400 MHz, 533 MHz, 667 MHz, and above.

DDR2 transfers 64 bits of data twice every clock cycle.

DDR2-SDRAM memory is not compatible with current
DDR-SDRAM memory slots.

DDRSDRAM & DDR2SDRAM

DDR3SDRAM

DDR3 SDRAM is an improvement over its predecessor,

DDR2 SDRAM, and the two are not compatible. The
primary benefit of DDR3 is the ability to transfer at twice
the data rate of DDR2.

With data being transferred 64 bits at a time per

memory module, DDR3 SDRAM gives a transfer rate of,
with a memory clock frequency of 100 MHz, data
transfer rate of 6400 MB/s.

DDR2 & DDR3 RAM

DDR2-SDRAM

RAM

SIMM 30-pin - (EDO RAM)

SIMM 72-pin - (EDO RAM )

DIMM 168-pin - (SDRAM)

DIMM 184-pin - (DDR SDRAM)

RIMM 184-pin - (RDRAM)

DIMM 240-pin - (DDR2 SDRAM/DDR3 SDRAM)

Memory Modules

SDRAM DDRSDRAM DDR2 SDRAM DDR3 SDRAM -

+3.3v 168 pins

+2.5v 184 pins
+1.8v 240 pins
+1.5v 240 pins

DIMM Slots

A DIMM (dual in-line memory module) is a double SIMM (single inline memory module). Like a SIMM, it's a module containing one or
several random access memory(RAM) chips on a small circuit board
with pins that connect it to the computer motherboard.
A SIMM typically has a 32 data bit path to the computer that
requires a 72-pin connector. For synchronous dynamic RAM
(SDRAM) chips, which have a 64 data bit connection to the
computer, SIMMs must be installed in in-line pairs (since each
supports a 32 bit path). A single DIMM can be used. A DIMM has a
168-pin connector and supports 64-bit data transfer.

DDR2 & DDR3 SDRAM DIMM SLOTS

Floppy Connection

This is where the floppy disk drive cable connects to

the motherboard. Pin 1 orientation is indicated in
the graphic. The slot is keyed and only accepts a
keyed cable in the proper orientation

Panasonic 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive

The major parts of a FDD include:

Read/Write Heads: Located on both sides of a diskette, they move

together on the same assembly
Drive Motor: A very small spindle motor engages the metal hub at the
center of the diskette, spinning it at either 300 or 360 rotations per
minute (RPM)
Stepper Motor: This motor makes a precise number of stepped
revolutions to move the read/write head assembly to the proper track
position. The read/write head assembly is fastened to the stepper motor
shaft
Mechanical Frame: A system of levers that opens the little protective
window on the diskette to allow the read/write heads to touch the dualsided diskette media

FDD Cable

The cable end that has a split and twist in it connects to the floppy
disk drive. The bottom pin connector gets attached to the
motherboard's floppy disk controller.
The ribbon cable contains a red dotted edge which aligns with pin
one. It can be identified by the silk-screened markings on the
motherboard and it is normally the end closest the rear edge of the
system board.

Hard Disk Drive

HDD

Secondary IDE Connector

This connector is used for all IDE devices, most

commonly ATA or UATA66/100 hard disks or CD/DVD
drives.

IDE cable

Data is stored on the surface of a

platter in sectors and tracks. Tracks
are concentric circles, and Sectors are
pie-shaped wedges on a tracks.
A typical Track is shown in yellow; a
Sector is shown in blue. A sector
contains a fixed number of bytes 512
bytes. Sectors are not read individually
on most PCs; they are grouped
together into continuous chunks called
clusters.
A typical job, such as loading a file
into a spreadsheet program, can involve
thousands or even millions of individual
disk accesses
The process of low-level formatting a
drive establishes the tracks and
sectors on the platter. The starting
and ending points of each sector are
written onto the platter.
This process prepares the drive to hold
blocks of bytes. High-level formatting
then writes the file-storage
structures, like the file-allocation
table, into the sectors. This process
prepares the drive to hold files

Storing the Data

Sector

Track

HDD

Data Recording Technique Write Pre Compensation

Access Time

Latency Time

Landing Zone

SATA

The serial ATA or SATA computer bus, is a storageinterface for connecting host bus adapters to mass
storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical
drives. The SATA host adapter is integrated into almost
all modern consumer laptop computers and desktop
motherboards.

SATA offers several compelling advantages over the

older parallel ATA (PATA) interface: reduced cable-bulk
and cost (reduced from 80 wires to seven), faster and
more efficient data transfer, and hot swapping.

SATA

Serial ATA was designed to replace the older ATA (AT

Attachment) standard (also known as EIDE). It is able to
use the same low level commands, but serial ATA hostadapters and devices communicate via a high-speed
serial cable over two pairs of conductors.

SATA

PATA / SATA

SATA

SATA Revision 1.0 (SATA 1.5Gb/s)

SATA Revision 2.0 (SATA 3Gb/s)

First-generation SATA interfaces, now known as SATA

1.5 Gbit/s, communicate at a rate of 1.5 Gbit/s.

Second-generation SATA doubling maximum data

throughput from 150 MB/s to 300 MB/s.

SATA Revision 3.0 (SATA 6Gb/s)

Third-generation SATA doubles the SATA-V2

throughput 300MB/s to 600MB/s or 6Gbps.

SAS

Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is a computer bus, which

moves data to and from computer storage devices such
as hard drives and tape drives. SAS depends on a pointto-point serial protocol that replaces the parallel SCSI
bus technology that first appeared.

SAS offers backwards-compatibility

generation SATA drives. SATA 3 Gbit/s
connected to SAS backplanes, but SAS
be connected to SATA backplanes.

with
drives
drives

secondmay be
may not

SAS

SAS stands for Serial Attached SCSI. Basically, a SAS

drive utilizes the same form factor as a SATA drive but
has several high performance advantages. First of all,
there's the platter speed. While typical SATA drives
operate at 7200RPM, a SAS drive operates at 10K or
15K.

SATA & SAS

SAS & SATA

SAS HDD Connector

SCSI - HDD

SCSI - HDD

RAID Overview

Managing large sets of Data

Prevent failed disks from making data unavailable.

More efficiently balance the I/O load across disks.

Allow file systems to grow while they are in use.

Allow dual-host fail-over configurations with redundant

disks.

Techniques for Managing Data:

Hot Spares

Disk Striping

RAID 5

Disk Mirroring

Common RAID implementations

RAID 0:

Striping

RAID 1:

Mirroring

RAID 5:

Striping with distributed parity

Multiple physical disks are combined into a single virtual

disk

The address space is contiguous

There is no data redundancy (less reliable)

Loss of one number equates to loss of all data

Min 2 disks to Max 32 Disks

Allows to grow virtual disk by concatenating additional

physical disk to it

100% disk capacity is available

Best Read / Write Performance (More Controllers)

No redundancy

Full redundant copy of data is available on one or more

disks

Slower write performance

Both drives can be used for reads to improve performance

50% disk capacity is only available

RAID 1

In case of failure, applications can continue to use the

remaining half of the mirror

Recovering from a disk failure duplicating the contents

of the failed disks mirror into a new drive

This is the only method which supports OS redundancy.

Striping with Distributed Parity RAID 5

RAID 5

Both parity and data are striped across a group of disks

Failure rates are lower than dedicated parity

Only one disk failure will be supported

RAID 6

RAID 6 Distributed Dual Parity

Extension of RAID 5

Providing additional fault tolerance

Read performance same as RAID 5

But write performance slow due to dual parity

Disk usage less compared to RAID 5

Two disk failures are supported

Backup and Restore

Reasons to take Backup
Unexpected Hard Disk Failures
Failures of Support Hardware
Physical Damage
Software Problems
Viruses
Human Error

Restore - Whenever there is an unexpected complete

failure of a system, the backed up data to be restored to
the specific system within a short period of time, to
continue the business

High Availability & Fault Tolerance

High Availability:
Can provide access to data most of the time while
maintaining the integrity of that data.

In case of failure within few minutes the data will be

available.

Fault Tolerance:
Provide data integrity and continuous data availability.

Data is available even in case of failure.

Sound Cards

GW Sound Card w/ Media Vision Chipset

A sound card (also referred to as an audio card) is a

peripheral device that attaches to the ISA or PCI Slot on
a motherboard to enable the computer to input, process,
and deliver sound. The sound card's four main functions
are: as a synthesizer (generating sounds), as a MIDI
interface, analog to digital conversion (used,
for E.g., in recording sound from a microphone), and digital
to analog conversion (used, for E.g., to reproduce sound
for a speaker)..

Video Cards

AGP Graphics Accelerator

AGP offers high-speed data transfer to and from

RAM, optimizing the use of memory and minimizing
the amount of memory necessary for highperformance graphics.
The AGP main memory use is dynamic, meaning that
when not being used for accelerated graphics, main
memory is restored for use by the Operating System
or by other applications.

Modem
What is a Modem ?
Modem takes digital information from computer and
converts it to an analog signal, which is then
transmitted through a phone line.
There are four basic types of modems:

External

USB

Internal

Built-in
The external and USB set on your desk outside the
PC while internal and built-in are inside the PC

Modem stands for

MOdulator/DEModulator
Telephone lines were designed
to transmit the human voice,
not electronic data from
computers. Modems were
invented to convert digital
computer signals into a form
that allows them to travel over
phone lines.

Modems accept digital data supplied

by the local PC, and convert it to a
modulated analog wave form that can
be transmitted over a normal analog
phone line. And conversely, modems
also accept a modulated analog wave
from the telephone line, convert it to
a digital form, and pass it on to the
local PC.

Modem Line Cable

This is the cable that ships with the modems for

connection to a telephone jack. The green coded
end fits in the modem Line-in jack. The clear
end connects to a telephone line jack, usually on
a wall.

NIC

Short for Network Interface Card, a NIC is also

commonly referred to as a network adapter and is an
expansion card or an integrated card that enables a
computer to connect to a network such as a home
network and/or the Internet using a Ethernet cable with a
RJ-45 connector.

NIC

Wi-Fi /NIC

NIC

UTP/STP Network Cables

The Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) network

cable is used to save money on a hub when
connecting two computers together with
twisted pair. The RJ45 cable is crossed
over, meaning that when attached to the
machines, the RJ45 connector is crimped
opposite of the other connector. two
computers may connect to one another by
the use of an RJ-45 Crossover cable.

Remote keyboard and mouse kit

The Destination II input kit consists of a remote

keyboard, a remote mouse, a remote receiver, and the driver
CD..
The remote receiver is used to transfer the radio frequency
signal from the keyboard and mouse to the computer. On the
graphic, click the hyperlinks for more information. The
receiver must be placed at least 8 inches or 20 centimeters
from any electromechanical device, including the computer,
the computer monitor, and external storage drives.

Cd - Rom Drives
AcomData
Epson
Hitachi
HLDS
LG
LiteOn
Mitsumi
NEC
Panasonic
Philips
Plextor
Sanyo
Sony
Teac
Toshiba
Wearnes

These are the

different vendors
whose CD-Drives
are given by
Gateway along with
its systems.

 Cd-drives are only IDE devices.

CD- rom drives can only read data from the CDs,
data cannot be written onto the CDs.
If a Blank Cd/Cd-RW(Blank Media) is placed in a
CD-rom, it will not recognize the CD/ Cd-rw.

DVD

What is DVD?

DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disk or Digital

Video Disk

DVD was first created just to be a bigger CD

capable of holding more info

A DVD disk can hold between 4.4 and 16gb of

data, depending on the disk

DVD disks read information off of 2 layers using a

blue laser.

Monitor

A monitor or display (sometimes called a visual

display unit) is an electronic visual display for
computers. The monitor comprises the display device,
circuitry, and an enclosure.

The display device in modern monitors is typically a thin

film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), while
older monitors use a cathode ray tube (CRT).

Monitors

VGA Cable / Connector

DVI

The Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video interface

standard designed to provide very high visual quality on
digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer
displays and digital projectors.

DVI Connection DVI keeps data in digital form from the

computer to the monitor. There's no need to convert
data from digital information to analog information. LCD
monitors work in a digital mode and support the DVI
format.

Monitor

DVI-D (digital only)

DVI-A (analog only)

DVI-I (integrated, digital & analog)

M1-DA (integrated, digital, analog & USB)

S-Video

Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video,

also called Y/C, and sometimes incorrectly referred to as
Super Video, is an analog video signal that carries video
data as two separate signals: luma (luminance) and
chroma (color).

This differs from composite video, which carries picture

information as a single lower-quality signal, and
component video, which carries picture information as
three separate higher-quality signals. S-Video carries
standard definition video (typically at 480i or 576i
resolution), but does not carry audio on the same cable.

Printer

In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a

hard copy (permanent readable text and/or graphics) of
documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical
print media such as papers.

Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals,

and are attached by a printer cable or, in most newer
printers, a USB cable to a computer which serves as a
document source.

Printer

Impact Printers Daisy wheel, Drum Printer, Line Printer

and Dot-Matrix Printer

Non-Impact Printers Inkjet, Bubble jet and Laser

Printers

Laser Printer

Printer Cables

BIOS

The BIOS is special software that interfaces the

major hardware components of your computer with the
Operating system, It is usually stored on a Flash
Memory chip on the motherboard, but sometimes the
chip is another type of ROM.

BIOS
When you turn on your computer, the BIOS
does several things. This is its usual
sequence:
1.

Check the CMOS Setup for custom settings

2.

Load the interrupt handlers and device

drivers

3.

Initialize registers and power management

4.

Perform the power-on self-test (POST)

5.

Display system settings

6.

Determine which devices are bootable

7.

Initiate the bootstrap sequence

Booting the Computer
Whenever the Computer is turned on
computer, the first thing you see is the
BIOS software doing its thing. BIOS
displays text describing things like the
amount of memory installed, the type of
hard disk and so on.

During this boot sequence, the BIOS

does a remarkable amount of work to
get the computer ready to run. After
checking the CMOS Setup and loading
the interrupt handlers, the BIOS
determines whether the Video card is
operational.
Next, the BIOS checks to see if this
is a cold boot or a reboot. It does
this by checking the value at memory
address 0000:0472. A value of 1234h
indicates a reboot, and the BIOS
skips the rest of POST.
If it is a cold boot, the BIOS verifies
RAM by performing a read/write test
of each memory address. It checks
the PS/2 ports or USB ports for a
keyboard and a mouse. It looks for
PCI bus and, if it finds one, checks all
the PCI cards. If the BIOS finds any
errors during the POST, it will notify
you by a series of beeps or a text
message displayed on the screen. An
error at this point is almost always a
hardware problem.

CMOS

Also known as a
RTC/NVRAM or CMOS
RAM, CMOS is short
for Complementary
Metal-Oxide
Semiconductor
CMOS is an on-board
semiconductor chip
powered by a CMOS
battery inside IBM
compatible computers
that stores such as
the system time and
system settings for
your computer.

CPU
Processor
Brain

Processor

The CPU is the brain of the computer. Sometimes

referred to simply as the central processor , but more
commonly called processor, the CPU is where most
calculations take place. In terms of computing power, the
CPU is the most important element of a computer
system.

CPU

The CPU itself is an internal component of the

computer. Modern CPUs are small and square and
contain multiple metallic connectors or pins on the
underside. The CPU is inserted directly into a CPU
socket, pin side down, on the motherboard.

CPU

Two typical components of a CPU are the following:

The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs

arithmetic and logical operations.

The control unit (CU), which extracts instructions from

memory and decodes and executes them, calling on the
ALU when necessary.

CISC Vs RISC

This tradeoff in basic instruction set design philosophy is

reflected in the two main labels given to instruction sets.
CISC stands for complex instruction set computer and is
the name given to processors that use a large number of
complicated instructions, to try to do more work with
each one.

RISC stands for reduced instruction set computer and is

the generic name given to processors that use a small
number of simple instructions, to try to do less work with
each instruction but execute them much faster.

Processor / CPU / Brain

Chipset

The chipset consists of two major microchips. These are

known as the North bridge and the South Bridge. The
North Bridge Handles data for the AGP Port and the
main memory which includes the FSB (Front side bus).

Although both chips are required for the PC to work the

North Bridge handles most of the very important tasks
such as the connection between the CPU and main
memory. The South Bridge handles data from the PCI
and ISA slots and can also have integrated components
such as Audio codec's etc.

Single core processor

Dual core processor

Dual core processor

QUAD CORE CPU

Intel Quad-Core Technology

Delivering four complete execution cores within

a single processor, Intel quad-core technology is
the ideal choice when it comes to your highperformance computing needs.

Quad Core

Intel i7 CPU

i7 / i5 CPU

i3 CPU

The Intel Core i3 processor family with Intel HD

Graphics delivers a revolutionary new architecture for an
unparalleled computing experience. As the first level in
Intel's new processor family, the Intel Core i3 processor
is the perfect entry point for a fast, responsive PC
experience.

This processor comes equipped with Intel HD Graphics,

an advanced video engine that delivers smooth, highquality HD video playback, and advanced 3D
capabilities, providing an ideal graphics solution for
everyday computing.

i3 CPU

3 chip to 2 chip Architecture

Intel i7 core

Features
The new LGA 1366 socket is incompatible with earlier
processors.
On-die memory controller: the memory is directly
connected to the processor.
Three channel memory: each channel can support one
or two DDR3 DIMMs. Motherboards for Core i7 have
four (3+1) or six DIMM slots instead of two or four, and
DIMMs should be installed in sets of three, not two.
Support for DDR3 only.
No ECC support.
The front side bus is replaced by Quick Path interface.
Motherboards must use a chipset that supports
QuickPath.

Intel i7 core

The following caches:

32 KB L1 instruction and 32 KB L1 data cache per core
256 KB L2 cache (combined instruction and data) per core
8 MB L3 (combined instruction and data) "inclusive",
shared by all cores
Re-implemented Hyper-threading. Each of the four cores can
process up to two threads simultaneously, so the processor
appears to the OS as eight CPUs.
Only one QuickPath interface: not intended for multiprocessor motherboards.
45nm process technology.
731M transistors.
Sophisticated power management can place an unused core

in a zero-power mode.

i5 Intel CPU

i5 Intel CPU

64 bit CPU

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) - CPUs

CPU - Cyrix

Data Transfer Management By CPU

PIO Mode

Interrupt Controller Mode

DMA Mode

PIO

Programmable Input Output Mode

In this mode CPU is responsible for Instruction

processing as well as data transfer

So less performance

More latency

PIC

In computing, a programmable interrupt controller

(PIC) is a device that is used to combine several sources
of interrupt onto one or more CPU lines, while allowing
priority levels to be assigned to its interrupt outputs.

When the device has multiple interrupt outputs to assert,

it will assert them in the order of their relative priority.

DMA

Direct memory access (DMA) is a feature of modern

computers and microprocessors that allows certain
hardware subsystems within the computer to access
system memory for reading and/or writing independently
of the central processing unit.

High performance because data transfer work is done by

DMA controller. CPU is doing only instruction processing
work.

DMA

Power Supply

Power Supply

AC
DC
Brownout
Blackout

or sag

SMPS

A switched-mode power supply (switching-mode

power supply/SMPS, or simply switcher) is an
electronic power supply unit (PSU) that incorporates a
switching regulator in order to provide the required
output voltages (DC).

Output DC Voltages

+3.3 v, +5 v, + 12v, -5v, -12v etc

SMPS

Server

A computer or device on a network that manages

network resources. For example, a file server is a
computer and storage device dedicated to storing files.

A print server is a computer that manages one or more

printers.

A network server is a computer that manages network

traffic.

A database server is a computer system that processes

database queries.

Server

Servers are often dedicated, meaning that they perform

no other tasks besides their server tasks. On
multiprocessing operating systems, however, a single
computer can execute several programs at once.

In the client/server programming model, a server is a

program that awaits and fulfills requests from client
programs in the same or other computers.

Client

A client does not share any of its resources, but requests

a server's content or service function. Clients therefore
initiate communication sessions with servers which await
(listen to) incoming requests.

Tower Model Servers

P- Series Server

Blade Server

A blade server is a stripped down server computer with

a modular design optimized to minimize the use of
physical space and energy.

Blade servers have many components removed to save

space, minimize power consumption and other
considerations, while still having all the functional
components to be considered a computer.

Blade Server

Blade Server

Rack / U Size

Equipment designed to be placed in a rack is typically

described as rack-mount, rack-mount instrument, a
rack mounted system, a rack mount chassis, sub
rack, rack mountable, or occasionally simply shelf.

The height of the electronic modules is also standardized

as multiples of 1.75 inches (4.445 cm) or one rack
unit or "U".

Operating System - OS

An operating system is a program designed to manage

and run hardwares & other programs on a Computer. A
computers operating system is its most important
program. It is considered the backbone of a computer,
managing both software and hardware resources.

Operating systems are responsible for everything from

the control and allocation of memory to recognizing input
from external devices and transmitting output to
computer displays. They also manage files on computer
hard drives and control peripherals, like printers and
scanners.

Software

System Software / Operating System

What is an OS?

CUI OS / GUI OS

Application Software

Utility Software

Software / OS

Software refers to the instructions, or programs, that tell

the hardware what to do. A word-processing program
that you can use to write letters on your computer is a
type of software.

The operating system (OS) is software that manages

your computer and the devices connected to it. Windows
is a well-known operating system.

OS

OS does CPU Management

OS does Memory Management

OS does Hardware Management

OS bridges users with computer

OS gives life to a Computer

Without OS Computer is a Dead Machine

Upon OS only All Application Software's will run

Boot Sequence Win 95

Power ON BIOS POST BSL MBR IO.SYS

SYSINIT

MSDOS.SYS

CONFIG.SYS

AUTOEXEC.BAT COMMAND.COM

Boot Sequence Win XP

Power on BIOS POST BSL MBR NTLDR

BOOT.INI NTDETECT.COM NTOSKRNL.EXE
HAL.DLL SYSTEM REGISTRY WINLOGON.EXE
LSASS.EXE

XP Boot Sequence

First is the POST, this stands for Power On Self Test, for
the computer. This process tests memory as well as a
number of other subsystems. You can usually monitor
this as it runs each test.

After that is complete the system will run POST for any
device that has a BIOS (Basic Input-Output System). An
AGP has its own BIOS, as do some network cards and
various other devices.

XP Boot Sequence

Once the POST is complete and the BIOS is sure that

everything is working properly, the BIOS will then
attempt to read the MBR (Master Boot Record).

This is the first sector of the first hard drive (called the
Master or HD0). When the MBR takes over it means that
Windows is now in control.

XP Boot Sequence

The MBR looks at the BOOT SECTOR (the first sector of

the active partition). That is where NTLDR is located,
NTLDR is the BOOT LOADER for Windows XP.

NTLDR will allow memory addressing, initiate the file

system, read the boot.ini and load the boot menu.

NTLDR has to be in the root of the active partition as do

NTDETECT.COM, BOOT.INI, BOOTSECT.DOS (for
multi-OS booting) and NTBOOTDD.SYS (if you have
SCSI adapters)

XP Boot Sequence

Once XP is selected from the Boot Menu, NTLDR will

run NTDETECT.COM, BOOT.INI and BOOTSECT.DOS
to get the proper OS selected and loaded. The system
starts in 16-bit real mode and then moves into 32-bit
protected mode.

XP Boot Sequence

NTLDR will then load NTOSKRNL.EXE and HAL.DLL.

Effectively, these two files are windows XP. They must
be located in %SystemRoot%System32.

NTLDR reads the registry, chooses a hardware profile

and authorizes device drivers, in that exact order.

At this point NTOSKRNL.EXE takes over. It starts

WINLOGON.EXE that in turn starts LSASS.EXE, this is
the program that display the Logon screen so that you
can logon.

Trouble Shooting

Beep Codes

Error Codes

1xx

System Board errors

2xx

Memory related problem

3xx

Keyboard error

4xx

Monochrome video problem

5xx

Colour video problem

6xx

Floppy disk problem

161

CMOS battery failure

1701

HDD problems

1780

Drive 0 problem

1781

Drive 1 problem

System Slow

Run Defragmentation

Run Disk Cleanup

Clear all temp files, cookies, internet temporary files etc.

If needed increase the RAM

Increase virtual memory size

Run Anti-Virus to clear any virus

System Freezes

Check for RAM issues (clean the RAM pins and re-fix
it)

Check CPU fan

Check for any overloading applications

Check for virus issues

FDD Failures

First, make sure the disk is not write protected. The hole
on the right top corner of a 3.5-inch disk (viewed from
the front) should be closed.

Try another disk.

Try a new (formatted) disk.

Try someone else's disk-one that is known to work on

another computer (first make sure there is no critical
data on the disk).

If two or more disks are unreadable, the drive is suspect;

try going to MS-DOS and reading a directory using the
DIR command.

FDD Failures

Once a FDD is suspected, change the FDD ribbon cable

(34 pins) and verify

Then interchange the power supply pins and check

Check the BOIS settings

Check the suspected drive in a good working computer

and confirm it 100%

Then change the drive itself and verify

HDD Failures

Check BIOS settings

Check Master / slave jumper settings

Change the IDE cable and check

Change the power supply Molex connector and check

Clean the IDE port pins and re-fix the cable

Connect to the other IDE connector and check

Check the HDD in good working system and confirm it

100% before going for replacement

Video Card Problem

Remove the video card clean the pins and slot

Fix it in some other slot and verify

Check the card with a good working system and confirm

RAM Problem

Remove the RAM clean it properly and re-fix it

Fix in other RAM slot and check

Check the RAM with a good working system and confirm
it
Blue dump memory error check recently installed
application or hardwares

Monitor Problem

Check power card issues

Check on-off switch on the Monitor

Disconnect the monitor from VGA card and check for test
signal (RGB flag)

Check with other good working computer and confirm it

Call the Monitor service-Technician and fix the problem

Monitor Problem

Only single colour, different colour check for any

broken VGA connector pins or bend pins in the
connector

Remove the connector re-fix it properly

Change the VGA cable itself and confirm

Change the VGA card and confirm it

Keyboard and Mouse Problem

Keyboard
Check the keyboard is connected to the correct port
Check the keyboard connector pins are in perfect order
Check the keyboard with other good working system and
confirm it
Mouse
Check the mouse is connected to the correct port
Check the mouse connector pins
Check with other good working system and confirm it

Motherboard

Check for all connectors and power supply

connector and cables

Check with other good working system and

confirm it

Trouble Shooting

Network Connectivity Issues

Check NIC card properly fixed or not
Check network cable
Check RJ45 connector and connection

System date and time always changes after re-setting

Change CMOS battery and check

CPU Problem

Check the power supply

Check the CPU fan

Check the CPU with a good working system

Trouble Shooting

No display

Check the Monitor for powered on or not

Check the RAM

Check VGA card

Check VGA card to Monitor connector

Check for proper display settings (correct pixel ratio

and frequency)

Trouble shooting

System not booting

Check bios settings for proper boot device order

Check for OS status

Start the system press F8 and choose last known
good configuration

Select and try with safe mode

Select and try with command prompt only option

Trouble shooting

OS is corrupted not booting

Remove the HDD connect to a good working system

and backup all important data

Try with recovery console mode and repair MBR,

Boot etc

Repair the OS with boot CD

Re-install the OS on some other partition and try to
recover valuable data

Finally if all the options are not working delete all

partitions and freshly install the OS after taking proper
backup

Trouble Shooting

NTLDR / HAL.DLL /NTOSKRNL file missing or corrupted

Copy the required file from good working system and

replace

Virus Issues

First isolate the system from network, so that spreading

the virus to other systems is avoided

Scan the system with proper anti-virus software

Scan the system with up to date anti-virus

Quarantine the infected file, till you can clear the virus

Inform to the vendor to get a proper patch program

If you can not remove the virus, if data are not important
format the drive and re-install the OS as a final option

SMPS

Check with multi-meter for correct output voltages

Unplug all power connectors and short green and black

wires in SMPS to verify, SMPS is functioning properly

Fiber Optics

An optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that

acts as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light
between the two ends of the fiber.

Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic

communications, which permits transmission over longer
distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than
other forms of communication.

Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals

travel along them with less loss and are also immune to
electromagnetic interference.

FO

Optical fiber typically consists of a transparent core

surrounded by a transparent cladding material with a
lower index of refraction. Light is kept in the core by total
internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a
waveguide.

Fibers which support many propagation paths or

transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF),
while those which can only support a single mode are
called single-mode fibers (SMF).

FO

Multi-mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter,

and are used for short-distance communication links and
for applications where high power must be transmitted.
Single-mode fibers are used for most communication
links longer than 1,050 meters (3,440 ft).

FO

Fiber higher bandwidth.

Fiber needs less amplification/repeating. Fiber needs repeaters

every 50 km. Copper every 5 km.

Fiber less affected by electromagnetic interference. But on

downside, easily damaged if bent.

Fiber thinner and lighter: Makes big difference to telephone

company with thousands of cables.

For new routes, fiber cheaper to install.

Massive installed base of copper.

Fiber more expensive, but clearly the future of all cables of more
than a few metres is fiber.

FO

Wireless
Technologies

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is an open wireless technology standard for

exchanging data over short distances (using short
wavelength radio transmissions) from fixed and mobile
devices, creating personal area networks (PANs).

Infrared Technologies

Infrared (IR) light is electromagnetic radiation with a

wavelength between 0.7 and 300 micrometres, Infrared
imaging is used extensively for military and civilian
purposes.

Military
applications
include
target
acquisition,
surveillance, night vision, homing and tracking.

Infrared

Non-military uses include thermal efficiency analysis,

remote temperature sensing, short-ranged wireless
communication, spectroscopy, and weather forecasting.

802.11 Standards

IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards carrying out wireless

local area network (WLAN) computer communication in
the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. They are
created and maintained by the IEEE LAN/MAN
Standards Committee (IEEE 802).

The base current version of the standard is IEEE 802.112007.

802.11a

The 802.11a standard uses the same data link layer

protocol and frame format as the original standard, it
operates in the 5 GHz band with a maximum net data
rate of 54 Mbit/s.

802.11b

802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and

uses the same media access method defined in the
original standard. 802.11b devices suffer interference
from other products operating in the 2.4 GHz band.

Devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range include:

microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices and cordless
telephones.

802.11g

In June 2003, a third modulation standard was ratified:

802.11g. This works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b).
It operates at a maximum physical layer bit rate of 54
Mbit/s.

802.11g hardware is fully backwards compatible with

802.11b hardware. The then-proposed 802.11g standard
was rapidly adopted by consumers starting in January
2003, well before ratification, due to the desire for higher
data rates as well as to reductions in manufacturing
costs.

Wi-Fi Standards

Wireless Security

Wireless security is the prevention of unauthorized

access or damage to computers using wireless
networks.

Wireless networks are very common, both for

organizations and individuals. Many laptop computers
have wireless cards pre-installed. However, wireless
networking has many security issues.

Wireless Security

Hackers have found wireless networks relatively easy to

break into, and even use wireless technology to crack
into wired networks

As a result, it's very important that enterprises define

effective wireless security policies that guard against
unauthorized access to important resources.

Wi-Fi Security

802.11 security - WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy.

This encryption standard was the original encryption standard
for wireless.

WEP is to make wireless networks as secure as wired

networks. Unfortunately, this never happened as flaws were
quickly discovered and exploited.

There are several open source utilities like aircrack-ng, weplab,

WEPCrack, or airsnort that can be used by crackers to break in
by examining packets and looking for patterns in the
encryption.

Wi-Fi Security

WEP has some serious issues. First, it does not deal

with the issue of key management at all. Either the keys
have to be manually given to end users, or they have to
be distributed in some other authentication method.

Since WEP is a shared key system, the AP uses the

same key as all the clients and the clients also share the
same key with each other. A cracker would only have to
compromise the key from a single user, and he would
then know the key for all users.

Wi-Fi Security

In addition to key management, a recently published

paper describes ways in which WEP can actually be
broken. This is due to a weakness in RC4 (40 bit key) as
it is implemented in WEP.

WEP is indeed a broken solution, but it should be used

as it is better than nothing. In addition, higher layer
encryption (SSL, TLS, etc) should be used when
possible.

WPA

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a software/firmware

improvement over WEP. All regular WLAN-equipment
that worked with WEP are able to be simply upgraded
and no new equipment needs to be bought.

WPA is a trimmed-down version of the 802.11i security

standard that was developed by the IEEE 802.11 to
replace WEP.

TKIP

The TKIP encryption algorithm was developed for WPA

to provide improvements to WEP that could be fielded as
firmware upgrades to existing 802.11 devices. This
stands for Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and
the acronym is pronounced as tee-kip. This is part of the
IEEE 802.11i standard.

TKIP implements per-packet key mixing with a rekeying system and also provides a message integrity
check. These avoid the problems of WEP.

WPA2

The newest and most rigorous security to implement into

WLAN's today is the 802.11i. The primary enhancement
over WPA is the inclusion of the AES algorithm as a
mandatory feature.

Both WPA and WPA2 support EAP authentication

methods using RADIUS servers and preshared key
(PSK).

Other Security Measures

Smart cards, USB tokens, and software tokens, these

are all very strong form of security.

When combined with some server software, the

hardware or software card or token will use its internal
identity code combined with a user entered PIN to create
a powerful algorithm that will very frequently generate a
new encryption code.

The server will be time synced to the card or token.

Biometrics

Generally, the study of measurable biological

characteristics is Biometrics. In computer security,
biometrics refers to authentication techniques that rely
on measurable physical characteristics that can be
automatically checked.

face: the analysis of facial characteristics

fingerprint: the
fingerprints

hand geometry: the analysis of the shape of the hand

and the length of the fingers

analysis

of

an

individual

unique

BIO-Metrics

retina: the analysis of the capillary vessels located at the

back of the eye

iris: the analysis of the colored ring that surrounds the

eye pupil

signature: the analysis of the way a person signs his

name.

vein: the analysis of pattern of veins in the back if the

hand and the wrist

voice: the analysis of the tone, pitch, cadence and

frequency of a persons voice.

Hair Pattern

Biometrics

Biometrics

TWO Factor Authentication