Networking etc

Darren's profile! Welcome !PhotosBlogListsMore

Tools

Help

< Previous

November 12

Back to the security & virus side of things a little later, For now will touch on some Hardware fundamentals, Installation & Configuration, then onto operating systems, Installation & configurations, then maybe some networking & last some Configuration & Administration of XP / Vista (altho i HATE vista),,,,

Some of this can be pretty boreing but if you want to learn then read on! Not haveing time on my side it will be in sections!

Components

A typical personal computer consists of more than just the computer itself, additional equiptment called components or peripherals are connected to the computer either external to the main system case or inside it.
External components are seperate devices connected to the main computers case through cables or wireless connections. External components are often called peripherals, The following table describes the typical peripherals attached to a desktop computer:

Case
- The box that holds the internal components and which the external components are connected to, The case encloses the primary components that make the computer work.
Monitor
- The device that displays the images & text generated by the computer so that you can see what it is doing.
Keyboard
- A text input device that allows you to input words or numbers into the computer for storage.
Speakers
- An output device which attaches to the sound card inside you computer, some speakers are built into the computer & some need to be installed, either way they are output devices.
Mouse
- The main input device which allows you to point at graphical elements on the monitor & interact with the computer.
Printer
- The device that prints out text or images on paper.
Scanner
- An input device which allows you to convert pictures or documents to data, this can be stored on or edited by the computer.
Digital Camera
- A device for capturing photos or videos & storeing them on your computer.

Internal Components

Internal components are devices which are installed inside the computers case, these components rely on the computers power supply & connect through the computers cables or electronic connectors within the case. Many times these components provide connectors or slots to the outside of the case for ease of connection for cables or card media, The following table explains some internal components:

CPU
- The "Central Processing Unit" the brains of the computer.

CPU Fan
- A cooling unit used to prevent the device from overheating

CD or DVD drive
- A large capacity removable storage device that can be used to load information into the computer, play audio cd's, play video DVD's, also save information to CD or DVD.
Floppy Drive
- A Smaller device for storage, newer computers today no longer use them.
Network Adaptor
- A device for connecting your computer to a network
Internal Modem
- A device which connects the computer to a phone line, which in turn connects youto the internet.
Power Supply
- A 230v (uk) 110 (other) device which supplys the computer with its electricity source, converting AC voltage to various DC voltages.
Motherboard
- The main circuit board in a computer.
Hard Drive
- The data storage device.

BOIS & CMOS

BIOS

The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a set of software instructions set on a chip on a motherboard.The BOIS instructions enable basic computer functions, such as getting input from the keyboard, mouse, serial ports etc. Without the BIOS your computer would be useles.
AMD, AMI, Award, & Phoenix are some common BIOS manufactures. A motherboard manufacturer selects a BIOS, and integrates it into there design.

Shadowing
At startup, many computers copy the contents of BIOS into a standers memory to improve performance. The technique is called shadowing, because the contents in memory are like a shadow of those in the BIOS chip.

CMOS
CMOS is an area of memory that stores BOIS information. A battery fitted to the motherboard provides power to the CMOS chip so that its contents is maintained when the computer is turned off or unplugged.
CMOS is a type in chip in a way. The acronym stands for complementory metal oxide semiconductor. this type of chip can maintain information without a power supply. The most common use of the CMOS chips are to store BIOS configuration data.

Sidenote If ever you forget your BIOS password or you buy a notebook (laptop) which has a password on it & you didnt get the password from the seller then simply remove the CMOS chip (big watch type battery) from the motherboard for roughly 30 mins to be safe & it will remove the password along with the time / date etc but nothing that cant be set back up.

4:58 PM | Blog it | Computers and Internet

Comments (2)

To add a comment, sign in with your Windows Live ID (if you use Hotmail, Messenger, or Xbox LIVE, you have a Windows Live ID). Sign in

Don't have a Windows Live ID? Sign up

	Darrenwrote: lol erm i donno i have not added anything yet other than the introduction Nov. 16
	caren murtaghwrote: Sorry Darren but nothing appears to have visualised onto my screnn, or is that the message, sincerely Caren Being serious but lol. Nov. 14

Trackbacks

The trackback URL for this entry is:

http://nism-o.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F484BCA9EE782E9!306.trak

Weblogs that reference this entry

None