I Components of a PC:

Basic Principles:
A machine that is used for processing data based on the series of instructions is called a computer. The instruction that is used for manipulating data is known as program. Data, in the context of computing, refers to the symbols representing facts, objects, and ideas.

A computer accepts inputs, processes, stores, and produces data according to the program its running.

Figure 1.2 Input, processing, storage, and output activities of a computer. A typical computer case encloses the main computer components. It comes with a room for a power supply, expansion slots and expansion bays, wires to power up a computer, and IO ports that are connected to a motherboard. It is usually made from steel, aluminum, or plastic. This is also known as the computer case, chassis, box or housing. One important component inside the computer case is the motherboard. This contains slots for expansion cards and it holds parts like central processing unit, random access memory, BIOS, computer buses like PCI, AGP, ISA, and USB. Motherboard is also known as system board.

The component of a computer that interprets instructions and processes data in computer programs are called central processing unit (CPU) or simply processor.

The component that stores data to be accessed in any order is called a random access memory (RAM). It is considered as the main memory or primary storage. It is the working area used for displaying and manipulating data. It is usually in the form of integrated circuits called memory sticks or RAM sticks. The contents of RAM are erased when a computer is shut down.

Another important part that the Input-Output System or Basic to the software run by a computer function is to prepare the machine devices can load, execute, and system. This step is known as boot

motherboard holds is the BIOS (Basic Integrated Operating System). It refers when it is first turned on. Its primary so other programs stored on various assume control of the computer process or booting.

The purpose of boot process is to perform a set of diagnostic test called the power-on self-test (POST). Another purpose of BIOS is to load the operating system from the hard disk to the main memory so that the computer can perform its basic operations. The following are the events in boot process: 1. 2. 3. 4. Power up The power light is illuminated when you turn on the power switch. The power is distributed to the computer circuitry when the computer is tuned on. Start boot program The boot strap program stored in ROM is executed by the microprocessor. A boot strap program is a program that contains the steps in loading and initializing the operating system that the computer performs when it is switched on. Power-on Self-test Diagnostic tests of several important system components are performed by the computer system. Identify peripheral devices The operating system identifies the peripheral devices connected to the computer and it also checks their settings. Load operating system The operating system is copied from the hard disk to the RAM. Check configuration and customization Configuration data is read by the microprocessor and it executes any customized startup routines that are specified by the user.

5. 6.

Computer performing the boot process

Motherboard also contains buses that allow the transfer of data or power between computer components inside a computer or between computers. The types of computer buses available are:

Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) This computer bus is used to attach peripheral devices to a computer motherboard.

32-bit expansion slots

Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) This is used to attach a graphics card to a computers motherboard. It is a highspeed point-to-point channel and is also called Advanced Graphics Port. AGP is slowly being phased out in favor of PCI Express. AGP Slot (topmost)

Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) This bus is standard for IBM compatible computers and is usually phased out.

ISA slots on a motherboard

Universal Serial Bus (USB) It is a serial bus standard for connecting different devices. Type A USB connector Figure 1.14 Type B USB connectors USB 2.0 "trident" logo

Computer case also provides housing for power supply. A power supply is a device or system that supplies electrical energy to an output load or group of output loads. It is also known as Power Supply Unit or PSU.

Power Supply

Different storage controllers are available controlling hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM, and other drives. These storage controllers are:

Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) This is used to attach storage devices like hard disks and CD-ROM. Many synonyms and terms are associated to ATA such as IDE, ATAPI, and UDMA.

Ultra ATA cable

ATA connection sockets on a PC motherboard

Serial ATA (SATA) It is designed to transfer data to and form a hard disk. It is the successor to the ATA.
SATA Ports 7-pin Serial ATA data cable

 Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) It is a standard for transferring data between devices on both internal and external computer buses. It is commonly used for hard disks and tape storage devices. It is also used to connect scanners, printers, CD-ROM drives, CD recorders, and DVD drives.
SCSI terminator SCSI DB25 cable

A graphics adapter or graphics card is another important computer component that is used to handle the display of text, graphics, animation, and videos. It converts visual information into a signal that can be used as input for display medium such as monitors, LCD TV, projectors, etc. Graphics cards are connected into motherboards and sold as expansion cards. Computer system also offers different computer bus which is used to connect the computer to external peripheral devices like printers or scanners. These are:

Parallel Port This is used in connection with a cable to connect separate peripherals in a computer system. In this port, binary information is transferred in parallel. The most common kind of parallel port is a printer port.

Parallel printer port

Serial Port It is a physical interface which transfers information one bi t at a time. This is used to connect devices such as modems, mouse, keyboards, etc. in a computer. Male Serial Port

FireWire It is a personal computer serial bus interface standard which replaced SCSI in many applications. It offers high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data services. It is used commonly in modern digital camcorders and cameras, and iPod.

4-Pin FireWire 400 connector

6-pin FireWire 400 co

Some types of removable media writer are the following:

CD This is the most common type of removable media. It is cheap but fragile. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc Read-only memory. All modern CD-ROM drives can also read audio CDs. The standard CD-ROM has the capacity of 650 or 700 MB.

CD-ROM drive

Compact Disc

DVD It is also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc which is an optical disc storage that is used to store movies. It resembles to compact discs as their physical dimensions are the same. DVDs are encoded in a different format and has a higher capacity than of CDs. DVD-R writing/reading side

Floppy disk It is composed of a ring of thin, flexible magnetic storage medium. It is encased in a square or rectangular plastic wallet. It is read and written by a floppy disk drive.
3 -inch Floppy Disk

Floppy Disk Drive

Hard disk is used to keep data inside the computer for later use. It is considered as an internal storage. A hard disk drive or hard drive is a non-volatile storage device that stores data onto hard disk platters.

Top and Bottom views of a Western Digital hard disk

There is also hardware that can include external components in a computer system. These are:

Input devices Common input devices are keyboard and mouse .

Keyboard

Mouse

Output devices Common output devices are monitor (television-like equipment designed to display digital data), printer (a device that produces a permanent documents), and speakers (used to play more sophisticated sounds on the computer).
Epson inkjet printer

19 inches CRT computer monitor

A typical computer basically has the following parts: Computer system unit Display device Keyboard Mouse Floppy disk drive Hard disk drive CD-ROM or DVD drive CD-writer Speakers and sound card A sound card is a small circuit board which is required for high-quality music, narration, and sound effects. Printer

Modem It is used to connect through the Internet using a standard telephone line.

The major expansion ports found in the back of the computer case are used to connect peripheral devices to the computer. The different expansion ports are: o o o o o o o o o o Power plug socket Keyboard port Mouse port USB port DB-9 serial port Parallel port (printer) Speaker and monitor jacks Monitor port Modem port Network port

The cable supplied with a peripheral device connected to the computer system through the expansion slot. You can figure out where to connect it by matching the shape of the cable connector to the port. The different computer cables and connectors are shown in the table:

is