“Bring Minds Together – Bridge the Gap”

Module Two – Hardware and Operating Systems

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AGENDA
• Module Overview
• The Computer
• Hardware
• Motherboards, Processors, and Memory
• Storage Devices and Power Supplies
• Peripherals and Expansions
• Display Devices
• Understanding Laptops and Mobile Devices
• Operating Systems
• Operating System Basics
• Types of Operating Systems
• Mobile Operating Systems

• Career Path in Hardware and Operating Systems Support

• CompTIA + Certification | Apple Certified Macintosh Technician | BICSI Technician | Google IT
Support
• Module level summary

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 MODULE OVERVIEW
• Computers are no longer optional or good to have product rather they are integrated in
our day to day life. 3 - 4 Billion people in the world use a form of hardware devices
(mobile device, laptop, desktop, etc.)
• Millions of Professionals are now engaged in designing, assembling, installing,
configuring, and supporting different types of hardware. From a desktop to heavy duty
servers; from calculator to ATM machines; from cash registers, to refrigerators; from car to
aircraft and satellites all are forms of hardware and software.
• So what are the definition of hardware and operating systems?
• Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as
the case,[central processing unit (CPU), monitor, mouse, keyboard, data
storage, graphics card, sound card, speakers and motherboard.
• Operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer
hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer
programs.
This module provides a high-level description of the various components of hardware and
operation system as well sharing information on the possible career path for professionals
interested to join this field.

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Course Roadmap

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 The Visible Computer

• Describe how computing devices work

• Identify common connectors and devices on typical computer
systems
• Discuss features common to operating system software
• General purpose computing
• • Apple Mac • Apple iPad • Smartphone • Laptop
• Pocket calculator | Digital watch | Digital clock | Wi-Fi picture
frame | Basic mobile phone | Xbox One X | GPS device
(Global Positioning System, the device that helps drivers figure
out how to get where they need to go) | Roku | Point of sale
(POS) system | Digital Camera | Modern refrigerators | Every
automobile built since 1995 |Airplanes | Boats | Mall lighting
systems | Zambonis | Home security alarms

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Motherboards, Processors, & Memory
• Identifying Components of Motherboards
• System Board Form Factors
• System Board Components

• Purpose and Characteristics of Processors

• Purpose and Characteristics of Memory
• Types of Memory
• Memory Packaging

• Cooling System

• Fans | Memory Cooling |Hard Drive Cooling |

Chipset Cooling | CPU Cooling

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Motherboards
• The motherboard provides the foundation for the personal computer.
• Every piece of hardware, from the CPU to the lowliest expansion card, directly
or indirectly plugs into the motherboard.
• The motherboard contains the wires called traces that make up the buses of
the system.
• Modern motherboards are layered printed circuit boards (PCBs), copper
etched onto a nonconductive material and then coated with some sort of epoxy
for strength.
• Three variable and interrelated characteristics define modern motherboards:
form factor, chipset, and components.
• The form factor determines the physical size of the motherboard as well
as the general location of components and ports.
• The chipset defines the type of processor and RAM the motherboard
requires and determines to a degree the built-in devices the motherboard
supports, including the expansion slots.
• The built-in components determine the core functionality of the system.
• Almost all chipsets used in desktops and laptops are made by either Intel or
AMD.
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 Motherboards – Expansion Bus
• Expansion slots have been part of the PC from the very
beginning.
• IBM created the PC with an eye to the future; the original IBM
PC had slots built into the motherboard—called expansion
Expansion Slots Connecting to CPU slots—for adding expansion cards and thus new functions to
the PC.
• The slots and accompanying wires and support chips on the
first PC and on the latest and greatest PC are called the
expansion bus.
Expansion Slots Connecting to chipset • Many systems have more than one type of expansion bus, with
slots of one type connecting to the CPU and slots of another
type connecting to the chipset
• If you plug a hard drive controller card into an expansion slot, it
functions just as if it were built into the motherboard,
Expansion Slots Connecting to both CPU & Chipset

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Central Processing Unit (CPU)

• The central processing unit (CPU), also called the

microprocessor, is a single silicon-based electronic chip that
makes computer, a computer.
• Desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, even tiny
computers in a smartwatch or a washing machine have a CPU.
• CPU makers name their microprocessors in a fashion similar to
the automobile industry: CPUs get a make and a model, such
as Intel Core i9, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, or AMD Ryzen 7.
• Today’s CPUs add, subtract, multiply, divide, and move billions
of numbers per second.

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 Central Processing Unit (CPU) - Clock
• Clock refers to a microchip that regulates the timing and speed of
all computer functions.
• In the chip is a crystal that vibrates at a specific frequency when
electricity is applied. The shortest time any computer is capable of
performing is one clock, or one vibration of the clock chip
• The speed of a computer processor is measured in clock speed,
for example, 1 MHz is one million cycles, or vibrations, a second.
2 GHz is two billion cycles, or vibrations, a second.
• For the CPU to process a command, a certain minimum voltage
must be applied to the CLK wire. A single charge to the CLK wire
is called a clock cycle. The CPU requires at least two clock cycles
to act on a command, and usually more.
Clock speed printed on a CPU (3.30GHZ)
• The maximum number of clock cycles that a CPU can handle in a
given period of time is referred to as its clock speed. The clock
speed is the fastest speed at which a CPU can operate,
determined by the CPU manufacturer.
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 Memory
Two major types of memory
Primary memory includes ROM and RAM, and is located
close to the CPU on the computer motherboard
• They enable the CPU to read data from primary
memory very quickly.
• Used to store data that the CPU needs imminently so
that it does not have to wait for it to be delivered.
Secondary memory
• In contrast to primary memory, it is physically located
within a separate storage device, such as a hard disk
drive or solid state drive (SSD), which is connected to
the computer system either directly or over a network.
• The cost per gigabyte of secondary memory is much
Source: Enterprise Storage Forum lower, but the read and write speeds are significantly
slower.
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Primary Memory - RAM
• The acronym RAM stems from the fact that data stored in random access
memory can be accessed – as the name suggests – in any random order.
Any random bit of data can be accessed just as quickly as any other bit.
• RAM memory is very fast, it can be written to as well as read
• It is volatile (so all data stored in RAM memory is lost when it loses power)
• It is very expensive compared to all types of secondary memory in terms
of cost per gigabyte.
• It is because of the relative high cost of RAM compared to secondary
memory types that most computer systems use both primary and
secondary memory.
• Data that is required for imminent processing is moved to RAM where it
can be accessed and modified very quickly, so that the CPU is not kept
waiting.
• When the data is no longer required it is shunted out to slower but
cheaper secondary memory, and the RAM space that has been freed up
is filled with the next chunk of data that is about to be used.

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Primary Memory - RAM (cont’d)
Types of RAM
DRAM: DRAM stands for Dynamic RAM, and it is the most common
type of RAM used in computers.
• The oldest type is known as single data rate (SDR) DRAM, but newer
computers use faster dual data rate (DDR) DRAM. DDR comes in
several versions including DDR2 , DDR3, and DDR4, which offer
better performance and are more energy efficient than DDR.
• However different versions are incompatible, so it is not possible to
mix DDR2 with DDR3 DRAM in a computer system. DRAM consists of
a transistor and a capacitor in each cell.
SRAM: SRAM stands for Static RAM, and it is a particular type of RAM
which is faster than DRAM,
More expensive and bulker, having six transistors in each cell.
For those reasons SRAM is generally only used as a data cache within a
CPU itself or as RAM in very high-end server systems.
A small SRAM cache of the most imminently-needed data can result in
significant speed improvements in a system

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Primary Memory - ROM
• ROM stands for read-only memory, and the name stems from the fact
that while data can be read from this type of computer memory, data
cannot normally be written to it.
• It is a very fast type of computer memory which is usually installed
close to the CPU on the motherboard.
• Non-volatile memory, which means that the data stored in ROM
persists in the memory even when it receives no power (when the
computer is turned off).
• Similar to secondary memory, which is used for long term storage.
• When a computer is turned on, the CPU can begin reading information
stored in ROM without the need for drivers or other complex software
to help it communicate.
• The ROM usually contains "bootstrap code" which is the basic set of
instructions a computer needs to carry out to become aware of the
operating system stored in secondary memory, and to load parts of the
operating system into primary memory so that it can start up and
become ready to use.

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Primary Memory – ROM (cont’d)
Types of ROM
ROM is available in several different types, including PROM, EPROM, and
EEPROM.
• PROM PROM stands for Programmable Read-Only Memory, and it is different
from true ROM in that while a ROM is programmed (i.e. has data written to it)
during the manufacturing process, a PROM is manufactured in an empty state
and then programmed later using a PROM programmer or burner.
• EPROM EPROM stands for Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, and
as the name suggests, data stored in an EPROM can be erased and the
EPROM reprogrammed. Erasing an EPROM involves removing it from the
computer and exposing it to ultraviolet light before re-burning it.
• EEPROM EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only
Memory, and the distinction between EPROM and EEPROM is that the latter
can be erased and written to by the computer system it is installed in. In that
sense EEPROM is not strictly read-only. However in many cases the write
process is slow, so it is normally only done to update program code such as
firmware or BIOS code on an occasional basis

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 Primary Memory

144-pin Micro-DIMM

DDR SDRAM

A (168-pin) DIMM above a (144-pin) SO-DIMM

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 Difference Between RAM and ROM
• ROM
• Non-volatile
• Fast to read
• Usually used in small quantities
• Cannot be written to quickly
• Used to store boot instructions or firmware
144-pin Micro-DIMM • Relatively expensive per megabyte stored
compared to RAM
• RAM
• Volatile
• Fast to read and write
DDR SDRAM • Used as system memory to store data
(including program code) that the CPU needs
to process imminently
• Relatively cheap per megabyte stored
compared to ROM, but relatively expensive
compared to secondary memory

A (168-pin) DIMM above a (144-pin) SO-DIMM

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 Secondary Memory
Secondary memory comprises many different storage
media which can be directly attached to a computer
system. These include:
• Hard Disc Drives
• Optical (CD or DVD) Drives
• Tape Drives
• Storage Arrays
Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Network Attached Storages

• Source: Enterprise Storage Forum

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Mass Storage Technologies
Hard drives come in two major types: the traditional type with moving parts; and a newer, more expensive
technology with no moving parts.
Magnetic Hard Drive

• A traditional hard disk drive (HDD) is composed of individual disks, or platters, with read/write heads on actuator
arms controlled by a servo motor—all contained in a sealed case that prevents contamination by outside air
Solid State Drive (SSD)
• solid-state technology and devices are based on the combination of semiconductors and transistors used to create electrical
components with no moving parts.

• SSDs use flash memory chips to store data instead of all those pesky metal spinning parts used in platter-based hard drives

• Solid-state technology is commonly used in desktop and laptop hard drives, memory cards, cameras, USB thumb drives, and other
handheld devices.

Hybrid Hard Drives

• hybrid hard drives (HHDs), drives that combine flash memory and spinning platters to provide fast and reliable
storage.

• Apple computers can use a Fusion Drive, which offers the same concept as a hybrid hard drive. The Fusion
Drive separates the hard drive and SSD; macOS does all the work about deciding what should go in the SSD.

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Power Supplies
• The power supply in a computer converts high-voltage AC power
from the wall socket to low-voltage DC.

• The power supply connects to the power cord (and thus to an

electrical outlet) via a standard IEC-320 connector.

• Most of the rest of the world uses 220–240 VAC, so power supplies
are available with dual-voltage options, making them compatible
with either standard.

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Peripherals
The core elements of a computer are the central processing unit, power
supply, motherboard and the computer case that contains those three
components. A computer peripheral is a device that is connected to a
computer but is not part of the core computer architecture.
Three types of Peripheral Devices
• Input Devices (Mouse and keyboard)
• Mouse | Touchpad | Keyboard | Scanner | Barcode Reader | Gamepads and
Joystics | Motion Sensor | Smart Card Readers | Multimedia Input Devices
• Output Devices (monitor and Printer)

• Input and Output Devices (Touchscreens |KVM Switch | Smart TV )

• Storage Devices (hard or flash disc)

Peripheral Devices can Be

• External – Device connected using a cable (printer, scanner)
• Internal – Located inside the computer base (optical disc drive). Also called integrated
peripherals

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Printer and Print Technology
• Toner-based printers
• A laser printer rapidly produces high quality text and graphics. As with digital photocopiers and
multifunction printers (MFPs), laser printers employ a xerographic printing process but differ from
analog photocopiers in that the image is produced by the direct scanning of a laser beam across
the printer's photoreceptor.
• Liquid inkjet printers
• Inkjet printers operate by propelling variably sized droplets of liquid ink onto almost any sized page. They
are the most common type of computer printer used by consumers

• Solid ink printers

• Solid ink printers, also known as phase-change ink or hot-melt ink printers, are a type of thermal transfer
printer, graphics sheet printer or 3D printer

• Dye-sublimation printers
A dye-sublimation printer (or dye-sub printer) is a printer that employs a printing process that uses
heat to transfer dye to a medium such as a plastic card, paper, or canvas.

• Thermal printers
Thermal printers work by selectively heating regions of the special heat-sensitive paper. Monochrome
thermal printers are used in cash registers, ATMs, gasoline dispensers and some older inexpensive
fax machines

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Display and Display Technology
Display technology went through evolution. The following are major components
of the display technology
• CRT Technology – Out of market
• CRT stands for "cathode ray tube," which is essentially a large vacuum tube,
which is why CRT TVs are so big and heavy
• To display images, a CRT TV employs an electron beam that scans rows of
phosphors, line by line, to produce an image
• DLP Technology (digital light processing)
• Available on old video projects. the digital micro-mirror device (DMD), a chip
made up of tiny tilted mirrors. Every pixel on a DMD chip is a reflective mirror so
small that millions of them can be placed on a chip.
• Plasma Technology
• The first TV to have a thin, flat, hang-on wall. Similar to a CRT TV, a plasma TV
produces images by lighting phosphors. However, the phosphors are not lit by a
scanning electron beam. Instead, the phosphors in a plasma TV are lit by
superheated charged gas, similar to fluorescent light

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Display and Display Technology
• LCD Technology
• The most common type of TV available. However, instead of lighting up
phosphors, the pixels are merely turned off or on at a specific refresh rate. the
entire image is displayed (or refreshed) every 24th, 30th, 60th, or 120th of a
second

• OLED Technology:
• The newest TV technology available. Used in phones, tablets, and other
small-screen applications and now for large screen applications
• OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode. To keep it simple, the screen
is made of pixel-sized, organically based elements. OLED has some
characteristics of both LCD and plasma TVs.
• Micro LED
• The latest technology

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Operating Systems
• Over the past decades several operations systems
were developed to support both low-end OEM
devices and mainstream market.
• PC (Windows and MacOS)
• Mobile (Android and iOS)
• Servers Unix, Linux, and Windows
• Companies are now developing their own operating
systems. Promising OS coming up includes
• Samsung – Tizen
• Google discussing Fuchsia OS
• Huawei’s engine HarmonyOS
• Amazon’s Andriod version FireOS
• Facebook is considering its own OS

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 Operating Systems - UNIX

• The history of Unix is dated back to 1960s to a

joint project (Multics) between MIT, AT&T Bell
Labs, and General Electric . In 1979 Bell Labs came
up with the first version of Unix

• From 1990 – 2010 Unix has dominated the heavy

processing operating system share until Linux and
Windows started taking market share.

• There were several flavors of Unix

BSD | IBM –AIX | Celdera | DEC | Free BSD | HP-UX |
Solaris

• Since the creation of Linux, the market share for UNIX

went down

Source:

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 Operating Systems - Linux
• Linux began in 1991 as a personal project by a student from Finland (Linus
Torvalds)
Debian
• He used the Unix Kernel and Windows Graphical User Interface to build his
operating system. He then called it Freax but his. When he uploaded his file to
the FTP server to share the server admin changed the name to Linux and the
name remained Linux.
• This was the first of few open source products release in early 1990. From a few
Ubantu
hundreds lines of codes in 1990s the operating system grew to 23.4 million lines
of source codes without comments
• This operating system is now being used by thousands of organizations including
the US federal government to run critical businesses
Mint • Currently Over 10 Linux Operation System are available
• Debian | Gentoo | Ubantu | Linux Mint | Red Hat Enterprise | CentOS |
Fedora | Kail Linux | Arch Linux | Open SUSE
Source: https://www.tecmint.com/linux-distro-for-power-users/

Red Hat

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Operating Systems - Windows
• According to Statista’s 2020 report Windows became and stayed a dominating presence in the
desktop operating system market since it’s debut in 1985.
• Despite slight loss in market share in recent years, Windows operating system remains the
frontrunner with a towering share of 77.74 percent, with Apple’s macOS trailing as a distant second.
• Since the release of Windows 1.0 in 1985, the operating system has undergone many changes and
updates. Major versions include Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and the most recent
Windows 10, which after its release in 2014 has become the most popular Windows operating system
on desktop PCs.
• There is also the Windows Server family for server computers and a specialized version of Windows
that runs on the Xbox One video game console.
• Ms-DOS |Windows 1 – 3.1 | Windows 95 | Windows 98 | Windows ME | Windows NT | Windows 2000
| Windows XP | Windows Vista | Windows 7, 8 , 10 | Windows Home Server | Windows CE | Windows
Mobile | Windows Phone 7-10
•

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Operating Systems - MacOS
Apple Mac OSX was first introduced in September 2000

• Version of the OS
• MacOS 10.15 Catallna – 2019 | MacOS 10.14: Mojave- 2018 | MacOS 10.13: High
Sierra- 2017 | MacOS 10.12: Sierra- 2016 | OS X 10.11: El Capitan- 2015 | OS X
10.10: Yosemite-2014 | OS X 10.9 Mavericks-2013 | OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion-
2012 | OS X 10.7 Lion- 2011 | OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard- 2009 | OS X 10.5
Leopard- 2007 | OS X 10.4 Tiger (Merlot) - 29 April 2005 | OS X 10.3 Panther
(Pinot) - 24 October 2003 | OS X 10.2: Jaguar - 24 August 2002 | OS X 10.1: Puma
- 25 September 2001 | OS X 10.0: Cheetah - 24 March 2001 | OS X 10 beta:
Kodiak - 13 September 2000

• Mac OS X is built on a Unix core based on the Berkeley Software

Distribution (BSD) version of Unix.

• Mac OS has a protected memory, automatic memory management,

preemptive multitasking, and advanced virtual memory

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Operating Systems – Mobile – Smart Phones
The rise of the smartphone
Despite its preeminence in the desktop operating system market, Windows’ presence
in the mobile operating system market is far from satisfying. Google’s Android system is
the leader in this market and Windows’ share stood at a mere 0.13 percent as of
December 2019. Due to the popularity of smartphones over desktops, Android also
comes out as the winner in the overall operating system market.

The touchscreen smartphone revolution started around 2010

• The leading smartphone vendors today are Samsung, Apple, and Huawei
• Taken together the three technology companies account for about half of all
smartphone shipments worldwide
• The number of users has already reached 3 billion, and this figure is only expected
to climb over the next few years.
• China, India, and the United States are the countries with the highest number of
smartphone users, with these countries alone accounting or 1.46 billion users.

• 2020 Market share (Samsung 21.2%, Apple – 14.3%, Huawei – 10%

• As of September 2020 2.7 million apps are available for Android and 1.82 million
apps for iOS (source: Statista.com)

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Operating Systems – Mobile - Andriod
• Android is the mobile operating systems’ market
leader worldwide. Since its initial unveiling in 2007
• Android maintained its position as the leading mobile
operating system worldwide in July 2020, controlling the
mobile OS market with a 74.6 percent share.
• Its source code is freely available which allows smartphone
manufacturers to install the software without having to pay
a license.

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Operating Systems – Mobile - iOS
• Apple released its first-generation iPhone ins 2007. The
iOS has since been extended to support other Apple
devices such as the iPod Touch (September 2007) and
the iPad (January 2010).

• As of March 2018, Apple's App Store contains more than

2.1 million iOS applications, 1 million of which are native for
iPads. These mobile apps have collectively been
downloaded more than 130 billion times.

• In 2020 Apple holds a 17 percent share of the global

smartphone sales market,

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Career Path in Hardware and Operating Systems Support
• Currently many professionals with certifications in
various hardware and operating systems support
the IT industry.
• If you have interest in pursuing career in this area
below are a few certification paths you may want to
consider
• CompTIA + Certification | Apple Certified Macintosh
Technician | BICSI Technician | Google IT Support

• Most exam vendors are now offering their

certification exams online.

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