9

Information and Communications Technology

Learner’s Material
Computer Hardware Servicing

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COMPUTER SYSTEM, DEVICES AND PERIPHERALS

As an aspiring computer technician, it is very important to know the

system that runs your computer and different devices attached to it. Each device
plays an important role, without each other computer system will not work
properly.

What is an Operating System?

The operating system is the most
important program that runs on a computer.
Every general-purpose computer must have an
operating system to run other programs.
Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as
recognizing input from the keyboard, sending
output to the display screen, keeping track of
files and directories on the disk, and controlling
peripheral devices such as disk drives and
printers.
For large systems, the operating system
has even greater responsibilities and powers. It
is like a
traffic cop -- it makes sure that different program and users running at the same
time do not interfere with each other. The operating system is also
responsible for security, ensuring that unauthorized users do not access the
system.

Operating systems can be classified as follows:

o Multi-user: Allows two or more users to run programs at the same

time. Some operating systems permit hundreds or even thousands of
concurrent users.
Linu
x
Unix
Windows 2000
o Multiprocessing : Supports running a program on more than one
CPU. Linux
Unix
Windows 2000
 o Multitasking : Allows more than one program to run
concurrently. Unix
Windows 2000 and Windows multi point
o Multithreading : Allows different parts of a single program to

run concurrently.
Linu
x
Unix
Windows 2000 and Windows 7

o Real time: Responds to input instantly. General-purpose

operating systems, such as DOS and UNIX, are not real-time.

Operating systems provide a software platform on which

other application programs can run. The application programs must be written
to run on top of a particular operating system. Your choice of operating system,
therefore, determines to a great extent the applications you can run. For PCs, the
most popular operating systems are DOS, OS/2, and Windows, but others are
available, such as Linux.
What are the devices of a computer?

The physical, touchable, electronic and mechanical parts of a computer

are called the hardware which is composed of different devices attached to the
computer.

The following list represents a basic set of devices found in most Personal
Computers.

1. System Unit- The main part of a microcomputer, sometimes called the

chassis. It includes the following parts: Motherboard, Microprocessor, Memory
Chips, Buses, Ports, Expansion Slots and Cards.

Figure4. Tower Type System Unit

2. Motherboard / Mainboard / System Board- The main circuit
board of a computer. It contains all the circuits and components that
run the computer.

Figure5. Modern Motherboard

3. CPU (Central Processing Unit) - The processor is the main “brain” or

“heart” of a computer system. It performs all of the instructions and
calculations that are needed and manages the flow of information through a
computer.

Figure6. Examples of CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo and AMD Athlon)

4. Primary storage- (internal storage, main memory or memory) is the

computer's working storage space that holds data, instructions for processing
and processed data (information) waiting to be sent to secondary storage.
Physically, primary storage is a collection of RAM chips.
 Two (2) Types of Memory

a. ROM – (Read Only Memory) ROM is non-volatile, meaning it holds

data even when the power is ON or OFF.
b. RAM – (Random Access Memory) RAM is volatile, meaning it holds
data only when the power is on. When the power is off, RAM's contents
are lost.

Figure 7.Examples of RAM

5. Expansion Bus - A bus is a data pathway between

several hardware components inside or outside a
computer. It does not only connect the parts of the
CPU to each other, but also links the CPU with other
important hardware.

Figure 8.Expansion Bus

6. Adapters- Printed-circuit boards (also called

interface cards) that enable the computer to use a
peripheral device for which it does not have the
 necessary connections or circuit boards. They are
often used to permit upgrading to a new different
hardware.

Figure 9. Adapter (Network Adapter)

 7. Power Supply Unit (PSU) - Installed in the back
corner of the PC case, next to the motherboard. It
converts 120vac (standard house power) into DC
voltages that are used by other components in the PC.

Figure10. Power supply

8. Hard Disk Drive (HDD) - Also known as hard

drive, is a magnetic storage device that is installed
inside the computer. The hard drive is used as
permanent storage for data. In a Windows
computer, the hard drive is usually configured as
the C: drive and contains the operating system and
applications.

Figure 11.Hard Disc

9. Optical Drive- An optical drive is a storage

device that uses lasers to read data on the optical
media. There are three types of optical drives:
Compact Disc (CD), Digital Versatile Disc
(DVD) and Blu-ray Disc (BD).

Figure12. CD ROM

10. Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) -

Designed to optically access data stored on a
DVD. A laser moves back and forth near the
disk surface and accesses data at a very fast
rate.
 Figure 13.DVD ROM

What are the input and output devices of a computer?

The devices attached to a personal computer can be classified into two-

the input and output devices. Input Device is composed of a device that accepts
data and instructions from the user or from another computer system.
While, output
device is any piece of computer hardware that displays results after the
computer has processed the input data that has been entered.

Two (2) Types of Input Devices

1. Keyboard Entry – Data is inputted to the computer through a keyboard.

Keyboard - The first input device developed for the PC. Data is
transferred to the PC over a short cable with a circular 6-pin Mini-din
connector that plugs into the back of the motherboard.

Figure14. Keyboard

2. Direct Entry – A form of input that does not require data to be keyed by
someone sitting at a keyboard. Direct-entry devices create machine-readable
data on paper, or magnetic media, or feed it directly into the computer’s CPU.

Three Categories of Direct Entry Devices

1. Pointing Devices - An input device used to move

the pointer (cursor) on screen.
 Mouse - The most common 'pointing device'
used in PCs. Every mouse has two buttons and
most have one or two scroll wheels.

Figure15. Mouse

 Touch screen- A display screen that is sensitive to the touch of a

finger or stylus. Used in myriad applications, including ATM
machines, retail point- of-sale terminals, car navigation and industrial
controls. The touch screen became wildly popular for smart phones
and tablets.
Figure16. Touch Screen Devices
  Light Pen - A light-sensitive stylus wired to a video terminal used to
draw pictures or select menu options. The user brings the pen to the
desired point on screen and presses the pen button to make contact.

F
i

Figure17. Light Pen

 Digitizer Tablet - A graphics drawing tablet used for sketching new

images or tracing old ones. Also called a "graphics tablet," the user
contacts the surface of the device with a wired or wireless pen or puck.
Often mistakenly called a mouse, the puck is officially the "tablet
cursor."

Figure18. Digitizer Tablet

2. Scanning Devices- A device that can read text

or illustrations printed on paper and translates the
information into a form the computer can use.

Figure19. Image scanner

Figure20. Bar Code Reader
3. Voice- Input Devices - Audio input devices also known as speech or voice
recognition systems that allow a user to send audio signals to a computer for
processing, recording, or carrying out commands. Audio input devices such as
microphones allow users to speak to the computer in order to record a voice

message or navigate software.

Figure 21. Microphones

Output Devices

1. Computer Display Monitor- It displays information in visual form, using

text and graphics. The portion of the monitor that displays the information
is called the screen or video display terminal.

Types of Monitor
a. CRT Monitors - Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT) were the only type of displays
for use with desktop PCs. They are relatively big (14" to 16" deep) and
heavy (over 15 lbs).

Figure22. Types of Monitor

b. LCD Monitors – Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology has been used in
laptops for some time. It has recently been made commercially available as
monitors for desktop PCs.
c. LED Monitors (Light Emitting Diode) - A display and lighting technology
used in almost every electrical and electronic product on the market, from a
tiny on/off light to digital readouts, flashlights, traffic lights and perimeter
lighting.

2. LCD Projectors- utilize two sheets of polarizing

material with a liquid crystal solution between
them. An electric current passed through the liquid
causes the crystals to align so that light cannot pass
through them. Each crystal, therefore, is like a
shutter, either allowing light to pass through or
blocking the light.

FFigure23. LCD Projector

3. Smart Board - A type of display screen that has a touch sensitive

transparent panel covering the screen, which is similar to a touch screen.

Figure24. Smart Board

4. Printer - A device that prints text or illustrations on paper.

Types of printer

a) Ink-Jet or Bubble-Jet Printer - spays ink at a sheet of paper. Ink-jet

printers produce high-quality text and graphics.

b) Laser Printer - Uses the same technology as copy machines. Laser printers
produce very high quality text and graphics.
c) LCD and LED Printer- Similar to a laser printer, but uses liquid crystals
or light- emitting diodes rather than a laser to produce an image on the
drum.

d) Line Printer - Contains a chain of characters or pins that print an entire

line at one time. Line printers are very fast, but produce low-quality print.
 Figure 28.Types of Printer

(e) Thermal Printer- An inexpensive printer that works by pushing heated pins
against heat-sensitive paper. Thermal printers are widely used in calculators
and fax machines.

5. Speakers - Used to play sound. They may be built

into the system unit or connected with cables.
Speakers allow you to listen to music and hear sound
effects from your computer.

Figure 29.Speaker

What is a Storage Device?

Aside from the devices attached on a PC, there are also the so called
storage devices that perform a special task in computing system. Storage device
is any apparatus for recording computer data in a permanent or semi-permanent
form.
 Figure 30.Storage Devices

Types of storage devices

Floppy diskette- is a random access, removable data storage medium that can
be used with personal computers. The term usually refers to the magnetic
medium housed in a rigid plastic cartridge measuring 3.5 inches square and
about 2millimeters thick. Also called a "3.5-inch diskette," it can store up to
1.44 megabytes (MB) of data.

Compact disc (CD) – also called optical disc is a nonmagnetic, polished metal
disk used to store digital information. The disc is read by the CD- ROM.

Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)- an optical disc technology with a 4.7 gigabyte
storage capacity on a single-sided, one-layered disk, which is enough for a 133-
minute movie.

Jump drive and USB flash drive- is a plug-and-play portable storage device
that uses flash memory and is lightweight enough to attach to a key chain. A
USB drive can be used in place of a floppy disk, Zip drive disk, or CD.

Hard drive- is the main, and usually largest, data storage device in a
computer. The operating system, software titles and most other files are stored
in the hard disk drive.
 LS-120- is a drive which supports a special floppy
diskette which can store up to 120MB of information
as well as being backwards compatible and still
supporting the standard 1.44MB floppy diskettes.

Zip drive-is a small, portable disk drive used

primarily for backing up and archiving personal
computer files.

Direction: In the puzzle below, look for the 1