: An Institute for All Competitive Exams

COMPUTER AWARENESS

BASICS OF COMPUTERS
GENERATION OF COMPUTERS
CPU & ITS PARTS
SHORT NOTES
MCQ Questions

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COMPUTER
BASICS:
A computer is an electronic device that executes the instructions in a program. (or simply performs Mathematical Calculations.)
A computer has four main functions:
It accepts data (Taking Input).
Then it processes the input data.
Produces output.
Stores Results.

History of Computers: Generations

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes.
Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors.
Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits.
Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors.
Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence. Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial
intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today.
The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and
molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come.

Inside the CPU of a Computer.

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Figure below shows the complete Computer Unit:

Input and Output device and Storage devices of a Computer:

RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks

Memory Button - Small storage devices about the size of a dime that look like watch batteries. They hold about 8 Kbytes of
information.
Smart Card - About the same size as a credit card and contain a small microprocessor capable of storing data. They hold about 1 to 8
Kbytes of information.
Optical Memory Cards - About the same size as a credit card that can store up to 4.1 Mbytes of digitized text or images using a laser
beam.
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Computer Hardware Sound and Video Cards
Hard Drive They are Output Devices. They contain special circuits that
Motherboard allow your computer to play sounds and display graphics on your
monitor.
Sound Card and Video Card
Memory Card
Power Supply
NIC Card
BIOS

Hard Disk Drive

The Hard Disk Drive is a magnetic storage device. All the
computer programs and files you create and save are located there. Memory Card
This is permanent storage (at least until you uninstall software or Random Access Memory
delete a file). The hard drive is normally signified by the drive
letter “C”. Today’s hard drives can store a HUGE amount of Memory Card:
information. A new computer might have a hard drive that will When a computer processes information, it uses software
hold 320 GB’s. programs. Each program requires a certain amount of electronic
memory, or RAM (Random Access Memory) to run correctly.
RAM is temporary memory. The computer holds information in
this memory and gets it when it needs it.
If a computer has more RAM, it can solve problems and process
information faster. If you’re updating your computer, more RAM
is a great thing to add.

Motherboard
Your computer couldn’t work without the motherboard. It ties
everything together. It allows every part of your computer to
receive power and communicate with each other. Everything that Note: RAM is Available In 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB.
runs the computer or enhances its performance is either part of the
motherboard or plugs into one of it’s expansion slots or ports. Read-Only Memory
A second kind of computer memory is ROM, which stands for
Read-Only Memory. This memory is permanent. The
information there was put there when the computer was made.
The computer needs the information in it’s ROM memory in order
to function.

Remember one thing RAM is VOLATILE memory and ROM is

NON-VOLATILE memory.

Power Supply
If there is any one component that is absolutely vital to the
operation of a computer, it is the power supply. Without it, a
computer is just a
box full of plastic
and metal. The
Components of Mother Board are:
Microprocessor power supply
System clock converts the
RAM/ROM chips alternating current
Bus connection (AC) line from your
Ports home to the direct
Battery current (DC) needed
Power supply (SMPS) by the computer.
Expansion slots etc. You can see the
power supply from the back of your computer because of the
power cord and the cooling fan.
Computers put out a lot of heat and need the fan to keep them
from overheating
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Network Interface Card 5. Distributed Operating System
A NIC card (Network In a distributed system, software and data maybe distributed
Interface Card) allows your around the system, programs and files maybe stored on different
computer to talk to other storage devices which are located in different geographical
computers. A cable called locations and maybe accessed from different computer terminals.
Cat5 is plugged into the NIC While we are mostly accustomed to seeing multi-tasking and
card and your computer can multi-user operating systems, the other operating systems are
then be attached to a network usually used in companies and firms to power special systems.
and be on the internet.
Examples of OS are: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP,
Note: Another name of LAN is Disk Operating System (DOS), MacOS, UNIX – Linux, NT
NIC. Workstation, Android (latest OS)
Note: New PC tablet AAKASH is based on ANDROID operating
system.

BIOS CHIP
A BIOS chip (Basic Input
Output System) is a very 2. NETWORKS:
important computer component. A Computer Network, often simply referred to as a network, is a
In simple terms, the BIOS chip collection of hardware components and computers interconnected
wakes up the computer when you by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and
turn it on and reminds it what information.
parts it has and what they do. TYPES
LAN - Local Area Network
WAN - Wide Area Network
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network

LAN: Local Area Network

It connects network devices over a relatively short distance.

SHORT NOTES LAN generally found in office building, school, or home.
1. Operating system
An Operating System (OS) is a set of programs that manages
computer hardware resources, and provides common services for
application software. The operating system is the most important
type of system software in a computer system. Without an
operating system, a user cannot run an application program on
their computer, unless the application program is self booting.

Types:
1. Real-time Operating System
A real-time operating system processes inputs simultaneously,
fast enough to affect the next input or process. Real-time systems
are usually used to control complex systems that require a lot of
processing like machinery and industrial systems.
MAN:
2. Single User Operating System Metropolitan Area Network
A single user OS as the name suggests is designed for one user A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a computer network that
to effectively uses a computer at a time. usually spans a
city or a large
3. Multi-Tasking Operating System campus. A
In this type of OS several applications maybe simultaneously MAN usually
loaded and used in the memory. While the processor handles only interconnects a
one application at a particular time it is capable of switching number of
between the applications effectively to apparently simultaneously local area
execute each application. This type of operating system is seen networks
everywhere today and is the most common type of OS, the (LANs) using a
Windows operating system would be an example. high-capacity
backbone
4. Multi-User Operating System technology,
This type of OS allows multiple users to simultaneously use the such as fiber-Optical links, and provides up-link services to wide
system, while here as well, the processor splits its resources and area networks (or WAN) and the Internet.
handles one user at a time, the speed and efficiency at which it
does this makes it apparent that users are simultaneously using the
system, some network systems utilize this kind of operating
system.
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6. STORAGE DEVICES

WAN - Wide Area Network (a) CD: Compact Disk, actually

As the term implies, a WAN spans a large physical distance. The an optical disc used to store
Internet is the largest WAN, spanning the Earth. digital data.
Capacity : 700MB, available in
CD-R (Write Once), CD-RW
(Rewritable)
CD can be plays in VCD player,
CD-ROM, DVD Writer.

(b) DVD: Digital Versatile Disk, is also an optical disc that can
be used for data storage, but storage capacity of DVD is much
larger as compared to CD. DVD could store data including
movies with high video and sound quality.
Capacity: 4.7 GB, available in DVD-R (Write Once), DVD-RW
(Rewritable)
DVDs can be plays in DVD Writer and Blu-Ray Writer.
DVDs are also available in single layer DVD (most commonly
use) and Double Layer (dual layer DVD-which can be write
3. MS OFFICE: from both the sides)
MS Office is a computer Programme or Software that is use to
do various type official work such as making Presentation writing (c) Blu-ray Disc
letter and data entry etc. it ia a combination of ms excel, ms word, It is also an optical disc that can be used for data storage, but
ms power point, ms publisher, etc ms stands for micro soft. storage capacity of Blu-Ray Disc is much larger as compared to
CDs & DVDs.
Various packages available of office are Some times Blu-Ray Disc
MS WORD (FOR TYPING AND LETTER WRITING WORK) is also called as High-
MS EXCEL (SPREADSHEET WIDELY USED IN density optical disc.
ACCOUNTING) Capacity: 25GB (Single
MS POWERPOINT (USED TO MAKE PRESENTATION) Layer) AND 50GB (Dual
Above Three Are Most Widely Used, Others Are Layer)
MS ACCESS Blu-Ray Disk can only
MS OUTLOOK (IN ORDER TO SEND THE MAIL) plays in Blu-Ray
MS GROOVE Writer/Reader. (Infact Blu
MS INFOPATH Ray Writer/Reader can
MS ONE NOTE play both CDs & DVDs)

If we compare the above three storage media, then we found very

4. INTERNET BROWSER surprising facts.
1. BLU- RAY disc has maximum storage capacity.
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, 2. Blu-Ray Disc is also called as High-density optical
presenting, and traversing information resources on the World disc. That means it can store/ record movies and songs in
Wide Web. a high definition and quality. Movies recorded in a blu
Examples: Mozilla firefox, opera, Google chrome, Microsoft ray disk has outstanding picture quality with best sound
Internet Explorer 9, Safari web browser etc. effects as compared to CDs & DVDs.

5. ANTIVIRUS 3. Obviously Blu-Ray disk is costlier as compared to CDs

A VIRUS is program or piece of code that is loaded onto your & DVDs.
4. Blu Ray disk can only run in Blu ray writer/reader.
computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes.
Viruses can also replicate themselves. All computer viruses are Note: If I purchase the CD of any movie, then we can see the cost
manmade. A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and difference, CD cost Rs. 399/-, DVD cost Rs. 1199/- and Blu ray
over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus Disk Costs more than 2000/-. of the same movie.
is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and
bring the system to a halt. An even more dangerous type of virus
is one capable of transmitting itself across networks and bypassing (d) Magnetic Tapes
security systems. It is also a type of storage medium
Now ANTIVIRUS is used to remove virus from the computer. for magnetic recording, made of a thin
Antivirus is actually a protective software designed to defend your magnetizable coating on a long,
computer against malicious software. Malicious software, or narrow strip of plastic.
"malware" includes: viruses, Trojans, keyloggers, hijackers, Surprisingly Magnetic tapes have
dialers, and other code that vandalizes or steals your computer larger storage capacity as compared
contents. to CD, DVD & BLU RAY disk.

Examples of Antivirus: Mac cafee, Nortan, AVG, Symantec,

Avast, Avira, Microtrend, Zone Alarm, Quick Heal etc.
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7. MODEM (Modulator-Demodulator) 8. PRINTERS

A Modem is a device or program that enables a computer to Printer is nothing but an outpu device that produces print outs.
transmit data over, telephone or cable lines. Printer is actually a device that accepts text and graphic output
Computer information is stored digitally, whereas information from a computer and transfers the information to paper, usually to
transmitted over telephone lines is transmitted in the form of standard size sheets of paper.
analog waves. A modem converts between these two forms. Resolution: Printer resolution (the sharpness of text and images

on paper) is usually measured in dots per inch (dpi).

MODEM

9. Email:
Email is electronic mail. Using electronic mail (email) a person can engage in conversations with people all over the world. Yet,
because of its convenience, it is also a powerful tool for even local communication.
To send an email message to someone you must know his/her email address. An email address is made up of three parts. The user's ID
(or username), which comes before an @ sign, the @ sign itself, and the name of the computer where the user receives email. Each
computer connected to the Internet has its own unique address. Because of these unique addresses, email can be delivered clear across the
world through the Internet.
e.g. [email protected]
Email spam, also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email (UBE), is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent
to numerous recipients by email. Spam can be removed by either directly deleting the file or use ANTI SPAM software. Spam may
contain virus.

10. PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)

Typical PDA can function as a cellular phone, fax sender, Web browser and personal organizer. Unlike
portable computers, most PDAs began as pen-based, using a stylus rather than a keyboard for input. This
means that they also incorporated handwriting recognition features. Some PDAs can also react to voice
input by using voice recognition technologies. PDAs of today are available in either a stylus or keyboard
version. PDAs are also called palmtops, hand-held computers and pocket computers.

11. USB flash drive (Pen Drive)

A USB flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory
with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.
USB flash drives are often used for the same purposes for which floppy disks or CD-ROMs were used. They
are smaller, faster, have thousands of times more capacity, and are more durable and reliable because of their
lack of moving parts. (They are available in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB etc)
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TABLET PC
A tablet PC is a wireless, portable personal computer with a touch screen interface. The tablet form factor is typically smaller than a
notebook computer but larger than a smart phone.
Tablets have key features of a full-size personal computer. A tablet PC is essentially a small laptop computer, equipped with a rotatable
touch screen as an additional input device, and running a standard (or lightly adapted) PC operating system like Windows or Linux.

Pc Tablet HRD Minster launches Aakash Tablet

developed by company Datawind

Finally, it has become a reality. India has finally launched the CHEAPEST TABLET COMPUTER, which cost only around $60 that is
INR 2999. Though it is higher than $35, which was promised before it's production, still cheaper than any other tablet pc in the world.

Basics of MS WORD (VERSION 2003)

CTRL + Z : UNDO
SHORT KEYS CTRL + E : TO CENTER THE SELECTED TEXT IN A
ALT + D : To Highlight the URL in the Address Box DOCUMENT
MS WORD CTRL + J : TO JUSTIFY THE SELECTED TEXT IN A
CTRL + C : TO COPY THE TEXT IN A DOCUMENT DOCUMENT
CTRL + V : TO PASTE THE TEXT IN A DOCUMENT CTRL + P : Print a document
CTRL + X : TO CUT THE SELECTED TEXT IN A DOCUMENT PRESS F1 : HELP
CTRL + B : TO BOLD THE SELECTED TEXT IN A DOCUMENT PRESS F5 : FIND AND REPLACE THE PARTICULAR WORD
CTRL + U : TO UNDERLINE THE SELECTED TEXT IN A PRESS F7 : SPELLING CHECK
DOCUMENT PRESS F12 : SAVE AS
CTRL + I : TO ITALICIZE THE SELECTED TEXT IN A PRESS F11 : DIRECTLY GO TO THE LINK
DOCUMENT ALT + F4 : QUIT THE PROGRAM
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Basics of Internet.
Internet is nothing but networks of networks. Internet is actually a global digital infrastructure that connects millions of computers.
The World Wide Web (WWW) is the most popular part of the Internet by far. The Web allows rich and diverse communication by
displaying text, graphics, animation, photos, sound and video.

Components of Internet
The Internet is comprised of many components such a Email, FTP and Usenet News. The World Wide Web is simply one of these
components.
• World Wide Web
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
• E-mail & E-mail Discussion Groups
• Telnet
• Usenet News
• HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)
• Chat & Instant Messaging.

Short Notes:

1. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

It is the language used to create WWW pages and associated links.

2. URLs (Uniform Resource Locators)

These are the addresses of the WWW pages e.g. http://www.ibps.in

3. Web Browser
To view / read the WWW pages you must have a special application i.e. a web browser
A Web browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web.
Example: MS internet explorer 9, Mozilla, Google chrome, Opera.

4. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

One of the most popular uses of the internet is to download/ upload a file that is transfer files from a computer on the internet to your
computer and vice versa.
FTP allows you to transfer files between two computers on the Internet.

5. TELNET
The Telnet protocol is often thought of as simply providing a facility for remote logins to computer via the Internet. Telnet follows a
Client / Server Model. You run a piece of software on your own PC (the client) to use the resources of a distant Server Computer
(host computer).
Telnet enables the user of a PC to login to a host computer at another site on the Internet. The user's PC then acts as a dumb terminal
attached to the remote host. To use telnet you need to know the internet address of the host whose resources you want to use.

6. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

HTTP is a set of rules, or protocols which governs the transfer of hypertext between two or more computers.

7. IP Address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label assigned to each device (e.g., computer, printer) participating in a
computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
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Questions:

1. PDA refers to ___________ (c) Restart Icon (d) Modified Icon

a. Personal Digital Assistant b. Personal Device Assistance (e) None
c. Program Digital Assistance d. Personal Data Assistance
12. Expanded form of MODEM is
2. _______________Handles communication between (a) Modulation & Demodulation
computers on the network. (b) Mouse & Defragmentation
a. Computer b. CPU c. A Network server (c) Modulation & Defragmentation
d. Storage unit (d) Message and Demodulation (e) None

3. Find the right sequence in most of the cases to produce a 13. Normally F5 is used to
document (a) Refresh the system (b) Reboot the system
(a). Edit,Format,Print,Create (c) Format the system (d) Restore the system (e) None
(b). Create,Edit,Format,Print,Save
(c).Create,Edit,Format,Save,Print 14. If you want to save the particular internet page we
(d).Edit,Format,Create,Print,Save generally
(a) Just save the page (b) Bookmark the page
4. One byte = how many bits? (c) Hypertext the page (d) Internet pages cannot be saved.
(1) 4 (2) 6 (3) 7 (4) 10 (5) None (e) None.

5. In order quit the running program, we generally use 15. LAN stands for
(1) Alt+F4 (2) Alt+F5 (3) Alt+F6 (a) Local Access Network (b) Local Access Number
(4) Alt+F7 (5) Alt+F8 (c) Local Apparent Noon (d) Line Amplifier Node
(e) Local Area Network
6. If we press F5 in a Notepad, then
(1) It will display current Date and Time. 16. Which one is not a Social Networking site.
(2) It will display Deleted words. (a) Facebook (b) Orkut (c) Twitter
(3) It will display colored Font. (4) New notepad will open. (d) BIGADDA (e) AOL
(5) Nothing happened.
17. In HTTP what does P stands for
7. The main circuit board of a Computer. It contains (a) Program (b) Pixels (c) Power (d) Protocol
connectors for attaching additional boards. (e) None
(1) SMPS (2) Graphic Card (3) RAM (4) Mother Board
(5) None 18. In HTML what does L stands for
(a) Language (b) Logic (c) Lens
8. DPI in field of Printers stands for (d) Either (b) & (c) (e) None
(1) Dots Parallel Inch (2) Dips Parallel Inch
(3) Dots Parallel Inch (4) Dots Per Inch (5) None 19. Android a famous Operating System is developed by
(a) Microsoft (b) Yahoo (c) Infosys
9. First Generation (1940-1956) Computers generally uses (d) Apple (e) Google
(1) Vacuum Tubes (2) Transistors (3) Integrated Circuits
(4) Microprocessors (5) Artificial Intelligence 20 ‘OS’ in computer abbreviation usually means ?
(a) Order of Significance (b) Open Software
10. If we press Start+E, then what will happen? (c) Operating System (d) Optical Sensor
(1) My Computer windows will open directly. (e) None
(2) Computer will be shut down. (3) Computer will restart.
(4) Computer will stand by. (5) None 21. Recently HRD Minister Kapil Sibbal launched world
cheapest TABLET PC, Its name is
11. In order to reload the page in MS Internet Explorer we (a) Mac Book (b) Datawind (c) Chandra
generally click on. (d) Dolphin (e) None
(a) Reload Icon (b) Refresh Icon

Notes by