Hardware
The hardware are the parts of the computer itself including the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and related microchips and micro-circuitry, keyboards, monitors, case and drives (hard, CD, DVD, floppy, optical, tape, etc...). Other extra parts called peripheral components or devices include mouse, printers, modems, scanners, digital cameras and cards (sound, colour, video) etc... Together they are often referred to as a personal computer. Central Processing Unit - Though the term relates to a specific chip or the processor a CPU's performance is determined by the rest of the computer's circuitry and chips.
Currently the Pentium chip or processor, made by Intel, is the most common CPU though there are many other companies that produce processors for personal computers. Examples are the CPU made by Motorola and AMD.
Chip
With faster processors the clock speed becomes more important. Compared to some of the first computers which operated at below 30 megahertz (MHz) the Pentium chips began at 75 MHz in the late 1990's. Speeds now exceed 3000+ MHz or 3 gigahertz (GHz) and different chip manufacturers use different measuring standards (check your local computer store for the latest speed). It depends on the circuit board that the chip is housed in, or the motherboard, as to whether you are able to upgrade to a faster chip. The motherboard contains the circuitry and connections that allow the various component to communicate with each other.
Though there were many computers using many different processors previous to this I call the 80286 processor the advent of home computers as these were the processors that made computers available for the average person. Using a processor before the 286 involved learning a proprietary system and software. Most new software are being developed for the newest and fastest processors so it can be difficult to use an older computer system.
Keyboard - The keyboard is used to type information into the computer or input information. There are many different keyboard layouts and sizes with the most common for Latin based languages being the QWERTY layout (named for the first 6 keys). The standard keyboard has 101 keys. Notebooks have embedded keys accessible by special keys or by pressing key combinations (CTRL or Command and P for example). Ergonomically designed keyboards are designed to make typing easier. Hand held devices have various and different keyboard configurations and touch screens.
Some of the keys have a special use. They are referred to as command keys. The 3 most common are the Control (CTRL), Alternate (Alt) and the Shift keys though there can be more (the Windows key for example or the Command key). Each key on a standard keyboard has one or two characters. Press the key to get the lower character and hold Shift to get the upper.
Removable Storage and/or Disk Drives - All disks need a drive to get information off - or read - and put information on the disk - or write. Each drive is designed for a specific type of disk whether it is a CD, DVD, hard disk or floppy. Often the term 'disk' and 'drive' are used to describe the same thing but it helps to understand that the disk is the storage device which contains computer files - or software - and the drive is the mechanism that runs the disk.Mouse
Digital flash drives work slightly differently as they use memory cards to store information so there are no moving parts. Digital cameras also use Flash memory cards to store information, in this case photographs. Hand held devices use digital drives and many also use removable or built in memory cards.
Mouse - Most modern computers today are run using a mouse controlled pointer. Generally if the mouse has two buttons the left one is used to select objects and text and the right one is used to access menus. If the mouse has one button (Mac for instance) it controls all the activity and a mouse with a third button can be used by specific software programs.
One type of mouse has a round ball under the bottom of the mouse that rolls and turns two wheels which control the direction of the pointer on the screen. Another type of mouse uses an optical system to track the movement of the mouse. Laptop computers use touch pads, buttons and other devices to control the pointer. Hand helds use a combination of devices to control the pointer, including touch screens.
Note: It is important to clean the mouse periodically, particularly if it becomes sluggish. A ball type mouse has a small circular panel that can be opened, allowing you to remove the ball. Lint can be removed carefully with a tooth pick or tweezers and the ball can be washed with mild detergent. A build up will accumulate on the small wheels in the mouse. Use a small instrument or finger nail to scrape it off taking care not to scratch the wheels. Track balls can be cleaned much like a mouse and touch-pad can be wiped with a clean, damp cloth. An optical mouse can accumulate material from the surface that it is in contact with which can be removed with a finger nail or small instrument.
Monitors - The monitor shows information on the screen when you type. This is called outputting information. When the computer needs more information it will display a message on the screen, usually through a dialog box. Monitors come in many types and sizes. The resolution of the monitor determines the sharpness of the screen. The resolution can be adjusted to control the screen's display..
Most desktop computers use a monitor with a cathode tube or liquid crystal display. Most notebooks use a liquid crystal display monitor.
To get the full benefit of today's software with full colour graphics and animation, computers need a color monitor with a display or graphics card.
Printers - The printer takes the information on your screen and transfers it to paper or a hard copy. There are many different types of printers with various levels of quality. The three basic types of printer are; dot matrix, inkjet, and laser.
* Dot matrix printers work like a typewriter transferring ink from a ribbon to paper with a series or 'matrix' of tiny pins.
* Ink jet printers work like dot matrix printers but fires a stream of ink from a cartridge directly onto the paper.
* Laser printers use the same technology as a photocopier using heat to transfer toner onto paper.
Modem - A modem is used to translate information transferred through telephone lines, cable, satellite or line-of-sight wireless.
The term stands for modulate and demodulate which changes the signal from digital, which computers use, to analog, which telephones use and then back again. Digital modems transfer digital information directly without changing to analog.
Modems are measured by the speed that the information is transferred. The measuring tool is called the baud rate. Originally modems worked at speeds below 2400 baud but today analog speeds of 56,000 are standard. Cable, wireless or digital subscriber lines can transfer information much faster with rates of 300,000 baud and up.
Modems also use Error Correction which corrects for transmission errors by constantly checking whether the information was received properly or not and Compression which allows for faster data transfer rates. Information is transferred in packets. Each packet is checked for errors and is re-sent if there is an error.
Anyone who has used the Internet has noticed that at times the information travels at different speeds. Depending on the amount of information that is being transferred, the information will arrive at it's destination at different times. The amount of information that can travel through a line is limited. This limit is called bandwidth.
There are many more variables involved in communication technology using computers, much of which is covered in the section on the Internet.
Scanners- Scanners allow you to transfer pictures and photographs to your computer. A scanner 'scans' the image from the top to the bottom, one line at a time and transfers it to the computer as a series of bits or a bitmap. You can then take that image and use it in a paint program, send it out as a fax or print it. With optional Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software you can convert printed documents such as newspaper articles to text that can be used in your word processor. Most scanners use TWAIN software that makes the scanner accessable by other software applications.
Digital cameras allow you to take digital photographs. The images are stored on a memory chip or disk that can be transferred to your computer. Some cameras can also capture sound and video.
Case - The case houses the microchips and circuitry that run the computer. Desktop models usually sit under the monitor and tower models beside. They come in many sizes, including desktop, mini, midi, and full tower. There is usually room inside to expand or add components at a later time. By removing the cover off the case you may find plate covered, empty slots that allow you to add cards. There are various types of slots including IDE, ASI, USB, PCI and Firewire slots.
Depending on the type notebook computers may have room to expand . Most Notebooks also have connections or ports that allows expansion or connection to exterior, peripheral devices such as monitor, portable hard-drives or other devices.
Cards - Cards are components added to computers to increase their capability. When adding a peripheral device make sure that your computer has a slot of the type needed by the device.
Sound cards allow computers to produce sound like music and voice. The older sound cards were 8 bit then 16 bit then 32 bit. Though the human ear can't distinguish the fine difference between sounds produced by the more powerful sound card they allow for more complex music and music production.
Colour cards allow computers to produce colour (with a colour monitor of course). The first colour cards were 2 bit which produced 4 colours [CGA]. It was amazing what could be done with those 4 colours. Next came 4 bit allowing for 16 [EGA and VGA ] colours. Then came 16 bit allowing for 1064 colours and then 24 bit which allows for almost 17 million colours and now 32 bit and higher allow monitors to display almost a billion separate colours.
Video cards allow computers to display video and animation. Some video cards allow computers to display television as well as capture frames from video. A video card with a digital video camera allows computers users to produce live video. A high speed connection is required for effective video transmission.
Network cards allow computers to connect together to communicate with each other. Network cards have connections for cable, thin wire or wireless networks. For more information see the section on Networks.
Cables connect internal components to the Motherboard, which is a board with series of electronic path ways and connections allowing the CPU to communicate with the other components of the computer.
Memory - Memory can be very confusing but is usually one of the easiest pieces of hardware to add to your computer. It is common to confuse chip memory with disk storage. An example of the difference between memory and storage would be the difference between a table where the actual work is done (memory) and a filing cabinet where the finished product is stored (disk). To add a bit more confusion, the computer's hard disk can be used as temporary memory when the program needs more than the chips can provide.
Random Access Memory or RAM is the memory that the computer uses to temporarily store the information as it is being processed. The more information being processed the more RAM the computer needs.
One of the first home computers used 64 kilobytes of RAM memory (Commodore 64). Today's modern computers need a minimum of 64 Mb (recommended 128 Mb or more) to run Windows or OS 10 with modern software.
RAM memory chips come in many different sizes and speeds and can usually be expanded. Older computers came with 512 Kb of memory which could be expanded to a maximum of 640 Kb. In most modern computers the memory can be expanded by adding or replacing the memory chips depending on the processor you have and the type of memory your computer uses. Memory chips range in size from 1 Mb to 4 Gb. As computer technology changes the type of memory changes as well making old memory chips obsolete. Check your computer manual to find out what kind of memory your computer uses before purchasing new memory chips.
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Computer viruses and spyware can attack your computer either online or who frequently never online to the internet though. Computers that are connected to a floppy disk or usb flash disk can be contracted from the software installed if not careful. If you have been infected with a virus or spyware that is active only when the computer is connected to the internet, then the viruses or spyware will be active when the computer is online.
Here are various acts of prevention and repair of computers affected by viruses or spyware either mild or severe level.
A. Prevention To be Avoided Computer Viruses and Spyware
1. Be careful on your Email Attachment
Do not open a file attachment in an email that you receive even from people you know if the attachment contains the program file with extension or suffix. Exe,. PIF,. Bat, and so forth. Read carefully emails sent, whether the style of e-mails sent the same as usual. Sometimes the email you receive comes from people sunda, but to use English, russia, china, etc. in their email.
2. Replace / Install Security Software What's New
Make sure your computer is installed 3 types of major security software and installed with a setting that automatically secures your computer without you having to turn first. They are anti-virus to ward off viruses, anti-spyware to ward off spyware, and firewall to deter and block hacker attacks as well as connections from the outside. For a free version and a good quality you can use for anti-virus AVG antivirus, Ad-Aware for spyware and Zone Alarm queue for a firewall program. Make sure all updates / definition and has been updated with the latest patches that minimize the chance of new variants of viruses and spyware do infections on your computer pc or laptop. Do not forget also to run a scan on your computer at regular intervals to kill new viruses and spyware that infect.
3. Do not be careless Installing Software
Beware of software that you isntall whether you buy the pirated cd in cd stores, from download on the internet, from friends, and so forth. Viruses and spyware may be hiding on the program you install without you knowing it. Get used to backup all your important files periodically on a flash drive, cd or dvd so that if there is a fatal thing you will not lose your data.
4. Watch User / Other People Who Wear Your Computer
If your computer is used by someone else, make sure he does not do the things that can harm your computer. You can create a special account for the guest / guest with certain restrictions that you can be setting yourself. Someone that you might not expect to just install the program, plug the usb or insert the diskette that contains software viruses or spyware. Even can also set deliberately spy software to record all your activities and your usual password to use.
5. Always alert
If you feel that something is wrong with your computer immediately disconnect and unplug the connection to the Internet or network connection network lan. Then run anti-virus, anti spyware and firewall checks whether it has been running well and properly. If you get a question to install software from sites that are not clearly refuse outright. Follow the development of a patch or update patches security holes in any software installed and get internet access on your firewall program.
B. Computer Repair Virus and Spyware Infected
1. Turn off the Internet and Network File Sharing Networks
If your computer is connected with a local network or the Internet immediately disconnect and remove if necessary to ensure 100% you do not really connected. Sometimes viruses and spyware manipulate your computer so as if you are not connected anymore with the outside network.
2. Update and Scan
The first step to repair if you feel in doubt or feel confident that your computer is attacked or spyware virs do updates. Updates can be done either through the Internet or download them offline if you have a file from someone else. After updated with a new definition then you should immediately scan to get rid of the virus found.
3. Active In Community Mailing List / Forum About Computer Security
The more you join a community of many computers, the more people who will help you if you're in trouble. Do not be afraid and hesitate to ask about the problems you face even if the problem is trivial. Use a pseudonym if necessary. Somewhere out there there are many people who may have experienced the same thing with you. In addition, you probably will get a shortcut tips, solutions, suggestions, etc. from the community. Usually the latest virus and spyware which are also discussed in the community.
4. Format Hard Disk If There Is No Way Out
If all else have you lived and no one gives a satisfactory solution you can take a shortcut past, that is by reformatting the hard disk. Make sure that important data you already have backed up on another medium that is not infected with the virus, spywre and other malicious programs. Then format your hard drive and install os and the prgram you use common applications. After all ok, then copy back your important files on a computer that is fresh.
5. Learning From Mistakes
Open your eyes when faced with a problem and learn it well, because it is possible that the same problem would arise with a larger quantity. Learn not only from your own problems but also other people's problems that you do not know even once.
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