Components of a Personal Computer (PC)

Adapted from Region IV TIFF Training

External Parts

output

inputinputinput

output

output

Processing, memory & storage

Internal Parts

CPU Motherboard that includes: RAM Processor Sound Card Video Graphics card Hard Drives (system boot drive

and storage- C: V: E:)

Hard Drive Types

SSD- Solid State No moving parts Expensive Fastest

RAM – Computer Memory

Random access memory Types:

Dynamic (DRAM) Static (SRAM)

Both types lose their contents when the power is turned off.

ROM - Memory

Read Only Memory Computer memory on which data

has been prerecorded Once written, it cannot be removed,

only read It retains itself after the computer is

turned off Example- BIOS

New Connections

® Universal Serial Bus (USB) ® Supports “plug

and play” installations

® Version 3.0 fastest- not fully implemented

•IEEE 1394 (Firewire)•Fastest on the market but more expensive

Both are“hot swappable”

Video Adaptors

Board/card that plugs into a PC to give it display capabilities

Three Main Types: VGA / SVGA (Video Graphics Array) 800x600 XGA / UXGA (eXtended graphics array)

1600x1200 Digital DVI (digital visual interface) HDTV quality

Monitor and video card must be compatiblecompatible

Other Computer Additions

CD-RW or ROM DVD player/burner (ROM)/ RW Speakers Zip drives / External Drives Capture cards/ game cards

Conversion Rates for Hardware 8 bits = 1 byte 1024 bytes = 1 Kilobyte 1000 KB = 1 Megabyte 1000 MB = 1 Gigabyte 1000 GB = 1 Terabyte

This is system size/ capacity for the computer hardware

Important for compatibility issues when upgrading computers.

Local Area Networks (LANs)

Group of computers, servers, and printers connected by wiring and other hardware

Allows users to share information and communicate.

Uses CAT 5 or Cat6 cable, sometimes fiber

TCP/IP protocol

Wide Area Network (WANs)

Use of CAT 5/CAT6 cable or fiber optics to connect several LAN’s together to share and communicate information

World Wide Web (www) PISD has LANS and WANS

Troubleshooting Basic Computer Issues

Understand how to use it properly

Don’t panic if something goes wrong

What EXACTLY were you doing when the error occurred? WRITE IT DOWN

What EXACTLY was the error message? WRITE IT DOWN

What does work? What doesn’t

work? What did you try? Check the

physical cable connections

Get someone to help.

Components of a Mac

iMacs, Mac Notebooks, storage tower, Apple tv, etc.

External Parts

Monitor(output)

Mouse(input)

Cables

FireWire

High Speed Data cable

Used to connect video cameras to computers

Also used to connect other peripherals like external drives

Hot – swappable

DV Cable

New connector used to connect video cameras to computers

Usually paired with FireWire

USB

High speed data cable Used to connect keyboards and mice Connects other peripherals including

printers and scanners and Cameras Hot – swappable

CAT 6 and CAT 5• Data cable used to connect computers together

• Called a phone line on steroids

RCA

Used to connect legacy appliances such as DVD and CD players, to TV’s.

Used in some audio systems

S-Video

Used to connect video devices such as cameras, VCR’s, and DVD players

Does NOT transmit audio

Phono

Older type of connector that has either mono or stereo capabilities

Used to connect microphones, headphones, and other audio products

¼ and 1/8

XLR

Industry standard connection for audio products including microphones and some electronic equipment

Provides more balance to alternating current- cleaner sound

Coaxial

Industry standard for connecting cable tv signals to a TV or a cable modem

Used to connect VCR’s to TV’s

Cable Gender and other Issues

Cables can be male or female. You cannot connect male to male or

female to female. Need adapters When connecting cables ALWAYS

go OUT-to-IN or IN-to-OUT.

NEVER THE SAME- damage may occur!

Vocabulary

antivirus (AV) software —Programs that prevent infection or scan a system to find and remove viruses.

brownouts — Temporary drop in voltage, which can sometimes cause data loss.

Vocabulary

CD-R (CD-recordable) — A CD drive that can record or write data to a CD. The data cannot be erased once it is written.

CD-RW (CD-rewritable) — A CD drive that can record or write data to a CD. The data can be erased and overwritten.

Vocabulary

firewall — Hardware or software that protects a computer or network from unauthorized access.

Green Standards — A computer or device that conforms to these standards can go into sleep mode when not in use, saving energy and helping the environment. Devices that carry the Green Star or Energy Star comply with these standards.

Vocabulary

hot-swappable — A device that can be plugged into a computer while it is turned on and the computer will sense the device and configure it without rebooting, or the device can be removed without an error message.

Vocabulary

LAN (local area network) — A computer network that covers only a small area, usually within one building.

WAN (wide area network) — A network or group of networks that span a large geographical area.

Mac Vocabulary

Lightning: This is the connector found on today’s most recent iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, and iPad mini models. It replaces the 30-pin dock connector found on earlier devices and iPods. The Lightning connector works regardless of which side is facing up. Like the 30-pin connector before it, the non-Lightning end of the cable sports a USB connector and lets you transfer data as well as power to an attached device.

Mac Vocabulary

Thunderbolt: Thunderbolt is today’s faster transfer scheme. Unlike FireWire or USB, it can handle both data and video connections simultaneously. You can string a single Thunderbolt cable between your Mac and use that connection to view the Mac’s video on the display while using the USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt, and ethernet connectors on the back of the display to attach other devices to your Mac. Thunderbolt is up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800.

Mac Vocabulary

AirPort: This is Apple’s name for its Wi-Fi technology. When people talk about “turning AirPort off,” they mean that they’re turning off their Mac's Wi-Fi.

Bluetooth: Another wireless data transfer standard, Bluetooth has a shorter range (about 30 feet) than Wi-Fi. Bluetooth is commonly used to connect keyboards, mice, trackpads, headphones, speakers, other nearby computers, and some portable devices to a Mac.

Mac Vocabulary

Windows Terms versus Mac Terms

Windows Mac OS X

Control Panel System Preferences

Ctrl+Alt+Delete Option+Command+Esc

Exit (Alt+FX) Quit (Command+Q)

Internet Explorer Safari

My Computer Finder

My Documents Documents folder

My Music Music folder

My Pictures Pictures folder

Notepad TextEdit

Outlook Express Mail

Recycle Bin Trash Can

Settings Preferences

Shortcut icon Alias

Taskbar Dock

Hourglass cursor (busy signal) Spinning beach ball (busy signal)

Windows Explorer Finder window

Windows Update Software Update

Mac Desktop

Mac programs on the Launchpad

Dock is the Apple version of the Taskbar

Cables

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