Ryan College of Engineering

Computer Engineering

PC ARCHITECTURE & MAINTENANCE

CODE : CO 601

What is Configuration?

The way a system is set up, or the assortment of components that make up the system. Configuration can refer to either
hardware or software, or the combination of both. For instance, a typical configuration for a PC consists of 32MB
(megabytes) main memory, a floppy drive, a hard disk, a modem, a CD-ROM drive, a VGA monitor, and the Windows
operating system.

Many software products require that the computer have a certain minimum configuration. For example, the software might
require a graphics display monitor and a video adapter, a particular microprocessor, and a minimum amount of main
memory.

When you install a new device or program, you sometimes need to configure it, which means to set various switches and
jumpers (for hardware) and to define values of parameters (for software). For example, the device or program may need to
know what type of video adapter you have and what type of printer is connected to the computer. Thanks to new
technologies, such as plug-and-play, much of this configuration is performed automatically.

What is system?

(1) A group of interdependent items that interact regularly to perform a task.

(2) An established or organized procedure; a method.

(3) A computer system refers to the hardware and software components that run a computer or computers.

(4) An information system is a system that collects and stores data.

(5) On Macintoshes, System is short for System file, an essential program that runs whenever you start up a Macintosh. The
System provides information to all other applications that run on a Macintosh. The System and Finder programs together
make up the Mac OS.

(6) System often simply refers to the operating system

Hardware:

Refers to objects that you can actually touch, like disks, disk drives, display screens, keyboards, printers, boards, and chips.
In contrast, software is untouchable. Software exists as ideas, concepts, and symbols, but it has no substance.

Books provide a useful analogy. The pages and the ink are the hardware, while the words, sentences, paragraphs, and the
overall meaning are the software. A computer without software is like a book full of blank pages -- you need software to
make the computer useful just as you need words to make a book meaningful.

Software:

Computer instructions or data. Anything that can be stored electronically is software. The storage devices and display
devices are hardware.
The terms software and hardware are used as both nouns and adjectives. For example, you can say: "The problem lies in
the software," meaning that there is a problem with the program or data, not with the computer itself. You can also say: "It's
a software problem."

The distinction between software and hardware is sometimes confusing because they are so integrally linked. Clearly, when
you purchase a program, you are buying software. But to buy the software, you need to buy the disk (hardware) on which
the software is recorded.

Software is often divided into two categories:

 systems software : Includes the operating system and all the utilities that enable the computer to function.
 applications software : Includes programs that do real work for users. For example, word processors,
spreadsheets, and database management systems fall under the category of applications software.

PC : Personal Computer

(1) Short for personal computer or IBM PC. The first personal computer produced by IBM was called the PC, and
increasingly the term PC came to mean IBM or IBM-compatible personal computers, to the exclusion of other types of
personal computers, such as Macintoshes.

In recent years, the term PC has become more and more difficult to pin down. In general, though, it applies to any personal
computer based on an Intel microprocessor, or on an Intel-compatible microprocessor. For nearly every other component,
including the operating system, there are several options, all of which fall under the rubric of PC

(2) PC can stand for printed circuit, so a PC board is a printed circuit board.

Motherboard :

 motherboard : The principal board that has connectors for attaching devices to the bus. Typically, the mother board
contains the CPU, memory, and basic controllers for the system. On PCs, the motherboard is often called the system board
or main board.

The main circuit board of a microcomputer. The motherboard contains the connectors for attaching additional boards.
Typically, the motherboard contains the CPU, BIOS, memory, mass storage interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion
slots, and all the controllers required to control standard peripheral devices, such as the display screen, keyboard, and disk
drive. Collectively, all these chips that reside on the motherboard are known as the motherboard's chipset.
On most PCs, it is possible to add memory chips directly to the motherboard. You may also be able to upgrade to a faster
PC by replacing the CPU chip. To add additional core features, you may need to replace the motherboard entirely.

Connectors:

The part of a cable that plugs into a port or interface to connect one device to another. Most connectors are either male
(containing one or more exposed pins) or female (containing holes in which the male connector can be inserted).

Devices :

Any machine or component that attaches to a computer. Examples of devices include disk drives, printers, mice, and
modems. These particular devices fall into the category of peripheral devices because they are separate from the main
computer.

Most devices, whether peripheral or not, require a program called a device driver that acts as a translator, converting
general commands from an application into specific commands that the device understands

Bus :

(1) A collection of wires through which data is transmitted from one part of a computer to another. You can think of a bus
as a highway on which data travels within a computer. When used in reference to personal computers, the term bus usually
refers to internal bus. This is a bus that connects all the internal computer components to the CPU and main memory.
There's also an expansion bus that enables expansion boards to access the CPU and memory.
All buses consist of two parts -- an address bus and a data bus. The data bus transfers actual data whereas the address bus
transfers information about where the data should go.

The size of a bus, known as its width, is important because it determines how much data can be transmitted at one time. For
example, a 16-bit bus can transmit 16 bits of data, whereas a 32-bit bus can transmit 32 bits of data.

Every bus has a clock speed measured in MHz. A fast bus allows data to be transferred faster, which makes applications
run faster. On PCs, the old ISA bus is being replaced by faster buses such as PCI.

Nearly all PCs made today include a local bus for data that requires especially fast transfer speeds, such as video data. The
local bus is a high-speed pathway that connects directly to the processor.

Several different types of buses are used on Apple Macintosh computers. Older Macs use a bus called NuBus, but newer
ones use PCI.

(2) In networking, a bus is a central cable that connects all devices on a local-area network (LAN). It is also called the
backbone

CPU :

Abbreviation of central processing unit, and pronounced as separate letters. The CPU is the brains of the computer.
Sometimes referred to simply as the processor or central processor, the CPU is where most calculations take place. In
terms of computing power, the CPU is the most important element of a computer system.

On large machines, CPUs require one or more printed circuit boards. On personal computers and small workstations, the
CPU is housed in a single chip called a microprocessor.

Two typical components of a CPU are:

• The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs arithmetic and logical operations.
• The control unit (CU), which extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them, calling on the
ALU when necessary.

Memory :

Internal storage areas in the computer. The term memory identifies data storage that comes in the form of chips, and the
word storage is used for memory that exists on tapes or disks. Moreover, the term memory is usually used as shorthand for
physical memory, which refers to the actual chips capable of holding data. Some computers also use virtual memory, which
expands physical memory onto a hard disk.

Every computer comes with a certain amount of physical memory, usually referred to as main memory or RAM. You can
think of main memory as an array of boxes, each of which can hold a single byte of information. A computer that has 1
megabyte of memory, therefore, can hold about 1 million bytes (or characters) of information.

There are several different types of memory:

RAM (random-access memory): This is the same as main memory. When used by itself, the term RAM refers to read and
write memory; that is, you can both write data into RAM and read data from RAM. This is in contrast to ROM, which
permits you only to read data. Most RAM is volatile, which means that it requires a steady flow of electricity to maintain its
contents. As soon as the power is turned off, whatever data was in RAM is lost.

Pronounced ram, acronym for random access memory, a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly; that is,
any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes. RAM is the most common type of memory
found in computers and other devices, such as printers.

There are two basic types of RAM:

• Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

 •
• Static RAM (SRAM)

The two types differ in the technology they use to hold data, dynamic RAM being the more common type. Dynamic RAM
needs to be refreshed thousands of times per second. Static RAM does not need to be refreshed, which makes it faster; but it
is also more expensive than dynamic RAM. Both types of RAM are volatile, meaning that they lose their contents when the
power is turned off.

In common usage, the term RAM is synonymous with main memory, the memory available to programs. For example, a
computer with 8M RAM has approximately 8 million bytes of memory that programs can use. In contrast, ROM (read-only
memory) refers to special memory used to store programs that boot the computer and perform diagnostics. Most personal
computers have a small amount of ROM (a few thousand bytes). In fact, both types of memory (ROM and RAM) allow
random access. To be precise, therefore, RAM should be referred to as read/write RAM and ROM as read-only RAM

Clock Generation :

While the words CPU and microprocessor are used interchangeably, in the world of personal computers (PC), a
microprocessor is actually a silicon chip that contains a CPU. At the heart of all personal computers sits a microprocessor
that controls the logic of almost all digital devices, from clock radios to fuel-injection systems for automobiles. The three
basic characteristics that differentiate microprocessors are the following:

• Instruction set: The set of instructions that the microprocessor can execute.
• Bandwidth: The number of bits processed in a single instruction.
• Clock speed: Given in megahertz (MHz), the clock speed determines how many instructions per second the
processor can execute.

The higher the value, the more powerful the CPU. For example, a 32-bit microprocessor that runs at 50MHz is more
powerful than a 16-bit microprocessor that runs at 25MHz.

If you think over clocking sounds like an ominous term, you have the right idea. Basically over clocking means to run a
microprocessor faster than the clock speed for which it has been tested and approved. Over clocking is a popular technique
for getting a little performance boost from your system, without purchasing any additional hardware. Because of the
performance boost over clocking, is very popular among hardcore 3D gamers

Most times over clocking will result in a performance boost of 10 percent or less. For example, a computer with an Intel
Pentium III processor running at 933MHz could be configured to run at speeds

equivalent to a Pentium III 1050MHz processor by increasing the bus speed on the motherboard. Over clocking will not
always have the exact same results? Two identical systems being over clocked most likely will not produce the same
results. One will usually always over clock better than the other.

To over clock your CPU you must be quite familiar with hardware, and it is always a procedure conducted at your own
risk. When over clocking there are some problems and issues you'll have to deal with, such as heat. An over clocked CPU
will have an increased heat output, which means you have to look at additional cooling methods to ensure proper cooling of
an over clocked CPU. Standard heat sinks and fans will generally not support an over clocked system. Additionally, you
also have to have some understanding of the different types of system memory. Even though your CPU can be over
clocked, it doesn't mean your RAM modules will support the higher speeds.

Common CPU over clocking Methods

The most common methods of over clocking your CPU is to either raise the multiplier or raise the FSB (front side bus) —
while not the only options they are the most common. To understand over clocking, you have to understand the basics of
CPU speeds. The speed of a CPU is measured in Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz). This represents the number of
clock cycles that can be performed per second. The more clock cycles your CPU can do, the faster it processes information.

DMA:
Short for direct memory access, a technique for transferring data from main memory to a device without passing it through
the CPU. Computers that have DMA channels can transfer data to and from devices much more quickly than computers
without a DMA channel can. This is useful for making quick backups and for real-time applications.

Some expansion boards, such as CD-ROM cards, are capable of accessing the computer's DMA channel. When you install
the board, you must specify which DMA channel is to be used, which sometimes involves setting a jumper or DIP switch

Interrupt Controls:

A signal informing a program that an event has occurred. When a program receives an interrupt signal, it takes a specified
action (which can be to ignore the signal). Interrupt signals can cause a program to suspend itself temporarily to service the
interrupt.

Interrupt signals can come from a variety of sources. For example, every keystroke generates an interrupt signal. Interrupts
can also be generated by other devices, such as a printer, to indicate that some event has occurred. These are called
hardware interrupts. Interrupt signals initiated by programs are called software interrupts. A software interrupt is also
called a trap or an exception.

PCs support 256 types of software interrupts and 15 hardware interrupts. Each type of software interrupt is associated with
an interrupt handler -- a routine that takes control when the interrupt occurs. For example, when you press a key on your
keyboard, this triggers a specific interrupt handler. The complete list of interrupts and associated interrupt handlers is stored
in a table called the interrupt vector table, which resides in the first 1 K of addressable memory.

Programmable Interrupt Controller

Abbreviated as PIC, a Programmable Interrupt Controller is a interrupt controller that manages interrupt signals received
from devices by combining multiple interrupts into a single interrupt output. PIC is found on most PCs today. One of the
most well-known Programmable Interrupt Controllers is Intel 8259A, which was included in the x86 PC as a part of the
motherboard chipset.

Types of Motherboard:

80286/80386 SX/DX

Microprocessors made by Intel Corporation form the foundation of all PCs.

Models after the 8086 are often referred to by the last three digits (for example, the 286, 386, and 486 ). Many of the
microprocessors come in different varieties that run at various clock rates. The 80486 architecture, for example, supports
clock rates of from 33 to 66 MHz. Because Intel discovered that it couldn't trademark its CPU numbers, it shifted to a
naming scheme, starting with the Pentium processors. Intel's latest and sixth-generation chip is called the Pentium Pro.

All Intel microprocessors are backward compatible, which means that they can run programs written for a less powerful
processor. The 80386, for example, can run programs written for the 8086, 8088, and 80286. The 80386 and later models,
however, offer special programming features not available on previous models. Software written specifically for these
processors, therefore, may not run on older microprocessors. The common architecture behind all Intel microprocessors is
known as the x86 architecture.

Until the late 80s, Intel was essentially the only producer of PC microprocessors. Increasingly, however, Intel is facing
competition from other manufacturers who produce "Intel-compatible " chips. These chips support the Intel instruction set
and are often less expensive than Intel chips. In some cases, they also offer better performance. Two of the leading
manufacturers of Intel-compatible chips are Cyrix and AMD

Integrated Circuit
Another name for a chip, an integrated circuit (IC) is a small electronic device made out of a semiconductor material. The
first integrated circuit was developed in the 1950s by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of Fairchild
Semiconductor.

Integrated circuits are used for a variety of devices, including microprocessors, audio and video equipment, and
automobiles. Integrated circuits are often classified by the number of transistors and other electronic components they
contain:

 SSI (small-scale integration): Up to 100 electronic components per chip

 MSI (medium-scale integration): From 100 to 3,000 electronic components per chip
 LSI (large-scale integration): From 3,000 to 100,000 electronic components per chip
 VLSI (very large-scale integration): From 100,000 to 1,000,000 electronic components per chip
 ULSI (ultra large-scale integration): More than 1 million electronic components per chip

IBM-PC Buses

EISA

Acronym for Extended Industry Standard Architecture, a bus architecture designed for PCs using an Intel 80386, 80486, or
Pentium microprocessor. EISA buses are 32 bits wide and support multiprocessing.

The EISA bus was designed by nine IBM competitors (sometimes called the Gang of Nine): AST Research, Compaq
Computer, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Olivetti, Tandy, WYSE, and Zenith Data Systems. They designed the
architecture to compete with IBM's own high-speed bus architecture called the Micro Channel architecture (MCA).

The principal difference between EISA and MCA is that EISA is backward compatible with the ISA bus (also called the AT
bus), while MCA is not. This means that computers with an EISA bus can use new EISA expansion cards as well as old AT
expansion cards. Computers with an MCA bus can use only MCA expansion cards.

EISA and MCA are not compatible with each other. This means that the type of bus in your computer determines which
expansion cards you can install.

Neither EISA nor MCA has been very successful. Instead, a new technology called local bus (PCI) is being used in
combination with the old ISA bus.

PCI

Short for Peripheral Component Interconnect, a local bus standard developed by Intel Corporation. Most modern PCs
include a PCI bus in addition to a more general ISA expansion bus. PCI is also used on newer versions of the Macintosh
computer.

PCI is a 64-bit bus, though it is usually implemented as a 32-bit bus. It can run at clock speeds of 33 or 66 MHz. At 32 bits
and 33 MHz, it yields a throughput rate of 133 MBps. Also see PCI-X and PCI Express.

Although it was developed by Intel, PCI is not tied to any particular family of microprocessors

Micro Channel Architecture (MCA)

A bus architecture for older PCs. It is called a bus architecture because it defines how peripheral devices and internal
components communicate across the computer's expansion bus. Introduced by IBM in 1987, MCA was designed to take the
place of the older AT bus, the architecture used on IBM PC-ATs and compatibles. For a variety of reasons, however, the
industry never accepted the new architecture.

PCMCIA
Short for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, and pronounced as separate letters, PCMCIA is an
organization consisting of some 500 companies that has developed a standard for small, credit card-sized devices, called
PC Cards. Originally designed for adding memory to portable computers, the PCMCIA standard has been expanded several
times and is now suitable for many types of devices. There are in fact three types of PCMCIA cards. All three have the
same rectangular size (85.6 by 54 millimeters), but different widths
 Type I cards can be up to 3.3 mm thick, and are used primarily for adding additional ROM or RAM to a
computer.

• Type II cards can be up to 5.5 mm thick. These cards are often used for modem and fax modem cards.

 Type III cards can be up to 10.5 mm thick, which is sufficiently large for portable disk drives.

As with the cards, PCMCIA slots also come in three sizes:

 A Type I slot can hold one Type I card

• A Type II slot can hold one Type II card or one Type I card

 A Type III slot can hold one Type III card or any combination of two Type I or II cards.

In general, you can exchange PC Cards on the fly, without rebooting your computer. For example, you can slip in a fax
modem card when you want to send a fax and then, when you're done, replace the fax modem card with a memory card

SCSI

Short for small computer system interface, a parallel interface standard used by Apple Macintosh computers, PCs, and
many UNIX systems for attaching peripheral devices to computers. Nearly all Apple Macintosh computers, excluding only
the earliest Macs and the recent iMac, come with a SCSI port for attaching devices such as disk drives and printers.

SCSI interfaces provide for faster data transmission rates (up to 80 megabytes per second) than standard serial and parallel
ports. In addition, you can attach many devices to a single SCSI port, so that SCSI is really an I/O bus rather than simply an
interface.

Although SCSI is an ANSI standard, there are many variations of it, so two SCSI interfaces may be incompatible. For
example, SCSI supports several types of connectors.

While SCSI has been the standard interface for Macintoshes, the iMac comes with IDE, a less expensive interface, in which
the controller is integrated into the disk or CD-ROM drive. Other interfaces supported by PCs include enhanced IDE and
ESDI for mass storage devices, and Centronics for printers. You can, however, attach SCSI devices to a PC by inserting a
SCSI board in one of the expansion slots. Many high-end new PCs come with SCSI built in. Note, however, that the lack of
a single SCSI standard means that some devices may not work with some SCSI boards.

The following varieties of SCSI are currently implemented:

 SCSI-1: Uses an 8-bit bus, and supports data rates of 4 MBps

 SCSI-2: Same as SCSI-1, but uses a 50-pin connector instead of a 25-pin connector, and supports multiple
devices. This is what most people mean when they refer to plain SCSI.
 Wide SCSI: Uses a wider cable (168 cable lines to 68 pins) to support 16-bit transfers.
 Fast SCSI: Uses an 8-bit bus, but doubles the clock rate to support data rates of 10 MBps.
 Fast Wide SCSI: Uses a 16-bit bus and supports data rates of 20 MBps.
 Ultra SCSI: Uses an 8-bit bus, and supports data rates of 20 MBps.
 SCSI-3: Uses a 16-bit bus and supports data rates of 40 MBps. Also called Ultra Wide SCSI.
 Ultra2 SCSI: Uses an 8-bit bus and supports data rates of 40 MBps.
 Wide Ultra2 SCSI: Uses a 16-bit bus and supports data rates of 80 MBps.

KEYBOARD
The set of typewriter-like keys that enables you to enter data into a computer. Computer keyboards are similar to electric-
typewriter keyboards but contain additional keys. The keys on computer keyboards are often classified as follows:
 alphanumeric keys -- letters and numbers
 punctuation keys -- comma, period, semicolon, and so on.
 special keys -- function keys, control keys, arrow keys, Caps Lock key, and so on.

The standard layout of letters, numbers, and punctuation is known as a QWERTY keyboard because the first six keys on the
top row of letters spell QWERTY. The QWERTY keyboard was designed in the 1800s for mechanical typewriters and was
actually designed to slow typists down to avoid jamming the keys. Another keyboard design, which has letters positioned
for speed typing, is the Dvorak keyboard.

There is no standard computer keyboard, although many manufacturers imitate the keyboards of PCs. There are actually
three different PC keyboards: the original PC keyboard, with 84 keys; the AT keyboard, also with 84 keys; and the
enhanced keyboard, with 101 keys. The three differ somewhat in the placement of function keys, the Control key, the
Return key, and the Shift keys.

In addition to these keys, IBM keyboards contain the following keys: Page Up, Page Down, Home, End, Insert, Pause, Num
Lock, Scroll Lock, Break, Caps Lock, Print Screen.

There are several different types of keyboards for the Apple Macintosh. All of them are called ADB keyboards because they
connect to the Apple Desktop bus (ADB). The two main varieties of Macintosh keyboards are the standard keyboard and
the extended keyboard, which has 15 additional special-function keys

LAN

A computer network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings.
However, one LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of
LANs connected in this way is called a wide-area network (WAN).

Most LANs connect workstations and personal computers. Each node (individual computer ) in a LAN has its own CPU
with which it executes programs, but it also is able to access data and devices anywhere on the LAN. This means that many
users can share expensive devices, such as laser printers, as well as data. Users can also use the LAN to communicate with
each other, by sending e-mail or engaging in chat sessions.

There are many different types of LANs Ethernets being the most common for PCs. Most Apple Macintosh networks are
based on Apple's AppleTalk network system, which is built into Macintosh computers.
The following characteristics differentiate one LAN from another:

 topology : The geometric arrangement of devices on the network. For example, devices can be arranged in a
ring or in a straight line.
 protocols : The rules and encoding specifications for sending data. The protocols also determine whether the
network uses a peer-to-peer or client/server architecture.
 media : Devices can be connected by twisted-pair wire, coaxial cables, or fiber optic cables. Some networks
do without connecting media altogether, communicating instead via radio waves.

LANs are capable of transmitting data at very fast rates, much faster than data can be transmitted over a telephone line; but
the distances are limited, and there is also a limit on the number of computers that can be attached to a single LAN.