Computer Science 572 FALL 2011 Introduction to PC Hardware and Operating System CHAPTER 1 Introducing Hardware. 1.

Why is all data stored in a computer in binary form? Binary is the simplest way to represent information. Binary has two states, high and low. It's pretty easy to distinguish between two states 2. What are the four primary functions of hardware? Input, processing, storage and output pg 2 3. What are the two main input devices and two main output devices? Input- keyboard and a mouse Output- monitor and printer 4. What three things do electronic hardware devices need in order to function? A method for the CPU to communicate the device Software to instruct and control the device. Electricity to power the device. 5. How many bits are in a byte? Byte A collection of eight bits that can represent a single character. Bit (binary digit) a 0 or 1 used by the binary number system. 6. What is the purpose of an expansion slot on a motherboard? Expansion slots to connect expansion cards to the motherhood. 7. Which component on the motherboard is used primarily for processing? Processor or CPU (central processing unit), the computers most important chip. It performs most of the actual data processing. 8. Name the two main CPU manufacturers. Intel Corporation and AMD. 9. Order the following ports according to speed, placing the fastest port first: FireWire, eSATA, USB. Pg 9 eSATA is faster than FireWire and firewire is faster than USB.

10. What are two other names for the system bus? Front Side Bus is the proper name for it; I have also heard it referred to as the Main Bus. System bus The bus between the CPU and memory on the motherboard. The bus frequency in documentation is called the system speed, such as 400 MHz Also called the memory bus, front-side bus, local bus, or host bus. 11. What type of output does an S/ PDIF port provide? Connects to an external home theater audio system, providing digital output and the best signal. 12. Why is an SSD hard drive more reliable under rugged conditions than an IDE hard drive? Because SSD drives have no moving parts, they are much faster, more rugged, consume less power, last longer, and are considerable more expensive than magnetic drives. 13. How is the best way to determine if a cable inside a computer is a data cable or a power cable? Power cables almost exclusively have individually stranded multi-colored wires. Some may be sleeved for cable management. They end typically with a white 'molex' connector, usually 4-pin square or 4-pin long. Data cables come in two forms: IDE Ribbon Cables, large flat grey cables, FDD ribbon cables, and SATA cables, red or orange 'small' cables that are slightly flat. You may also have a very tiny 'audio' cable that goes from the CD-ROM to the motherboard. There may also be USB Headers and Firewire headers, as well as speakers and LED lights. These carry both data and power, and are typically very small and bunched in the bottom right corner of your motherboard. 14. List three types of ports that are often found coming directly off the motherboard to be used by external devices. P14 1 - USB 2 - eSATA 3 - FIREWIRE 15. What is the purpose of the S/ PDIF port? A S/PDIF (Sony-Phillips Digital Interface) sound port connects to an external home theater audio system, providing digital output and the best signal quality. 16. What is the most common type of memory module DIMM? p 11 Two popular memory module USB Flash Drives and Memory Cards 17. What is the difference between volatile and non- volatile memory? Volatile- memory that is temporary by nature. Non-volatile- memory that holds its data permanently. 18. Of the two types of storage in a system, which type is generally faster and holds data and instructions while the data is being processed? Which type of storage is generally slower, but more permanent? P12 1. RAM. Installed on the motherboard is called primary storage. 2. Hard Disk Drive. Main secondary device is the hard drive.

19. What technology standard provides for up to four devices on a system, including the hard drive as one of those devices? What are two common industry names loosely used to describe this standard? IDE (also known as PATA and ATA) provides for up to four devices, including the hard drive. The serial ATA standard allows for more than four drives installed in a system. The cd-rom drive and the Zip drive share an IDE cable, and the hard drive uses the other cable. 20. What is a measurement of frequency of a system bus and CPU? Which is faster, the system bus or the CPU? A system bus frequency is 1600 MHz A CPU frequency is 166 MHz to almost 4GHz. 21. Name three types of buses that are likely to be on a motherboard today. SYSTEM BUS, FRONT SIDE BUS (FSV), MEMORY BUS, HOST BUS, LOCAL BUS, OR EXTERNAL BUS. 22. A power supply receives 120 volts of AC power from a wall outlet and converts it to 3.3, 5, and 12 volts of DC power. 23. ROM BIOS or firmware chips that can be upgraded without replacing the chips are called Flash ROMS 24. BIOS setup allows a technician to change configuration settings on a motherboard stored in CMOS RAM. 25. Name three examples of secondary storage devices. A secondary storage device can be a hard drive or a CD/DVD drive connected to the secondary IDE motherboard connection. The most popular secondary storage devices are hard disks, CDs, DVDs, USB Flash drive and floppy disks. 26. A Hertz is 1 cycle per second; a Megahertz is 1 MILLION cycles per second, and a Giga-hertz is 1 BILLION cycles per second. 27. An AGP slot is normally used for a ( n) ______ expansion card. Graphics card. 28. How many sizes of PCI Express slots are currently manufactured for personal computers? Four different Sizes 29. Name the three purposes the motherboard ROM BIOS serves. System BIOS, startup Bios, and CMOS setup. 30. From where does CMOS RAM receive its power when the computer is not turned on? cmos ram is powered by a trickle of electricity from a small battery located on the motherboard or computer case.

CHAPTER 2 1. Which Microsoft operating system was the first to use all 32-bit processing?

2. What are the hardware requirements to use the Vista Aero user interface?

3. What is the application mentioned in the chapter that creates a virtual machine on a computer?

4. List four major functions of an Operating System.

5. What is the next Microsoft operating system for desktop computers to be released in 2010?

6. The windows shell operates in ______ mode and the kernel operates in ______ mode.

7. How many bits does an x86-based operating system process at one time?

8. What term does Intel use to describe a processor technology that uses all 64-bit processing?

9. What term does AMD use to describe the processor technology that uses a 64-bit instruction set with 32-bit internal core processing?

10. In question 9 above, what term does Intel use to describe the same technology?

11. Which Windows XP operating system is a 64-bit OS?

12. Which edition of vista comes packaged with a 32-bit DVD as well as a 64-bit DVD?

13. What is the memory limitation for a 32-bit operating system?

14. On the Vista Star menu, where might you expect to be able to access user files?

15. How can you add the sidebar to the Vista desktop?

16. When os the Vista flip 3D view available to Vista?

17. What is the keyboard shortcut to the flip 3D view?

18. The taskbar notification area includes icons for currently running services. What is another term for this area?

19. What part of a filename does Windows use to know which application to open to manage the file?

20. When does a user need to enter a password into the UAC box in order to continue?

21. What extension is used to name a compressed folder?

22. What is the path and folder name to the desktop folder for the user Jane when Windows Vista is installed on drive C?

23. List five file attributes. Which attribute applies only to Vista?

24. How do you access the Properties box for a file to change an attribute?

25. What is the program name for the system information utility?

CHAPTER 4 1. How many pins does the p1 connector have that use the ATX Version 2.2 standard?

2. What are the maximum dimensions for a motherboard that uses the MicroATX form factor?

3. Which form factor is a smaller version of the micro ATX?

4. Which form factor uses a riser card in the edge of the motherboard?

5. How many pins does the main power connector on a BTX motherboard have?

6. Which type of a case form factor is the best for keeping a system cool?

7. Which type of computer case is the most popular for desktop systems?

8. What is the normal voltage of house electricity in the US?

9. Hot wires in home wiring are normally colored ____ and ground wires in computers are normally colored _______.

10. What is the difference between a transformer and a rectifier? Which are found in a PC power supply?

11. What are the 5 voltages that can be produced by an ATX or BTX power supply? Which voltage is seldom used?

12. What device uses the 12 V 6-pin power connector?

13. What device uses the 12 V 8-pin power connector?

14. What is the purpose of the 4-pin auxiliary connector on a motherboard?

15. What is the purpose of the 4-pin Molex connector?

16. How do you determine the wattage capacity needed by a power supply?

17. Which one component in a high-end gaming computer is likely to draw the most power?

18. Why a power supply is dangerous even after the power is disconnected?

19. Which tool of a pc support technician is the most important tool to protect the system against ESD?

20. Which permanently damages a computer component, damage caused by ESD or damage caused by EMI?

21. What is the simple way to detect EMI?

22. What is the unintended, high current, closed connection between two points in a circuit called?

23. What device protects a system against lighting strikes but does not protect against sags and brownouts?

24. What device protects a system against blackouts?

25. What two measurements are used to rate the capacity of a Ups?

26. What unit of measure is used to describe the amount of work a surge suppressor can do before it stops protecting the circuit from an electrical surge?

27. Why is it important to have an indicator light on a surge suppressor?

28. What are the 2 main types of uninterruptible power supplies?

29. How does a smart UPS differ from one that is not smart?

30. What is the purpose of a POST diagnostic card?

31. When taking c computer apart, why is it important to not stack boards on top of each other?

32. When assembling a system, which do you install first, the drives or the motherboards?

33. List 4 computer symptoms that indicate a faulty power supply?

CHAPTER 5 1. What are five main categories of form factors used for motherboards?

2. How main pins does the Intel Socket B have? What is another name for this socket?

3. How main pins does the AMD socket AM2 have?

4. Which is a better performing Intel chipset, the X58 or the P45?

5. Which part of the chic set connects directly to the processor, the North Bridge or the South Bridge?

6. What are the names of the 2 technologies used to install multiple video cards in the same system?

7. What are the 2 different voltages that a PCI slot can provide?

8. How does the though put of a PCI Express Version 1.1 compare to PCIe Version 1? How does PCIe Version 2 compare to Version 1?

9. What is the maximum wattage that PCIe Version 2.0 expansion cards draw?

10. What new type power connector on the motherboard was introduced with PCIe Version 1.0? How much power does this connector provide?

11. What new type of power connector was introduced with PCIe Version 2.0? How much power does this connector provide?

12. If you are installing an expansion card into a case that does not have enough clearance above the motherboard for the card, what device can you use to solve the problem?

13. What is the purpose of an AGP slot?

14. Which is faster, a PCI Express x16 bus or the latest AGP bus?

15. What is the purpose of a CNR slot?

16. What is the likely color of the PS/2 mouse port on the rear of a computer?

17. What is one reason to flash bios?

18. What is the easiest way to obtain the latest software to upgrade bios?

19. What can you do if the power-on-password and the supervisor password to a system have been forgotten?

20. Where is the boot priority order for devices kept?

21. What is the difference between a hard boot and a soft boot?

22. How is CMOS RAM powered when the system is unplugged?

23. Describe how you can see access the BIOS setup program.

24. If a USB port on the motherboard is failing. What is one task you can do that might fix the problem?

25. What might the purpose be for a SATA-style power connector on a motherboard?