COMPUTER HARDWARE SERVICING NC II

IDENTIFYING PARTS OF COMPUTER SYSTEMClassification:

Computer Hardware Computer Software

I. COMPUTER HARDWARE The mechanical, magnetic, electronic and electrical component

making up a computer system. Anything that exists physically in the computer system

MAJOR PARTS INCLUDE: Mainboard/Motherboard Storage Devices and Storage Media Power Supply Memory Module (RAM) Video Device or Video Card LAN Device, LAN Card or Network Interface Card (NIC) Audio Device or Audio Card Peripherals (Monitor, Pointing Devices like Mouse, Keyboard,

Desktop Speakers, etc.) Network Equipment and Materials (RG45, UTP Cable, HUB,

Router, Modem)

DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS Commonly called as SPECS Computer Components or Devices Specifications can be

determine using the specifications defined in device package, or inspecting the component itself.

Specifications can also be determined using a computer utility program. The advantage of this is that you need not turn off your computer just to check the brand or model of your device (ex. CPU)

Knowing device specifications can help you determine what devices to upgrade, to buy or change if damaged, etc. while maintaining compatibility to your current system

A. MOTHERBOARD Also known as Mainboard, MOBO, MB, System Board, Main

Circuit Board, Logic Board Where most important computer chips and other electronic

components that give function to a computer are located

Is a printed circuit board that connects the various parts such as processor, memory banks, ports, expansion card sockets, storage devices sockets, etc.

MAJOR PARTS OF THE MAINBOARD: SEE ILLUSTRATION1. Processor Socket2. Northbridge Chipset3. Southbridge Chipset4. Memory Module/RAM Banks5. Integrated Devices6. Storage/Drive Slots7. I/O Ports8. Video Card Slot (AGP/PCIE)9. Expansion Card Slots (PCI/ISA)10. BIOS Chip and CMOS Battery11. Sensor Chip

1. PROCESSOR SOCKET Determines the type of CPU to use For example,

1. Socket 478 for Pentium 4, Celeron processors2. Socket T (Socket 775/LGA 775) for Intel Pentium

4, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo, Xeon 3000, Core 2 Quad

3. Socket 754 for AMD Athlon, AMD Duron, AMD Sempron

Intel Pentium III

Socket 370Socket A (462) for

AMD Duron, Sempron

COMMON MOTHERBOARD SPECIFICATIONS Form Factor: AT, ATX, uATX (Micro ATX) Features: depends on the number of integrated devices, ports

and slots the MOBO supports Popular MB Brands: ACER, IBM, MSI, ASUS, ECS

2. NORTHBRIDGE CHIPSET This integrated chip (IC) directly controls communication

between CPU and Memory Modules. It also bridges the communication dedicated for AGP or Graphics port to CPU and also communicates with the southbridge.

Since this is the second busiest chip, you will find it often hidden under the heat sink

It is usually built between/nearby CPU and RAM banks and is under a heat sink.

3. SOUTHBRIDGE CHIPSET This IC serves as the communication bridge between the

Northbridge with the peripherals and storage devices with You will find this large IC far below the Northbridge and near the

PCI slots

4. MEMORY MODULE/RAM BANKS Determines the type of Memory Module to use. Some mainboard

may contain more banks of different type and can utilize two or more same modules at same time

Types:1. SDR Banks (Single Data Rate) for older ATX mother

boards2. DDR1 Banks (Double Data Rate) for MicroATX

motherboards3. DDR2 Banks4. DDR3 Banks

5. STORAGE SLOTS Determines the type of Storages Devices compatible to the

system board. May have one or more of these types: Types:

1. IDE Slot (commonly used for Hard Drive and CDROM)2. SATA Slot (currently popular for latest Hard Drives)3. SCSI Slot (for server computers, supports hot plugging*)4. FDD Slot for Floppy Drive

*hot-plugging means your can safely remove the hard drive while being in use or attached to a running system

6. INTEGRATED DEVICES Most main boards nowadays have built in or integrated with

devices such as Video, Audio and LAN Controllers/Adapters We commonly call these ports as:

1. Onboard Video Card/Onboard Graphics Controller [Blue]

2. Onboard Audio Port 3. Onboard LAN socket

PARTS OF THE MOTHERBOARD

Video/Display Port (VGA Port)

[Blue, below LPT Port]

Serial/Communication Port

(COM Port)[Green, below LPT

Port]

Parallel/Printer Port (LPT Port)

[Magenta]USB Port

(Rear)

LAN Port (Onboard)

Audio Jacks

RAM Slots[DDR1]

RAM Slots/Banks[SDR/SDRAM]

CPU Socket

Northbridge Chipset beneath

heat sink

CPU Cooler Seat

PS/2 Ports (Mouse/Keyboar

d)

CPU Power Supply Input

(12v Y/B)

South Bridge Chipset

Mainboard Power Supply

Primary and Secondary IDE Sockets for HDDs/CD Drives

Floppy Drive Socket

CMOS/ BIOS Chip

CMOS Batter

y

Powers Switch

and Header Panel Pins

SATA Receptacle

Header USB Pins

PCI Slot

PCI-E Slot

CMOS

ResetSenso

r Chip

MicroATX: Front Panel (FP) Pinouts FP Header Pins: FP Header

USB:

+ PLED -

+ HDDLED -

PS

RST

Screw Hole

Safety Precautions: Avoid touching metallic parts or any components on the board with bare hands. Always handle boards on its sides and lay it on antistatic bag.

7. I/O PORTS These are sockets commonly used for additional devices or

equipment to your computer Types:

1. USB (for USB compatible devices)2. GAME/MIDI [Yellow]3. SERIAL PORT (Communication Port) [Green]4. PARALLEL PORT (Printer Port) [magenta]5. PS/2 PORTS (for mouse [green] and keyboard [violet])

8. EXPANSION SLOTS These are slots for additional cards or system cards Types:

1. AGP/PCIE (for Video Card) [orange/brown]2. PCI (for NIC, modem, sound card, etc.) [white]3. ISA (for Audio Ports, LAN , etc.) [black]4. CNR (for network devices) [brown]

9. SENSOR CHIP This chip detects or determines the temperature of the

mainboard and the CPU. Due to this chip the in some motherboards can control the speed

of CPU fan when the CPU temperature varies It can also determine CPU Fan speed (measured in RPM) and CPU

and system voltages Sensor chip prevents system from damage from whichever

environment it is situated

10. BIOS CHIP AND CMOS BATTERY This chip contains a program that determines if all components

attached to the system is functioning. System hardware settings are stored in the RAM of this chip.

Without this chip your system cannot run because this determines what devices are built in and attached to the motherboard

Since settings are stored in RAM, CMOS battery sustains the setting information saved in the chip.

CMOS battery also keeps the system clock running even when the system is powered off

MAINBOARD SYSTEM DIAGRAMThe diagram below shows the connection chips and integrated circuits in the motherboards and to the ports, sockets, jacks and slots through data buses or thin strip of wires laid on the board.

B. PROCESSOR Also known as CPU (Central Processing Unit) interpret and implement software instructions, perform

calculations and comparisons, make logical decisions, temporarily store information for use by another of the CPU’s processing units, keep track of the current step in the execution of the program, and allow the CPU to communicate with the rest of the computer.

C. MEMORY MODULE (RAM) Device that provides Random-Access Memory (temporary data

storage) and can be read and written by the microprocessor or other hardware devices

COMMON PROCESSOR SPECIFICATIONS

Popular Brands: Intel, AMDFamily: Intel Pentium, Intel Core,

AMD Sempron, AMD DuronModel: Intel Pentium (P4), PD, Core2 DuoSpeed: 600 MHz,1.8 GHz, 2.0 GHzInstruction Set: x86 (32 bit), x64 (64 bit)*

*x86 are common desktop computers while the 64bit are those that are more powerful and are dedicated for intensive applications (such as servers)

COMMON MEMORY MODULE SPECIFICATIONS

Popular Brands: Kingston, CorsairType: SIMM, DIMM (SDR, DDR1, DDR2, DDR 3)Memory Size: 64 Mb, 256 Mb, 512, 1GbSpeed: PC3200 (200 MHz)

Intel CoreIntel Core2Duo

Unlike its predecessors, this Intel CPU is now pin-less and contains two cores

(CPU) in one package

AMD SempronThe equally popular

processor

D. STORAGE DEVICES Under storage devices are HARD DRIVES (or hard disk drive,

fixed disk or HDD), FLOPPY DRIVE and CD DRIVE. These drives hold a container for saving data or information.

Hard Drives are drives with permanent storage container attached inside itself.

Unlike HDD, floppy drives and CD drives have external storage container like floppy disks/diskette and CDs.

COMMON HARD DISK SPECIFICATIONS

Popular Brands: Maxtor, Seagate, Western Digital, FujitsuModel: Maxtor 2F040L0, ST4011SA,

SP0411NType: IDE, SATA, SCSIStorage Capacity: 10 Gb, 40 Gb, 160 GbOther Features: supports S.M.A.R.T.

SDRAMSpeed: PC133 (133 MHz),

two notches

DDR2Speed: PC400 (500 MHz), 1 notch,

thinner than DDR1

DDR1Speed: PC3200 (400 MHz),

single notch

COMMON CD DRIVE SPECIFICATIONS

Popular Brands: LG, Sony, SamsungDrive Type: CD ROM, CD RW, DVD ROM, DVD RW, Combo Drive Socket Type: IDE, SATA, USBRead/Write Speed: 4x, 30x, 52x

PATA OR IDE HDD INTERFACE SATA HDD INTERFACEVery few data pins, thus SATA cable is

very narrow

SCSI HDD INTERFACEThe data interface looks like that of the

other end of the printer cable (connected to the printer, not to the parallel port)

May not need cable (like IDE/SATA cable) to be connected to MOBO but be plugged directly in the board interface like that of a

Removable Card.

COMPACT DISK (CD ROM/DVD)This storage media can be read or written through a equipped CD DRIVE (CD ROM/CD RW Drive). Storage Capacity of CDs are usually 700 Mb, while DVD could store as much as 4000 Mb or even more.

FLOPPY DISKThis storage media can be read and written through a FLOPPY DRIVE. Storage Capacity of Diskette is about 1.5 Mb. That is equivalent to about 800 pages word/text document without graphics,

E. VIDEO DEVICE Commonly known as Video Card, Graphics Card or Removable

Display Adapter Enhances the graphic or display experience usually suitable for

gaming or for graphic hungry application like video editing or 3D animation

Usually has its own memory/RAM, unlike onboard which had to eat an amount of RAM from the system to gain performance

May have I/O ports for TV, S-Video and DVI other than just the VGA Port [Blue]

This is installed in AGP or PCIE socket

F. AUDIO CARD Audio Card is an external card with enhanced audio features and

may have several sockets Standard Sockets: 1. Output sound signals (speaker: green), 2.

receives input from stereo components (line-in: blue) or 3. receives input from mic (microphone: pink)

Usually a multimedia speakers will provide this card in the package

Installed in PCI or ISA slot

COMMON VIDEO CARD SPECIFICATIONS

Popular Brands: NVIDIA, ATIModel: GeForce MX5500, RadeonSocket Type: AGP, PCIERam Size: 128 Mb, 256 Mb

COMMON AUDIO CARD SPECIFICATIONS

Popular Brand: CreativeNo. of Ports: 3, 4, 6Speaker Types: 3.1, 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, or 7.1 multimedia speakers

with surroundMidi Port: Available/Not Available

AGP VIDEO CARDAlso known as AGP-type graphics card or graphics adapter/controller.

PCI-E VIDEO CARDAlso known as PCI-E-type graphics card or graphics

adapter/controller. The E in PCI stands for Express.

AUDIO CARDThis sound card contains 5 audio sockets, each with special audio functions. It also include MIDI port which now is not integrated in the mainboard.

G. LAN DEVICE Also known as LAN Card or Network Interface Card (NIC) and is

installed commonly in PCI slot This networking device allows the computer to be connected to a

other remote computers in a local area network Mainboard with no built in LAN port needs this removable card to

be able to connect to a network

COMMON LAN CARD SPECIFICATIONS

Brand/Model: Edimax, D-LinkSpeed: 100/10 Mbps

W-LAN CARDWireless LAN Card

This LAN Card has an antenna. You can install this to get rid of using LAN cables. But you will need an Access Point device so you’ll be connected to the network.

LAN CARD

Also known as NIC or Network Interface Card. This enables mainboard that does not have a LAN to get connected to a network.

H. POWER SUPPLY UNIT

Supplies electricity to motherboard, CPU, monitor and drivers

I. PERIPHERALS These are input and output (I/O) devices that give user the ability

to interact with the computer These include:

1. keyboard 2. pointing devices (mouse, track ball) and m3. monitor

J. MISCELLANEOUS Devices to enhance the usage and extend the capabilities of the

computer Include:

1. speakers amplify analog sound produced from an audio device

2. printers 3. cameras, scanners, fax are imaging devices4. phones5. input from other devices, etc.

COMMON POWER SUPPLY SPECIFICATION

Power Rating: 350 W, 250 W, 450W, 500 W, 600W , 650W

POWER SUPPLY UNIT

This unit has 24-pin mainboard supply and 4-pin CPU supply. Also includes SATA device power adaptor.

K. NETWORK DEVICES, EQUIPMENT AND COMPONENTS Devices used in networking Includes

1. NIC or LAN Card2. RJ 453. UTP Cable4. HUB5. router6. modem is a device that converts analog signal to digital to

be used by your computer. Commonly in connecting to an internet (digital data) using a telephone line (that carries analog data)

WIRELESS ROUTERRouter connects your network (LAN) to external resources like another network (LAN) of computers or to a larger network (WAN) like internet.

HUB/SWITCHEnables 2 or more computers to be connected to a network.

The white cables are UTP cables which have RG-45 at both ends.

RJ-45These plugs are used in interfacing computers through LAN cards. Cabling have different configuration.

II. COMPUTER SOFTWARE Written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory Anything that does not exist physically in the computer system

SOFTWARE EXAMPLES Operating System Programs and Applications Data or Information Device Drivers

OPERATING SYSTEM (OS) software that controls the execution of computer programs and may provide various services

Microsoft Windows XPApple Macintosh (Mac) OS XUNIX Linux Debian, FedoraSymbian OS (for mobile phones)

APPLICATION SOFTWARE Also known as program A software gives a computer instructions that provide the user with tools to accomplish a task Usually comes with an installer or setup file

Word Processors/CalculatorsMultimedia EditorsMedia PlayersGamesMany others

DEVICE DRIVERS These are files used by the operating system for the devices attached to the computer to function properly. Drivers ensure that your system recognizes the new device attached to it. Some may come with an installer

Audio Driver – this will enabled the analog audio output from the sound card. Without this, your system may not produce sound even if you have speakers attached to it. Printer Driver – this will enabled the use of printer. Without this, you will not be able to print at all.

DATA AND INFORMATION

Created by the programs or applications through the use of the user. They may be files or settings created, modified or saved by the user. Something that takes up space in the storage.

If the user is using a Word Processor program/application like MS Word, the data or information will be the word files created by the user.

TYPES OF COMPUTERSTYPES BASED ON THEIR FUNCTION OR USE

Desktop Computers Server Computer Mobile (Used for Laptops and PDA*/Palmtop)ENDCOMPUTER SYSTEM SERVICING

80% HARDWARE and 20% SOFTWARE

FOUR COMPONENTS OF SERVICING:(CORE COMPETENCIES)

Installation Configuration Diagnosing and Troubleshooting MaintenanceINSTALLATION Setting up the computer system in both hardware and software ready for use

Hardware Side: Assembling computer components like motherboard, cards, drives, etc. in system cabinet

Software Side: Installing an operating system, installing applications, installing printer driver, etc. CONFIGURATION Adjusting computer system settings and configuration at both hardware and software to a particular purpose or output

Hardware Side: Changing mainboard jumper settings, changing HDD jumper settings, setting up LAN cabling type

Software Side: Partitioning HDD into two equal parts, create a multiboot system formatting HDD with NTFS, setting up Desktop, setting up LAN connection, DIAGNOSING AND TROUBLESHOOTING Determine or distinguish the nature of a problem in both software and hardware through a diagnostic analysis (troubleshooting)

Hardware Side: Computer automatically turns off maybe due to low power rating PS or a failing CPU

Software Side: Operating System cannot boot or start maybe due to corrupt system files

MAINTENANCE It is an activity involves of correcting or repairing (Corrective Maintenance) and planning or periodically maintaining/checking (Preventive Maintenance) both hardware and software side of a computer system

MAINTENANCE Hardware Side:

CM: reseat memory if the system cannot start, PM: disassembly of system for cleaning every first Monday of

the month

Software Side: run disk defragmentation every after two weeks, scan system with an antivirus

CHS COVERAGE

Computer System NetworkingENDHARDWARE SETTINGS

Motherboard Jumper Settings HDD Jumper SettingsCMOS SETUP CONFIGURATION Parts of the CMOS Setup Enabling and Disabling I/O and Devices

BOOTING SEQUENCE Bootable Disks Setting Boot Sequence MANAGING DIRECTORIES

DOS ENVIRONMENT

Create Folder (MD) Browsing through Folders/Directories (CD) Delete Folder (DEL) Copy Files

MANAGING DIRECTORIESGRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE(OS Desktop Environment)

Create Folder Browsing through Folders/Directories Delete Folder Copy Files

ADVANCED COMMANDS FORMAT FDISK PING EDIT IPCONFIG

INSTALLING OS Installing Windows 98