Operating systems - CS1 - M1

There are three main types of operating systems you can either download from the retailers’ website or you can buy from a retailer, these are, Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Apple MAC. What the operating system does is it provides an interface between the client (you) and the computer system.

First of I’ll explain the drawbacks and perks of a windows 7 Operating system, this is the newest version of windows that Microsoft has released. One of the drawbacks of windows 7 is the fact that the computer needs at least 1 GB of RAM, 1 GHz CPU and at least 16GB storage space, this is bad if you have a fairly old PC as only the newest versions of PCs can support windows 7. Some advantages of windows 7 if you have the requirements is the fact that it is faster than the previous versions of windows. 7 is fully compatible with windows vista, meaning that it would be easy to upgrade from vista to windows 7 if you need too, also, most, if not all programmes and software is compatible with windows 7, apart from software that is made and designed for MAC PCs. So a list of perks is as follows:

- Fully compatible with Vista.

- Runs faster than previous versions of windows.

- Most if not all programmes are compatible with windows 7.

- Windows 7 is easy to use for someone with little or no computer knowledge.

Disadvantages

- Need at least the following spec

- 1GB RAM

- 1GHz CPU

- 16GB Storage space

- Meaning that only the newer computers can support windows 7.

The next operating system I am going to talk about is the snow leopard operating system; this was made by Macintosh and is the newest Operating System offered by Macintosh. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of this operating system are as follows. the snow leopard Operating System uses 64 Bit technology, which is faster than 32 bit (the most common CPU speed) even in applications that are designed for 32 bit, so meaning if you have a 64 bit processor you will get the true speed. The Snow leopard OS also has improved security, unlike Windows 7 it uses multi layered Security protections, to stop people from accessing your files, people who use windows as an operating system need to have security installed as there are a lot of viruses that can infect as windows pc, it is harder to make a virus to infect a Macintosh computer though, meaning that you are less likely to get a virus. This operating system also has speed enhancements to the previous versions. The only problem with this OS is the fact that it is a lot more complicated to use than it is to use a windows operating systems, so in total these are all the possible advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:

- Enhanced Security

- Faster speed on 64 bit computers

- Faster than previous versions

- Good for video and pictures as the operating system is built for designing.

Disadvantages

- Hard to use as it is more of a professional piece of software.

And last but not least I am going to talk about Linux operating systems, some of the advantages of Linux is the fast that it doesn’t cost anything to download or to install, since it is open office software. Another advantage is the fact that the software is stable and doesn’t have to be restarted every now and again to keep up the performance of the operating system; it also has a fast performance as it doesn’t have as many applications or programmes to run the operating system as the other OS needs. Linux is also very flexible, so it will be easy to run any high speed network connections if need be. It is also is compatible with all Unix applications, the software installation is very easy and quick, and also Linux is very secure because there aren’t many backdoors that hackers can use to get into your computer. The only bad thing about Linux is the fact that it can be complicated to fix if there is a problem and there wouldn’t be anywhere you could ask for help because it is free software. A list of advantages is as follows:

- Cheap

- Stable software

- Runs fast

- Flexible

- Compatible with all Unix applications

Disadvantages

- Can be complicated if something goes wrong

- Not very up-to-date like windows and MACs

One final thing you have to consider when you are purchasing an operating system, you should check the specifications that your computer needs, and this is usually found on the back of the box or on the retailers’ website. You can check what your computer has by entering the BIOS settings; you can access it when you start up your computer, by usually pressing f2. I would recommend that you get windows, as it is very fast, reliable and it is the easiest Operating system to use, not as complex as the other two OS.

Ports - CS1

Ports

Here is a picture of the ports on the back of a computer; I will also explain what they are used for.

First I will start with the basics, the power supply, this is simple, it is where the power cable goes into the system to give it power, and without it you wouldn’t have power to your system therefore won’t be able to use it.

Next I will explain the PS/2 ports, there are two of these ports, one that is purple and one that is green, the green one is the one that you plug your mouse into, and the purple port is the port that you plug your keyboard into, a mouse is something that you will use to control the ‘mouse’ on the screen, and you will use the keyboard to insert characters into your computer to give it instructions.

Next it’s the VGA port, this port is a port that you plug your monitor into, it basically tells the display monitor what it should be showing you, most monitors support VGA, but if your computer has a different port for a display then you should check the port before you get the monitor.

Next it is the parallel printer port, this is self-explanatory, it is what you plug old fashioned printers into, and it sends information to the printer about what it should print off, newer printers these days use USB ports as they are faster and easier to use.

Next I will explain about USB ports, what they are is things you would plug accessories that you could purchase for a computer, for instance, some mouse’s use USB and flash drives use USB ports, they are universal and almost all things can be changed to use USB ports, so it is good to make sure that your system has them.

Next I will explain the Ethernet port; this is the port that you would use to connect your computer up to other computers, or make a network of computers, using an Ethernet cable.

Last I will explain the input/output sound, it’s pretty simple, you would plug microphones in here and you would also plug in any external speakers that you might have. They need to be a 3.5mm jack so make sure it is the right size for the port. an example of a computers ports is shown below:

Internal Memory - CS1

Internal Memory

A computers internal memory is what is used for the computer to store data to do with things like the operating system. These bits of internal memory are usually stored onto little microchips on the motherboard; the memory can vary from a couple of megabytes to several gigabytes.

Processor cache is something that is used by the internal memory, basically what this does is it has two levels, level one data is accessed by the processor as this is what the processor needs in order to do the instructions it is set, and level 2 cache, which is what holds a little bit of information that is stored on your hard drive, the reason it does this, is the computer predicts what you are going to do next and it tries to get that information before you need it to try and speed up the access times.

You don’t really need to know much about internal memory because of the fact that it is already built into the computer and there won’t be many times when you will need to take it out or replace it with a new one, which would be fairly difficult.

Network Card - CS1

Network Card

This part of the computer system is vital if you want to have access to the internet, or if you wish to connect your computer up to someone else’s, a network card is something that can come built into the computer or it can be sold separately, you should check the back of the computer for an Ethernet port before purchasing a network card, below is a picture of a what an Ethernet port looks like, so you know what you are looking for.



An Ethernet port basically connects you and someone else together, by the use of Ethernet cables, you can also connect to the internet by using this method, if you are connecting to the internet this way then you will have to have a special modem to convert the digital signals that your computer sends into signals that the lines can handle, which are analogue, without a Ethernet port it would make it more difficult for you to communicate using your computer system.

If you don’t have an Ethernet port built in with your computer then you can simply just insert one into an available PCI slot, like you would with the graphics card, so don’t panic if you can’t see an Ethernet port, as you can install one.

Power Supply - CS1

Power supply

Before you start touching the power supply, please refer to the health and safety at the top of this page.

This is pretty much self explanatory; you need a power supply that will supply your computer with the power that it needs to run. The power supply is located at the back of a computer case, it is fairly easy to replace or insert a different one if need be.

What you need to do is you need to first of all unscrew it, (because it needs to be secured into place), then it should just slide out, then you will need to disconnect all of the other wires that are going to the motherboard, slide the new one in (making sure you have the right size power supply is vital so measure the old one before purchasing or getting a new one, I know I’ve made this mistake), screw It back into place then simply just plug the wires back into the motherboard, it is as simple as that.

Also in a power supply you have a thing called AC and DC, these stand for Alternate current and Direct current. This is the form of which the electricity is transferred through the power pack. Alternate current (AC), is where the electricity current can go in any direction, meaning it can go back and forward if it wishes too. AC is better to use for transferring electricity to long distances, that’s why most power sockets you will find in a home uses AC. DC is different though. DC means direct current, which is where the current is sent directly to the point of which it is needed. DC is less reliable than AC because it doesn’t travel long distances.

Graphics Card - CS1

Graphics Card

A graphics card is an external card that you can plug into your computer through PCI slots, the PCI slots can be found near the rear of the motherboard and there are usually 2-4 of them. The graphics card simply slots into these slots and it can be changed and replaced easily.

A graphics cards main purpose is to take strain off of the RAM for things that involve display, most motherboards these days come with built in graphics cards, and they usually don’t require the need to get a graphics card, there is an easy way to check to see if your system has it built in or if you need to get one, what you need to do is check the back of the computer, there are many different types of connections, which I will explain later, but the main one you should look for is a VGA port, this will be located roughly in the middle of your computer system, this is a blue socket and it has 3 rows of 5 pin connections. If you have this on the back of your system then there is no need to get a graphics card.

These graphics cards are good for things like gaming though, because of the fact that they have their own RAM and therefore taking the strain off of your RAM. So I would only recommend getting a graphics card if it is absolutely necessary, because these aren’t exactly cheap. an example is below:

HDD - CS1

HDD

Before you start touching the Hard Drive refer back to the health and safety at the top of this page.

HHD stands for hard disk drive, this is where all of the information that a computer needs is saved, the hard drive is non-volatile, and so anything that you save onto this hard drive won’t disappear if the computer was switched off. The hard drive holds important information like, operating system, programmes and data that you have stored onto the hard drive. This hard drive simply saves by using a platter and a head, what happens is the head changes the magnetic field in the platter slightly, by either changing a number to either a 1 or a 0, this I called binary data, and this is a computers language.

The hard drive can easily be located, if you open up a computer, the hard drive is usually located in a silver rectangular casing, usually only a few inches in length and height, it is mostly stored near the front of the computer, and it has two different cable that it needs to be plugged into the motherboard with, this is a power cable, and a grey wire that usually has 20 pin or 50+ pin connector, and it has many different small wires all connected to one another. The grey cabling is the cable that is used for the Hard Drive to communicate with the motherboard, without it you wouldn’t be able to run a computer system, this is probably one of the most important pieces of hardware for a computer, and they range in sizes, starting from as low as 20 GB (Giga Bytes) to 1 TB (terror byte).

Taking one out and putting another one in is pretty simple, most of them are held in by screws, but some of them have quick release buttons. Just undo the screws and it should slide out, unplug it and then you can plug the new one strait in, it is as simple as that, you have to be careful though, because there are different types of hard drive, SATA and IDE, they both look the same, so I have some ways in which you could identify them.

If you look on the back of the hard drive, there will be a bunch of pins, IDE drives have 50 or more pins on the back, as where as SATA drives don’t have nearly that many pins, also you could identify the board connection, on an IDE drive the pins are spread out roughly over 2 inches or so, the cable that plugs into it is ribbon like and the connector is wide, but a SATA drives connection is similar to a mobile phones connection.

RAM - CS1

RAM

Before touching the RAM please refer back to the health and safety at the top of this page.

RAM stands for Random Access Memory, this is volatile memory, its basically where things that you are doing on the computer system are stored, RAM is used to speed up the process of doing things, so instead of things saving directly to your hard drive they will be stored on the RAM until they are desired to go to the hard drive, the problem with RAM is its volatile so if you were to lose power to your computer system then all of the things stored on your RAM will be lost, but if they are saved to the hard drive then they won’t be lost. Without RAM running a computer system would be virtually impossible, RAM plugs directly into the motherboard, there are several different types of RAM and they all have their unique compatibilities and times and speed, so far there are two different types of RAM, SRAM (static RAM) and DRAM (Dynamic RAM).

SRAM is faster that DRAM because it uses static, it can go as fast as 10 nanoseconds, as where as DRAM can only go as fast as 60 Nanoseconds. But the RAM you have will probably be DRAM as it is a lot cheaper than SRAM, and it is a lot more popular. There are four main types of RAM for a computer system, SDRAM, DDR, DDR2 and DDR3. SDRAM being the oldest and slowest, and DDR3 being the fastest and newest RAM, all of these bits of RAM have different connections into a motherboard, so you should check on the motherboard what type of RAM your motherboards will support, next I will explain how to remove and put in a piece of RAM.

First of all you should locate the RAM slots, these will normally be near the edges, they are sometimes colour coded, and they will have two ‘leavers’ either side of the slot, to put the RAM in you will need to line it up with the slot, make sure you have the RAM the right way in, as it will only fir one way, the RAM will have a little gap in it, the slow will also have a ‘ridge’ or ‘bump’ that will split it up into sections, all you have to do is make sure the ‘bump’ and the gap are lined up, and simply press on top of the RAM once it is lined up, it should slot in easily, to remove it just simply press the catches on each side and pull the RAM out.

CPU - CS1

CPU

Before touching the CPU please refer back to the health and safety at the top of this page.

Another thing that is really important to a computer system is the CPU, CPU stands for Central Processing Unit, meaning this is where most of the calculations the computer makes are held. The more calculations the CPU can make per second the faster your computer system will run. A CPU has several metallic pins or connectors, in which it is connected to the motherboard with, the CPU usually then has a heat sink and a small fan attached to the top, to try and keep the CPU cool, without a fan or heat sink then your CPU could overheat, so make sure you have one attached.

So CPU is basically when the input out-put possesses take place, so it calculates all of the necessary things that the programmes use, it also processes things that the operating system needs to run, the CPU can be found easily, the CPU is under the big fan on the motherboard, the reason it has a fan and a heat sink is because the CPU can get extremely hot, so it needs to be kept cool or it might break.

Most motherboards can only work with certain types of CPU. So you will need to check to make sure you have the right CPU for your motherboard if you were thinking about changing it. It will usually say somewhere on the motherboard, if not, you should be able to find it on the motherboards manufactures website, most CPUs will unclip out, so they are fairly easy to replace if need be, just be careful with them as the chips are very delicate.

All CPUs run at different speeds, ranging from top of the range to the ones at the bottom, they all have their up and down points, so you need to research the different CPUs before putting one into a certain motherboard, to make sure it is the right one and to make sure that it will have the best possible performance in the chosen motherboard. A picture of a CPU is shown below:


Processor

A processor is pretty much the CPU which I have already explained about, the processor just ‘processes’ all of the required data.

Motherboard - CS1

Motherboard

To start off with I will explain the most important part of a computer, this is the motherboard. The motherboard is the heart of a computer, without a motherboard the whole computer wouldn't be able to run. The motherboard is more than just the main arteries of a computer, it is what every single other thing in the computer is connected to. The Hard Drive is connected to it, the RAM is connected to it, and the Graphics Card is connected to it.  The motherboard is a square/rectangular, and it is the first thing you would see when you taking the casing off of a computer, everything is run through the motherboard; you have things called CMOS and BOIS on your motherboard chipset.

The BOIS is where all of the computer specifications are kept, so when you start up your computer system and press the key to go into the setup, the BIOS is what tells you how much RAM, what graphics card you have, how big your hard drive is, and all of the important information that you may need to know about your computer system, the CMOS on the other hand is what information like settings that you have changed on the BIOS, so if you were to change the settings this is where it has been saved, if you were to forget passwords you have saved or the settings where altered wrongly this is what you need to do, you need to turn of your system and unplug it. Then open the case so you can see the motherboard, then somewhere on the motherboard there will be a battery, this can usually be located in the middle of the motherboard, what you need to do is either remove the battery or you can move the jumper over to the left for 5 seconds and then move it back, doing this will delete all of the saved memory on the CMOS.

The motherboard is also the thing where all of the power that is needed to run all of the other hardware runs through, so meaning if they motherboard was to break or stop working then so would everything else in the computer, a motherboard is the main component that you need to run a computer system, and you wouldn’t be able to do this without the motherboard, the motherboard looks really complicated and complex, but it’s not that at all, the main components are in further posts. this is what a motherboard looks like: