Chapter 1 First Look at Computer Parts and Tools

Power Supply Tester

A power supply tester is used to measure the output of each connector coming from the power supply. You can test the power supply when it is outside or inside the case.

4-pin and 8-pin auxiliary connectors. When processors began to require more power, the ATX Version 2.1 specifications added a 4-pin auxiliary connector near the processor socket to provide an additional 12 V of power

A power supply that provides this 4-pin 12-volt power cord is called an ATX12V power supply.

a SATA cable connecting a hard drive and motherboard. SATA cables can only connect to a SATA connector on the motherboard in one direction

SATA drives get their power from a power cable that connects to the drive using a SATA power connector

The standards that describe the size, shape, screw hole positions, and major features of these interconnected components are called FORM FACTORS

- The motherboard fits in the case. - The power supply cords to the motherboard provide the correct voltage, and the connectors match the connections on the board. - The holes in the motherboard align with the holes in the case for anchoring the board to the case. - The holes in the case align with ports coming off the motherboard. - For some form factors, wires for switches and lights on the front of the case match up with connections on the motherboard. - The holes in the power supply align with holes in the case for anchoring the power supply to the case.

VGA (Video Graphics Array) port - DB-15, HD15, or DE15 port -

15 pin D shaped female ports that transmits analog video (ANALOG means a continuous signal with infinite variations as compared with digital, which is a series of binary values) 5 to 10 metres

Some notebooks have a connector, called a docking port, on the bottom or sides of the laptop to connect to a docking station.

A docking station provides ports to allow a laptop to easily connect to a full-sized monitor, keyboard, AC power adapter, and other peripheral devices. No software needs installing.

A system might have one or more hard drives, an optical drive, a tape drive, or, for really old systems, a floppy drive.

A hard drive, also called a hard disk drive (HDD), is permanent storage used to hold data and programs. The Windows 8 operating system and applications are installed on the hard drive. All drives in a system are installed in a stack of drive bays at the front of the case.

Because the CPU generates heat, a fan and heat sink might be installed on top to keep it cool.

A heat sink consists of metal fins that DRAW HEAT AWAY from a component. The fan and heat sink together are called the PROCESSOR COOLER

Inserting an ExpressCard while the laptop is shutting down or booting up can cause damage to the card and/or to the laptop.

Also, a card might give problems when you insert or remove the card while the laptop is in hibernation or sleep mode.

ExpressCard uses the PCI Express bus standard OR the USB 2.0 standard. Two sizes of ExpressCards exist: ExpressCard/34 is 34mm wide and ExpressCard/54 is 54mm wide,

An ExpressCard/34 card can fit into an ExpressCard/54 slot, but not vice versa. An ExpressCard slot is fully hot-pluggable (you can add a card while the system is on), hot-swappable (exchange or add a card while the system is on), and supports auto configuration. An ExpressCard/54 card that provides two eSATA ports for external SATA drives

Expansion cards. A motherboard has expansion slots to be used by expansion cards.

An expansion card/adapter card, is a circuit board that provides more ports than those provided by the motherboard. provided by the motherboard (called onboard ports) and less use of expansion cards.

24-pin p1 connector

OR 20+4 pin connector, is the main motherboard power connector used TODAY

LCD panels on devices are fragile and can be damaged fairly easily. Don't pick up or hold a laptop by the lid. Pick it up and hold it by the bottom. Keep the lid closed when the laptop is not in use. Only use battery packs and AC adapters recommended by the laptop manufacturer. Don't tightly pack a laptop or tablet in a suitcase. Don't place heavy objects on top of the laptop case. Don't move the laptop while the hard drive is being accessed

Don't put the laptop close to an appliance. Keep your laptop or device at room temperature. Don't leave the laptop or device in a dusty or smoke-filled area. Don't power it up and down unnecessarily. Protect the laptop from overheating by not running it when it's still inside the case, Protect a laptop against static electricity. Before placing a laptop in a carrying case for travel, remove any CDs, DVDs, or USB flash drives, If a laptop gets wet, you can partially disassemble it to allow internal components to dry. Don't use heat to speed up the drying time. Keep current backups of important data on a laptop or device in case it fails or is stolen.

One of the more important tools is an

ESD strap (also called a ground bracelet), which protects against ESD when working inside the computer case

NFC. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a wireless technology that establishes a communication link between two NFC devices that are within 4 inches of each other.

For example, when you tap your smart phone with that of your friend, the two phones can use NFC to exchange contact information

To use a function key,

Hold down the Fn key as you press the function keys Volume setting. Keyboard backlight. Screen brightness and screen orientation Dual displays. Bluetooth,Wi-Fi, or cellular on or off. Media options. GPS on or off.

Computer case/Chassis

Houses the Power Supply, Motherboard, Processor, Memory Modules, Expansions Cards, Hard Drive, Optical Drive, and Other Drive

System board.

In laptop documentation, the motherboard is usually called the system board) under the heat sink, memory, and fan.

a modem port, also called an rJ-11 port,

Is used to connect dial- up phone lines to computers. a modem port looks like a network port, but is not as wide.

ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) is the most commonly used form factor today.

It is an open, nonproprietary industry specification originally developed by Intel in 1995, and has undergone several revisions since then.

A driver receives power by a power cable from the power supply, and communicates instructions and data through a cable attached to the mother board.

Most hard drives, optical drives, and tape drives today use the serial ATA (SATA) standard

A computer power supply (Power Supply Unit (PSU)), is a box installed in a corner of the computer case that receives and converts the house current so that components inside the case can use it. AC DC

Most power supplies have a dual-voltage selector switch on the back of the computer case where you can switch the input voltage to the power supply to 115 V used in the United States or 220 V used in other countries.

The extra 4 pins on the 24-pin P1 connector provide +12 volts, +5 volts, and +3.3 volts pins.

Motherboards that support PCI Express and have the 24-pin P1 connector are sometimes called Enhanced ATX boards.

More than half pc purchased today are laptops, and almost 30 percent of personal computers currently in use are laptops ... less power, less space and operate on the move

Netbook another variation of laptop that is smaller and less expensive than a laptop and has fewer features All in one computer has the monitor and computer case built together and uses components that are common to both a laptop and a desktop

Two types of firmware may be used on motherboards: The older BIOS (basic input/output system) contains system BIOS to manage ESSENTIAL devices (such as the keyboard, mouse, hard drive, and monitor)

Newer motherboards use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware that is more robust and secure than BIOS. Just as with BIOS, UEFI is responsible for managing essential devices before the OS is launched, starting the computer, and managing motherboard settings.

Tower case sits upright and has room for several drives.

Often used for SERVERS, this type of case is also good for desktop computer users who ANTICIPATE UPGRADING, because tower cases provide MAX space for working inside a computer and moving component around

A multimeter is a more general-purpose tool that can measure several characteristics of electricity in a variety of devices.

Some multimeters can measure voltage, current, resistance, or continuity.

S-Video is a 4 or 7 pin round video port

Sometimes used to connect to a TV The 7 pin port is shown below. The 4-pin port is missing the extra pins in the middle and is the MORE COMMON

What are the three purposes accomplished by the motherboard BIOS?

System BIOS manages essential devices, startup BIOS starts the computer, and BIOS setup is used to configure the motherboard

Hard drive.

The 2.5-inch hard drive is secured in its bay with two screws. When you remove the screws, you can use the plastic tab to lift the drive from its bay.

Battery pack.

The battery pack is not shown because you always remove the battery first before opening a laptop case.

If you have a problem that prevents the computer from booting that you suspect is related to hardware, you can install the POST card in an EXPANSION slot on the motherboard. For laptops, some cards install in a USB port. Then attempt to boot.

The card monitors the boot process and reports errors, usually as coded numbers on a small LED panel on the card. You then look up the number online or in the documentation that accompanies the card to get more information about the error and its source.

Windows must provide two services for an ExpressCard: a socket service and a card service. The socket service establishes communication between the card and the laptop when the card is first inserted.

The card service provides the device driver to interface with the card after the socket is created.

Before USB devices a laptop offered ExpressCard slots to connect peripheral devices. These slot and card standards were designed and supported by the PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) and are sometimes called PCMCIA cards.

The cards were used by many devices, including modems, network cards for wired or wireless networks, sound cards, FireWire (IEEE 1394) controllers, USB controllers, flash memory adapters, TV tuners, and hard disks.

The motherboard contains a socket to hold the processor or CPU.

The central processing unit (CPU), also called the processor or microprocessor, does most of the processing of data and instructions for the entire system.

20-pin p1 connector

The motherboard power connector used in the EARLY ATX systems

Optical drive.

The optical drive is not visible in the photo. To replace it, you first remove a single screw holding the drive in place and then slide the drive to the left and out of the case.

The larger hard drive is a magnetic drive, and the smaller hard drive is a solid-state drive. Each drive has two connections for cables:

The power cable connects to the power supply, and another cable, used for data and instructions, connects to the motherboard.

Type of Computer

Tower, desktop, all-in-one computer, and mobile base (laptops or tablets)

Connect to a local wired network

USB to RJ-45 dongle

Connect to a Bluetooth device.

When a laptop doesn't have Bluetooth capability, you can use a USB to Bluetooth adapter

Use an external optical drive.

When a laptop or netbook doesn't have an optical drive, you can use a USB optical drive.

Tethering and mobile hotspots.

When a mobile device is connected to the Internet by way of its cellular network, you can allow other computers and devices to use this same connection.

The original ATX form factor for cases had case fans blowing air into the case,

but early revisions to the form factor had fans blowing air OUT of the case. Blowing air out of the case does a better job of keeping the system cool

the 4-pin Berg connector is used

by older floppy disk drives (FDD).

A desktop motherboard has memory slots,

called DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) slots, to hold memory modules.

Although not an essential tool, a POST diagnostic card, also called a POST card, or motherboard test card,

can be of great help to discover and report computer errors and conflicts that occur when you first turn on a computer and before the operating system (such as Windows 8) is launched.

an S/pDIF (Sony/philips Digital Interface) sound port

connects to an EXTERNAL home theater audio system, providing digital audio output and the best signal quality. S/pDIF ports always carry digital audio and can work with electrical or optical cable. When connected to a fiber-optic cable, the port is called an optical connector.

three or more round audio ports, also called sound ports,

for a microphone, audio in, audio out, and stereo audio out. these types of audio ports can transmit analog or digital data. If you have one audio cable to connect to a speaker or earbuds, plug it into the lime green sound port in the middle of the three ports. the microphone uses the pink port

the 20+4 pin p1 connector

has four pins REMOVED so the connector can fit into a 20-pin p1 motherboard connector.

a parallel port, also called an Lpt port,

is a 25-pin female port used by older printers. this older port has been replaced by USB ports.

an older serial port, sometimes called a DB9 port,

is a 9-pin male port used on older computers. It has been mostly replaced by USB ports.

the 8-pin 12-V connector

is an auxiliary motherboard connector, which is used for extra 12-V power to the processor, providing more power than the older 4-pin auxiliary connector.

4-pin 12-V connector

is an auxiliary motherboard connector, which is used for extra 12-V power to the processor.

Memory, also called RAM (random access memory),

is temporary storage for data and instructions as they are being processed by the CPU. Video cards also contain some embedded RAM chips for video memory

The motherboard, also called the main board, the system board, or the mobo,

is the largest and most important circuit board in the computer.

a network port, also called an ethernet port, or an rJ-45 port,

is used by a network cable to connect to the WIRED network. Fast ethernet ports run at 100 Mbps (megabits per second), and Giga- bit ethernet runs at 1000 Mbps or 1 Gbps (gigabits per second). a megabit is one million bits and a gigabit is one billion bits. a bit is a binary value of 1 or 0.

the 4-pin Molex connector .

is used for OLDER IDe (pata or parallel ata) drives and some NEWER Sata drives. It can provide +5 V and +12 V to the drive

the 15-pin Sata power connector

is used for Sata (Serial ata) drives. It can provide +3.3V, +5 V, and +12 V, although +3.3 V is seldom used.

a SO-DIMM used in

laptop computers ...Laptops use smaller memory modules than the DIMMs used in desktop computers.

Desktop case

lies flat and sometimes serves double-duty as a monitor stand

24-pin or 20+4-pin P1 connector. Later, when faster PCI Express (PCIe) slots were added to motherboards,

more power was required and a new ATX specification (ATX Version 2.2) allowed for a 24-pin P1 connector, also called the 20+4 power connector. The 20-pin power cable will still work in the new 24-pin connector

a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port is a

multipurpose I/O port that comes in several sizes and is used by many different devices, including printers, mice, keyboards, scanners, external hard drives, and flash drives. Some USB ports are faster than others. hi-Speed USB 2.0 is faster than regular USB, and Super-Speed USB 3.0 is faster than USB 2.0

the pCIe 6-pin connector

provides an extra +12 V for high-end video cards using pCI express, Version 1 standard.

the pCIe 8-pin connector

provides an extra +12 V for high-end video cards using pCI express, Version 2.

The microATX (MATX) form factor is a major variation of ATX and addresses some technologies that have emerged since the original development of ATX.

reducing the number of expansion slots on the motherboard, reducing the power supplied to the board, and allowing for a smaller case size. A microATX power supply uses a 24-pin P1 connector and is not likely to have as many extra wires and connectors as those on an ATX power supply

Connect to a local wireless network.

shows a USB to Wi-Fi dongle

The two form factors used by most desktop and tower computer cases and power supplies are

the ATX and microATX form factors.

a pS/2 port, also called a mini-DIN port, is a round 6-pin port used by a keyboard or mouse.

the ports look alike but are not in- terchangeable. On a desktop, the purple port is for the keyboard, and the green port is for the mouse. Many newer computers use USB ports for the keyboard and mouse rather than the older pS/2 ports.

mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water

to clean an LCD panel

A loopback plug is

to make sure the PORT IS WORKING and might also test the throughput or speed of the port.

a Displayport

transmits DIGITAL Video and Audio (not analog transmissions) and is SLOWLY replacing VGa and DVI ports on personal computers

an hDMI (high-Definition Multimedia Interface) port

transmits DIGITAL Video and Audio (not analog transmissions) and is often used to connect to HOME THEATHER. 20 metres

a DVI (Digital Video Interface) port

transmits DIGITAL or ANALOG video. three types of DVI ports exist, which you learn about in the chapter,

a thunderbolt port

transmits Video, Data, and Power on the same port and cable and is popular with apple computers. the port is shaped the same as the Displayport and is COMPATIBLEe with Displayport devices. Up to six peripherals (for example, monitors and external hard drives daisy-chained together) can use the same thunderbolt port.

an external Sata (eSata) port is

used by an external hard drive or other device using the eSata interface. eSata is faster than FireWire.

a FireWire port (also called an IEEE 1394 port, pronounced "I-triple-e 1394 port") is

used for high-speed multimedia devices such as digital camcorders.

the pCIe 6/8-pin connector is used by high-end video cards

using pCIe x16 slots to provide extra voltage to the card and can accommodate a 6-hole or 8-hole port. to get the 8-pin connector, combine both the 6-pin and 2-pin connectors.