Comp. Lecture Lab.
What are the major determining factors of the computers performance
) The speed of the CPU The speed of the CPU is also known as the clock speed of the CPU. The clock speed of the CPU is the frequency of which the processor executes instructions or the frequency by which data is processed by the CPU. It is measured in millions of cycles per second or megahertz (MHz). If the Clock speed of the CPU is fast then definitely the performance of the computer will be affected positively, in other words the computer will carry out processing functions at a faster pace. 2) The size of the RAM (Random Access Memory) The RAM is referred to as the active part of the computer. This is because the RAM has the capability of storing data that the computer is currently using, because of the fact that it is fast to retrieve data stored in the RAM. With the definition above, a large RAM size will mean a faster computer performance and a smaller RAM size will result to slower computer performance. 3) The speed of the hard disk The hard disk speed is defined as the rate at which material and content can be read and written on it. The hard disk speed of different hard disks is not consistent because they vary by manufacturer, drive type and the use of the hard disk. It therefore means that the higher the speed of the hard disk the faster the performance of the computer and vice versa. 4) Hard disk space The bigger the space on the hard disk will result to faster performance of the computer. The smaller the space on the hard disk will result in a slower performance of the computer. The hard disk is filled with data this will use most of the memory leaving less memory for the operations of the processor. 5) Multiple applications running on the computer Multi-tasking tends to slow down the performance of the computer because memory is used to support more than one applications compared to when one application has all the memory to itself. This means that the more applications that are running the slower the computer will perform. Likewise if less or one application is running the performance of the computer will be faster. 6) Type of graphic card When it comes to quality of pictures and animations graphic cards are the main factors. So if a machine processes many graphics and it has a weak graphic card it will perform slower. This means that the more powerful the graphic card is the faster the performance of the computer. 7) Defragmenting files Files that are broken or it takes long to read them will mean that the computer will have to defragment them first. This will slow down the performance of the computer.
What operating system does your computer use? Is it up to date? How Can you tell?
Check for operating system information in Windows 7. , enter Computer in the search box, right-click Computer, and then click Properties. Look under Windows edition for the version and edition of Windows that your PC is running.
What is the total capacity of the Hard Disk (HD)? How much storage space is available?
Check the Size of your Hard Drive in your Computer Your hard drive is where everything is stored to operate and use your computer. The larger your hard drive (just like your closet), the more you can store. How large is my Hard Drive? (HD) Click on the Start button (lower left corner of the Taskbar) In the popup menu, click on Computer to open the window. Window will show (amount of space) free of (total space of HD)
Why is it important to know whether your HD is fragmented? How would you determine and how do you fix it?Is it important even if your computer has SSD instead of the Hard disk.
Defragmentation is like cleaning house for your PC, it picks up all of the pieces of data that are spread across your hard drive and puts them back together again. Why is defragmentation important? Because every computer suffers from the constant growth of fragmentation and if you don't clean house, your PC suffers. Disk fragmentation occurs when a file is broken up into pieces to fit on the disk. Because files are constantly being written, deleted and resized, fragmentation is a natural occurrence. When a file is spread out over several locations, it takes longer to read and write. But the effects of fragmentation are far more widespread: Slow PC performance, long boot-times, random crashes and freeze-ups - even a complete inability to boot up at all. Many users blame these problems on the operating system or simply think their computer is "old", when hard disk fragmentation is most often the real culprit.
How much physical memory (Ram) does your computer have?
If you are using Windows, you can find out how much RAM you have by right-clicking the My Computer icon and selecting "Properties..." This will open the System Properties window and you can view the amount of physical memory installed under the General tab. You can find out how much memory your computer is currently using by right-clicking anywhere in the open space of the Taskbar and selecting "Task Manager." Then click the Performance tab of the window that opens and you will be able to view your memory usage.
What is the name of your computer?
Open System by clicking the Start button. Right-click on Computer, and then clicking Properties. Under Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, you can find your computer name, and its full computer name if your computer is on a domain.
Identify the type of cpu and its speed in your computer?
Right-click on the My Computer or Computer icon on the Desktop or in the Start Menu. Select Properties in the pop-up menu. In the System Properties window, you should see the manufacturer of the processor (e.g. Intel or AMD), the model of the processor (e.g. Core 2), and the speed (e.g. 1.86 GHz). For new versions of Windows, it also shows you the System type, which in the Windows 8 example below shows a 64-bit operating system on an x64 processor.
How many versions of windows seven are available? Identify at least two differences among them?
Six Windows 7 versions.
What is the importance of keeping system clock and calendar right?
The Importance of Time Synchronization for Your Network In modern computer networks time synchronization is critical because every aspect of managing, securing, planning, and debugging a network involves determining when events happen. Time also provides the only frame of reference between all devices on the network. Without synchronized time, accurately correlating log files between these devices is difficult, even impossible. Following are just a few specific reasons: Tracking security breaches, network usage, or problems affecting a large number of components can be nearly impossible if timestamps in logs are inaccurate. Time is often the critical factor that allows an event on one network node to be mapped to a corresponding event on another. To reduce confusion in shared filesystems, it is important for the modification times to be consistent, regardless of what machine the filesystems are on. Billing services and similar applications must know the time accurately. Some financial services require highly accurate timekeeping by law. Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA Security Rules both require accurate timestamping.
What file system does this HD use to store information?
The file system is listed in the drive properties. Go to > Computer, right-click on the drive you wish to examine, and select > Properties from the menu. The > General tab shows the > File system. To find the cluster size of a NTFS drive, use the keyboard shortcut > [WINDOWS] + [R] and the Run window will open. Be sure you run the task with administrator rights. Type > cmd into the text line and click > OK. Then run the command > fsutil fsinfo ntfsinfo [drive letter] and hit > Enter.
Is it a 32 bit or 64 bit version? Why is that important to know?
The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor (also called a CPU), handles information. The 64-bit version of Windows handles large amounts of random access memory (RAM) more effectively than a 32-bit system. To find out if your computer is running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows in Windows 7 or Windows Vista, do the following: Open System by clicking the Start button The Start button, right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties. Under System, you can view the system type.
suppose that after instilling new software your computer starts crashing. What course of action would you follow to restore your computer to the previous state before installing the software?
To make sure System Restore is turned on-and to enable it for specific drives-hit Start, type "restore," and then click "Create a restore point." Don't worry. This doesn't actually create a restore point; it just opens the dialog where you can get to all the System Restore options. On the "System Protection" tab, in the "Protection Settings" section, you'll see the available drives on your PC and whether protection is enabled for each drive. To turn on protection, select a drive on the list and click the "Configure" button. (In our case, System Restore was already enabled for our C: drive. If it isn't on your system, that's the first drive you'll probably want to enable it for.) In the "System Protection" dialog that opens, click the "Turn on system protection" option, adjust the "Max Usage" slider to the amount of hard drive space you want System Restore to be able to use, and then click "OK." You can then click "OK" again to exit the System Properties dialog. Just be aware that when Windows creates a restore point (or you create one manually), System Restore will create a restore point on all the drives that have system protection enabled.
How much virtual memory does your computer have? What role does virtual memory play in your computer?
Virtual memory is disk storage that's used to supplement the actual memory (RAM) in your PC. When memory resources get low, chunks of memory are quickly written to disk. The memory that's written is then freed for other purposes Press Win+Break to quickly summon the System window or the System Properties dialog box. In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, click the Advanced System Settings link. In Windows Vista, click the Continue button or type the administrator's password to proceed. Click the Advanced tab in the System Properties dialog box. In the Performance area, click the Settings button. The Performance Options dialog box appears. Click the Advanced tab in the Performance Options dialog box. Information about virtual memory appears near the bottom of the dialog box. The paging file is the disk image of your computer's memory. Windows sets its size for optimal performance based on your computer's configuration. Honestly, you have nothing further to do. However, if you are still inclined to look further, follow Step 7. Click the Change button. The Virtual Memory dialog box appears. Again, Windows creates the settings shown in the dialog box; you don't need to change a thing.
If your computer performance appears to be degraded what is the quickest way to monitor the performance of your computer?
Windows 7's Event Viewer includes a new category of event logs called Applications and Services Logs, which includes a whole host of subcategories that track key elements of the operating system. The majority of these subcategories contain an event log type called Operational that is designed to track events that can be used for analyzing and diagnosing problems. (Other event log types that can be found in these subcategories are Admin, Analytic, and Debug; however, describing them is beyond the scope of this article.) Now, within the operating system section is a subcategory titled Diagnostic-Performance with an Operational log that contains a set of a Task Category called Boot Performance Monitoring. The Event IDs in this category are 100 through 110. By investigating all the Event ID 100 events, you will be able to find out exactly how long it took to boot up your system every time since the day you installed Windows 7. By investigating all the Event ID 101 thru 110 events, you will be able to identify all instances where boot time slowed down. Getting started You can find and launch Event Viewer by opening the Control Panel, accessing the System and Security category, selecting the Administrative Tools item, and double-clicking the Event Viewer icon. However, you can also simply click the Start button, type Event in the Start Search box, and press Enter once Event Viewer appears and the top of the results display. Creating a Custom View Once you have Event Viewer up and running, you can, of course, drill down through the Applications and Services Logs and locate the Diagnostic-Performance Operational log and begin manually looking through the events recorded in the log. However, you can save yourself time and energy by taking advantage of the new Custom View feature, which is essentially a filter that you can create and save. To do so, pull down the Action menu and select the Create Custom View command. When you see the Create Custom View dialog box, leave the Logged option set at the default value of Any Time and select all the Event level check boxes. Next, select the By Log option button, if it is not already selected, and click the dropdown arrow. Then, drill down through the tree following the path: Applications and Services Logs | Microsoft | Windows | Diagnostics-Performance. When you open the Diagnostics-Performance branch, select the Operational check box, as shown in Figure A. Figure A When you get to the Diagnostics-Performance branch, select the Operational check box. To continue, type 100 in the Includes/Excludes Event IDs box, as shown in Figure B, and then click OK. Figure B Event ID 100 records how long it takes to boot up your system. When you see the Save Filter to Custom View dialog box, enter a name, as shown in Figure C, and click OK. Figure C To save the filter as a Custom View, simply provide an appropriate name, such as Boot Time. You'll now repeat these steps and create another Custom View, and this time, you'll type 101-110 in the Includes/Excludes Event IDs box and name it Boot Degradation.