1A Flashcards
Desktop and laptop computers are also known as…?
Clients
many of the products and devices you use every day depend on _____________________ including cellular phones, smart TVs, video game consoles, tablet computers, home entertainment systems, automobiles, and household appliances, just to name a few.
embedded microprocessors
The first programmable electronic computer was invented in…?
1938
The first digital computer was prototyped in…?
1939
The first microprocessor chip was developed in…?
1970
What is the first step in the Start Up Sequence?
you press the ON button, the computer “boots up”
the computer “boots up”, so named for…?
bootstrapping or figuratively “lifting itself by its own bootstraps”
What is the second step in the Start Up Sequence?
The power supply turns on first, checks itself for correct output voltage
What is the third step in the Start Up Sequence?
sends a signal down the power good wire to wake up the central processing unit (CPU)
What is the fourth step in the Start Up Sequence?
When the CPU energizes, it immediately applies a built-in
address to the address bus
What is the fifth step in the Start Up Sequence?
address is the first line of the POST program stored on the motherboard ROM
What does POST stand for?
Power-On Self Test
What does ROM stand for?
Read-Only Memory
The POST program runs…?
every time the computer is booted.
What does POST instruct the computer to do?
POST instructs every hardware device on the motherboard to run its own built-in diagnostic and then report back the result to POST.
If anything fails POST, the computer will inform the user through…?
Audible beep codes from the motherboard speaker or through numeric or text error codes on the display.
What does BIOS stand for?
Basic Input/Output System
POST passes control to the ____ program which is also located on motherboard ROM.
BIOS
The bootstrap loader consists of…?
a few lines of code in the BIOS
What is the bootstrap loader’s job?
Its job is to find an operating system.
How does the bootstrap loader perform it’s job?
The bootstrap loader reads the (CMOS) settings to determine where to look first for an operating system.
What does CMOS stand for?
complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor
The CMOS settings are __________ and instruct the bootstrap loader where to look for an operating system and in which order of priority to check them.
user-configurable
Name some storage devices
HDDs, solid-state drives, USB thumb drives, compact discs (CDs), and
digital video discs (DVDs)
What is the boot sector?
A special specific sector that allows all storage devices to be configured to boot an operating system
What does HDD stand for?
Hard Disk Drive
What does DVD stand for?
Digital Video Disk
What does CD stand for?
Compact Disk
A storage device with a usable operating system written on it is called a?
bootable disk or a system disk
Bootable devices contain special programming on
the boot sector which tells the computer the…?
location of the operating system
If the bootstrap loader locates a good boot sector, it does what?
passes control to the OS and erases itself from memory
If the bootstrap loader doesn’t find a good boot sector, it does what?
Checks the next storage device specified in the CMOS settings.
If the bootstrap loader can’t find a good boot sector on
any storage device, your monitor will display…?
The error message: “boot device not found” or perhaps: “no bootable device”.
What does UEFI stand for?
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
BIOS is now considered a…?
legacy technology
BIOS is non-volatile firmware - which means what?
Lines of code permanently stored on motherboard ROM
BIOS code is used to initialize motherboard hardware when the computer is first started up. Think of BIOS as _________ for the motherboard and installed hardware.
basic life support
UEFI was adopted by Intel, AMD, Microsoft, and the PC industry in ____ as a replacement for BIOS.
2007
Nearly every computer manufactured since 2014 is __________.
UEFI compliant
UEFI represents a major expansion over BIOS in what six areas?
- Bootstrapping
- Network booting
- Disk partitioning
- Hardware security
- User interface
- Cryptography
UEFI also supports _________ with legacy BIOS architecture.
backward compatibility
RAM is the ________ form of computer memory.
best known
RAM is often referred to as __________ or ____________.
main memory or primary memory
RAM is “random access” because…?
Because the CPU can access any memory cell directly.
RAM is __________ because it will retain data only as long as power is applied.
volatile memory
RAM is used for what?
Temporary storage of data and programs.
Long-term storage of operating systems, applications, and user data is accomplished using a…?
Nonvolatile medium such as a hard disk drive, solid state drive, or optical drive.
RAM is in a constant state of _____________ because its speed and capacity increase with every generation.
evolution
RAM is the space where the __________ and performs much of its
processing. A computer uses RAM the same way a math teacher uses a chalk board.
CPU works
What are the two basic types of RAM used in modern computers?
Dynamic RAM (DRAM) and Static RAM (SRAM)
The most common form of computer memory is _______
DRAM
What does DRAM stand for?
Dynamic RAM
What does SRAM stand for?
Static RAM
DRAM is considered dynamic because?
Memory controller refreshes operations thousands of times per second
DRAM must be dynamically refreshed all the time or it will forget
what it is holding. Due to the constant refreshing it…?
slows down the memory
In SRAM, a circuit called a ___________ holds each bit of data. This circuit for a memory cell takes four to six transistors along with some wiring, but never has to be refreshed and therefore will hold its data if power is applied
flip-flop
In SRAM, a circuit called a ___________ holds each bit of data. This circuit for a memory cell takes four to six transistors along with some wiring, but never has to be refreshed and therefore will hold its data if power is applied
flip-flop
DRAM must be dynamically refreshed all the time, or it forgets what it is holding. The downside of all this refreshing is that…?
takes time and slows down memory
Since it never has to be refreshed, Static RAM is significantly faster than Dynamic RAM. However, because it has more parts, a static memory cell takes up a lot more ________ on a chip than a dynamic memory cell.
space
Static RAM is ______ and _______, but Dynamic RAM is ______ and _______.
fast and expensive
cheap and slow
Physically, memory comes on small circuit cards, sometimes called…?
sticks
What are the two versions of sticks?
Single Inline Memory Module (SIMM) or the Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM)
What does SIMM stand for?
Single Inline Memory Module
What does DIMM stand for?
Dual Inline Memory Module
What does SO-DIMM stand for?
Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module
SO-DIMM and Micro-DIMMS are often used in systems which have space restrictions such as…?
Notebooks, small footprint computers, high-end upgradable office printers, and network hardware like switches and routers.
SODIMMS come in what pin varieties?
72, 144, 200, and 204 pin varieties
Micro-DIMMS come in what pin varieties?
72 and 214 pin varieties
What does RIMM stand for?
Rambus In-line Memory Module
What does DDR stand for?
Double Data Rate
What is double data rate?
A technique where data is transferred on both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal,
C-RIMM (or Continuity-RIMM) is a _________ used on motherboards with RDRAM modules.
pass-through device
Asynchronous DRAM is ______________ with the CPU clock.
not synchronized
What are some examples of asynchronous DRAM?
- Fast Page Mode (FPM) DRAM
- Extended Data-out (EDO) DRAM
What is Fast Page Mode (FPM) DRAM?
FPM DRAM was the original form of DRAM. It waits through the entire process of locating a bit of data by column and row and then reading the bit before it starts on the next bit.
What is Extended Data-out (EDO) DRAM?
EDO DRAM does not wait for all the processing of the first bit before continuing to the next one. As soon as the address of the first bit is located, EDO DRAM begins looking for the next bit. It is about five percent faster than FPM DRAM
What does ECC stand for?
Error Correction Code
What is ECC?
It can detect and correct errors on the fly.
Motherboards must be ______________ to use ECC ram.
specifically designed
Modern computer systems have memory chips that use the….?
common system clock signal
These Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) chips more efficiently coordinate the CPU and memory operations…?
DRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2, 3, 4 and 5 SDRAM
What is SDRAM?
Takes advantage of burst mode to improve performance. It does this by staying on the row containing the requested bit and moving rapidly through the columns, reading each bit as it goes.
What is Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM?
DDR SDRAM is just like SDRAM except that it has higher bandwidth, meaning greater speed.
The various revisions of DDR SDRAM can be identified by sight if you pay attention to the…?
location of the notch on the RAM stick
Direct Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRDRAM). DRDRAM is…?
Is a radical departure from the previous DRAM architecture. It is a proprietary SDRAM technology of the Rambus Company.
CMOS RAM is a type of…?
Is a type of Static RAM used by your computer and some other devices to remember things like hard disk settings. CMOS memory uses a small
battery for the voltage it needs to maintain the memory contents.
Video RAM (VRAM) is a type of…?
Is a type of RAM used specifically for video adapters or 3-D accelerators. VRAM is located on the graphics card. The amount of VRAM is a determining factor in the resolution and color depth of the display.
VRAM is also known as?
Multiport Dynamic Random-Access Memory (MPDRAM)
A major memory failure is an error that causes…?
the system to lock up
Typically, a major memory failure produces either a?
NMI or a GPF
What is an NMI?
a Non-Maskable Interrupt (NMI) which is an interrupt the CPU cannot ignore
What is a GPF?
which is a system condition that causes a Windows application to
crash.
What is the most common cause of a GPF?
Two applications trying to use the same block of memory, or more specifically, one application trying to use memory assigned to another
application. Both error types can produce a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)
What does BSOD stand for?
Blue Screen of Death
An important parameter of CPU performance is ___________.
clock speed
The clock speed is…?
Fastest speed at which a CPU can operate.
The CPU clock produces a ___________________________ signal that synchronizes every CPU operation.
regular, repetitive, pulsed electrical signal
The clock signal originates from a special circuit on the main
board called a ____________.
quartz oscillator
Modern, high-performance CPUs can have a base clock speed greater than…?
5GHz
