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Managing and Maintaining Your PC > Chapter 2 > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 6 steps to follow when opening up your computer case?

A
  1. Back up important data.
  2. Power down the system and unplug it.
  3. Press and hold down the power button for a moment.
  4. Have a plastic bag or cup handy to hold screws.
  5. Open the case cover.
  6. Clip your ground bracelet to the side of the computer case.
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2
Q

How should you back up important data and files from your computer?

A

Copy the data to an external storage device such as a flash drive or external hard drive.

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3
Q

Why should you unplug the computer before working on it?

A

Even though it is powered off, it is still getting residual power. Some motherboards have a small light inside the case to remind you of this fact and to warn you that the power is still getting to the system.

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4
Q

What should you unplug when powering down a computer?

A

Unplug the power, monitor, mouse, and keyboard cables, and any other peripherals or cables attached and move them out of the way.

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5
Q

How do you completely drain the power supply on a computer?

A

Press the power button for about 3 seconds. Sometimes when you do this, you’ll hear the fans quickly start and go off as residual power is drained.

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6
Q

What can happen if the screws are too long that you are trying to insert into the hard drive?

A

They can puncture the hard drive housing.

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7
Q

How do you know when side of the computer case to remove to expose the top of the motherboard?

A

Look for the ports. If they are on the left side of the computer, remove the right side panel.

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8
Q

What panel would you might have to remove to remove the screws that hold the drives in place?

A

The bottom panel.

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9
Q

What holds the side panel in place?

A

Screws or clips, sometimes both. Be sure to only remove the screws that are holding the side panel so you don’t accidentally remove screws holding the fan, power supply, etc.

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10
Q

Which direction does the computer panel slide?

A

Towards the rear.

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11
Q

What do some panels require you to remove first before removing the side panel?

A

Pop the front panel off the case before removing the side panel. Look for a lever on the bottom of the panel and hinges at the top. Squeeze the lever to release the front panel and lift it off the case.

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12
Q

What do you do after removing the front panel of the case and before sliding the side panel off?

A

Remove the one screw that is holding the side panel in place.

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13
Q

If the computer panel is held together by the screw in front, which way should you slide the panel?

A

Towards the front.

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14
Q

Where should you clip the alligator clip?

A

To the side of the computer case. This will dissipate any charge between you and the computer.

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15
Q

After you open the computer case, what are the main component you see?

A

The power supply, motherboard, and drives installed in drive bays. You will also see a lot of cables and wires connecting various components.

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16
Q

What are the cables you see when opening up the computer case used for?

A

Power cables from the power supply to various components, or cables carrying data and instructions between components.

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17
Q

What should you do first if you plan on removing several components in the computer case?

A

Draw a diagram of all cable connections to the motherboard, expansion cards, and drives. You can also use a felt marker to make a mark across components, to indicate a cable connection, board placement, motherboard orientation, speaker connection, brackets, and so on.

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18
Q

How do you remove the expansion card?

A
  1. Remove any wire or cable connected to the card.
  2. Remove the screw holding the card to the case.
  3. Grasp the card with both hands, and remove it by lifting straight up.
  4. As you remove the card, don’t put your fingers on the edge connectors or touch a chip, and don’t stack the cards on top of one another. Lay each card aside on a flat surface, preferably in an anti-static bag.
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19
Q

Most of the time, when disassembling a computer, what is the first the you remove?

A

The expansion cards.

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20
Q

Why shouldn’t you rock the expansion cards side to side when trying to remove them?

A

You can very slightly rock the card from end to end but when you rock from side to side, this can spread the slot opening and weaken the connection.

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21
Q

Some video cards us a latch that helps hold the card securely in the slot. How do you remove these cards?

A

Use one finger to hold the latch back from the slot, as you pull the card up and out of the slot.

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22
Q

After the expansion cards, what do you remove next?

A

Motherboard

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23
Q

What are the most expensive and easily damaged parts in the system?

A

motherboard and processor

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24
Q

How do you remove the motherboard?

A
  1. Unplug the power supply lines to the motherboard.
  2. Unplug PATA, SATA, and floppy drive cables to the motherboard.
  3. Disconnect wires leading from the front of the computer case to the motherboard.
  4. Disconnect any other cables or wires connected to the motherboard.
  5. Remove the screws that hold the motherboard to the case.
  6. Carefully remove the motherboard from the case.
  7. Remove the power supply from the case.
  8. Remove each drive next.
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25
Q

What would happen if the bottom of the motherboard touched touched the case?

A

A short would result when the system is running.

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26
Q

What keeps the motherboard from touching the case?

A

Screw holes are elevated, or you’ll need spacers, also called standoffs, which are round plastic or metal pegs that separate the board from the case.

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27
Q

How many spacers hold the motherboard in place.

A

Up to 9.

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28
Q

What do you do if the processor has a cooking assembly on top of the motherboard.

A

Remove the cooler before you take the motherboard out of the case because the motherboard is not designed to support this heavy cooler with the motherboard is not securely seated in the case.

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29
Q

When unscrewing the screws that attach the power supply to the computer case, what do you want to make sure you don’t unscrew?

A

Be careful not to remove any screws that hold the power supply housing together. You do not want to take the housing apart.

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30
Q

After you remove the screws from between the power supply and case, and the power supply still might not be free. What do you do at this point.

A

Sometimes, it is attached to the case on the underside by recessed slots. Turn the case over and look on the bottom for these slots. If they are present, determine in which direction you need to side the power supply to free it from the case.

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31
Q

What order should you install components in the computer case once you are reassembling it?

A

Power supply, drives, motherboard, and cards.

32
Q

For some systems, how should you install drives?

A

Connect data cables to the drive and then slide the drives into the bay. If the drive is anchored to the bay with screws or latches, be careful to align the front of the drive flush with the front of the case before installing screws or pushing in the latches.

33
Q

After installing components, what should you put back into the computer case?

A

Place the motherboard inside the case. Make sure the ports stick out of the I/O shield at the rear of the case and the screw holes line up with the screw holes on the bottom of the case.

34
Q

After installing the motherboard back into the case, what should you do next?

A

Connect the power cords from the power supply to the motherboard.

35
Q

What power cord does the system need to operate?

A

The main P1 power connector and most likely will need the 4-pin auxiliary connector for the processor.

36
Q

How do you connect the P1 power connector and the 4-pin auxiliary power cord in the computer?

A

Connect from the power supply to the motherboard.

37
Q

What does the 4-pin auxiliary power cord supply?

A

Supplemental power required for the processor.

38
Q

If the motherboard has a 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe power connector, how do you connect it?

A

From the power supply to the connector. If the power supply doesn’t have this connector, you can use an adapter to convert two Molex connectors to a PCIe connector.

39
Q

Some boards designed to support multiple PCIe video cards will have additional what?

A

Power connectors on the board to power these wattage-hungry cards.

40
Q

How do you power the case fan?

A

Connect the power cord from the fan to pins on the motherboard labeled Fan Header. Alternately, some case fans use a 4-pin Molex connector that connects to a power cable directly from the power supply.

41
Q

What do you do if the CPU and cooler are already installed on the motherboard?

A

Connect the power cord from the CPU fan to the pins on the motherboard labeled CPU Fan Header

42
Q

How do you connect switches, lights, and ports on the front of the computer?

A

Connect the wire leads from the front panel of the case to the front panel header on the motherboard.

43
Q

Why do you need to pay special attention to the source of the wires to determine where they connect the case and the motherboard?

A

Because your case and your motherboard might not have been made by the manufacturer.

44
Q

What is the Power SW?

A

Controls power to the motherboard; must be connected for the PC to power up.

45
Q

What is HDD (hard disk drive) LED (light on the front panel)?

A

Controls the drive activity light on the front panel that light up when any SATA or IDE device is in use.

46
Q

What is Power LED+?

A

Positive LED controls the power light and indicates that power is on.

47
Q

What is Power LED-?

A

Negative LED controls the power light; the two positive and negative leads indicate the power is on.

48
Q

What is Reset SW?

A

Switch used to reboot the computer.

49
Q

What color are the wires that connect the front panel to the motherboard?

A

They are usually solid color and negative wires are usually white or striped.

50
Q

How can you look up the user guide if its not available?

A

You can download it from the motherboard manufacturer’s web site. Search on the brand and model number of the board, which is imprinted somewhere on the board.

51
Q

How do you orient the connector on the motherboard pins?

A

Look for a small triangle embedded on the connector that marks one of the outside wires as pin 1. Look for pin 1 to be labeled on the motherboard as a small 1 embedded to either the right or the left of the group of pins.

52
Q

What are the steps for putting a computer back together?

A
  1. Install components in the case.
  2. Place the motherboard inside the case.
  3. Connect the power cords from the power supply to the motherboard.
  4. Connect the wire leads from the front of the panel of the case to the front panel header on the motherboard.
  5. Connect wires to ports on the front of the case.
  6. Install the video card and any other expansion cards.
  7. Double-check each connections.
  8. Plug in the keyboard, monitor, and mouse.
  9. Turn on the power and check the PC is working properly.
53
Q

What are some systems the keep a system coo?

A

CPU fans, coolers, case fans, heat sinks, liquid cooling systems, and dust-preventing tools

54
Q

What temperature should I keep the internal computer at?

A

Below the Intel maximum limit of 185 degrees F/85 degrees C.

55
Q

Good processor coolers maintain a temperature of what?

A

90-110 degrees F

56
Q

What is a cooler?

A

Sits on top of the processor and consists of a fan and a heat sink.

57
Q

What is a heat sink?

A

It uses fins that draw heat away from the processor. The fan can then blow the heat away.

58
Q

A cooler is made out of what?

A

aluminum, copper, or a combination of both.

59
Q

What is the difference between copper and aluminum for a cooler?

A

Copper is expensive but it does a better job conducting head.

60
Q

How is the cooler attached to the motherboard?

A

The cooler is bracketed to the motherboard using a wire or plastic clip.

61
Q

What is a thermal compound?

A

Placed between the bottom of the cooler heat sink and the top of the processor. This compound eliminates air pockets, helping to draw heat off the processor.

62
Q

Where does the cooler fan gets its power from?

A

A 4-pin PWM header on the motherboard

63
Q

How many fans does a computer case need?

A

As many as 7 or 8 fans mounted inside the case; however the trend is to use fewer and larger fans because large fans tend to perform better and run quieter than small fans.

64
Q

What are the two highest heat producers in a system?

A

processors and video cards

65
Q

What can a PCI fan card be used for?

A

Used next to a high-end graphics card to help keep it cool

66
Q

Besides a fan card, what else can keep the system cool?

A

A RAM cooler that clips over a DIMM

67
Q

What can a fan be powered by?

A

SATA power connector or 4-pin Molex power connector

68
Q

What is a liquid cooling system?

A

Pumps liquid outside and away from components where fans can then cool the liquid. used by hobbyist attempting to overclock to the max a processor in a gaming computer

69
Q

How often should you dust the internal parts of a computer?

A

Twice a year

70
Q

What can dust inside fans cause?

A

It can jam fans which can cause a system to overheat.

71
Q

Why might you purchase a power supply?

A

When you are building a new system from scratch, a power supply in an existing system fails, or the power supply in an existing system is not adequate for the system.

72
Q

When you select the right power supply for a system, you need to be aware of the following power supply features. What are they?

A

ATX or Micro-ATX form factor, wattage ratings, number and type of connectors, fans inside the PCU and extra features.

73
Q

What is a ATX or Micro-ATX form factor?

A

The form factor of a power supply determines the size of the power supply and the placement of screw holes and slots used to anchor the power supply to the case.

74
Q

What is a rail?

A

Used to describe each voltage line of the power supply.

75
Q

What if a power supply doesn’t have the connectors you need?

A

It is likely you can buy an adapter to convert one connector to another.

76
Q

What to keep in mind when selecting the correct wattage capacity for a power supply?

A

video cards draw the most power and the power supply should be rated about 30% higher than expected needs.

77
Q

Why should you never use a Dell power supply with a non-Dell motherboard or a Dell motherboard with a non-Dell power supply?

A

Dell motherboards and power supplies do not use the standard P1 pinouts for ATX although the power connectors look the same

Managing and Maintaining Your PC (2 decks)

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