Computers Unit Test Flashcards
What is a computer cabinet?
Where all internal components are stored and organized.
Make sure the ________ of the motherboard will fit into the cabinet.
layout
What are the two main types of computer cases?
AT and ATX
What does the power supply do?
Converts 120V AC from the wall outlet to 12 VDC and 5 VDC for the components inside the computer.
You need to make sure the power supply can provide enough ______ _____ for the components inside.
total wattage
Usually, a _______ W power supply should suffice.
500
If there is a good video card, then your power supply should be ______ W.
700
If the _______ is the heart, the _______ is both the skeleton and circulatory system.
PSU; Mother Board
What does PSU stand for?
Power Supply Unit
Motherboards include a BIOS stored where?
In an EEPROM chip on the board.
What does the BIOS do?
Initializes and tests the hardware and bootstraps the operating system.
Where are the BIOS settings stored?
The CMOS.
What is the CMOS?
An onboard, battery powered semiconductor chip inside computers that stores information.
What does UEFI stand for?
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface.
UEFI supports drive sizes up to __________ _______, and the BIOS only supports ____ ___________.
9 zettabytes; 2.2 terabytes.
UEFI offers security like “Secure Boot”, which prevents the computer from booting from ————– applications.
unauthorized/unsigned
UEFI runs in ____ or ______ bit mode.
32 or 64
What are the three main components of the CPU?
Memory/Storage, Control Unit, ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit).
What is the system clock?
The control for a CPU’s steps or functions.
A system clock is a _____ crystal on the motherboard.
Quartz
On a system clock, for a 3GHz clock, there are _______ _______ ticks or functions a second.
3 billion
What do buses do?
Move information around the motherboard.
What are the three types of buses?
Control, Address, Data
What does the data bus do?
It moves data or instructions.
The width of the data bus determines what?
The speed in which the data moves (in combination with the system clock).
Width is measured in ______.
Bits
What can the width be?
8, 16, 32, or 64 bits.
What does the address bus do?
It identifies the source or destination of data.
What does the bus width of an address bus determine?
The memory capacity of the system.
What does the control bus do?
Control and timing information (i.e. memory read/write signal, interrupt request, clock signals).
What is a system bus?
A parallel or serial bus that combine the functions of the three buses, sharing wires to transfer information.
What are expansion slots?
A connector where you can add improved functionality to your computer.
What are the four types of expansion slots?
PCI-Express x16
PCI-Express x1
AGP
PCI
What is a video card?
An expansion card that provides improved graphics to the monitor.
What can a video card include?
- VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort outputs
- On-board processing
- 2D and 3D graphics
- Memory
Are hard drives volatile or non-volatile?
Non-volatile
What type of storage is a Hard Drive?
Magnetic
On a hard drive, each bit is defined by the _________ _______ of a specific part of the disc.
Magnetic Orientation
When we write to the disc of a hard drive, a strong ____ ____ physically aligns the magnetic material.
Magnetic field
What year was the first magnetic storage of information?
1888
The first magnetic storage of information was on ________
wires
When were tape recorders developed? (the year)
1928
What company invented the hard drive and in what year?
IBM; 1954
How much did the first hard drive cost, and how much data could it store?
$50 000; 5MB
While the _______ byte production is still increasing worldwide, the ______ _____ ______ shipped is declining.
HDD; number of units
What are the three types of hard drive connectors?
IDE, SCSI, SATA
Data organization can be done through either ____________ or __________ __________.
Partitioning; File Systems
How does partitioning work?
Hard drives can be divided into two or more partitions, which can help with data organization or multiple OS using the same computer.
What do file systems do?
File systems define how data is stored on a drive.
What does FAT stand for?
File Allocation Table
Is NTFS similar to FAT?
Yes, it is basically the FAT of modern builds, as it is able to handle A LOT more data.
What is the file system for MacOS?
APFS
What is the file system for Android & PC?
NTFS
What is the file system for Linux?
Ext4
What is the unit of measure for spin speed?
RPM - revolutions per minute
What is the unit of measure for capacity?
TB - terabytes
What is the unit of measure for read/write speed?
- MB/s (megabytes per second)
What are the limitations of hard drives?
Moving parts = finite lifetime, because there is vulnerability to destruction. + + the actuator arm can only be in one place at a time.
What is RAM?
Volatile solid state memory.
What are solid state drives
Long term storage with no moving parts, with greater durability and less power consumption.
What type of storage is an SSD?
Flash
Is RAM faster than an SSD?
Yes, a thousand times faster.
______________ are a critical aspect of safe computing.
Backups
_______ _______ and _______ _______ ensure that the short life of the hard drive doesn’t need to cause significant problems.
Cloud storage; network drives
What do lasers read and where?
They read bits from the surface of CDs and DVDs.
How do rewritable disks work?
They use crystalline material that can change in form due to heat (crystal vs. amorphous).
High power laser: Amorphous = 0
Low power laser: Crystal = 1
What are the advantages of optical?
Durable, waterproof, cheap, write protected.
Where is the OS loaded?
Onto the hard drive.
What is the difference between Hard Drives and RAM?
HDDS are for storage of all of the information and applications that a computer may need.
RAM is the working memory that contains the things on while the computer is working on at that time.
What composes the RAM?
The RAM is composed of densely packed transistors and capacitors, where each bit is stored in a capacitor.
Reading or writing the bit requires transistors.
How is DRAM rewritten?
Thousands of times per second, the memory controller reads the contents of each bit, and then re-writes them.
How does a static RAM work?
Static RAM has a flip-flop composed of extra transistors. That means it never needs to be refreshed, as long as power isn’t interrupted.
What is the memory area built into the CPU?
CPU cache
What is ROM?
Read Only Memory; non-volatile
What does ROM do?
Reserved for the information needed to load the computer operating system (BIOS stuff)
How is the physical basis of ROM a changing field?
The ROM has been based on EEPROM (electrically erasable ROM) technology, but flash memory is replacing this now.
How does storing a bit work?
Bits are stored in memory cells as a small amount of electricity.
What is the unit of measure for HDD and SSD?
Latency - the time it takes from request to bit.
What do device drivers do?
They control the interaction between the OS and add-on devices (i.e. printers, keyboards, etc.)
To load the OS, what devices do we need?
CPU, Northbridge, Southbridge, RAM, Hard Drive, Optical Drive, and more!
What does the BIOS do?
- Give you the tools needed to install the OS for the first time.
- Supervise the process that must occur to load the OS each time.
- Supervise communications between basic components and the CPU.
What is a hardware/software combination referred to as?
Firmware
Who patented the BIOS and in what year?
IBM in 1981
What does POST stand for?
Power On Self Test
What does POST do?
- Takes place right after you power on.
- Contains diagnostic routines for initializing the hardware
- Makes sure all the components are in check, and will project an error if otherwise.
How does the Bootstrap loader work?
After POST and the Boot Sequence, the bootstrap loader is loaded from the ROM to the Memory to load the OS.
