Module 1 Devices Setup and Installs Flashcards
What is OSHA?
OSHA is a prime example of safety regulations for US-based operations.
Most PC circuits are low voltage/ low current however there are noticeable exceptions. What are they?
Power Supply, CRT monitors, LCD display inverter card, Laser printer.
These are also known as Black Box.
What is ESD? (Electrostatic discharge)
A situation that occurs when electrons rush from one statically charged body to another with an unequal charge, following the path of least resistance.
What can you do when handling components?
- Self-grounding - The act of touching a grounded object before touching electrical equipment.
- Using ESD wrist or leg straps.
- Using ESD service mats or smocks.
- Using antistatic bags.
System Case Types?
- Full tower - houses ATX motherboard.
- Mid tower - houses either ATX or micro ATX motherboard.
- Mini tower - houses mini ITX motherboard.
- Small form factor (SFF) - Small motherboards. (Mini ITX, PICO ITX and FEMTO ITX)
What is a Field replacement unit (FRU)
An adapter or other component that can be replaced by a technician on-site.
Main Guidelines for PC Disassembly
- Back up all data stored on the internal drive(S).
- Clean area to work in.
- Gather all necessary tools and equipment.
- All devices powered off / unplugged from main power.
- Hold power button down after PC has been unplugged to drain all power out.
- Take antistatic precautions.
Motherboards provide the basic function for all the computers hardware, including…..
The processor, RAM, Firmware, and expansion cards
What does PGA and LGA stand for?
PGA - Pen grid array
LGA - Land grid array
What does a Chipset do?
Chipsets provides communications between different components by implementing various controllers.
True or false? Are chipsets upgradable?
False - Chipsets are not upgradable.
What is RAM?
Random access memory (RAM) - The principle storage space for the computer data and program instructions. Volatile memory that loses data when there is no power.
What is the CMOS battery used for?
CMOS battery is the battery that powers the chipset that keeps track of the time and date. (Real time clock (RTC) / Clock battery).
Bus Architecture
What is a Bus?
Connections between components on the motherboard and peripheral devices attached to the computer.
Bus Architecture
What is a Tracer?
Wires etched on to the motherboard to provide electrical pathways.
What is the Local Bus?
The internal bus that connects core components directly to the processor, resulting in the highest possible data speed as required by components such as the video display.
What is the Expansion Bus?
The external bus that allows additional components to be connected to the computer. Can be internal or external.
True or False? The Expansion Bus is only external?
False, Can be internal or external.
What is an Expansion slots
Connection slots on the motherboard in which adapter cards can be installed to extend the range of functions the computer can perform.
What is a Riser Card?
A space saving feature of some motherboards that puts the PC’s expansion slots on a separate board installed at a right angle to the main board, allowing system components to fit within a slimline case.
What does the System Clock do?
The computers timing mechanism that syncs the operation of all parts of the computer and provides the basic timing signals of the CPU.
System Clock speed measurements?
- Megahertz (MHz) - 1 million cycles per second.
- Gigahertz (GHz) - 1 Billion cycles per second.
What does PCIe stand for?
Peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe)
What is the PCIe bus?
Peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) bus - Serial communication with point to point links between I/O controller and devices.
What is a Universal Serial Bus? (USB)
A hardware interface standard designed to provide performance connections for numerous peripherals with minimal device configuration.
True or False? USB port can only support 1 device?
False, 1 port can support up to 127 devices. (Can be daisy chained)
List the USB connector and speed?
- USB 1.1 - 12 Mbps, cord can go 5 meters in length
- USB 2.0 - 480 Mbps
- USB 3.0 - SuperSpeed mode provides bandwidth of 5 Gbps and a full duplex link. (Can be identified as a Blue port on machine or Blue on the plug)
- USB 3.1 - SuperSpeed+ Mode provides bandwidth of 10 Gbps
- USB 3.2 - 20 Gbps possible when using USB-C ports and cables.
What Other Peripheral Connector Types are there?
Thunderbolt - Primarily used on Apple systems, Supports video, Data and power. Up to 20 Gbps and allows up to 6 devices to a port.
- Thunderbolt V1 - 10 Gbps
- Thunderbort V2 - 20 Gbps
- Thunderbolt v3 (Uses USB-C) - 40 Gbps
Lightning - Used on iPhone and iPad. Restricted to mobile devices
RD-232 and DB-9 - Connect to serial ports. Data rates to 115 kbps. Used for modems and network equipment. Can be 25-pin or 9- pin interface.
What does DIMM stand for?
Duel Inline Memory Module
In what atmospheric conditions is ESD the highest?
During Cool, dry conditions and low humidity.
What are all the connectors that run at the speed of 480 mbps?
Lightning
USB 2.0
What are Expansion Cards?
A printed circuit board that is installed in a slot on a system board to provide special functions for customizing or extending a computers capabilities. Also referred to as adapter card. I/O card, add-on, or board.
You are speaking with a junior technician. He is not sure what is meant by a “Keyed” connector. Can you tell him?
A keyed connector has a catch or slot to ensure that it cannot be inserted the wrong way round or used with an incompatible port.
Why would you install an I/O adapter card?
To make more or different kinds of ports available.
What is Plug-and-Play
A protocol framework allowing network devices to autoconfigure services.
A remote user has requested a Dvorak keyboard for use with her Windows 10 computer. The device has arrived, and the user connected it to a USB port. She contacts support saying that the keyboard “Isn’t typing properly”. What is the likely cause of this issue?
The appropriate keyboard layout has not been selected in settings.
You are contacted by another user. The user has a laptop and desktop computer. The user wants to know if there is a device that would allow them to use the same peripheral devices with both systems without having to switch cables over all the time. What is your answer?
Yes, you can use a Keyboard Video Mouse (KVM) switch for this purpose.
What type of LCD monitors are there?
- Twisted Nematic (TN) - The original LCD technology - Fast responsive times - Poor viewing angle - colour shift.
- In-Plane Switching (IPS) - Excellent colour representation
- Vertical Alignment (VA) LCD
What are the advantages of OLED Displays (Organic light emitting diode)
- Does not require a separate backlight, making the representation of “True Black” much better. (Shuts of the pixel making it true black)
- Can be made from plastic and can be curved to different shapes.
- Thinner and use less power.
What type of DVI’s are there?
DVI-A - Analog
DVI-D - Digital
DVI-I - Digital and Analog
HDMI
HDMI Version 1.4 and 2.1 support what….
Version 1.4 supports 4K
Version 2.1 supports 10k
What Display Device Connection port is Royalty free?
Display Ports
What is a GPU?
Type of microprocessor used on dedicated video adapter cards or within a CPU with integrated graphics capability.
A customer is shopping for a computer game for her daughter and wants to know if you can explain the reference to “DirectX” on the packaging?
DirectX is an application programming interface (API) developed by Microsoft. A graphics API is a middleman that facilitates sending instructions from software to the hardware inside your PC. Vendors often provide support through driver updates.
You are configuring two monitors in extended desktop mode. What should you configure in the display dialog box.
Ensure the layout of the displays in the dialog box matches their physical location.
Imagine if the display you just installed is not showing blue. Which components would you prioritize for fault finding?
First inspect the display cable, making sure its plugged in correctly and no signs of damage. If plugged in correctly then try replacing with a known working cable.
If problem still persists try inspecting the ports for signs of damage.
What is the most likely cause of a flickering display.
On a LCD this could indicate a problem with the backlight.
You should also verify that the connectors are all secure and rule out other potential cabling problems.
What would you do if the image from a projector appeared narrow at the top thin at the bottom.
Adjust the projector by the lens.
There may be a digital keystone correction control.
List the colour codes for all Audio Jacks
Blue - Audio in
Pink - Mic in
Lime - Audio out
Black - Audio out
Orange - Audio out (Subwoofer)
How do you measure Noise Levels?
By using Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and Signal-to-Noise ration (SNR)
THD is measures as a percentage.
SNR is measured in decimals.
Both smaller values represent better performance.
True or False… higher sampling rates and resolutions provide more accurate sound?
False, Smaller sampling rates and resolutions provide more accurate sounds.
How can you adjust the sound of a laptop?
You can use the buttons on the laptop or functions keys.
MM keyboards. (Multi Media Keyboard)
Or by navigating to windows sound control panel or windows sound settings.
What type of speaker unit is the .1 in a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system?
Subwoofer for bass
What colour connector would you look for to plug a basic microphone into your PC.
Pink
What kind of interface wound allow a software program running on the PC to operate a synthesizer connected as a peripheral device?
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
What type of connector would you use to connect a a digital surround sound system to a new sound card?
S/PDIF (Sony, Phillips Digital interface) optical or coax.
Coax for audio uses RCA connectors.
An optical S/PDIF is also referred to as TOSLINK.
What is the address bus?
The bus between the CPU, memory controller and memory devices consists of a data pathway and an address pathway.
What is the maximum GB per DIMM for both DDR3 and DDR4?
DDR3 - 16 GB per DIMM
DDR4 - 64 GB per DIMM
What is the voltage and amount of pins for DDR3 and DDR4?
DDR3 - 240 Pins - 1.5V
DDR4 - 288 Pins - 1.2V
What is SODIMM?
Small Outline Duel Inline Memory Module - Memory that is half the size of DIMMs, is available in 32-bit or 64-bit data paths. Commonly found in laptops and iMac systems.
When setting up a duel channel, what should you have and what can you get away with?
Pair of DIMMs in a channel must be equally matched in size, speed and features (Recommended to use the same manufacturer however now a necessity).
True or False?
Triple Channel can only be used with DDR3 DIMMs
True, Only DDR3 DIMMs can use triple channelling.
What is Virtual Memory?
Virtual memory - An area on the hard dick allocated to contain pages of memory.
- If there is not enough system RAM, the memory space can be extended by using disk storage.
Additional memory was installed in a user’s system, and now it will not boot. What steps would you take to resolve this job ticket?
First, verify that the correct memory type was installed on the system and in the correct configuration.
Second, check that the new memory module is seated properly in its slot. Try swapping memory around in the memory slots.
What are the principal characteristics of DRAM technology
Each cell is Dynamic RAM must be refreshed periodically to preserve its charge. It is high density and low cost.
List the SATA speeds
SATA 1 - up to 1.5 Gbps
SATA 2 - up to 3 Gbps
SATA 3 up to 6 Gbps
List the HDD RPM speeds
5,400rpm
7,200rpm
10,000rpm
15,000rpm
True or False?
M.2 adapters are Not hot swappable or hot pluggable?
True, M.2 Adapters are Not hot swappable or hot pluggable?
What is a S.M.A.R.T hard disk?
Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology
What is the primary benefit of using removable solid-state storage
Portability, easier and faster rewriting compared to optical media.
What does RAID stand for?
Redundant array of independent disk
What is the first level of RAID that offers fault tolerance.
RAID 1 Disk Mirroring
True or false
RAID software option can be used on any windows OS?
False,
RAID software option can only be used on Windows Server and Windows Professional/Enterprise editions.
What is the minimum number of disks used for each level of RAID?
RAID 0 - 2 disks
RAID 1 - 2 disks
RAID 5 - 3 disks
RAID 1+0 - 4 disks
List the Boot Repair commands
cd/c:bootrec /fixmbr - to attemp repair of the MBR (Master Boot Reoord).
bootrec /fixboot - to attempt repair of the boot sector.
bootrec /rebuildcd - to add missing windows installations to the Boot Configuration Database (BCD)
If you experience an error such as “BCD” missing when booting the computer, what action could you take?
Use the Startup Repair Tool in Win RE, or run bootrec /rebuildcd in command prompt.
