OS test Flashcards
CPU
- Brains of the computer
- Performs all the processing.
- The CPU is made up of…
○ ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
○ Control Unit
○ Prefetch Unit
○ Decode Unit
○ Registers
○ Bus Interface Unit - Receives input, processes data and produces output
Names for Case
- System Unit
- Computer Chassis
- Tower
- Base unit
or simply Case
System Unit
- Houses all system hardware
- Can come in different Sizes
- size is determined by the ATX Form Factor of the motherboard.
- ATX was developed by INTEL in1995.
- ATX is necessary for standardization and interchangeability of parts.
- All cases come with a set of wires that connect to ports on the case.
Motherboard
- Main component of computer
- rectangular board with
integrated circuitry that connects
the other parts of the computer (CPU, SATA/USB, RAM, and Hard Drive) - Peripherals connected via the ports or the expansion slots.
- communication center for input/output devices
- The Motherboard is made up of small electrical paths called traces.
- these paths r grouped together to create a bus
Bus
- a collection of conductors that work together for a specific purpose
Data Bus
- used to move data between components
- data is moved between components grouped as 8,16,32, or 64 bits
- The amount of data that can be moved at one time is called the bus width
Control Bus
The control bus delivers command signals from the processor to devices.
Memory Bus
- The memory bus connects the processor to the memory.
- Also known as the FSB (Front Side Bus).
Internal Bus
- bus that only operates in interal circuit of CPU
- communicates among the internal caches of memory that are part of the CPU chip’s design.
I/O bus
A bus that connects the processor to
expansion slots.
Address Bus
- connects the CPU
with the main memory module. - identifies memory locations where data is to be stored or retrieved.
Power bus
- sends electrical power to small consumption devices, such as speakers, lights, and switches.
Chipset
- handles data manipulation that otherwise needs to be performed by the CPU
- connecting motherboard buses together that run at different speeds
- connect ports of various speeds, such as USB and Firewire
North Bridge
- directly connected to the CPU through the front side bus
- Controls higher data speed systems such as graphics, DVD hardware, and CPU overclocking functions
South Bridge
controls the slower devices
associated with the PCI (Peripheral
Component Interconnect) and ISA
(Industry Standard Architecture)
buses.
CMOS
- ROM that contains group of software programs (BIOS)
- Non-volatile memory.
- Designed to initiate activities such
as POST (power on self test) - POST is a diagnostic
program that is initiated when the
computer is turned on. - It verifies that all the major computer components are properly installed and in working order
Expansion slots (Peripheral Components Interface)
- Used for attaching hardware devices
to a computer. - A bus system featuring a 32-bit data bus that provides a high speed bus
structure.
EXPANSION SLOTS
PCI EXPRESS
- Designed to replace PCI and AGP
(Accelerated Graphics Port) and is
available in several different
formats: x1, x2, x4, x8, x12, x16 and
x32
USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- Designed to replace function of expansion slots
- accessed by plugging a
USB device into the bus at a port opening on the case - Up to 127 devices can be connected
to the bus. - USB 3.1 is latest revision.
- USB 3.1 can transfer data up to 10
Gbit/s (1.25 GB/s)
SATA (Serial AT Attachment)
- used to connect storage
devices such as internal hard drives - Advantages over old interface:
Reduced cable size and cost.
○ Native hot swapping.
○ Faster data transfer through higher
signaling rates.
○ More efficient transfer through a
queuing protocol
CPU processing speeds
NOT PER SECOND!! too slow
- measured in
Gigahertz or Megahertz
- Mega is 1 million operations per second and Giga is 1 billion ops. per second
Control Unit (CPU)
in charge of the entire process,
making sure everything happens at the right time. It instructs the ALU and registers what to do, based on
instructions from the decode unit.
ALU - Aritmetic Logic Unit (CPU)
Performs arithmetic and logic operations
CPU REGISTERS
Hold the results of processing
CPU Bus Interface Unit
Where the data and instructions leave the core
Internal Cache Memory (CPU)
Stores data and instructions before and during processing.
Decode Unit (CPU)
Takes instructions from the prefetch unit and translates them
Prefetch Unit (CPU)
Requests instructions and data from
cache or RAM and makes sure they are in proper order for processing
RAM
- Random Access Memory
- Volatile (if power is lost, so is data stored)
- memory designed to be
loaded with data or programs - All programs get loaded into RAM
- Reading data from the RAM is
much faster than reading data
from the hard drive. - More RAM = faster computer
Power supply
- regulates voltage to adequate amount
- supplies power to all components of computer
Video card
- used to process the graphics portion of the processing load
- can help almost any program run more efficiently
- typically installed in either the PCI or AGP slots
Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
- data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information
- All files and folders are physically located on the drive
- Data is read in a random-access manner, meaning individual blocks of data can be stored or retrieved
in any order rather than sequentially. - non-volatile
Flash memory card reader
- device for accessing the data on a
memory card. - do not have built-in memory capacity, but are able to accept multiple types and styles of memory cards.
DVD Drive
- Digital Versatile Disc
- 4.7GB storage capacity
- Formatted for video playback while other DVDs contain applications
- used to distribute software programs
- Writable DVD provide a way to
archive large amounts of data.
Expansion card
printed circuit board that can be inserted into an expansion slot of a computer motherboard to
add functionality to a computer system via the expansion bus
Operating System
- collection of programs that manage and coordinate the activities taking place within the computer
- Manages and monitors
resources and jobs - Interfaces with Users… Graphical UI
- Configures devices
- Manages all files
- Manages Security
Manages and Monitors Resources
and Jobs (OS)
- manages your computer’s resources (such as software, disk space, and memory).
- schedules jobs (such as documents to be printed or files to be retrieved
from a hard drive)
Scheduling Routines
- refers to the order in which jobs are carried out, as well as which commands get executed first
Interfaces with users (OS)
- translates user instructions into a form the computer can understand
- translates any feedback from hardware (e.g. signal that the
printer has run out of paper) - User Interface: any program interacts with the user
- Most OS use graphical UI - gui
Configures devices (OS)
- OS configures all devices
connected to a computer - Device drivers (or simply drivers) are used to communicate with peripheral
devices - Most modern OS look for and recognize new devices each time it boots
- Plug and Play: When an operating system installs a the appropriate driver automatically
Security (OS)
- The operating system can use passwords, biometric characteristics (such as fingerprints) to limit access to the system
- use an integrated firewall to protect against unauthorized access via the Internet or an option to
download and install security patches
