Review Questions Flashcards
1A - 1. When the “ON” button is pressed, which computer component turns on first?
the power supply
1A - Where is the Power On Self-Test (POST) program stored?
on the motherboard ROM
1A - When does the POST program run?
every time the computer is booted
1A - The POST program can indicate hardware failures using audible _____ codes.
beep
1A - What is the job of the bootstrap loader program?
to find an operating system
1A - The _____________ settings can be configured by the user.
CMOS
1A - List 3 storage devices which can be configured to boot an operating system
HDD, USB, CD
1A - A storage device with a usable operating system written on it is called a
bootable disk or system disk
1A - What modern firmware program has replaced BIOS?
UEFI
1A - RAM is also referred to as _____________ or _____________ memory.
main or primary
1A - The most common form of computer memory is _______________.
DRAM (dynamic)
1A - RAM is _____________ memory, because it will retain data only as long as power is applied.
volatile
1A - What kind of RAM more efficiently coordinates the CPU and memory operations?
synchronous (sDRAM)
1A - How can the different versions of DDR SDRAM be identified?
are identified by sight due to the location of the notch on the RAM stick
1A - What kind of RAM is found on a video card?
VRAM
1A - What is the most common cause of a General Protection Fault?
two apps trying to use the same block of memory
1A - The ___________ ___________ is the fastest speed at which a CPU can operate.
clock speed
1A - Which motherboard circuit creates the clock signal?
quartz oscillator
1B1 -Which bus provides bi-directional communication between the CPU, memory, and peripherals?
data bus
1B1 -The _____________ __________ carries signals that report the status of various devices.
control bus
1B1 -How does the CPU access addressable locations in RAM?
Address bus
1B1 -The connection between the CPU and RAM is referred to as _______________________ or system bus.
front side bus
1B1 -How are data and instructions transferred between the different parts of computer hardware?
buses
1B1 -What are the 3 main parts of computer hardware?
CPU, memory, I/O
1B1 -What is the most important task of BIOS firmware?
load the computers operating system
1B1 -Why do motherboards contain a small, coin-sized battery?
CMOS memory is volatile
1B1 -Where are user-configurable settings modified and saved?
EPROM
1B1 -How can ROM be updated?
Flashing the ROM
1B1 -What does it mean when we say that ROM is nonvolatile?
Code on it is not erased on shutdown
1B1 - ROM is considered ____________________ memory.
nonvolatile or permanent
1B1 - The ____________________ is the interface between the CPU and the USB controller.
Southbridge
1B1 - Which part of the chipset provides high-speed interface between the CPU and RAM?
Northbridge
1B1 - List the 3 most common PC motherboard form factors.
Advanced Technology Extended (ATX), MicroATX (μATX) and Information Technology eXtended (ITX)
1B1 - Form factor refers to the _____________ _____________ of the motherboard.
physical dimensions
1B1 - The motherboard contains multiple paths of electrical circuits called ________________.
buses
1B2 - What is the main job of the CPU?
carry out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and I/O operations specified by the instructions
1B2 - List the 3 main structures found inside a CPU
Control unit, arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and registers
1B2 - The _____________ unit in the CPU manages most computer resources.
control
1B2 - Which CPU structure performs math operations on binary integers?
Arithmetic logic unit (ALU)
1B2 - Which CPU structure is made of high-speed volatile memory?
Register
1B2 - What is the overall purpose of CPU cache memory?
Improves computer performance by allowing the CPU to process tasks more quickly
1B2 - Why is CPU Land Grid Array superior to Pin Grid Array?
The LGA contact system makes CPU installation much easier and reduces the chance of damage due to mishandling or misalignment
1B3 - What is the difference between main memory and secondary memory?
Main memory is RAM, secondary memory is HDDs
1B3 - HDD falls under what storage?
magnetic storage
1B3 - SD falls under what storage?
solid state storage
1B3 - DVD falls under what storage?
optical storage
1B3 - SSD falls under what storage?
solid state storage
1B3 - CD-ROM falls under what storage?
optical storage
1B3 - What is the most common HDD attachment standard?
ATA Advanced Technology Attachment
1B3 - Which common storage device contains spinning platters?
Harte disk drives HDD
1B3 - What failure has occurred when HDD read/write head contacts the surface of the platter?
Head crash
1B3 - What is the advantage of shingled magnetic recording (SMR)?
Store more data on the same space
1B3 - What legacy system gives logical addresses to each block of data on a HDD?
Cylinder head sector CHS
1B3 - What is the smallest unit of storage on a HDD disk?
Sector = 512 bytes
1B3 - A ________________ is the set of all tracks that the heads are currently located at.
Cylinder
1B3 - To make a HDD useful, it must be ____________________ and formatted.
(Conditioned) Partitioned
1B3 - A HDD must have at least one _________________ in order to function.
Partition
1B3 -What partition types can be created using Master Boot Record (MBR)?
Primary and extended
1B3 -Windows must be installed on a ___________ partition.
primary
1B3 -What is the maximum number of partitions supported by MBR? _____
4
1B3 -How are GTP partitions identified?
Random string of characters
1B3 -How many Windows partitions can be created using GPT?
128
1B3 -List 2 Windows tools for partitioning a HDD.
Diskpart & disk management
1B3 -After partitioning, a HDD must be __________________ with a file system.
formatted
1B3 -Which legacy Microsoft file system is very popular for USB flash drives and other portable media?
FAT32
1B3 -Which file system has been adopted by the SD Card Association for SD cards larger than 32GB?
exFAT
1B3 - What is the only file system that can be used to format a Windows partition?
New technology file system NTFS
1B3 -Which advanced feature of NTFS maintains a running record of file changes?
journaling
1B3 -How can the NTFS save disk space?
compression
1B3 -What does NTFS do about bad sectors on a HDD?
Automatically discovers and maps
1B3 -List 3 factors that affect HDD performance.
Seek time, access time, RPM, capacity, & interface
1B3 -Where are SAS interface-compatible hard disk drives usually found?
servers & enterprise class computers
1B3 -List 3 advantages of a solid-state drive (SSD) over a traditional HDD
More resistant to physical shock, are silent, have faster access & read/write times
1B3 -What is the difference between a hybrid drive and a HDD?
They combine flash memory and platter based into a single hard drive
1B3 -How is binary data recorded on a compact disc (CD-ROM)?
pits and lands
1B3 -How is data read from a DVD disc?
650nm red laser
1B3 -Where did the Blu-ray disc get its name?
405nm blue-violet laser
1B3 -Which optical disc media holds the most data?
blu-ray
1B3 -List 2 advantages of magnetic tape as a storage media.
High resistance to physical shock & extremely long data retention shelf-life