SLR3 Flashcards
What is an input device
A device that allows you to pass information from outside the computer to inside the computer.
Give some examples of input devices
- Microphone
- Camera
- Keyboard
What is an output device
A device that takes data stored in a digital format and converts it into a format humans can understand
Give some examples of output devices
- Monitor
- Speaker
- Vibration (Phone, PlayStation controller)
What is a storage device
A device that is used for the perminant or tempory storage of any data
Give some examples of internal storage devices
- SSD
- RAM
- Main Memory
Give some examples of external storage devices
- Memory card
- USB
- DVD
Define the term drive
A device that reads and writes data from secondary storage
Define the term media
A device the data is actually stored on
Give 3 positives of optical media
- Cheap
- Light-Weight
- Portable
Give 3 negatives of optical media
- Fradgle
- Small amounts of storage
- Slow access times
How are 1s and 0s represented of optical media
Pits and Lands
Give 2 positives of magnetic storage
- Large Storage
- Cheap
Give 3 negatives of magnetic storage
- Fradgle
- Noisy
- Slow
How is magnetic storage read
Spinning disk and arm
Give 4 positives of SSD
- Portable
- Fast
- Quiet
- Durable
Give 2 negatives of SSD
- Limited number of uses
- Expensive
How does SSD work
SSDs have flash memory chips that allow data to be stored on the SSD card without being connected to power. Data can be written and read with the passing of electrons.
What does ROM stand for
Read-Only Memory
What is ROM and what does it contain
A small piece of Read-Only Memory. Containing the bootstrap
What is the Bootstrap
The start-up instructions for the computer
Is ROM volatile
No
What does RAM stand for
Random Access Memory
What is RAM
A temporary storage for data and instructions
What does RAM contain
Information being executed by the processor
Is RAM volatile
Yes
Define volatile
Requires power to maintain storage
When first starting up a computer what is in the CPU
Nothing
What does the system need before it can start functioning
The Operating System
Why can’t the computer load the operating system
The computer is not yet aware of it’s existence
How does the computer load the operating system
The bootstrap code is loaded off the ROM
Once the bootstrap has been loaded what does the ROM do
ROM performs POST
What is POST
Power On Self-Test
What does POST do
Wakes up all connected components and makes the CPU aware of their existence
What happens to ROM when POST is completed
The instructions remain in ROM as it is volatile
What is the final step of booting up a computer
Loading the operating system into RAM
What is Virtual Storage often referred to as
Cloud storage
What is Virtual Storage
Storing and retrieving data veer the internet rather than a local device
What are the 4 advantages of Virtual Storage
- Data can be accessed at any time from any device
- Data can be easily transferred
- Easy to collaborate
- Limitless storage from the user’s POV
What are 3 disadvantages of Virtual storage
- Can become expensive for the user
- If the internet is slow, slow access times
- cannot access files without access to the internet
Where is Virtual storage actually stored
On a site server farm/storage farm where users pay a monthly subscription to use that storage.
