MOTHERBOARD PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

There are primarily two types of motherboards, AT motherboard,

and ATX motherboard. AT motherboards are older, and not commonly
used now a days. The AT and ATX motherboards differ in the form
factor. Full AT is 12" wide x 13.8" deep, and Baby AT is 8.57" wide x
13.04" deep. Full-ATX is 12" wide x 9.6" deep and Mini-ATX is 11.2"
wide x 8.2" deep. Other major differences include power supply
connector, and keyboard connector. AT has 5-pin large keyboard
connector, where as ATX has 6-pin mini connector. Similarly, AT has
single row two connectors +/-5V, and +/-12V, whereas ATX
motherboard has double row single connector providing +/-5V, +/-12V,
and +3.3V.

HARD DISK DRIVE PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

A hard drive is usually the size of a paperback book but much heavier.

The sides of the hard drive have pre drilled, threaded holes for easy
mounting in the 3.5 inch drive bay in the computer case. Mounting is
also possible in a larger 5.25 inch drive bay with an adapter available
at computer supply stores. The hard drive is mounted so the end with
the connections faces inside the computer.

The back end of the hard drive contains a port for a cable that
connects to the motherboard. The type of cable used will depend on
the type of drive but is almost always included with a hard drive
purchase. Also here is a connection for power from the power supply.

Most hard drives also have jumper settings on the back end that define
how the motherboard is to recognize the drive when more than one is
present. These settings vary from drive to drive so check with your
hard drive manufacturer for details.
DEFINITION OF HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD)

a hard disk drive (HDD) is the mechanism that controls the

positioning, reading, and writing of the hard disk, which furnishes the
largest amount of data storage for the PC. Although the hard disk drive
(often shortened to "hard drive") and the hard disk are not the same
thing, they are packaged as a unit and so either term is sometimes
used to refer to the whole unit.