PC Support

Summary notes
Main parts of a computer
• Motherboard • CPU
• CD-ROM or DVD drive • Sound card
• Hard Drive • RAM
• Power cords • Sound card or Video card
• Floppy drive • Heat sink
• Case fan • CPU fan
Operating System
• An operating system is the most fundamental application that runs
the computer. The OS works in the background and sets the rules for
how the computer or device and the application software work
together.
• Examples: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, MacOS, Android…
• For communication between an OS and hardware device, the OS uses
Device drivers (program files that enable the OS to recognize the
hardware device) and Device manager (allows the user to view and
control the hardware attached to the computer, this can be used for
troubleshooting purposes as well).
Interfaces on a motherboard
• SATA- Serial Advanced Technology Attachment
• Power Interface
• P/P2 interface
• Fan interface
• Video output interfaces : VGA (Video Graphics Array), HDMI (High-
Definition Multimedia Interface), DVI (Digital Visual Interface)
• USB- Universal Serial Bus
• Network Interface
• Audio interface
• PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect express)- used to connect High-
Speed input output (HSIO) components
PCIe slots
PCIe slots that you can find on a motherboard are:
• GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
• RAID cards- adds a controller (a circuit that delivers instructions to a
HDD) to the motherboard and allows hard drives that connect to the
computer to perform special actions.
• WiFi cards – allow devices to connect to a wireless network.
• SSD cards
Memory Technologies
RAM temporarily stores data and instructions as the processing unit
processes them (volatile memory)
• RAM – Random Access Memory
• DRAM – Dynamic Random Access Memory
• SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
• SRAM – Static Random Access Memory
• DDR – Double Data Rate (main memory used to store data of OS, apps
and data that are currently in use).
Memory Technologies continued…
ROM permanently stores data (non-volatile memory)

• ROM – Read Only Memory

• PROM – Programmable Read Only Memory
• EPROM – Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
• EEPROM – Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
Drives
• HDD- Hard Disk Drive
Permanent storage used to store data and programs.
How to maintain HDD life
1. Run check disk
2. Perform defragmentation (rearranging data on a storage medium).
3. Avoid overheating (because system may become unstable and
components may fail or get weak), and protect from dust and moisture
4. Ground/earth (protect your equipment from danger of high voltage) your
system properly.
5. Remove temporary/duplicate files.
Drives continued…

6. Actively monitor your hard drive by using S.M.A.R.T (Self-

Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) which for detecting,
monitoring and notifying you in a case of HDD failures.
Drives continued…

• SSD- Solid State Drive

Most common storage device lately, smaller and faster than HDD.
How to maintain SSD life
• Trim- an ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) command that
enables an OS to inform a Solid-State Drive which blocks of data it can
erase because they’re no longer in use.
BIOS/UEFI
BIOS – Basic Input Output System
• A program used by a computer’s
microprocessor to start the
computer system after it is
powered on.
• Manages data flow between the
computer’s OS and attached
devices like the hard disk, video
adapter, keyboard, mouse and
printer.
• Offers a basic User Interface (UI)
that can be navigated only by the
keyboard.
UEFI – Unified Extensible Firmware
Interface
• Replaces BIOS.
• Specification for a software
program that connects a
computer’s firmware to its OS.
• Offers Graphical User Interface
(GUI) and allows users to navigate
the software using both the mouse
and keyboard.
BIOS/UEFI continued…
LoJack for devices
• LoJack and Computrace Agent technology are embedded in the
firmware of many computers and laptops to protect a system against
theft.
• When a device has LoJack services and the user later reports the
device as stolen/lost to the LoJack company, the company is able to
trace the device with its IP address/ Internet address as soon as it is
powered on or goes online.
• Additionally, users can remotely give commands through the internet
to lock the device or delete all data on the device.