IT HARDWARE

Course Objectives:
The IT Workshop for engineers is a training lab course spread . The modules include training on PC
Hardware, Internet, World Wide Web and Productivity tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and
Publisher.

Course Outcomes:

PC Hardware:
PC Hardware introduces the students to a personal computer and its basic peripherals, the process of
assembling and disassemble a PC, installation of System Software MS-Windows, Linux and the
required device drivers. In addition hardware and software level troubleshooting process, tips and
tricks would be covered.

Internet and World wide web:

Internet & WWW module introduces the different ways of hooking the PC on to the internet from
home and workplace effectively usage of the internet. Usage of web browsers, e-mails, news
groups and discussion forums would be covered. In addition, awareness of cyber hygiene, i.e.,
protecting the personal computer from getting infected with the viruses, worms and other cyber
attacks would be introduced.
 INTRODUCTION
Computer: Computer is an electronic device which takes the input information from the input
device and generates the output information and it will be displayed on the output.

The word computer is derived from the word compute which means „to calculate‟. So a computer
generally considered to be calculating device that perform operations at very faster rates.

COMPUTER STANDS FOR- COMPUTATION, ORIENTED, MACHINE FOR PROCESSING, UTILITY,

TRADE, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH.

Advantages
Following list demonstrates the advantages of computers

High Speed
 Computer is a very fast device.

 It is capable of performing calculation of very large amount of data.

Accuracy
 In addition to being very fast, computers are very accurate.

 The calculations are 100% error free.

Storage Capability
 Memory is a very important characteristic of computers.

 A computer has much more storage capacity than human beings.

 It can store large amount of data. It can store any type of data such as images,
videos, text, audio and many others.

Diligence
 It can work continuously without any error and boredom. It can do repeated
work with same speed and accuracy.

Automation
 Computer is an automatic machine.
Disadvantages:

Dependency
 It functions as per a user’s instruction, so it is fully dependent on human being

Environment
 The operating environment of computer should be dust free and suitable.

No Feeling
 Computers have no feelings or emotions.

Applications of computers:

Business
Banking
Insurance
Education
Marketing
Engineering Design
Communication
Communication means to convey a message, an idea, a picture or speech.

 E-mail

 Chatting

 Usenet

 FTP
  Telnet

 Video-conferencing

Oraganisation of a computer:
A computer system is a collection of hardware and software components
designed to perform computation very effectively. It consists of 4 parts:

i) Hardware
ii) Software
iii) User
iv) Data

Hardware:
Hardware is the collection of physical parts of a computer system. This includes the computer
case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. It also includes all the parts inside the computer case,
such as the hard disk drive, motherboard, video card, and many others

Software:
Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined
function. A program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a
particular problem

Data: Data is information that has been translated into a form that is more convenient to
move or process

Information in raw or unorganized form (such as alphabets, numbers, or symbols) that refer to,
or represent, conditions, ideas, or objects.
User: A user is a person who uses a computer or network service. Users generally use a system or a
software product without the technical expertise required to fully understand it.

Functional units of computer:

The block diagram of computer is shown in Fig.

Basically, every computer system based on the these architecture and it has three major
components called as basic functional unit:

I) C.P.U
II) Memory Unit
III) Input/ Output Unit

I) C.P.U:-
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
CPU consists of the following features:

 CPU is considered as the brain of the computer.

 CPU performs all types of data processing operations.

  It stores data, intermediate results and instructions(program).

CPU itself has following three components

 ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)

 Control Unit

 Register

ALU:

ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)

This unit consists of two subsections namely

 Arithmetic section

 Logic Section

Arithmetic Section
Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic operations like
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Logic Section
Function of logic section is to perform logic operations such as comparing,
selecting, matching and merging of data.

Control Unit:
This unit controls the operations of all parts of computer but does not carry
out any actual data processing operations.

Register:
A register is one of a small set of data holding places that are part of
a computer processor .

II) MEMORY UNIT:

Memory or Storage Unit

 It stores all the data and the instructions required for processing.
  All inputs and outputs are transmitted through main memory.

It is classified into two ways:-

I) PRIMARY/ MAIN MEMORY

II) SECONDARY / AUXILARY MEMORY

Primary Memory (Main Memory)
Primary memory holds only those data and instructions on which computer
is currently working. It has limited capacity and data is lost when power is
switched off. It is generally made up of semiconductor device.

It is divided into two subcategories RAM and ROM.

RAM:
RAM(Random Access Memory) is the internal memory of the CPU for storing
data, program and program result. It is read/write memory which stores
data until the machine is working. As soon as the machine is switched off,
data is erased.

Data in the RAM can be accessed randomly but it is very expensive.

RAM is volatile, i.e. data stored in it is lost when we switch off the computer
or if there is a power failure.

RAM is of two types

 Static RAM (SRAM)

 Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

Static RAM (SRAM)

The word static indicates that the memory retains its contents as long as
power is being supplied.

Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

DRAM, unlike SRAM, must be continually refreshed in order to maintain
the data.
ROM: ROM stands for Read Only Memory. The memory from which we can
only read but cannot write on it.

A ROM, stores such instructions that are required to start a computer. This
operation is referred to as bootstrap.

Secondary Memory
These are used for storing data/Information permanently. Contents of
secondary memories are first transferred to main memory, and then CPU
can access it. For example : disk, CD-ROM, DVD etc.

III) INPUT / OUTPUT DEVICES:

INPUT DEVICES:
an input device is a peripheral (piece of computer hardware equipment)
used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system
such as a computer or information appliance

EXAMPLE:

 Keyboard

 Mouse

 Joy Stick

 Light pen

 Track Ball

 Scanner

 Graphic Tablet

 Microphone

 Bar Code Reader

 Optical Mark Reader(OMR)

OUTPUT DEVICES:-
An output device is any piece of computer hardware item used to communicate
the results of data processing carried out by an information processing system .
EXAMPLE:

 Monitors

 Graphic Plotter

 Printer

KEYWORDS AND THEIR ABBREVIATIONS:

SMPS: Switched-Mode Power Supply
FDD: Floppy Disk Drive
CD: Compact Disc
DVD: Digital Video Disc
AGP: Accelerated Graphics Port
LAN: Local Area Network
HDD: Hard Disk Drive
USB: Universal Serial Bus
BIOS: Basic Input / Output System
VGA: Video Graphics Array / Adopter
PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect
IDE: Integrated Drive Electronics
CMOS: Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Battery
CNR: Communication and Network Riser
SATA: Serial Advanced Technology Attachment
ESD: Electrostatic discharge
ATX: Advanced Technology EXtended
NIC : Network Interface Card
LED: Light-Emitting Diode
LILD: Linux Loader
ISP: Internet Service Provider
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
DSL: Digital Subscriber Line
URL: Uniform Resource Locator