Practical 1: Familiarization of the computer system and on hand practice on power on and power off.

Hardware (comper), equipment involved in the function of a computer. Computer hardwareconsists of the components that can be physically handled. The function of these components istypically divided into three main categories: input, output, and storage. Components in thesecategories connect to microprocessors, specifically, the computer s central processing unit(CPU), the electronic circuitry that provides the computational ability and control of thecomputer, via wires or circuitry called a bus. Software, on the other hand, is the set of instructions a computer uses to manipulate data, such asa word-processing program or a video game. These programs are usually stored and transferredvia the computer's hardware to and from the CPU. Software also governs how the hardware isutilized; for example, how information is retrieved from a storage device. The interactionbetween the input and output hardware is controlled by software called the Basic Input OutputSystem software (BIOS). Although microprocessors are still technically considered to be hardware, portions of their function are also associated with computer software. Since microprocessors have both hardware and software aspects they are therefore often referred to as firmware The main parts of a computer that we'll be focusing on are the Power Supply, Access Slots, Motherboard, Hard Drive, CPU, RAM, CD-Rom, and Floppy Drive.

First, let's look at two simple diagrams of the inside of a computer. Quickly, you may recognize some parts of you computer just from these simple diagrams. The first diagram is of a tower computer, which currently is popular for the home PC. The second diagram is a desktop computer, which normally is used for space as you can easily place the monitor on top of it and have the whole computer compact in one easy spot. POWER SUPPLY The power supply is vital to the computer as it is the source of power. The power supply is usually a small metal box in the top corner of a case (tower). ACCESS SLOTS Access slots or expansion slots are openings in a computer where a circuit board can be insertedto add new capabilities to the computer. Examples of drives that may go here would bemodems, USB drives, networking cards, video adapters, and sound cards. These expansions areeasy to install along with being very useful to your computer to allow you to do new things, suchas network computers together. MOTHERBOARD The motherboard has been an integral part of most personal computers for more than 20 years.The motherboard contains various circuit cards performing various functions all plug into manysimilar sockets on a common circuit board. Each circuit card performs a unique function in thecomputer and gets its power from the socket. The motherboard contains many circuits and slots, but let's focus on some of the important ones. The motherboard is home to the processor (CPU) along with the access slots and RAM. If we look at the diagram above I've labeled the parts of the motherboard that I wanted to discuss. The objects labeled 1 are the access slots. 2 is the processor slot and 3 are slots to hold memory (RAM).

CPU The CPU, or processor, is the heart of your computer no matter what type (PC, Server, and Laptop). There are many brands for processors such as Intel and Athlon all with different processors for your computer. The CPU processes everything that your computer does, therefore the better the processor, the faster the computer. RAM Random Access Memory (RAM) is the form of memory contained in most computers. RAM is considered "random access" because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that intersect at that cell. When an application is running it stores its information in the RAM. When you close the application the information is deleted from the RAM. This is why you need certain amounts of RAM to run applications. The more RAM you have the faster your computer will be, and the more applications you'll be able to run without losing speed. HARD DRIVE Nearly every desktop computer and server in use today contains one or more hard-disk drives. These hard disks do one thing well - they store changing digital information in a relatively permanent form. They give computers the ability to remember things when the power goes out. A hard drive stores all your files and information in a permanent form unlike storing it in RAM (which is temporary). The larger your hard disk (drive) the more information and files you're able to store. Today's average hard drive is 40 GB although slowly 80 GB hard drives are becoming used more often. CD-ROM The CD-Rom is quite simple, it reads CD's. CD-Rom completely stands for Compact Disk Read Only Memory. The revolution of CD's is that they hold much more data than a floppy disk, although are not as flexible when it comes to rewriting and storing personal data. Using CD-RW you can make your own CD's and use them more like a floppy disk. These are becoming more and more popular although you still need a CD-Rom to read them.

FLOPPY DRIVE A floppy drive reads the popular floppy disk. Floppy disk are easy to use, rewritable, compact,and great for storing information. The floppy drive is simple and allows you to read, write to, andwrite over information stored on a floppy disk. Now you have a basic knowledge of the parts of your own PC. In the future you'll be able to read more advanced articles and have an understanding of the parts of a PC STEPS TO SWITCH ON THE COMPUTER: 1) Switch on the UPS. 2) Switch on the monitor. 3) Press the power key of the CPU to start the machine. STEPS TO SWITCH OFF THE COMPUTER: 1) Click on START. 2) Select TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER OPTION option. 3) Click on SHUT DOWN to turn off. 4) Switch off the monitor. 5) Switch off the UPS.

Practical 2: Loading window, closing, maximizing, icon shifting & ordering. To start Windows installation: Put Windows XP CD and restart your computer. You will see Press any key to boot from CD so you must push any button on your keyboard to proceed

Now Windows XP installation will start by itself. Please pay attention to the lower part of the screen. Important commands will be displayed that you need to use in installation process. If drivers for hard disk controller (SATA, SCSI) is needed, you must press F6 and do three following steps: 1. Insert diskette and press Enter 2. Choose adequate driver and press Enter 3. Press Enter to continue installation process.

In this windows press Enter to continue the installation or press F3 to cancel the installation Then follows Windows Xp license, and if you agree with these rules and want to continue installation press F8 , but if you don t agree and want to cancel installation press F3 .

If you install Windows XP in computer that already have installed Windows XP, then you willsee window and I recommend press Esc (don t repair) in it. If you choose to press R thanonly the windows files will be rewrited and viruses will stay in your computer. So press Esc In this step we can divide disk in many pieces (partitions) if you need it. 1. If there is any partitions you can delete the with D 2. With C you can create new partitions Choose partition where you want to install Windows XP and press Enter

Choose file system what you want format your disk. I usually advise to choose NTFS. If you don t want to wait long time you can choose NTFS (Quick) and press Enter .

Your hard disk will be formatted and after that files will be copied to your hard disk. When all files will be copied, computer will restart. After restart don t press any key when you see Press any key to boot from CD Windows installation will continue. Just wait and

After some time a windows will appear Regional and Language Options . Click customize ifneeded, but if you don t need to customize click Next to continue Windows XP installation.You can customize it later after installation if you want.

Fill the fields Name and Organization, when it is done click Next