Today most of the peoples are surrounded by computes or they are working on the computers, computers make our daily lives easy. But most of the people don't know what is going on inside these machines or how do these machines does their work. So, lets see what happens inside these machines.
Today most of the peoples are surrounded by computes or they are working on the computers, computers make our daily lives easy. But most of the people don't know what is going on inside these machines or how do these machines does their work. So, lets see what happens inside these machines.
First of all..What is a computer??
A computer is a general-purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a set of arithmetic or logical operations automatically. Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer can solve more than one kind of problem.
The word computer refers to an object that can accept some input and produce some output. In fact, the human brain itself is a sophisticated computer, and scientists are learning more about how it works with each passing year. Our most common use of the word computer, though, is to describe an electronic device containing a microprocessor.
Hmm, so now What is a Microprocessor??
A microprocessor is a small electronic device that can carry out complex calculations in the blink of an eye. You can find microprocessors in many devices you use each day, such as cars, refrigerators and televisions. The most recognized device with a microprocessor is the personal computer, or PC. In fact, the concept of a computer has become nearly synonymous with the term PC.
Parts of the computers
Now we have done the intro thing, now lets see what's inside the computer or what it consists of.
First of all all computers have
- Case- If you're using a laptop, the computer case includes keyboard and screen. For desktop PCs, the case is typically some type of box with lights, vents, and places for attaching cables.The size of the case can vary from small tabletop units to tall towers. A larger case doesn't always imply a more powerful computer; it's what's inside that counts. PC builders design or select a case based on the type of motherboard that should fit inside
- Motherboard- The primary circuit board inside your PC is its motherboard. All components, inside and out, connect through the motherboard in some way. The other components listed on this page are removable and, thus, replaceable without replacing the motherboard. Several important components, though, are attached directly to the motherboard. These include the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), which stores some information, such as the system clock, when the computer is powered down. Motherboards come in different sizes and standards, the most common as of this writing being ATX and MicroATX. From there, motherboards vary by the type of removable components they're designed to handle internally and what ports are available for attaching external devices.
- Power supply- Other than its CMOS, which is powered by a replaceable CMOS battery on the motherboard, every component in your PC relies on its power supply. The power supply connects to some type of power source, whether that's a battery in the case of mobile computers, or a power outlet in the case of desktop PCs. In a desktop PC, you can see the power supply mounted inside the case with a power cable connection on the outside and a handful of attached cables inside. Some of these cables connect directly to the motherboard while others connect to other components like drives and fans.
- CPU(Central Processing Unit)- The CPU, often just called the processor, is the component that contains the microprocessor. That microprocessor is the heart of all the PC's operations, and the performance of both hardware and software rely on the processor's performance. Intel and AMD are the largest CPU manufacturers for PCs, though you'll find others on the market, too. The two common CPU architectures are 32-bit and 64-bit, and you'll find that certain software relies on this architecture distinction.
- RAM(Random Access Memory)- Even the fastest processor needs a buffer to store information while it's being processed. The RAM is to the CPU as a countertop is to a cook: It serves as the place where the ingredients and tools you're working with wait until you need to pick up and use them. Both a fast CPU and an ample amount of RAM are necessary for a speedy PC. Each PC has a maximum amount of RAM it can handle, and slots on the motherboard indicate the type of RAM the PC requires.
- Drives- A drive is a device intended to store data when it's not in use. A hard drive or solid state drive stores a PC's operating system and software, which we'll look at more closely later. This category also includes optical drives such as those used for reading and writing CD, DVD and Blu-ray media. A drive connects to the motherboard based on the type of drive controller technology it uses, including the older IDE standard and the newer SATA standard.
- Cables- All the components we've mentioned so far are connected by some combination of cables. These cables are designed to carry data, power or both. PCs should be constructed so that the cables fold neatly within the case and do not block air flow throughout it.
- Case- If you're using a laptop, the computer case includes keyboard and screen. For desktop PCs, the case is typically some type of box with lights, vents, and places for attaching cables.The size of the case can vary from small tabletop units to tall towers. A larger case doesn't always imply a more powerful computer; it's what's inside that counts. PC builders design or select a case based on the type of motherboard that should fit inside
- Motherboard- The primary circuit board inside your PC is its motherboard. All components, inside and out, connect through the motherboard in some way. The other components listed on this page are removable and, thus, replaceable without replacing the motherboard. Several important components, though, are attached directly to the motherboard. These include the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), which stores some information, such as the system clock, when the computer is powered down. Motherboards come in different sizes and standards, the most common as of this writing being ATX and MicroATX. From there, motherboards vary by the type of removable components they're designed to handle internally and what ports are available for attaching external devices.
- Power supply- Other than its CMOS, which is powered by a replaceable CMOS battery on the motherboard, every component in your PC relies on its power supply. The power supply connects to some type of power source, whether that's a battery in the case of mobile computers, or a power outlet in the case of desktop PCs. In a desktop PC, you can see the power supply mounted inside the case with a power cable connection on the outside and a handful of attached cables inside. Some of these cables connect directly to the motherboard while others connect to other components like drives and fans.
- CPU(Central Processing Unit)- The CPU, often just called the processor, is the component that contains the microprocessor. That microprocessor is the heart of all the PC's operations, and the performance of both hardware and software rely on the processor's performance. Intel and AMD are the largest CPU manufacturers for PCs, though you'll find others on the market, too. The two common CPU architectures are 32-bit and 64-bit, and you'll find that certain software relies on this architecture distinction.
- RAM(Random Access Memory)- Even the fastest processor needs a buffer to store information while it's being processed. The RAM is to the CPU as a countertop is to a cook: It serves as the place where the ingredients and tools you're working with wait until you need to pick up and use them. Both a fast CPU and an ample amount of RAM are necessary for a speedy PC. Each PC has a maximum amount of RAM it can handle, and slots on the motherboard indicate the type of RAM the PC requires.
- Drives- A drive is a device intended to store data when it's not in use. A hard drive or solid state drive stores a PC's operating system and software, which we'll look at more closely later. This category also includes optical drives such as those used for reading and writing CD, DVD and Blu-ray media. A drive connects to the motherboard based on the type of drive controller technology it uses, including the older IDE standard and the newer SATA standard.
- Cables- All the components we've mentioned so far are connected by some combination of cables. These cables are designed to carry data, power or both. PCs should be constructed so that the cables fold neatly within the case and do not block air flow throughout it.
Powering Up a PC
When you first power up a PC, the machine goes through several internal processes before it's ready for you to use. This is called the boot process, or booting the PC. Boot is short for bootstrap, a reference to the old adage, "Pull yourself up by the bootstraps," which means to start something from the very beginning. The boot process is controlled by the PC's basic input-output system (BIOS).
The BIOS is software stored on a flash memory chip. In a PC, the BIOS is embedded on the motherboard. Occasionally, a PC manufacturer will release an update for the BIOS, and you can carefully follow instructions to "flash the BIOS" with the updated software.
Besides controlling the boot process, the BIOS provides a basic configuration interface for the PC's hardware components. In that interface, you can configure such things as the order to read drives during boot and how fast the processor should be allowed to run. Check your PC's documentation to find out how to enter its BIOS interface. This information is often displayed when you first boot the computer, too, with a message such as, "Press DEL to enter Setup Menu."
The following is a summary of the boot process in a PC:
The power button activates the power supply in the PC, sending power to the motherboard and other components.
The PC performs a power-on self-test (POST). The POST is a small computer program within the BIOS that checks for hardware failures. A single beep after the POST signals that everything's okay. Other beep sequences signal a hardware failure, and PC repair specialists compare these sequences with a chart to determine which component has failed.
The PC displays information on the attached monitor showing details about the boot process. These include the BIOS manufacturer and revision, processor specs, the amount of RAM installed, and the drives detected. Many PCs have replaced displaying this information with a splash screen showing the manufacturer's logo. You can turn off the splash screen in the BIOS settings if you'd rather see the text.
The BIOS attempts to access the first sector of the drive designated as the boot disk. The first sector is the first kilobytes of the disk in sequence, if the drive is read sequentially starting with the first available storage address. The boot disk is typically the same hard disk or solid-state drive that contains your operating system. You can change the boot disk by configuring the BIOS or interrupting the boot process with a key sequence (often indicated on the boot screens).
The BIOS confirms there's a bootstrap loader, or boot loader, in that first sector of the boot disk, and it loads that boot loader into memory (RAM). The boot loader is a small program designed to find and launch the PC's operating system.
Once the boot loader is in memory, the BIOS hands over its work to the boot loader, which in turn begins loading the operating system into memory.
When the boot loader finishes its task, it turns control of the PC over to the operating system. Then, the OS is ready for user interaction.
Now that we're all powered up, what's next? A great deal of how PCs work depends on the operating system you use. In the next section, let's examine how operating systems work on a PC.
When you first power up a PC, the machine goes through several internal processes before it's ready for you to use. This is called the boot process, or booting the PC. Boot is short for bootstrap, a reference to the old adage, "Pull yourself up by the bootstraps," which means to start something from the very beginning. The boot process is controlled by the PC's basic input-output system (BIOS).
The BIOS is software stored on a flash memory chip. In a PC, the BIOS is embedded on the motherboard. Occasionally, a PC manufacturer will release an update for the BIOS, and you can carefully follow instructions to "flash the BIOS" with the updated software.
Besides controlling the boot process, the BIOS provides a basic configuration interface for the PC's hardware components. In that interface, you can configure such things as the order to read drives during boot and how fast the processor should be allowed to run. Check your PC's documentation to find out how to enter its BIOS interface. This information is often displayed when you first boot the computer, too, with a message such as, "Press DEL to enter Setup Menu."
The following is a summary of the boot process in a PC:
The power button activates the power supply in the PC, sending power to the motherboard and other components.
The PC performs a power-on self-test (POST). The POST is a small computer program within the BIOS that checks for hardware failures. A single beep after the POST signals that everything's okay. Other beep sequences signal a hardware failure, and PC repair specialists compare these sequences with a chart to determine which component has failed.
The PC displays information on the attached monitor showing details about the boot process. These include the BIOS manufacturer and revision, processor specs, the amount of RAM installed, and the drives detected. Many PCs have replaced displaying this information with a splash screen showing the manufacturer's logo. You can turn off the splash screen in the BIOS settings if you'd rather see the text.
The BIOS attempts to access the first sector of the drive designated as the boot disk. The first sector is the first kilobytes of the disk in sequence, if the drive is read sequentially starting with the first available storage address. The boot disk is typically the same hard disk or solid-state drive that contains your operating system. You can change the boot disk by configuring the BIOS or interrupting the boot process with a key sequence (often indicated on the boot screens).
The BIOS confirms there's a bootstrap loader, or boot loader, in that first sector of the boot disk, and it loads that boot loader into memory (RAM). The boot loader is a small program designed to find and launch the PC's operating system.
Once the boot loader is in memory, the BIOS hands over its work to the boot loader, which in turn begins loading the operating system into memory.
When the boot loader finishes its task, it turns control of the PC over to the operating system. Then, the OS is ready for user interaction.
Now that we're all powered up, what's next? A great deal of how PCs work depends on the operating system you use. In the next section, let's examine how operating systems work on a PC.
PC Operating Systems
After a PC boots, you can control it through an operating system, or OS for short. As of this writing, most non-Apple PCs run a version of Microsoft Windows or a Linux distribution. These operating systems are designed to run on various kinds of PC hardware, while Mac OS X is designed primarily for Apple hardware.
An operating system is responsible for several tasks. These tasks fall into the following broad categories:
- Processor management -- breaks down the processor's work into manageable chunks and prioritizes them before sending them to the CPU.
- Memory management -- coordinates the flow of data in and out of RAM, and determines when to use virtual memory on the hard disk to supplement an insufficient amount of RAM.
- Device management -- provides a software-based interface between the computer's internal components and each device connected to the computer. Examples include interpreting keyboard or mouse input or adjusting graphics data to the right screen resolution. Network interfaces, including managing your Internet connection, also fall into the device management bucket.
- Storage management -- directs where data should be stored permanently on hard drives, solid state drives, USB drives and other forms of storage. For example, storage management tasks assist when creating, reading, editing, moving, copying and deleting documents.
- Application interface -- provides data exchange between software programs and the PC. An application must be programmed to work with the application interface for the operating system you're using. Applications are often designed for specific versions of an OS, too. You'll see this in the application's requirements with phrases like "Windows Vista or later," or "only works on 64-bit operating systems."
- User interface (UI) - provides a way for you to interact with the computer.
After a PC boots, you can control it through an operating system, or OS for short. As of this writing, most non-Apple PCs run a version of Microsoft Windows or a Linux distribution. These operating systems are designed to run on various kinds of PC hardware, while Mac OS X is designed primarily for Apple hardware.
An operating system is responsible for several tasks. These tasks fall into the following broad categories:
- Processor management -- breaks down the processor's work into manageable chunks and prioritizes them before sending them to the CPU.
- Memory management -- coordinates the flow of data in and out of RAM, and determines when to use virtual memory on the hard disk to supplement an insufficient amount of RAM.
- Device management -- provides a software-based interface between the computer's internal components and each device connected to the computer. Examples include interpreting keyboard or mouse input or adjusting graphics data to the right screen resolution. Network interfaces, including managing your Internet connection, also fall into the device management bucket.
- Storage management -- directs where data should be stored permanently on hard drives, solid state drives, USB drives and other forms of storage. For example, storage management tasks assist when creating, reading, editing, moving, copying and deleting documents.
- Application interface -- provides data exchange between software programs and the PC. An application must be programmed to work with the application interface for the operating system you're using. Applications are often designed for specific versions of an OS, too. You'll see this in the application's requirements with phrases like "Windows Vista or later," or "only works on 64-bit operating systems."
- User interface (UI) - provides a way for you to interact with the computer.
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