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The System This is a photo of a basic computer system. It includes the tower, which houses the majority of the hardware components, and all of the software. The monitor is the part that looks like a television screen, and it is the part that displays the information that the computer is generating so the computer user can see what is happening. The keyboard is an input device which allows the computer user to write text and numbers, and issue commands to the computer. The mouse is the other input device, and allows the computer user to quickly navigate the display, select items on the display, open menus, and issue commands to the computer and software. The Front of the Computer This is a close up of a typical computer tower, also known as the CPU or central processing unit.
This computer has two optical drives,
This computer has a floppy disk drive, sort of a relic these days. Many new computers do not have floppy drives built in to them any more. A floppy drive uses a floppy disk to store information on a magnetic surface. The floppy disk can hold 1.4 MB of data, which is very small by today's standards. The circular device has the power button in the middle. Pressing this button will turn the computer on. Turning the computer off is accomplished through the operating system shut down procedure, but in an emergency, the computer user can turn off the computer by pressing an holding down the power button for 15 seconds. It is flanked to the left with a hard drive activity light, and to the right by a power status light. Most computers come with Universal Serial Bus ports mounted both front and back. Most peripheral devices, including printers, cameras, and mice, attach via USB ports. The Back of the Computer This is a picture of the back of the computer, where all the cables plug in. When in use this area tends to look like an explosion in a wire factory. Someday we may have computers without wires, but for now, this is where everything plugs in.
Which is why its a good idea to have an auxiliary fan. At the top is another power switch. If all else fails, you can turn your computer off with this, but generally we will use the shut down procedure to turn off the computer. The red toggle allows the user to select 120 or 220 volts. Since we live in the Unites States, 120 is the correct setting. 220 volts would work in Europe. Below that is the power supply inlet. The power cords plugs in here, and has a specially shaped 6 sided form factor. The PS2 ports are where the keyboard an mouse plug in, blue for keyboard, green for mouse. The Input/Output (I/O) Ports include the serial port, parallel port, and video port.
Below that are the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Ports.
As we know, everything plugs into USB ports. Some computers (especially
Apple computers) may have something similar called a FireWire Port. Same
idea, different form factor, and some computers have both. The Ethernet Port allows the user to connect to high speed networks in our home or business, or to a cable or DSL modem for high speed Internet connectivity. This computer has room for additional peripheral cards, and has an additional video card and a modem card installed. This modem runs at 56K, which is the physical limit of speed available over a phone line connection. The Inside of the Computer I took the cover off to give you a look inside. My recommendation is that you resist the urge to go exploring in here until you have more experience, and possibly someone with lots of experience at your side as a guide. It is possible that you may buy something which requires the addition of a peripheral card. This is not too hard to do by yourself, just follow the instructions and BE CAREFUL. Every once in a while, if you pull the cover off and blow out the dust with a little canned air, it helps the computer to run cooler. DO NOT USE A VACUUM CLEANER. It is too easy it suck some little part out. Vacuums create electro-static discharges, which are also bad for the computer electronics. Other Interior Parts
Hardware PeripheralsNetwork CardsMost computers you purchase today come with a network card installed. The network card uses an 8 pin connection that looks a lot like a phone cord connection, only wider. this is known as an RJ-45 port. Network cards allow communication over local area networks (LANs) or will connect to a broadband internet connection like cable broadband, or DSL. ModemsModems allow you to communicate with other computers using a phone line. Modems allow connection to the Internet over a dial-up connection to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Modem speeds are in bits per second. 56 thousand bits per second (56K) is standard. Modems use a standard 4 pin phone connection, known as an RJ-11 port. DVD-ROM and CD-ROM DrivesA DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive is a high capacity storage device which lets you read data from the disk, but not write data back. The speed of the drive (how fast the CD platter spins) is measured in multiples from the first generation drives. New drives are up to 24X (or 24 times the first drives), but while the CD spins faster, it is not really 24 times faster in actual output. DVD-RW and CD-RW Drives These drives with allow your not only to read data, but also write data to recoradble optical disks. this is a great way to archive music, photographs, or other data on your hard drive. Printers
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Hubs and Switches Hubs are devices that have many ports into which network cables are plugged. A hub takes the signal from each computer and sends it to all of the other computers through the network. Hubs come in different sizes and colors. The hub must be plugged in and turned on for the network to work - be sure you see green lights.
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Speakers Output device that produces sound and music when connected to the computer. Speakers come in different shapes and may even be in the monitor's case.
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Headphones Output device for listening that is held over the ears by a band worn on the head.
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Microphone Input device in which sound energy is changed into electrical energy for the sending or recording sound (your voice).
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combination DVD and CD read/write drive, and a CD read only drive.
Read/write drives are also called "burners" because they use a laser beam to
burn data bits into an optical disk. The DVD?CD combo drive allows the
computer user to both play and create DVDs, such as movies, and CDs, such as
music, or use the optical disks for back up data storage. A CD hold about
700 MB of data. A DVD holds about 4.5 GB of data.
The
power supply fan cools the power supply, which takes 120 volt AC house current,
and converts it into 12 volt and lower voltage DC for use by the motherboard,
processor, memory, hard drive, optical drives, and peripheral cards. It
also cools much of the interior of the case. If this fan stops working,
before long the power supply and other components get too hot, and fail.
