What is the computer?

Computer is the fast electronic device. That is used to get the input
from the user manipulates the calculate and produce output.

A device by which data given in an appropriate form can be manipulated in

such a way as to produce a solution to problem in. information processing,
the term computer usually describes a digital computer. A computer may
consist of a stand alone unit or a combination of several interconnected units

Generations of Computer

Generation Electronic component

Year
used
1st Generation Electronic volve
1950

2nd Generation Transistor

1960

3rd Generation Integrated circuit

1966

4th Generation Micro processor

1975

5th Generation L.S.I.S (Large scale

1980
inference )

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Hints:-

In 19th century Charles Babbage Invented Differential Calculator and

Analytical Machine.

Differential machine
♦ Algebra Sums
♦ 20 Digit system

Analytical machine
♦ The first invented computer is the Automatic computing device.
♦ Sixty additions problem is doing in one second.

ENIAC (Electronic numerical Integrator and calculator)

In 1946- J.P Eckret and J.wMauchly
 5000 Additions and 350 Subtract Do in one Second
 18000 Volve, 70,000 Resisters, 60,000, Switch 150 kilowatt –
Electricity.

Classifications of Computer

Personal Computer (Desktop machine):

The most Popular Computers are Desktop Machines. They are used for
Personal and official Purposes. They are having high higher capacity disk
Storages and main memories on account of multimedia devices. The
application is user friendly and very effective.

Work Station or Mini Computer:

They are also desktop machines. However they are more powerful
providing processor Speeds about 10 times of Pc’s. Most workstations have
built in hardware to connect to a LAN.

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Laptop pc’S:
Laptop Pc is also known as notebook computer and portable Weighing
about 2 Kg. They run with batteries and are thus designed to conserve
energy.

Mainframe Computer:
These Computers are much bigger than workstations and several
Hundred times more expensive. They are used in banks and insurance
Companies which process large number of transactions. They require
Computers with Large disks to storage and with large main memory.

Super Computer:
These Computers are very Large Systems in which billions and
billions of data will be processed. In addition, the rate of data transfer will
be very high, as it involves in billions of data sets. These Systems are used in
Scientific and Research purposes.

BASIC COMPUTER OPRETIONS

Input unit Storage Unit Output

Unit

Control Unit

Arithmetic
and Loge Unit

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Input unit:
The input unit supplies the data to the System to
perform Calculation. It accepts or read the instructions from the outside
world. It converts these instruction and data in Computer acceptable from.
Then Supplies the converted instructions and data to the System for
further processing.

Output unit:
The output unit is reverse of the input unit. It accepts the
result produced by the computer, which is in coded format, hence cannot be
easily understood by us. It converts the coded results to human acceptable
from. It supplies the converted result to the outside world.

Arithmetic Logic unit:

ALU is the place where the actual execution of the instruction

takes place during the processing operations. All comparisons and are take
place here.

Control Unit:
The control unit contains the micro code and the circuitry that
carries out calculations to locate the proper addresses for the execution of
the micro code.

Central processing Unit:

The ALU and Control unit of a computer system are jointly known as
CPU. The CPU is responsible fro activating and controlling the operations of
other units of a computer system.

Storage Unit

The data we feed into the computer through input unit for
calculations have to be stored before processing and similarly after the

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processing the data has to kept somewhere in the computer before passed
on to the output unit. To meet these needs storage unit is formed.

Number system
Modern computers do not process decimal numbers. Instead they work with
binary numbers, which use only two digits “0” and “1”. This creates huge
problem to very long when representing larger binary quantities. Therefore
octal and hexadecimal numbers are used to compress long string of binary.

Binary number system:

Digital computers and systems are based on binary (two state)

operation ex.. Power switch, punch card, clock pulse etc. the binary number
systems or base 2 number system has only digits “0” and “1”.

Decimal Binary
0 0000
1 0001
2 0010
3 0011
4 0100
5 0101
6 0110
7 0111
8 1000
9 1001
10 1010
11 1011
12 1100
13 1101
14 1110
15 1111

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Decimal to binary
Ex.(45)10

2 45

2 22 -1

2 11 -0

2 5 -1

2 2 -1

1 -0

(45)10 = (1001011)2

Binary to decimal:

(101101)2

1*25+0*24+1*23+1*22+0*21+1*20
= 1*32+0*4+1*8+1*4+0*2+1*1
=32+0+8+4+1
= (45)10

1010- Each digit in this number is a bit

8 bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte (KB)

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1024 KB = 1 Megabyte (MB)
1024 MB = 1 Gigabyte (GB)
1024 GB = 1 Terabyte (TB)

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 Mother Board components

It is used to connect all input and output unit and devices. It consists of the
following parts.

1. Processor socket
2. Memory slot
3. IDE slot (Integrated drive electronics)
4. Floppy disk drive controller
5. PCI slot
6. Parallel port
7. DIN Connectors
8. PS/2 Connector
9. USB connector (Universal serial bus )
10. Power connectors
11. VGA Connector
12. AGP Slot
13. Memory modules
14. Other supporting chips
15. Front panel indicator controller

1.Processor socket is nothing but a place we place the processor. On a

Pentium based computer the processor is in a ZIF (Zero insertion Force)
socket. Formerly used sockets are standard sockets as LIF (Less insertion
force) Ex. Socket 370, 478, LGA 775 etc.

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Processor

It is the brain of the computer that is capable of performing arithmetic

and logic function as defined by a given program,

Name Min. Speed Max. Speed

8086(IBM 4.77 MHz 10 MHZ
Starting)
8088 4.77 MHz 10 MHz
80286 10 MHz 16 MHz
80386 16 MHz 40 MHz
80486 40 MHz 100 MHz
Pentium I 100 MHz 133 MHz
Pentium II 133 MHz 350 MHz
Pentium III 350 MHz 866 MHz
Pentium IV >800 MHz 3.6 GHz
2. Memory Slot
It is used to insert the primary memory of RAM there are three
memory slot available in the mother board.

SIMM- Single inline memory module

DIMM- Dual inline memory module
RIMM- Rambus inline memory module

3. IDE Connector
• It is a 40 pin connector
• It is used to connect Hard disk and CD ROM
• Generally two IDE connectors are available in mother board
• IDE1 ,IDE2
• Both IDE cables construct to sections master and slave,

4. FDD Connector

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 It is a 34 pin connector particularly this data cable in built jumpers
settings.

5. Serial port
It is a 9- pin & 25 pin male connector. it is used to connect mouse and
modem.

6. Parallel port
• It is a 25 pin female connector
• It is used to connect printer and scanner
• The data is transferred byte by byte

7. DIN (Dutch industry norm)

• It is a 5 pin connector
• It is used to connect keyboard

8. PS/2 connector
• It is a 6 pin connector
• It is used to connect keyboard and mouse

9. USB port (universal serial bus )

• It is used to connect all input and output device
• Data transferring speed is high

10. Power connector

• There are two connectors
• AT(Advanced technology)
• ATX(Advanced technology Extension)

AT(Advanced technology)
• It is a 12 pin connector
• External shut down
• Power consumption less

ATX (Advanced technology Extension)

• It is a 20 pin connector

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 • Automatic shutdown
• Does not require a switch
• High power consumption

PCI Slot (Peripheral component interface (connect))

• It is used to connect all input and output devices
• Ethernet card
• TV-Tuner card
• Internal modem

VGA Slot (Video Graphical array)

• It is a 15 pin connector 3 rows female connector
• It is used to connect monitor data cable

Switch Mode Power Supply

The digital logical circuits of the Computer System are given

electric power using SMPS. It converts the Alternative Current to
Direct that is required by the electronic circuit. The electronic circuit
of the PC, such as processor and memory require very low voltages
(+3.3v to + 5v Dc). Hard disks and other permanent storage devices
need +12v Dc. The SMPS produces various DC Voltages in the range of
-12v Dc to +12vDc.

There are two factors in the power supply. They are (1) AT –
Advanced Technology (2) ATX – Advanced Technology Extended.

AT type power supply

AC On/
IN OFF
Switch

AC Various
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OUT DC
Volts
ATX Type power supply

Process
AC or
IN Power
Supply

AC Various
OUT DC
Volts

ATX SMPS Various DC Volts

Pin Description Color
01 +3.3V Orange
02 +3.3V Orange
03 Signal Ground Black
04 +5V Red
05 Signal Ground Black
06 +5V Red
07 Signal Ground Black
08 Power Signal Ground Grey
09 +5V Red
10 +12V Yellow
11 +3.3V Orange
12 -12V Blue
13 Signal Ground Black
14 Power Switch ON Green
15 Signal Ground Black
16 Signal Ground Black
17 Signal Ground Black
18 -5V White
19 +5V Red

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 20 +5V Red

Storage Devices

Storage
Devices

Primary Secondary

ROM RAM Floppy HDD

CDD

ROM (Read Only Memory)

It is a kind of memory that cannot be altered. It can only be read. ROM
is non – Volatile. (it’s content are safely held even after the power source is
removed). Thus it is an ideal place to store system startup instruction.
Typically BIOS is stored on ROM Chip, and that’s why it is often referred as
ROM Bios.

Types of ROM:
PROM (Programmable ROM):
A type of ROM that cannot be programmed once, data has been written
to it with a H/W devices known as PROM Kit.

EPROM (Erasable PROM):

It can be programmed only if the chip is exposed to UV light when its
protective top cover is removed.

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EEPROM (Electrically EPROM):
It can be reprogrammed by just passing some particular voltages and
reprogrammed.
RAM (Random Access Memory)
RAM is also known as main memory or system memory. Every piece of data
and every instruction processed are executed by the CPU are stored in the
RAM.

RAM

SRAM DRAM

Types of RAM
SRAM
The static RAM requires more physical board space to store the same
amount of data as DRAM. SRAM doesn’t need to be refreshed as it provides
faster access speed is 15 ns to 30 ns.
EDO RAM: (Extended Data out RAM)
A kind of DRAM it improves system performance by allowing faster
read times than any DRAM of comparable speed.

BEDO RAM (Burst EDO RAM)

Similar to EDO RAM but the amount of memory data transferred at a
time is more than the EDO Chips.

DRAM (Dynamic RAM)

The most common form of RAM is Dynamic RAM of DRAM. Each
DRAM storage cell contains a capacitor, which holds one bit of data or
information. The DRAM must be refreshed every 2 milliseconds. DRAM is
inexpensive and store large number of bits on a single small chip.

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 DRAM

SIMM DIMM RIMM

FPM EDO SDRAM DDR1 DDR2

SIMM (Single inline memory module)

 FPM (Fast page mode), 30 pins no cut
 EDO Extended data out RAM ,72 pins center cut.

DIMM (Dual memory module)

• SDRAM (Synchronize dynamic RAM , 168 pins near
center cut , near end cut
• DDR1 (Double data rate RAM , 184 pins near
center cut
• DDR2 (Double data rate RAM, 184 pins near center
cut

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 RIMM (Rambus inline memory module)
RD RAM 184 Pins, 2 cut near center

External Storage Device

Floppy Disk Drive;

• It is used for storage

• Invented by IBM 1981

The recording medium of floppies is a vinyl plastic material with magnetic

coating on one or both sides. These plastic disks coated with magnetic
material are permanently sealed in a square plastic jacket to protect them
from dust and scratches.
As floppy disk is a direct access type of storage medium, the time
required in a magnetic tape.

Two types
Mini Floppy (5 ¼ Diameter)
Micro Floppy (3 ½ Diameter)
The number of tracks ranges from 35 to 40 on a mini floppy and from 50 to
80 on a microfloppy. The tracks are physically divided into sectors.
The classification of floppies is based on the capacity of the quad
density floppy will be two times the capacity as a double density floppy and
4 times the single density type.
Used materials
• Ferrous
• Cobalt
• Barium
Motors
• Step motor– used to move the head
• Spindle motor-used to rotate the disk

Connectors
• Power connector
• IDE connector

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Hard disk
A hard disk is a mass storage device, which is a fixed disk, needed for
direct access. Thus it retrieves any record of data at a very fast speed.

Structure
Hard disk is a disk pack consists of a number of disks. In a disk pack,
information is stored on both the surface of each disk plate except the
upper surface of the top plate and the lower surface of the bottom
plate, which or not used. Each disk consists of a number of invisible
concentric circle called tracks. A set of corresponding tracks in all the

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surface is called a cylinder. Thus a disk pack having 10 disk plates will
have 18 recording surfaces and hence it will have 18 tracks per cylinder.
Each track is further subdivided into sectors. Information is recorded
on the tracks of a disk surface in the form of invisible tiny magnetic
spots. The presence of magnetized spot represents a 1 bit and its
absence represents a 0 bit. The information stored on a disk can be read
many times with out erasing the stored data. So the reading operation is
non-destructive. But writing of new data erases the data previously
stored at the location of the disk. The data stored on a magnetic disk
remains for an indefinite period until erases.

CD ROM
It is an optical ROM. Prerecorded data can be read out.

Working principle
The disk is made up of a resin, such as polycarbonate. It is coated
with a material which will change its reflecting property when a high
intensity laser beam forms a tiny bit along a trace to represent “1” and
the surface with out a bit known as “land” represents “0”. For reading
the data laser beam of less intensity is employed. CD ROMs use long
spiral tracks to stored data serially. A CD ROM disk rotates at a
variable speed so that the bits are read by the laser at a constant liner
speed. The speed of the disk is adjusted in such a manner that the track
passed under the read/ write head at a constant linear velocity.

TROUBLE SHOOTING
Systematic Problem Solving Approach
The stranded problem-solving process has six steps.

1. Identify the problem.

2. Identify possible causes.
3. Identify possible solutions.
4. Analyze the possible solutions.
5. Apply the solution.
6. test the solution.

1. PC is dead
If the PC is dead and will not start up.

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1. Make sure the PC or the monitor and both plugged into an active
AC outlet.
2. Check the outlet by plugging in a lamp or another device.
3. Move the plug to a new outlet.
4. Replace the power cable.

2. Monitor
1. ensure that the monitor is connected to the video adapter installed
in the PCs system unit.
2. Check both ends of the video cable for a snug connection.
3. Check the monitors power cable.
4. Check the brightness and contrast controls have not been turned
all the way up, which results in a dark screen.
5. Replace the monitor with a known-good monitor. If the
replacement monitor works, then there is something wrong with
the existing monitor. Repair it.
6. If the replacement monitor does not work, the problem is likely
with the video adapter card.
7. Reboot the pc. Listen for beep codes and watch for error message
from the POST.

3. Power supply
1. Check the out put DC voltages on the appropriate pins.
2. If the power supply is not producing the correct voltages or the
fan is having problems, the power supply should be replaced. The
power supply accounts for the majority of component failures in
the PCs, so do not hesitate to replace even a suspected bad power
supply.

3. Keyboard

1. Power off the computer and unplug the keyboard from the
motherboard.
2. Power on the computer.
3. Use a multimeter to check the voltages of the connectors pins.

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4. Replace the keyboard with a known – good keyboard. If the
replacement keyboard also fails to work, the problem is likely on
the motherboard or its connector. Before replacing the
motherboard because of a bad keyboard port. You may want to
consider a USB keyboard if a USB port is available.

5. HDD

1. Check the master slave settings.

2. check the power connection. Try using a different power connector
from the power supply.
3. verify that the red or blue edge of the data cable is aligned to pin1
4. Verify that the hard disk is formatted or not.

5. Mouse

1. Power off the PC disconnects the mouse.

2. Turn the ring counter lock wise and removes the ball from the
mouse.
3. Dampen lint – free cloth with water or the alcohol and gently rub.
The ball, when the all has been completely wiped, let it air-dry.
4. Use the swab and alcohol to clean the rollers or contacts inside the
ball cage and the interior of the mouse. If the rollers have a dark
buildup, gently scrape away the dirt with a small e blade.
5. Replace the ball in the mouse and replace and turn the retaining
ring clock wise to lock the ball in place.

8. Video card
1. Make sure the video card is firmly scatted in the appropriate bus
slot.
2. Verify that the video card has not been assigned system resources
that had already been assigned to another conflicting device.
3. Verify that the device is installed.
4. Verify that the BIOS setting are correct for the video card.

9. Sound card

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 1. Make sure the sound is turned up on the speaker and in the window
volume control panel.
2. Check the speaker cables to make surety connected to both the
speakers and sound card.
3. Verify that the connectors are installed in the correct jacks.
4. Check for resource conflicts.
5. Make sure the sound card’s device drivers are loaded.
6. If no sound is coming from the CD-ROM drive, make sure that the
CD-ROM is connected to his sound card with the appropriate cable.

Beep Codes

Beeps Meaning

No Beep Power supply or system

1 Short POST is OK
2 Short POST error with error code
display on screen
Repeating Power supply or system
short board failure
beeps
1 Long, 1 System board error
Short
1 Long, 2 Video display adapter failure
Short
1 Long, 3 Video display adapter error
Short
3 Long Keyboard error

AMI BIOS beep codes

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Beeps Meanings
1 Short POST is OK
2 Short Memory Failure
3 Short Memory/ Parity failure
4 Short System timer failure
5 Short Motherboard failure
6 Short Keyboard controller
failure
7 Short CPU failure
8 Short Video adapter failure
9 Short ROM BIOS checksum
error
10 Short CMOS read/ write error
11 Short Cache memory error
1 Long, 3 Memory error
Short
1 long, 8 Video adapter failure
Short
1 Long Memory error
1 Long, 2 Video error
Short
1 Long, 3 Video failure
Short
Continuous Memory or video failure
Beep

Phoenix BIOS beep codes

Beeps Meaning
1-1-3 CMOS memory is corrupt
1-1-4 BIOS failure
1-2-1 System error
1-2-2 Motherboard error

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1-2-3 Motherboard error
1-3-1 Motherboard error
1-4-1 Motherboard error
1-4-2 Memory error
2-x-x Memory failure( two beeps with
any combination of beeps
3-1-x Chipscl error
3-2-4 Keyboard controller error
3-3-4 Video adapter failure
4-2-4 Expansion card failure
4-3-4 Time of day clock failure
4-4-1 Serial port error
4-4-2 Parallel port error
4-4-3 Math coprocessor error

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