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The heart of a computer is the central processing unit or CPU. This device contains all the
circuitry that the computer needs to manipulate data and execute instructions. The CPU
comprises of Motherboards, Micro processor, RAM, ROM, Hard Drives, Video Cards, Sound
Cards, Adapters, SMPS (Switch mode power supply)

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA Hard Drive) is a computer bus primarily
designed for transfer of data between a computer and storage devices

Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA Hard Drive) is a computer bus

primarily designed for transfer of data between a computer and storage devices

random access memory (RAM)

Memory that can be read from or written to by a computer or other devices. Information stored
in RAM is lost when the computer is turned off.

read-only memory (ROM)

A semiconductor circuit that contains information that cannot be modified.

Static random access memory (SRAM) is a type of semiconductor memory the memory
retains its contents as long as power remains on. Whereas Dynamic RAM (DRAM) that needs
to be periodically refreshed.

The Accelerated Graphics Port (also called Advanced Graphics Port, often shortened to
AGP card) is a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a graphics card to a computer
motherboard

The Peripheral Component Interconnect, or PCI Standard (in practice almost always
shortened to PCI card), specifies a computer bus for attaching peripheral devices to a
computer motherboard

An adapter is a physical device that allows one hardware or electronic interface to be adapted
(accommodated without loss of function) to another hardware or electronic interface. In a
computer, an adapter is often built into a card that can be inserted into a slot on the computer's
motherboard

The Device Manager is a Control Panel applet included with Microsoft Windows operating
systems that allows the user to display and control the hardware attached to the computer.
When a piece of hardware is not working, the offending hardware is highlighted where the user
can deal with it. Using this we can update, uninstall and disable the device.
How to go to the device manager ?
Right-click My Computer then select Properties
Select the Hardware tab
Click the Device Manager button

The Windows Registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the operating
system. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, operating system software,
most non-operating system software, users, preferences of the PC, etc
How do you go to the registry ?
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Go to the command prompt and type reg.exe

MSConfig, or System Configuration Utility, is a system configuration utility of Windows

operating systems. This tool modifies which programs run at startup, edits certain configuration
files, and simplifies controls over Windows services
How do you go to this utility ?
Click Start ; Run : the type msconfig ( press enter)

basic input/output system (BIOS) It is a set of essential programs that test hardware at
startup, start the operating system, and support the transfer of data among hardware devices.
The BIOS is stored in read-only memory (ROM) so that it can be executed when you turn on
the computer. Although critical to performance, the BIOS is usually invisible to computer
users.

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor CMOS A type of semiconductor memory that

requires very little power. The term has been popularized to mean a small storage area where
your system keeps track of certain hardware parameters, such as the size of your hard disk, the
number of serial ports your computer has, etc.

Serial Port An interface on the computer that allows transmission of data characters one bit at
a time. Also called a communication or COM port.

Parallel Port An interface on the computer that allows transmission of data in packets.

Universal Serial Bus USB or Port, connection port on a computer that is universally
compatible with many types of devices, such as, printers, speakers

Disk Defragmenter consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk, so
that each occupies a single, contiguous space on the volume. As a result, your system can gain
access to your files and folders and save new ones more efficiently. By consolidating your files
and folders, Disk Defragmenter also consolidates the volume's free space, making it less likely
that new files will be fragmented.

The Backup utility (system recovery ) helps you create a copy of the information on your
hard disk. In the event that the original data on your hard disk is accidentally erased or
overwritten, or becomes inaccessible because of a hard disk malfunction, you can use the copy
to restore your lost or damaged data.

boot partition

The partition that contains the Windows operating system and its support files. The boot
partition can be, but does not have to be, the same as the system partition.

device driver

A program that allows a specific device, such as a modem, network adapter, or printer, to
communicate with the operating system. Although a device might be installed on your system,
Windows cannot use the device until you have installed and configured the appropriate driver.
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file allocation table (FAT)

A file system used by MS-DOS and other Windows-based operating systems to organize and
manage files. The file allocation table (FAT) is a data structure that Windows creates when you
format a volume by using the FAT or FAT32 file systems. Windows stores information about
each file in the FAT so that it can retrieve the file later.

NTFS file system

An advanced file system that provides performance, security, reliability, and advanced features
that are not found in any version of FAT. For example, NTFS guarantees volume consistency
by using standard transaction logging and recovery techniques. If a system fails, NTFS uses its
log file and checkpoint information to restore the consistency of the file system. In
Windows 2000 and Windows XP, NTFS also provides advanced features such as file and folder
permissions, encryption, disk quotas, and compression

Temporary Internet Files

Temporary Internet Files are the pages viewed of the Internet explorer. They are saved on the
computer so that if you later decide to open the same page again it will open faster. Temporary
Internet Files improve speed of web browsing and also make possible so called offline
browsing

Cookies

a message given to a web browser by a web server. The browser stores the message in a text
file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the
server. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized web
pages for them
The partition that contains the Windows operating system and its support files. The boot
partition can be, but does not have to be, the same as the system partition.

broadband

Of or relating to communications systems in which the medium of transmission (such as a wire

or fiber-optic cable) carries multiple messages at a time, each message modulated on its own
carrier frequency by a modem. Broadband connections are typically 256 kilobytes per second
(KBps) or faster.

defragmentation

The process of rewriting parts of a file to contiguous sectors on a hard disk to increase the
speed of access and retrieval. When files are updated, the computer tends to save these updates
on the largest continuous space on the hard disk, which is often on a different sector than the
other parts of the file. When files are thus fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk
each time the file is opened to find all of the file's parts, which slows down response time
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device driver

A program that allows a specific device, such as a modem, network adapter, or printer, to
communicate with the operating system. Although a device might be installed on your system,
Windows cannot use the device until you have installed and configured the appropriate driver.

firewall

A combination of hardware and software that provides a security system, usually to prevent
unauthorized access from outside to an internal network or intranet. A firewall prevents direct
communication between network and external computers by routing communication through a
proxy server outside of the network..

dial-up connection

The connection to your network if you are using a device that uses the telephone network. This
includes modems with a standard phone line

IP address

A 32-bit address used to identify a node on an IP internetwork. Each node on the IP

internetwork must be assigned a unique IP address, which is made up of the network ID, plus a
unique host ID. This address is typically represented with the decimal value of each octet
separated by a period (for example, 192.168.7.27). In this version of Windows, you can
configure the IP address statically or dynamically through DHCP.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

A simple markup language used to create hypertext documents that are portable from one
platform to another. HTML files are simple ASCII text files with codes embedded (indicated
by markup tags) to denote formatting and hypertext links

Internet service provider (ISP)

A company that provides individuals or companies access to the Internet and the World Wide
Web. An ISP provides a telephone number, a user name, a password, and other connection
information so users can connect their computers to the ISP's computers. An ISP typically
charges a monthly or hourly connection fee

network

A group of computers and other devices, such as printers and scanners, connected by a
communications link, enabling all the devices to interact with each other. Networks can be
small or large, permanently connected through wires or cables, or temporarily connected
through phone lines or wireless transmissions. The largest network is the Internet,

World Wide Web

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A system for exploring the Internet by using hyperlinks. When you use a Web browser,
the Web appears as a collection of text, pictures, sounds, and digital movies.

Virus

A program that attempts to spread from computer to computer and either cause damage (by
erasing or corrupting data) or annoy users (by printing messages or altering what is displayed
on the screen).

If the computer does not start what do you do ?

Option 1 :First check the power connections.

Option 2 :Try getting into the BIOS setting by pressing F1, F2 or F10 and when we get the
display check all the I/O devices.

Option 3 :If you have a black screen with an error code on it that says: NTLDR missing
replace system disk and press any key This is usually caused by having a floppy disk in the
floppy drive while you are trying to boot.

Option 4 :Non-system disk error or no OS detected please hit F1 to retry (with a disk drive and
keyboard image on screen) Try rebooting the computer, if the computer returns to the same
screen then there is a problem with your hard drive or the operating system and any data stored
on your local hard drive may be lost.

Option 5 :Then listen to hear any beep sounds from the CPU If the disk sounds like its still
alive, and there is a graphics card in the machine that perhaps has a little glowing light on it,
then may be the Graphics card is OK and may be the Hard Disk Drive can be rescued. Try
putting in to the machine (assuming it is Windows XP) a New Windows XP CD into the CD
Rom Drive, Boot from this CD Rom .

What happens when we switch on a computer ?

The process of starting up the operating system is called booting. The computer knows how to
boot because instructions for booting are built into one of its chips, the BIOS (or Basic
Input/Output System) chip. The instructions on the BIOS start a special program called a boot
loader The boot loader's job is to start the real operating system.

What is the file system used with Windows NT ?

NTFS ( New Technology File System)

What is the file system used with Windows 95, 98 ?

FAT ( File allocation Table)

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