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| Hardware & Software Basics ~ PCs 101, #1 |
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This article describes the basic components of the modern personal computer.
You don't need to be a mechanic to drive a car, but there are some basics you need in order to be safe and productive with any complex equipment. You don't need to know how everything works, but you do need to know what it is called and what it does. By understanding better the terms that you most likely already know, you can be a better user. First, I'll go over each term and give it a definition. Then, we'll put them together into a working PC. There is a lot of information here, but at the end of it, I think you will have a better understanding of what is going on inside that magic box. - INTERNAL HARDWARE Case / Tower / Chassis: The case is just the outer metal box that houses all the parts. Motherboard (MoBo) / Mainboard: The largest electronic board in the case; all the other parts connect directly to it. Most of the connections in the back of a PC go directly into the motherboard. Some PCs have other boards that take care of certain tasks, but most motherboards handle everything. Processor / CPU / Chip: The Central Processing Unit is the largest and most important micro-chip in the PC. It does all the calculating necessary to do everything. They get very hot and require a cooling fan. Memory (RAM): System Memory is where current operations happen. Everything you see, hear and do happens in memory. The more memory you have, the more your PC can do at once. Memory is dumped when power is turned off. Hard Drive (HDD): This part stores all the information in your PC including the operating system, programs and your files. The data remains on it after the power is turned off. The larger your HDD, the more stuff you can save. Hard Drives are given a Letter name in the system, usually "C:" CD/DVD Drive / Optical Drive (ODD): This drive is called a "removable media" drive becuase you can do just that. Info is stored on discs that can be changed. To a computer, there is no real difference between a CD and a DVD, just that a DVD holds more information. Some can only read CDs or DVDs, some can also write to both. CD/DVD drives are also given letter names, usually beginning with "D:". - EXTERNAL HARDWARE Monitor: It is where all video is displayed. They can be a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube, like old TVs), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display, like laptops), or even Gas Plasma. A computer monitor is really just a very high resolution HDTV. They always have been. Recently, HDTVs have advanced to the point where there is no longer any difference between an HDTV and a computer monitor. Frequently, you can use your HDTV as a monitor for your PC and vise-versa. Keyboard, Mouse, Tablet...: Also called "Human Input Devices (HID)", they come in myriad shapes, sizes and types. They can plug in or connect wirelessly. Tablets can be used to draw and other tasks. The monitor can also be an HID by being touch sensitive to replace the mouse. Speakers: Most computer speaker sets also have an amplifier built in. Most PCs output low-level (even lower than headphones) sound, so it must be amplified. This allows any PC to be plugged into any home sound system. - THE SOFT AND SQUISHY PARTS Files & Folders / File System / Tree: All information on Personal Computers is stored in files. A file is just a bundle of information that is given a name. The name has two parts; the first is a description of what is in the file. The second part of the name is actually an "extension". It is a special code that describes what type of file it is and what the system should do with it. File extensions are usually 3 or 4 characters only. Files are stored in folders. Folders can also contain other folders (sub-folders) creating what is called a "tree". Every file on a system can be referred to by it's name and it's location. This is done beginning with the drive letter, then the folders, then the file name like this: C:\folder\sub-folder\filename.ext Understanding the file system is important for keeping your stuff organized. Keeping your stuff organized is important for finding it when you need it and for backing it up. Formatting a hard drive wipes away all files and resets this basic file system structure. Software: This term refers to any written code that a computer can understand. Absolutely all information in a computer is software and everything a computer does comes from software instructions. It can be anything from a single File to a complete Operating System, and can contain anything that can be written. All files, programs, information, etc. can be considered software. There are 3 basic uses for software. Operating System (OS): An Operating System is Software designed to control the hardware of your PC based on what you are doing. It coordinates all functions of your PC and other devices. You tell the Operating System what to do by way of the interface. "Windows" by Microsoft is the most common OS in the world today, and uses a Graphical User Interface (GUI). A GUI uses pictures to represent commands and information. Programs / Applications: This term is what most people mean when they say "Software". A program is a set of files that work with each other to do some particular task. They create and manipulate information to be saved or used. A very common program today is called "Word" by Microsoft. It creates and edits documents. An Operating System is really just a very large program. Data / Data Files / MY STUFF!: Data refers to all the information that you create or edit when using your programs. This is the really important stuff that you want to save and backup. It's the reason we have computers, after all. - PUTTING IT ALL TO WORK Now that you have the cold & hard definitions, let's put the parts together into a working PC and understand what's going on. Think of your PC as a man/house-cat/wombat in an office. He works for you and does exactly what you say (directly or indirectly). The man is the Processor. The top surface of his desk is the Memory. The filing cabinets are the Hard Drive and CD/DVD Drive. All other devices are basically ways to get information to and from this guy. When you input a command by typing or clicking, you tell the man what to do. When he reports back to you, you see it on the monitor or hear it in the speakers. The faster your Processor is, the faster he will finish any task. When you open a file or start a program by double-clicking it, the man (Processor) MAKES A COPY of the file from the filing cabinet (Hard Drive) and puts it on his desk (Memory). You can then tell him what to do with it. After you've done what you needed and save the file, the man puts it back in the filing cabinet. If you fail to save the file, the man will just throw the copy he made away and you will lose any changes you made since the last save. The bigger his desk (the more memory you have), the more files and programs he can have open at once. As you can imagine, if his desk is too small (not enough memory or too much running), he will be too busy opening and closing files to and from the filing cabinet to do much other work. That is why your computer may run better with additional memory. The overall speed and power of your computer is mostly a product of the Processor. Other parts can cause "bottle-neck" slow-downs if they get overloaded or are not properly matched to the Processor and/or each other. These days, even the cheapest PCs have gotten very powerful and sophisticated, but all that they do can still be thought of in this simple way. If you can understand this analogy, you will have a good grasp of what is happening when you are using your computer. When you are ready, you can test your knowledge by taking this Quiz.
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