Download How do all these components work together - Metal

How do all the components work together?
All the computer components are linked together and pass information
through the motherboard and CPU. It is a constant cycle of
input  process  output
Electronic components are joined together with hundreds of little
microscopic pathways which carry electrical currents. Generally all
motherboards include sound, video, and networking functionality.
Click here to see more information on the motherboard
By now you will have realised that a computer is basically a CPU, memory,
and a lot of input and output devices. There is always a lot of data moving
between these components.
The CPU is central in this relationship. All the data comes from input
devices to the CPU. The CPU then directs it to memory, other parts of the
CPU, or to output devices. Every instruction and all data is controlled by
the CPU.
Input
Processing
Primary Memory
(RAM)
Keyboard
Mouse
Scanner
Central Processing Unit
(CPU)
Control Unit
Arithmetic
Logic Unit (ALU)
Computer
Program
Data
Secondary Storage
M
e
m
o
r
y
Disk Drive
Registers
Printer
The CPU is central to the relationship
between the components, and central to the
flow of data/information between them.
Monitor
6a © ATC New Zealand Ltd – 21 Ruakura Rd, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3216
Fax: 0800 864 865 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.instant.org.nz
O
u
t
p
u
t
Unit 2783: Demonstrate knowledge of the components of personal computer systems
2
Working in groups of 2
Place arrows on the boxes to show the flow of information
when
a) You are typing a letter
b) Open Excel with the mouse
c) Save your spreadsheet
6a © ATC New Zealand Ltd – 21 Ruakura Rd, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3216
Fax: 0800 864 865 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.instant.org.nz
2
Unit 2783: Demonstrate knowledge of the components of personal computer systems
3
Flow of Information
What is the relationship between the CPU, memory, input & output
devices?
Describe the flow of information between them in the paragraph below by
filling in the blanks using the words supplied.
copy
hard drive
Output
data
CPU
motherboard
printer
keyboard
Input
bus
system
processes
RAM
When you type a letter using the computer the _________ acts as an
_________ device. The CPU _________ this raw _________ storing it
temporarily in the_________.
When you have finished you tell the
computer to save the document in the _________. When you want a hard
_________ the _________ sends the instructions to the _________which
acts as the _________device. The electronic messages travel to and from
the CPU across the _________ to the other parts of the computer by the
_________.
What is an operating system?
Operating systems overview
Whenever you purchase a computer it usually has an operating system
installed on its hard disk. This crucial piece of software (without which
you can’t run a computer) includes many programs that control or maintain
the operations of the computer and its devices. It enables communication
between you the user, the application software and the computer’s
hardware. The operating system is often referred to as the ‘platform’.
You may have heard people say, ‘what platform does your computer run
on?” which simply means what operating system is your computer using.
Operating systems tasks
There are many different types of operating systems software and
generally they all perform similar functions, such as:

starting a computer
6a © ATC New Zealand Ltd – 21 Ruakura Rd, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3216
Fax: 0800 864 865 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.instant.org.nz
3
Unit 2783: Demonstrate knowledge of the components of personal computer systems
4

providing a user interface

managing programs

managing memory

coordinating tasks

configuring devices

establishing Internet connection

monitoring performance

providing file management utilities
but some systems also allow a user to control a network and administer
security.
Operating system location
In most computer set-ups, the operating system software is installed and
operates on the hard disk/drive. For many mobile devices and handheld
computers the operating system may reside on a chip.
Not all computer systems use the same operating system, for example, a
mainframe computer does not use the same operating system as a
personal computer. Not all desktop computers use the same operating
system and some computers can even run multiple operating systems.
See next page for operating system functions.
6a © ATC New Zealand Ltd – 21 Ruakura Rd, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3216
Fax: 0800 864 865 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.instant.org.nz
4
Unit 2783: Demonstrate knowledge of the components of personal computer systems
5
Operating systems functions
As already mentioned most operating systems provide similar functions; let’s look at their main functions:
Shelly, G.B., Vermaat, M.E. (2008) Discovering Computers, Fundamentals 5th Ed. Course Technology CENGAGE Learning, Boston, USA. (p. 250 – 251)
6a © ATC New Zealand Ltd – 21 Ruakura Rd, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3216
Fax: 0800 864 865 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.instant.org.nz
Unit 2783: Demonstrate knowledge of the components of personal computer systems
6
Starting a computer
When you start a computer, you will often see a variety of messages being displayed
on the screen. These messages do depend on the type of operating system, but are
simply system hardware checks.
Here is a new term for you, the kernel which plays a very important part in an
operating system. What does the kernel do?

It’s the core of the operation system.

It manages memory and devices.

It maintains the computer’s clock.

It starts programs, and

assigns computer resources: devices, programs, data and information.
User interface:
It is through the user interface that computer users interact with the computer and
vice versa. The user interface is between you the user and the operating system.
There are two types of user interfaces:

command-line (more difficult to use, requires exact spelling, grammar and
punctuation along with specific commands and instructions but it usually
prompts for this and has built-in help)
Command-line interface
Command
entered by user
Command prompt

graphical user interface (GUI – most common and you interact with icons,
menus and visual images)
Graphical user interface (GUI) – see below
6a © ATC New Zealand Ltd – 21 Ruakura Rd, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3216
Fax: 0800 864 865 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.instant.org.nz
6
Unit 2783: Demonstrate knowledge of the components of personal computer systems
7
Managing programs
The order in which programs are managed is determined by the operating system.
Managing memory
The order in which tasks are processed is determined by the operating system. Such
tasks could be:
 receiving data from an input device
 processing instructions
 sending information to an output device
 transferring items from storage to memory and vice versa
With a multi-user operating system, users can have priority over other users. The
operating system schedules the tasks to be completed, based on the priority of the
user; it’s not always based on a first-come, first-served basis.
Example of managing tasks: How does the operating system handle more than
one document being sent to a printer at the same time?
We all know a printer can only print one document at a time. When other documents
are sent to the printer, they are placed in a buffer until the printer becomes idle. A
buffer is a portion of memory/storage or physical device in which items are placed
while waiting to be transferred from an input device or to an output device.
Configuring devices
Each device (mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer, scanner etc) that is
attached/connected to a computer has its own small program called a driver. This
driver tells the operating system how to communicate with the specific device.
Drivers for mouse, keyboard, and monitor generally come preloaded on a computer.
If you want to add a new printer you need to install the printer software (driver) to
enable the computer to talk to the printer and thereby print your documents.
6a © ATC New Zealand Ltd – 21 Ruakura Rd, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3216
Fax: 0800 864 865 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.instant.org.nz
7
Unit 2783: Demonstrate knowledge of the components of personal computer systems
8
Establishing & maintain Internet connection
Most operating systems provide a means to establish and maintain Internet
connections.
File management and other functions
Operating systems also provide users with the ability to:

manage their files (searching, renaming, copying, deleting etc)

secure a computer from unauthorised access
Review
Write T for True or F for false. Which of the following are operating systems
functions?
Managing your files – renaming, copying, deleting, saving.
Creating graphics such as logos and advertisements.
Managing input/output by displaying information on the
monitor, sending files to the printer, and responding to the
mouse and keyboard.
Reading and writing data to floppy disks.
Creating a financial spreadsheet of accounts.
Fetching, decoding, executing instructions and storing the
results.
Formatting a floppy disk
Performing various business analyses and forecasts on
financial data.
Keeping track of where your files.
Types of operating systems
There are a number of different operating systems available. Some of them are listed
below. They come in three categories:

stand-alone (complete operating system that runs on a desktop computer,
notebook computer or mobile device)

network (resides on a network server and designed to support a network - not
covered in this course)

embedded (resides in most smart phones and small devices and stored on
ROM)
6a © ATC New Zealand Ltd – 21 Ruakura Rd, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3216
Fax: 0800 864 865 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.instant.org.nz
8