NCC EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMA IN COMPUTER STUDIES FUNDAMENTALS OF HARDWARE AND OPERATING SYSTEMS MARCH 2011 LOCAL EXAMINATION

SECTION A Answer all questions in this section.

SECTION B Answer any two questions in this section.

Time: 2 hours

Clearly cross out surplus answers. Failure to do this in Section B will result in only the first two answers being marked.

Any reference material brought into the examination room must be handed to the invigilator before the start of the examination.

Fundamentals of Hardware and Operating Systems

March 2011

Final

NCC Education Ltd 2011

SECTION A ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION

QUESTION 1 Briefly describe the purpose of an expansion slot and give TWO (2) examples of an expansion slot. Marks 4

QUESTION 2 List FOUR (4) types of PC adapter card. 4

QUESTION 3 Briefly describe the importance of the USB interface standard in a computer. 4

QUESTION 4 Differentiate between the terms VRAM and WRAM. 4

QUESTION 5 Convert the following hexadecimal numbers to decimal and binary: a) 4B b) CF 4

QUESTION 6 Briefly describe the fragmentation process of a hard drive. 4

QUESTION 7 Briefly describe the purpose of an IDE interface in a computer. 4

QUESTION 8 What are the differences between full-duplex and half-duplex transmission modes? 4

QUESTION 9 Explain how impact printers and non-impact printers print characters on a page. 4

QUESTION 10 Describe the purpose of reserving IP addresses 127.0.0.1 and 255.255.255.255. 4 Total 40 Marks
QUESTIONS CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Page 2 of 3
Fundamentals of Hardware and Operating Systems March 2011 Final NCC Education Ltd 2011

SECTION B ANSWER ANY TWO QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION

QUESTION 1 a) b) c) Compare the operations of Programmed I/O with Interrupt driven I/O. Briefly describe the level-0, level-1 and level-5 Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID). Draw a diagram of a Fibre-optic cable and explain its structure and operation. Marks 10 15 5 Total 30 Marks QUESTION 2 a) State TWO (2) advantages and TWO (2) disadvantages of using digital subscriber lines (DSL) as compared with dial-up connections. List and explain FOUR (4) types of local area network topology. State EIGHT (8) advantages of formatting your hard-disk using the NTFS format. Explain the role of the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol for e-commerce servers. 8

b) c) d)

8 8 6 Total 30 Marks

QUESTION 3 a) b) c) d) What are the major advantages of client/server networks over peer-to-peer networks? Explain the purpose of a NetBEUI protocol in a normal network environment. Briefly explain the function of a cable modem in a network. Explain the term IP address and briefly explain the THREE (3) classes of standard IP address. 2 8 10 10

Total 30 Marks

END OF PAPER

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Fundamentals of Hardware and Operating Systems March 2011 Final NCC Education Ltd 2011