CHAPTER 1 C1B

COMPUTERS IN GENERAL
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter the trainee will learn to
Understand the characteristics of computers.
List the five generations of computers.
Understand the basic structure of a computer.
1.1 Introduction
The present century has seen a revolution in Information Technology all over the world.
Computers are playing an increasingly vital role, touching upon every aspect of our
day-today life. Information processing has become a major social activity. ore than
!"# of a typical e$ecutive%s time is spent in processing some type of information.
& computer is an electronic device designed to perform arithmetic operation. It can also
perform several non-arithmetic operations on the alphabetic or numeric data used.
These operations are performed at very high speeds with a high level of accuracy.
The computer by itself is incapable of manipulations. It has to be instructed to perform a
tas' in a language, which it can understand. The computer manipulates data by
following a set of instructions given by the user. This set of instructions is called a
program. & program directs the computer to perform a series, of functions to achieve a
predefined desired output.
Today the computer affects every sphere of human activity. It has already brought about
revolutionary changes in industry, science, scientific research and education. Its impact
on society has been tremendous( its areas of application virtually unlimited.
These applications are evident in almost every sector of society and business, ranging
from travel )airlines, railways*, manufacturing, ban'ing, insurance, communications
)including satellite communications for television and radio* to telephones, weather
forecasting, space research, oil e$ploration, agriculture, defence, etc. In medicine,
computers have helped to diagnose and treat several diseases hitherto believed to be
incurable.
1.2 Chrct!ri"tic" o# Co$%ut!r"
+ome of the important characteristics of computer systems, which ma'e computer
based processing very useful in its practical applications, are described here.
Vo&u$!
Large volumes of data can be stored and processed by a computer system with a high
degree of efficiency. The use of computers has thus made the processing of information
economical by reducing unnecessary paper wor'.
S%!!d
& computer can process large volumes of data at very high speeds. The time re,uired to
e$ecute a basic operation in a computer system varies between a few microseconds,
nanoseconds or -ico seconds. .ith the advances in electronic technology, the
processing speeds are increasing even further.
Accurc'
Coupled with the capacity to handle large volumes of data at high speeds, is the fact that
the computer is e$tremely accurate. & human being commits appro$imately one error for
every /""-0""" calculations using a calculator, while processing done by a computer is
completely error free. The calculation can be repeated any number of times without
worrying about errors. The accuracy of the computer output is wholly directly dependent
on the accuracy of the input data and the correctness of the program, i.e., the set of
instructions given by the user to process the data. The phrase garbage-in-garbage-out
)1I12* is generally used to describe inaccurate output caused by incorrect input data.
This implies that errors seemingly caused by computers are in fact caused by incorrect
input of data or incorrect programs, and are not errors incurred during the processing.
Co$%&!(it'
In the past, computations with comple$ algorithms could not be done, as a single
process, if done manually, was time consuming and also had a high probability of errors.
athematical optimisation using operation research techni,ues li'e linear programming,
simulation, etc., have been successfully used in modelling real-life applications only
because of computers.
)uic*+E"' Acc!""
Information, by definition, is of no relevance if it cannot be made available at the right
time. Computers, with their inherent characteristics of fast processing, have made it
possible to retrieve and analyse data within a stipulated time. This has improved the
timely availability of information.
,i&i-!nc!
Unli'e a human being, a computer does not suffer from fatigue, boredom, or lac' of
concentration while performing repetitive tas's. If a billion calculations are given to the
computer, the billionth calculation will be as accurate as the first. Thus, for wor' that is
repetitive in nature and where consistency needs to be maintained, computers have
proved to be highly economical.
To summari3e, the computer is a versatile, diligent machine that operates on a set of
instructions and is capable of handling large volumes of data at tremendous speeds with
a high degree of accuracy, ensuring timely, accurate and easy-to-access information.
1.2 A Bri!# Hi"tor' o# Co$%ut!r"
In 0455, Charles 6abbage began his wor' on the &nalytical achine. It was this
machine which proved to be the prototype of the modern computer. The re,uirements
for precision engineering were found impossible to achieve at the time and 6abbage was
unable to produce a wor'ing model. 6ut this concept opened up avenues of the future
development of computers.
1.2.1 St-!" in th! E.o&ution o# th! Co$%ut!r
It has been more than 5""" years, from the days of the early computing machines to the
e$isting generation of computers. The first stage in this evolution was the &bacus, a
mechanical device( this followed by punched cards and finally came the revolution in
computers and microprocessors. The impact of the evolution has been tremendous. &
brief description of the various stages in the evolutionary process is given below7
1.2.1.1 A/cu"
The &bacus was the first mechanical device developed appro$imately 5""" years ago to
help process data. It consisted of a frame in which beads could slide on wires. The wires
were arranged in columns. The column on the e$treme right was for units, the one to its
left for tens and so on. -ushing the appropriate beads could represent various numbers.
This device could perform simple addition and subtraction operations.
1.2.1.2 Punch!d Crd
The history of the punched card dates bac' to about the end of the &merican 8evolution.
&t that time a 9rench weaver, :oseph arie :ac,uard, used punched cards to control
looms. The :ac,uard-card is a card with punched holes to guide the warp threads on a
loom. It was used primarily to automate weaving patterns into the fabric. It was this
concept that gave ;r. <erman <ollerith the idea to build the census machine. i.e., a
machine into which data was fed by means of card which had information punched on
them. <e devised a coding scheme, which could be sued to punch data on cards. This
machine was first used to tabulate census data in 0=4". <ollerith later formed the
Tabulating achine Company to sell his invention. it is this company which later merged
with others to form what is today the world%s largest computer manufacturing company,
the International 6usiness achines Corporation )I6*.
1.2.1.0 An&'tic& En-in!
In 0455, Charles 6abbage, a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University
developed the concept for an analytical engine which could perform arithmetic functions
on data, which was read in from punched cards. 6abbage%s re,uirements of precision
engineering were impossible to achieve at that time and therefore a wor'ing model could
not be produced.
Mr* 1
In 0=>>, <oward ?i'en, a <arvard professor, built an automatic calculating machine
called the ar' 0 digital computer. It was an electromechanical device consisting of
telephone relays and rotating mechanical wheels. It was controlled by a se,uence of
instructions punched into a roll of paper tape. In many ways, ar' 0 was a reali3ation of
6abbage%s dream.
Enic
.hile ar' 0 was the first electromechanical computer, the first electronic general
purpose computer, called ?@I&C )?lectronic @umerical Integrator and Calculator*, was
built in 0=>A by a team of professors at ore +chool, University of -ennsylvania. &s
many as 04,""" vacuum tubes were used in building this machine. It weighed about 5"
tons, occupied 0/"" s,. ft of space and had a small memory )as compared to the
memory capabilities of today%s computers* of about B" accumulators. It could perform
5"" multiplication per second, ma'ing it 5"" times faster than any other machine of that
era.
Uni.c
The world%s first commercial data processing machine U@IC&C )Universal &utomatic
Computer* was installed at the U.+. 6ureau of Census in 0=/0. :ohn Con @eumann had
developed the concept of an Dinternally stored programE, which was used in designing
the U@IC&C system. 6y 0=A5, just 0B years after its installation, it retired as a historic
relic.
1.0 Co$%ut!r G!n!rtion"
Computers are often grouped into categories 'nown as computer generations. & brief
description of the various generations of computers and their predominant features is
given below7
1.0.1 1ir"t G!n!rtion 21345613748
These computers used vacuum tubes as the main electronic element and magnetic
drums as the main memory. -rogramming had to be done in machineFassembly
language only. These computers were physically large, generated significant heat and
the speed of operations was in terms of milliseconds )i.e., thousandth of a second*.
1.0.2 S!cond G!n!rtion 21377613548
In the second-generation computers, transistors replaced vacuum tubes as the basic
electronic element. These transistorised computers were faster, more compact and
reliable. The speed of operations was in terms of microseconds )i.e., millionth of a
second*. The magnetic core was introduced as the main memory. agnetic tapes and
dis's were used for storage of bul' data. In the area of software, compilers were
introduced thereby enabling the programmers to write programs in high-level languages.
+ome e$amples of such computers are7 I6-0>"0, <oneywell-4"", I6-0AB".
1.0.0 Third G!n!rtion 21357613948
The introduction of the I6-5A" series of computers in 0=A/ mar'ed the beginning of
this generation. Transistors were replaced by monolithic integrated circuits. This reduced
the si3e further and improved upon the speed, although the speed of computation was
still in terms of microseconds. In terms of software, it was in this generation that
operating systems were introduced.
1.0.4 1ourth G!n!rtion 21397 on:rd"8
In this generation of computers, significant developments emerged, both in hardware
and software. +emiconductor memory replaced the core memory, which enable the
achievement of higher speeds at a lower cost. The introduction of micro programmed
logic permitted the machine logic to be altered to suit the user%s needs. The facility of
operating systems with Evirtual memoryE enabled a programmer to write programs
re,uiring greater memory space than actually available in the main memory. The
processing speeds were of the order of nanoseconds.
1.0.7 1i#th G!n!rtion
This generation represents more technological developments both in hardware and
software areas. 9ifth-generation computers are aimed specifically at &rtificial Intelligence
)&I* applications.
1.4 C&""i#iction o# Co$%ut!r"
Computers are divided into two categories on the basis of the type of data they are
designed to process. ;ata may be obtained either as a result of counting, in which case
it is called discrete data, or by using some continuous signal measuring instruments, in
which case it is called continuous data.
The classification of computers, based on the type of data, is as follows:
1.4.1 ,i-it& Co$%ut!r"
These computers operate on discrete data and are commonly used in business
applications. ;igital computers can be further classified into general-purpose and
special-purpose computers.
1.4.2 G!n!r&6Pur%o"! Co$%ut!r"
& general-purpose computer is one that can be used for a variety of applications. Its
versatility enables, e$ecution of programs of almost any type. These are used for
business applications.
1.4.0 S%!ci&6Pur%o"! Co$%ut!r"
These are designed to perform specific tas's. +uch computers lac' versatility. <owever,
they perform the tas' for which they are designed very efficiently. &ircraft control
systems and missile guidance systems are some e$amples of special purpose
computers.
1.4.4 An&o- Co$%ut!r"
This type of computer wor's on continuous data measured along a continuous scale.
9or e$ample, a speedometer is a mechanical device that wor's on continuous data.
&nalog computers are commonly used in process control systems, which monitor
pressure, temperature, flow etc.
1.4.7 H'/rid Co$%ut!r"
This type of computer combines the properties of both analog and digital computers. &
typical e$ample is found in medicine, where analog properties are used to record the
patient%s data, while digital properties help in the analysis of the data as well as in
monitoring the patientGs health. Computers are also classified on the basis of their
physical si3e, memory and processing speeds. 9ive of these categories are described
below7
2I8 Microco$%ut!r"
Low-Cost small digital computers are 'nown as icrocomputers. -ortable computers,
personal computers, )-Cs* )single user des' top computers*, computers for dedicated
applications such as industrial control, instrumentation, appliances control, etc. come
under the category of icrocomputers. icrocomputers are system based on the use of
microprocessors. & microprocessor is a programmable large-scale integrated circuit chip
containing all the elements re,uired to process binary encoded data. In simpler terms, a
microcomputer performs all arithmetic and logical functions of a computer.
icrocomputers are also called personal computers )-Cs*.
2II8 Minico$%ut!r"
These systems are more powerful than microcomputers and are also more e$pensive.
The word length is generally 0A bits or more. The processing speed of a computer is
often measured in terms of I-+, i.e., millions of instructions per second. These
computers have a processing power of the order of 0./ I-+. They are multi-user
system.
2III8 Su%!r$ini Co$%ut!r"
+upermini computers are faster than minicomputers. The word length is generally 5B bits
and the processing speed is more than 0./ I-+. These systems have efficient
time-sharing operating systems with multi-programming features.
2IV8 Min#r$! Co$%ut!r"
ainframes are very powerful large computers. They are rarely used and are being
replaced by computer networ' )distributed computer system*. These are machines with
word lengths of 5B bits or more. The processing speed is of the order of 0" I-+. These
computers support a large main memory. In the time-sharing mode, due to fast
processing speeds, they can support hundreds of terminals. The number of processors
in mainframe varies from one to si$.
1.7. Co$%ut!r" Tod'
Today computers are classified as noteboo' computers )laptop computer*, -ersonal
;igital &ssistant )-;&, also 'now as -almtop computer*, des'top computers )-Cs*.
.or' stations, +ervers and +upercomputers.
1.7.1 L%to% or not!/oo* co$%ut!r"
Laptop or noteboo' computers are personal portable computers. They are used for word
processing and spreadsheet computing while a person is travelling. Their power supply
is from batteries. They consume less power. They use hard dis's, floppy dis's and flat
LC; )Li,uid Crystal ;isplay*. They can be connected to computer networ'. .ireless
connection can be provided to laptops so that they can get information from large
stationary computers. @oteboo's use 5BHbit processor specially designed for such
computers.
1.7.2 ,!"*to% Co$%ut!r"
These are single-user -Cs )-ersonal Computers*. 5B- bit processors li'e -entium III,
Celeron, -ower-C etc. They use hard dis's of capacity 4 16 - B" 16. 8& capacity is
0A or 5B 6. They use 5./-inch floppy dis's. They use +-;2+ or .I;2.+-=4
operating system.
1.7.0 ;or*"ttion"
.or'stations are also des'top computers. They are more powerful than des'top
machines. They are provided with graphics capability. They are used for numeric and
graphic intensive applications. Their hard dis' and 8& capacity is more than des'top
computers. They use hard dis's of about B" 16 to !/ 16 and 8& A> 6. They use
8I+C processors such as ;?CGs &lpha processor, +U@Gs +-&8C processor, <-Gs -&-
8I+C, etc. 2perating systems used are U@II, +U@Gs +olaries <-Gs <--UI, etc.
&nother definition of wor'station is D .hen a computer is connected to a networ', it
becomes a node on the networ' and is referred to as a wor'stationJ. ;is'less
.or'stations boot directly from the server using special boot routines on the networ'
interface card.

1.7.4 S!r.!r"
+erves are power computers. & number of -Cs and terminals are connected to a server
through a communicating networ'. +erver has large dis' and 8& capacity. & low-end
server contains one microprocessor whereas a high-end server may contain more than
one microprocessor. icroprocessors within the computer operate in parallel. & person
wor'ing on -C connected to server, ma'es simple computation on the -C. 9or more
comple$ computation he can connect he can connect his -C to server through L&@. <e
can utilise computing power, facilities and database available with server. <e can also
use the facilities available at other -C connected to the server.
1.7.7 Su%!rco$%ut!r"
+upercomputers are the fastest computers and can be used to solve a wide range of
large-scale problems, which re,uire e$tensive numeric computations li'e comple$
molecular structural analysis, weather forecasting, etc. The processing speeds are of the
order of 0"" I-+. These machines have word lengths of A> bits or more.
1.5 B"ic Co$%ut!r Conc!%t"
& computer ta'es in data, processes it and gives out information. +o when we spea' of
the parts of a computer, there should be parts to7
-ut in data
-rocess this data and
1et the information out.



The computer parts therefore, have been named e$actly according to the function they
are supposed to do. Loo' at the table below7
The word %input% means something that the user of the computer will %put in%. +imilarly the
word KoutputG means something that the computer will %put out% after doing some wor' or
%processing% on the data. The word %device% simply means a %thing% or a %gadget% that helps
to input and output.
1.5.1 Prt" o# th! co$%ut!r th!r!#or! cn /! /rod&' &i"t!d "<
Input devices
The microprocessor )central processing unit*
Cideo ;isplay Unit or The onitor
2utput devices
otherboard
-ower supply unit
emory chips
+ound card )a few system build this into the motherboard*
-ower supply
9loppy dis' drive)s*
<ard dis' drive)s*
C;-82 drive)s*
Cooling fan)s*
& system board or motherboard( this usually contains7
Central -rocessing Unit )C-U*
Input Ta'e out
the
9loppies
and C;s
before
switching
299
1i-.27
+wincthing
299
+e,uence
1i-.24
+wincthing
2@
+e,uence
+erial port
harnes
1i-. 20
+erial
Connection
) = pin
connector*
1i-. 22
-rinter
Connection
)B/ pin
connector*
1i-. 21
oniter
Connection
)= pin
connector*
&C -ower
cord
1i-.2=
&C -ower
cord
connection
1i-.13
Leyboard
connection
1i-. 19
otherboar
d Lay out
1i-.15
Interrecord
and
Interbloc'
gaps
Inter-record
)I81*
0
st

8ecord
Inter
record gap
B
nd

8ecord
Inter
record gap
5
rd

8ecord
>
Interbloc'
gaps )I61*
6loc' of
records
Inter-bloc'
gaps
6loc' of
records
Inter-bloc'
gap 6loc'
of records
Inter-bloc'
gaps
1i-.17 Inch
9loppy dis'
1i-. 14
Inch 9loppy
dis'
1IG.10
+eagate
<ard ;is'
1i-.11
<ard dis'
pac'
1i-.12
8eadF.rite
head
1i-. 1=
Trac's
and
+ectors of
a agnetic
;is'
1i-.5
Typical
C8T
display
)8ear M
9ront view*
-ower
Indicator
-ower
)2nF2ff*
&C Line Inlet
+ignal input
8esoluti
on
+tandar
d
;esigna
tion
&crony
m
A>"
$>4"
Cideo
1raphic
s &rray
C1&
4"" $
A""
+uper
C1&
+C1&
0"B> $
!A4
?$tende
d
1raphic
s &rray
I1&
0B4" $
0"B>
Ultra
C1&
UC1&
1i-.7
+ystem
and
Leyboard
with U+6
?$ternal
+C+I
;evices
+C+I Card
Last +C+I
;evice on
/"-pin
?$ternal
cable
-lace
Terminator
<ere
1i-. 4
?$ternal
;evice
Terminatio
n
+C+I Card
-lace
Terminator
here
Last +C+I
;evice on
/"--in
cable
1i-. 0
Internal
;evice
Terminatio
n
L?; is a >-
pin hard
drive
activity
L?;
connector.
Connect
pin 0 to
the
-ositive
connector
of the hard
drive
activity
L?;.
/"--in
e$ternal
Cable
connector
/"--in
internal
Cable
connector
1i-. 2
+C+I Card
1i-.1 +C+I
adapter
and
;evices

Terminator
+canner
-rinter
-rocessing
2utput
1i-. 1 6asic structure of a data processing system
Th! 1unction Th! Prt
0. To put in the data 0. The input device
B. To process the data B. The processor
5. To get the information out 5. The output device
ain memory );8&, ?;2, +;8&*
?$pansion slots attached to -CI, I+& bus connectors
+ystem cloc'Fcalendar
Leyboard adapter )interface*
ouse adapter )interface*
9loppy dis' controller
-rimary ?nhanced Integrated ;rive ?lectronics )?I;?*
Interface, mainly for hard dis's and C;-82s
+econdary ?I;? interface
any motherboards also contain these7
<eat sin' unit
+erial port )8+-B5BC* or DC2J port
-arallel )printer* port
+tatic cache memory
Universal +erial 6us )U+6* connections )usually two some times just one*
Ta'e out
the
9loppies
and C;s
before
switching
299
1i-.27
+wincthing
299
+e,uence
1i-.24
+wincthing
2@
+e,uence
+erial port
harnes
1i-. 20
+erial
Connection
) = pin
connector*
1i-. 22
-rinter
Connection
)B/ pin
connector*
1i-. 21
oniter
Connection
)= pin
connector*
&C -ower
cord
1i-.2=
&C -ower
cord
connection
1i-.13
Leyboard
connection
1i-. 19
otherboar
d Lay out
1i-.15
Interrecord
and
Interbloc'
gaps
Inter-record
)I81*
0
st

8ecord
Inter
record gap
B
nd

8ecord
Inter
record gap
5
rd

8ecord
>
Interbloc'
gaps )I61*
6loc' of
records
Inter-bloc'
gaps
6loc' of
records
Inter-bloc'
gap 6loc'
of records
Inter-bloc'
gaps
1i-.17 Inch
9loppy dis'
1i-. 14
Inch 9loppy
dis'
1IG.10
+eagate
<ard ;is'
1i-.11
<ard dis'
pac'
1i-.12
8eadF.rite
head
1i-. 1=
Trac's
and
+ectors of
a agnetic
;is'
1i-.5
Typical
C8T
display
)8ear M
9ront view*
-ower
Indicator
-ower
)2nF2ff*
&C Line Inlet
+ignal input
8esoluti
on
+tandar
d
;esigna
tion
&crony
m
A>"
$>4"
Cideo
1raphic
s &rray
C1&
4"" $
A""
+uper
C1&
+C1&
0"B> $
!A4
?$tende
d
1raphic
s &rray
I1&
0B4" $
0"B>
Ultra
C1&
UC1&
1i-.7
+ystem
and
Leyboard
with U+6
?$ternal
+C+I
;evices
+C+I Card
Last +C+I
;evice on
/"-pin
?$ternal
cable
-lace
Terminator
<ere
1i-. 4
?$ternal
;evice
Terminatio
n
+C+I Card
-lace
Terminator
here
Last +C+I
;evice on
/"--in
cable
1i-. 0
Internal
;evice
Terminatio
n
L?; is a >-
pin hard
drive
activity
L?;
connector.
Connect
pin 0 to
the
-ositive
connector
of the hard
drive
activity
L?;.
/"--in
e$ternal
Cable
connector
/"--in
internal
Cable
connector
1i-. 2
+C+I Card
1i-.1 +C+I
adapter
and
;evices

Terminator
+canner
-rinter
-rocessing
MONITOR
S?STEM
2 CPU 8
BO@
PRINTER
AE? BOAR,
M
O
U
S
E
1i-. 2 ;es'top -ersonal Computer
MONITOR
S?STEM
2 CPU 8
BO@
PRINTER
AE? BOAR,
M
O
U
S
E
1i-. 0 ultimedia -C with +canner
VI,EO CAMERA
SCANNER
S
P
E
A
A
E
R
S
P
E
A
A
E
R
Ta'e out
the
9loppies
and C;s
before
switching
299
1i-.27
+wincthing
299
+e,uence
1i-.24
+wincthing
2@
+e,uence
+erial port
harnes
1i-. 20
+erial
Connection
) = pin
connector*
1i-. 22
-rinter
Connection
)B/ pin
connector*
1i-. 21
oniter
Connection
)= pin
connector*
&C -ower
cord
1i-.2=
&C -ower
cord
connection
1i-.13
Leyboard
connection
1i-. 19
otherboar
d Lay out
1i-.15
Interrecord
and
Interbloc'
gaps
Inter-record
)I81*
0
st

8ecord
Inter
record gap
B
nd

8ecord
Inter
record gap
5
rd

8ecord
>
Interbloc'
gaps )I61*
6loc' of
records
Inter-bloc'
gaps
6loc' of
records
Inter-bloc'
gap 6loc'
of records
Inter-bloc'
gaps
1i-.17 Inch
9loppy dis'
1i-. 14
Inch 9loppy
dis'
1IG.10
+eagate
<ard ;is'
1i-.11
<ard dis'
pac'
1i-.12
8eadF.rite
head
1i-. 1=
Trac's
and
+ectors of
a agnetic
;is'
1i-.5
Typical
C8T
display
)8ear M
9ront view*
-ower
Indicator
-ower
)2nF2ff*
&C Line Inlet
+ignal input
8esoluti
on
+tandar
d
;esigna
tion
&crony
m
A>"
$>4"
Cideo
1raphic
s &rray
C1&
4"" $
A""
+uper
C1&
+C1&
0"B> $
!A4
?$tende
d
1raphic
s &rray
I1&
0B4" $
0"B>
Ultra
C1&
UC1&
1i-.7
+ystem
and
Leyboard
with U+6
?$ternal
+C+I
;evices
+C+I Card
Last +C+I
;evice on
/"-pin
?$ternal
cable
-lace
Terminator
<ere
1i-. 4
?$ternal
;evice
Terminatio
n
+C+I Card
-lace
Terminator
here
Last +C+I
;evice on
/"--in
cable
1i-. 0
Internal
;evice
Terminatio
n
L?; is a >-
pin hard
drive
activity
L?;
connector.
Connect
pin 0 to
the
-ositive
connector
of the hard
drive
activity
L?;.
/"--in
e$ternal
Cable
connector
/"--in
internal
Cable
connector
1i-. 2
+C+I Card
1i-.1 +C+I
adapter
and
;evices

Terminator
+canner
-rinter
-rocessing
The ;es' top -ersonal Computer, ultimedia -C with +canner and -C H 9unctional
bloc' diagrams are shown in the figures
Ta'e out
the
9loppies
and C;s
before
switching
299
1i-.27
+wincthing
299
+e,uence
1i-.24
+wincthing
2@
+e,uence
+erial port
harnes
1i-. 20
+erial
Connection
) = pin
connector*
1i-. 22
-rinter
Connection
)B/ pin
connector*
1i-. 21
oniter
Connection
)= pin
connector*
&C -ower
cord
1i-.2=
&C -ower
cord
connection
1i-.13
Leyboard
connection
1i-. 19
otherboar
d Lay out
1i-.15
Interrecord
and
Interbloc'
gaps
Inter-record
)I81*
0
st

8ecord
Inter
record gap
B
nd

8ecord
Inter
record gap
5
rd

8ecord
>
Interbloc'
gaps )I61*
6loc' of
records
Inter-bloc'
gaps
6loc' of
records
Inter-bloc'
gap 6loc'
of records
Inter-bloc'
gaps
1i-.17 Inch
9loppy dis'
1i-. 14
Inch 9loppy
dis'
1IG.10
+eagate
<ard ;is'
1i-.11
<ard dis'
pac'
1i-.12
8eadF.rite
head
1i-. 1=
Trac's
and
+ectors of
a agnetic
;is'
1i-.5
Typical
C8T
display
)8ear M
9ront view*
-ower
Indicator
-ower
)2nF2ff*
&C Line Inlet
+ignal input
8esoluti
on
+tandar
d
;esigna
tion
&crony
m
A>"
$>4"
Cideo
1raphic
s &rray
C1&
4"" $
A""
+uper
C1&
+C1&
0"B> $
!A4
?$tende
d
1raphic
s &rray
I1&
0B4" $
0"B>
Ultra
C1&
UC1&
1i-.7
+ystem
and
Leyboard
with U+6
?$ternal
+C+I
;evices
+C+I Card
Last +C+I
;evice on
/"-pin
?$ternal
cable
-lace
Terminator
<ere
1i-. 4
?$ternal
;evice
Terminatio
n
+C+I Card
-lace
Terminator
here
Last +C+I
;evice on
/"--in
cable
1i-. 0
Internal
;evice
Terminatio
n
L?; is a >-
pin hard
drive
activity
L?;
connector.
Connect
pin 0 to
the
-ositive
connector
of the hard
drive
activity
L?;.
/"--in
e$ternal
Cable
connector
/"--in
internal
Cable
connector
1i-. 2
+C+I Card
1i-.1 +C+I
adapter
and
;evices

Terminator
+canner
-rinter
-rocessing
C8T 2@IT28
;I+-L&N
&;&-T2
8
82
)6I2+*
8&
C-U
M
+U--28T
C<I-+
-8I@T
C2@T82LL
?8
-
8
8
I
@
T
?
8
;&L21I
C
<&8;
;I+L ;8IC?
C2@T82LL
?8
9L2--N
;I+L ;8IC?
C2@T82LL
?8
L?N62&8
;
I@T?89&C
?
+?8I&L
I@T?89&C
?
L?N
62&8;
2;?
9;; C;
82
<;;
T?L?-<2
@?
LI@?
1IG. 4 PC B 9unctional bloc' diagram

CHAPTER 2 C1B
COMPUTER AN, ITS PERIPHERALS
OBJECTIVES
&t the end of this chapter the trainee will learn to
List the basic components of a computer.
List various IF" devices.
Understand the hardware terms.
2.1 In%ut And Out Put ,!.ic!"
.e now communicate with computers using input and output device. .e use input
devices to enter data into the computer so it can be processed. .e use output devices
to get it out so we can see it or distribute it to others. 6ut input and output devices are
not limited to the common display screen and printer. There is a vast range of devices in
use and more are being developed every day. +ome devices such as modems or fa$ are
two-way in nature, able to both input and output information.
2.1.1 In%ut d!.ic!"
There are lots of common types of input devices The most common are 'eyboards,
pointing devices, and scanners. Coming fast are speech recognition devices.
Leyboards are used to enter data by typing it in-a very slow manual process. 9a$
modems send and receive fa$es.
-ointing devices are used to move a pointer around on the screen to e$ecute
commands or to manipulate the data that has already been entered.
+canners are used to enter data into the computer automatically. To use this form
of data entry, the data must already e$ist in a printed form-either as te$t or
graphics. +canning devices can then read the printed data and convert it into a
digital form that the computer can process.
+peech recognition devices are able to hear the spo'en words and then either
e$ecute them as commands or enter them as te$t.
1i-. / Typical Leyboard
2.1.2 A!'/ord
The computer 'eyboard is similar to the typewriter 'eyboard. In addition to the typewriter
'eys, the 'eyboard has function 'eys for communicating specific instructions to the
internal processor. The function 'eys perform tas's automatically that would otherwise
be tedious and time consuming. 9or e$ample, the function 'ey labelled delete is used to
remove a particular character or word from the te$t. The computer 'eyboard also has
cursor 'eys, which are used to move the cursor up, down, right or left. It is a flat piece of
plastic board with several buttons arranged on it. These buttons are for punching
alphabets )&-O*, numbers from " to = and special characters li'e7
P 9or addition, - 9or subtraction, Q 9or multiplication M F 9or division, M , .J R F S T U #
M Q ) * etc. &ll these buttons are called 'eys. &nd the entire plastic board along with the
'eys is called a 'eyboard. .henever a 'ey is pressed on the typewriter, that alphabet
appears on the monitor.
ost computers today have 'eyboards with 0"> 'eys. &ll the data is given to the
computer by typing out the 'eys on the 'eyboard.
The 'eyboard of the
computer is the most important device for communication between the operator and the
computer. The 'ey board has got the following displays and controls.
2.1.0 ,i"%&'"

@um Loc' Indicator H Lights .hen numeric 'eypad is in numeric mode.
Caps Loc' Indicator H Lights when 'eyboard is in Caps Loc' mode.
+croll Loc' Indicator H Lights when 'eyboard is in +croll Loc' mode.
2.1.4 Contro&"

The 'eyboard )controls* is divided into following four sections7
o &lphanumeric 'eys
o @umeric 'ey padFcursor movement 'eys
o +pecial 'eys
o 9unction 'eys
S%c! Br )the longest 'ey in the last row of the 'ey board* shifts the cursor one
position to the right. If any character e$ists at the current cursor position when
the space bar is pressed, that character is erased. &fter pressing the Insert 'ey,
however, that character will be shifted to the right when the space bar is
pressed.
A&%hnu$!ric *!'"
The 'eys have alphanumeric characters )a combination of the words, alphabet and
numeric* that have functions identical to those of an ordinary typewriter. .hen the right
or left Shi#t 'ey is pressed, any simultaneously pressed alphabetic 'ey, symbol 'ey or
numeric 'eypad 'ey is switched from Lowercase letters mode to Upper letters mode.
.hen the C%" Loc* 'ey is loc'ed, the alphanumeric 'eys are loc'ed into the upper
mode but other 'eys remained unaffected. Unli'e a standard typewriter, while C%"
Loc* 'ey is loc'ed, the Shi#t *!'" convert uppercase letters to lowercase. -ressing the
C%" Loc* 'ey causes the C%" &oc* Sttu" Indictor to light up, showing that the
'eyboard is in C%" Loc* mode. This mode is cancelled by pressing the C%" Loc* 'ey
again.
2.1.7 Nu$!ric *!' %d+cur"or $o.!$!nt *!'"
These 'eys, which are arranged li'e a calculator, have two different functions according
to the status of the Nu$ Loc* 'ey. .hile the Nu$ Loc* 'ey is not loc'ed, these 'eys
are used for controlling cursor movement or as edit 'eys. There is a separate set of
Cursor ovement Leys, which are independent of status of Nu$ Loc* 'ey.
.hen Nu$ Loc* is loc'ed, these 'eys serve to input numbers to the computer and the
Shi#t 'eys wor' in reverse. -ressing the Nu$ Loc* 'ey causes the Nu$ Loc* Sttu"
Indictor to light up, showing that the 'eyboard is in Nu$ Loc* mode. This is cancelled
by pressing the Nu$ Loc* again.
2.1.5 Th! #unction" o# th! nu$!ric *!' %d+cur"or $o.!$!nt *!'" r! d!"cri/!d
/!&&o:<
o Cur"or $o.!$!nt *!'" move the cursor in space units in the hori3ontal
direction and in line units in the vertical direction.
o Ho$! A!' shifts the cursor to the topmost left corner )home position* of the
screen.
o End *!' shifts the cursor to right of the last character on the same line.
o P-U% A!' moves the cursor to the identical screen position with in the preceding
page.
o P-,n A!' moves the cursor to the identical screen position with in the following
page.
o In"!rt A!' when pressed once, switches the 'ey board from 8eplace mode to
Insert mode, and the cursor changes to a blin'ing bloc', permitting characters to
be inserted into the desired position of any line. -ressing this 'ey again, switches
the 'eyboard bac' to the 8eplace mode.
1i-.5 @umeric 'ey padFcursor movement 'eys
o ,!&!t! A!' ;eletes a character at the current cursor position on the screen, and
all following data to the right of that position are shifted to left by one position.
NOTE -ressing the ,!& 'ey 'eeping both the Ctr& and A&t 'eys depressed causes the
system to reboot.
2.7 Mou"!
Leyboards were and are still very popular for typing data. 9or giving short instructions to
the computer, the mouse has become very convenient to use today. .ith the recent
software, most of the commands are picture based )1UI*. Therefore the need of a point
and clic' input device was felt and the mouse is an ideal pointing device. 1enerally
5-button mouse are in use. The left side button and the right buttons are for the point
and clic' operations. The mouse is 'ept resting on a flat surface, and it is moved by the
user on that surface. There is a pointer, which is displayed on the monitor screen, and
the physical movement of the mouse is correspondingly shown on the screen through
the pointer.
The standard ouse components are rollers ball that signals movement to the
system.
6uttons for ma'ing selections.
& cable for connecting the mouse to the system.
&n interface connector to attach the mouse to the system.
The ouse wor's on 2-T2?C<&@IC&L mechanism.
The ouse can be connected to the computer through +erial Interface or
;edicated otherboard ouse port.
2.7.1 U"in- th! Mou"! i" "ho:n in th! #o&&o:in- #i-ur!"
1i-.9 Using the ouse
If you are running the icrosoft .indows 2perating system or another graphics based
programmes, the pointer is often shaped li'e an arrow. If you are running a te$t-
based programme, such as icrosoft .or's, the pointer is often shaped li'e a
bo$.
Nou move the pointer on the screen by moving the mouse in the direction you want the
pointer to move. oving the mouse slowly results in small movements of the
pointer. oving the pointer ,uic'ly results produces larger pointer movements.
C&ic*in-< Clic'ing means pressing and releasing a mouse button. 6y pointing to
something on the screen and clic'ing a mouse button, you select the object
under the pointer.
,ou/&!6c&ic*in-< ;ouble-clic'ing means pointing to an object on the screen and
,uic'ly clic'ing a mouse button twice.
,r--in-< ;ragging means <olding down a mouse button while moving the
pointer.
1i-. 8 Clic'ing ;ouble-clic'ing ;ragging

2.7.2 To c&!n th! Mou"!<
0. Turn the computer off, turn the mouse upside down, and remove the mouse-ball
cover.
B. Turn the mouse right side up and let the ball and cover drop down.
5. Use adhesive tape to pic' up any dust or lint on the surface of the ball. .ipe
away dust or lint inside the mouse soc'et. 8eturn the ball to its soc'et and
replace the mouse-cover.

Not!< &lways turn the computer O11 before connecting or disconnecting the ouse.
2.5 Oth!r In%ut ,!.ic!"
+ome other input devices, which are very widely used today, are7
MICR: agnetic in' character reader. Used in 6an's for scanning the
che,ue numbers.
BCR: 6ar code reader. Used in supermar'ets etc, to read the coded price tags
on
the items.
OCR: 2ptical character recogni3er. Used for validating e$amination papers
and application forms, or for reading any printed matter.
1i-.3 Cleaning the ouse
=-pin serial connector -+FB Connector
1i-.1= ouse Connectors
2.9 Out%ut d!.ic!"
2nce data has been input and processed you need access to it in a form you can use.
The devices you use to do this are called output devices because data is sent or output
to them from the computer. The output can be in the form of words, numbers, graphics,
sounds, videos, and animations.
Nou may want to print your wor' on paper-called hard copy-so that you can
ta'e it with you, share it with others, or file it for later reference. <ard copy can
be created with a stunning array printers that range from des'top units to units
that paint an image on the wall.
2utput can be displayed on the screen-sometimes called soft copy-when
creating, editing, and manipulating data. In this the soft copy is an intermediate
stage towards producing hard copy. The screen, however increasingly the
intended output device for multimedia out put.
usical output can come through a synthesi3er or other musical system.
2utput can be in the form of instructions to another device, such as a robot.
2.C Print!r"
The printer is the most commonly used output device to produce printouts of results,
program and data. The printers are classified into the following three types7
)i* Character -rinters
)ii* Line -rinters
)iii* -age -rinters
The above classification is according to the manner in which they print the te$t. There is
one more classification depending upon the technology employed in manufacturing a
printer i.e. depending on the mechanism used for printing, speed of printing, ,uality of
output, direction of printing and the 'ind of interface they have with the computer.
&ccording to this classification the printers fall into the following two categories7
)i* Impact -rinters
)ii* @onimpact -rinters
In impact printers electromechanical mechanisms are employed to cause hammers or
pins to stri'e against a ribbon and the paper to print the te$t. The most commonly used
impact printer is the ;ot-matri$ printer );-*. In a ;- an arrangement of tiny
hammers or pins typically print in a matri$ of ! dots across and = dots down. @onimpact
printers do not employ mechanical print-head to stri'e against ribbon. They use thermal,
chemical, electrostatic or in'jet technology for printing the te$t. @onimpact printers are
,uiet during operation whereas impact printers are noisy. Usually, nonimpact printers are
faster than impact printers. The disadvantage of nonimpact printers is that they produce
single copy of the te$ts whereas impact printers can print multiple copies. To solve this
problem of nonimpact printerGs manufacturers have designed printers, which can be
used as offline devices to produce additional copies of computer prepared output. The
printer accepts data from magnetic tapes and produce out put.
2.C.1 Chrct!r Print!r"
Character printers print only one character at a time with the print head moving across a
line. They are low-speed printers. Their printing speed varies in the range of 5" to A""
characters per second depending upon the type of the printer. They are used for low
volume printing jobs. They are used with almost all microcomputers. Characters to be
printed are sent serially to the printer. & modern printer contains a microprocessor and
buffer memory. The microprocessor allows printer to receive the ne$t set of characters to
be printed from the computer while printing of the current set is going on. & character
printer may be either an impact character printer or nonimpact character printer.
Character printers can be further classified into two main categories, namely, dot matri$
printers and letter ,uality printers.
2.C.2 ,ot6Mtri( I$%ct Chrct!r Print!r"
Characters are formed using a number of dots. To print a character selected dots, which
are re,uired to form the desired character, hit the ribbon against paper. ;ot-matri$
printers contain =, 0>, 04, or B> printing dots in the print head. The large number of
printing dots produces a good ,uality print. +ome printers print a line twice positioning
the dots for the second printing slightly offset. This techni,ue produces characters as
good as those printed by formed character printers. ;ot matri$ printers can print
graphics. Colour graphics can also be printed using ribbons of different colour and
ma'ing several passesses across a line of the graph or figure. ost dot matri$ printers
contain microprocessor to control its functions. The print speed of dot matri$ printers
ranges up to A"" cps )character per second*. ;ot matri$ printers can operate at two or
three speeds. &t lower speed printing ,uality is better. 4" columns and 05B column
printers are available. any dot-matri$ printers are bi-directional which are capable of
printing characters left to right as well as from right to left.
To print characters one character at a time is sent from the buffer memory to printing
mechanism. The printer electronic decoder decodes the code of the character. Then the
appropriate pins in the pin-head are actuated to print the desired character. ;ot-matri$
printers can be converted to print alphabets other than ?nglish. & dot-matri$ printer is
usually faster than letter ,uality impact printer such as a daisy-wheel printer. The impact
type dot-matri$ printers are ine$pensive but noisy. Its print ,uality is not as good as that
of a daisy wheel printer. Unli'e the formed character such as a daisy-wheel printer,
dot-matri$ printers can also print graphics.
2.C.0 L!tt!r )u&it' I$%ct Chrct!r Print!r"
;aisy-wheel type impact character printers are formed character printers. They were
used with personal computers )-Cs*, word processor and electronic typewriters in the
past. @ow a days they are rarely used. In a daisy wheel printer each petal of the wheel
has a character embossed on it. It operates li'e a typewriter. To print characters one
character at a time is sent from the memory to printing mechanism. & motor is used to
spin the wheel rapidly. To print a desired character the wheel is rotated until the desired
character comes in the correct position over the paper. & solenoid driven hammer then
stri'es the petal against the ribbon to print the character.

The main advantage of a daisy-wheel printer is e$cellent print ,uality. 9or different types
and styles of character such as italics, letters of different si3es etc different types of
daisy-wheels are available. The daisy-wheel of the desired ,uality of letters can be fitted
with the printer. The speed of a daisy-wheel printer is 0" to =" characters per second
)cps*. &s a daisy-wheel printer employs impact mechanism it is noisy output device.
any daisy wheel printers are bi-directional.
2.C.4 Non6i$%ct Chrct!r Print!r"
@on-impact character printers are also available. These printers use thermal,
electrostatic, chemical and in'jet technologies.
2.C.7 ,ot Mtri( Th!r$& Chrct!r Print!r"
ost thermal printers use papers, which have a special heat sensitive coating. .hen a
spot on the special paper is heated, the spot becomes dar'. To print a character the
print head consisting of / by ! or ! by = matri$ of tiny heating elements is moved to a
character position. Then the dot-si3ed heating elements for the desired character are
turned on. The heating elements are turned off after a short time and the print-head is
moved to the ne$t character position.
+ome of the newer thermal printers use special ribbon that contains the in' in a wa$
binder. .hen the hot pins of the print head press the ribbon against the paper, the wa$
melts and the in' is transferred to the paper. Colour graphics and te$t can be printed by
changing ribbons. These printers use standard papers.
2.C.5 In*6 J!t Print!r"
&n in'-jet printer employs a droplet generator to brea' special in' into tiny drops.
;roplets are moved through a valve where each droplet receives a small electric charge.
Thereafter the droplets are passed through deflecting plates. The deflected droplets fall
on a sheet of paper. &n in'-jet printer uses a dot-matri$ approach to produce a
character. The speed of this type of printer lies in the range of >"-5"" C-+. +ome printer
can print upto >/""" lines per minute.
2.C.9 E&!ctro "ttic Print!r"
&n electrostatic printer has a mechanism to move a sheet of paper over printing pins,
which place small electric charge on the paper. Thereafter, the paper sheet is passed
through a batch of oppositely charged toner particles. The toner particles are attracted to
the spot charged on the paper by print pins. The paper sheet then moves and passes
through a fusing process, which melts toner particles to form a character on the paper.
&n electrostatic printer can also print a graph.
2.C.C Lin! Print!r"
& line printer prints one line at a time. The speed of line printers lies in the range of
5""-5""" lines Fminute. Line printers are used with mini and large computers. +uch
printers may be impact or nonimpact type. Impact type line printers are of three types7
drum printers, chain printers and band printers. & drum printer employs a rapidly rotating
Top Cover
8esume 6utton and Light
-ower 6utton and Light
2ut Tray
-aper Length &djuster
Tray 8emoval Latch
-aper .idth &djuster
In Tray
+ingle-+heet
9eeder
-rint
Cartridge
Cradles
-rint
Cartridge
Latches
1i-. 11 <- ;es':et 4!"C$i -rinter
drum that contains a complete set of raised characters in each band around the drum.
There are a number of such bands on the drum. &t each character position there is a
printing head. .hen a character comes in the printing position a hammer stri'es the
paper and ribbon against the appropriate character on the drum. 2ne revolution of the
drum is necessary to print each line. &ll the characters of a line are not printed at a time.
+ince the drum rotates at a very high speed, the time re,uired to print a line is short
enough to call it a line printer.
& chain containing several character sets is employed in a chain printer. It is rotated at
high speed. .hen the desired character comes in the correct position the hammer
stri'es against the ribbon and paper to print a character. ?ach character position has a
magnetically driven hammer. & chain printer can print up to B""" lines per minute.
& band printer is similar to a chain printer. It contains a fast rotating scalloped steel print
band instead of a chain. +everal raised character sets are made on a band. & band
printer can print up to 5""" lines per minute.
2.C.3 P-! Print!r"
-age printers print a page at a time. These are nonimpact printers. 9rom speed point of
view there are two types of page printers, namely, low speed page printers and
high-speed page printers.
2.C.1= Lo:6S%!!d P-! Print!r"
+uch printers are used for low-volume printing jobs. They combine the printer and
office-copier techni,ues, and use Laser or other light sources to produce the image of
the desired output. Low speed printers can provide a much larger number of fonts.
These printers are used with microcomputer. Their prices are failing rapidly. The speed
of des'-si3e printer ranges between A to 0B pages per minute.
2.C.11 Hi-h S%!!d P-! Print!r"

These printers are used for large-volume printing jobs. They can print at speeds over
B"" pages per minute. <igh-speed page printers use $erography, lasers and other
technologies for high-speed printing.
2.3 O%!rtion o# L"!r Print!r
& page printer using laser beam employs a photosensitive drum to provide an image of
the te$t on it. The bits of data sent by the computer to the printer act as triggers to turn
the laser beam on and off. & negative electric charge is applied to the surface of the
drum. &n image is produced on the drum by turning the laser beam on and off when it is
swept bac' and forth across the drum. The image is produced in about the same way as
an image is produced on a raster scan C8T. The electric charge becomes positive on
just those parts of the drum surface, which are e$posed to the laser beam. To print page
a modulated laser beam scans bac' and fourth across the surface of the drum. The
laser-e$posed parts of the drum surface attract negatively charged toner )an in' powder*
particles, which are transferred to the paper. Then the paper moves to a fusing station
where toner is permanently fused on the paper with heat and pressure. Then the drum is
cleaned and it is ready for the ne$t page. .hen the drum rotates, the process of
applying electric charge, writing te$ts using laser beam, applying in' and cleaning the
drum, all are done se,uentially.
The print ,uality of laser printers is e$cellent. @ow-a days low-speed laser printers are
also used with microcomputers. They are used for boo' printing. &n output of the te$t is
produced first by a computer-controlled printer. Then plates are prepared
photographically from the output of the printer. The final printing of the boo' is done by
conventional offset printing system. Laser can also print graphics. Te$ts and graphics
can easily be printed on the same page. They are ,uiet in operation and use standard
paper. <- Laser printer is shown in the figure.
2.1= Scnn!r"
;ata can be entered directly into computer with the help of scanners. The advantage of
direct data entry is that one does not have to 'ey data. This leads to faster and more
accurate data entry. There are two major types of scanners7 optical scanners and
magnetic-in' character readers.
2.1=.1 O%tic& Scnn!r"
These are input devices, which read data recorded on paper. These are called optical
devices because reading techni,ue uses light sensors. The data to be scanned may be
typewritten, data-coded as pencil mar's or data-coded as bars. The commonly used
scanning devices are7 optical character reader, optical mar' reader and bar-code
readers.
2.1=.2 O%tic& Chrct!r R!d!r" 2OCR8
9ront 2ut -ut +lot
-aper -ath Lever
9ront -anel 6utton
Indicator Lights
-aper 2ut -ut 6in
-aper 2ut -ut +upport
-aper Input +upport
+ingle-+heet Input
+lot
-aper Input 6in
-aper 1uides
-rinter ;oor
1i-.12 <- Laser:et -rinter
These devices are capable of reading alphabetic and numeric characters printed on
paper. The characters are of special designs, which are typed, using a special font
'nown as 2C8 font. The device reads the characters and converts them into appropriate
codes to be directly entered and stored in the computer. ?arlier units were developed for
large volume applications. 6ut newer systems have been designed for use with personal
computers. +everal thousands printed characters can be read per second by an 2C8.
2.1=.2 O%tic& Mr* R!d!r 2OMR8
These devices can detect pencil or in' mar's made on special paper forms using light
sensors. The special forms are designed with or mar's which can be filled with soft
pencil or in'. This techni,ue is suitable for areas whereas one out of small number of
choices is to be mar'ed. 9or e$ample, objective type answer sheets, mar'et survey,
population survey etc. where responses can be restricted to one out of a few
alternatives.
2.1=.0 O%tic& Br6cod! R!d!r"
&n optical bar-code reader detects printed bars and converts them into electrical pulses.
The most widely used bar-code is the Universal -roduct Code )U-C*, which is mar'ed
on retail pac'ages. The U-C code consists of small vertical bars of varying thic'ness.
These bars are read as ten digits. The first five digits identify the manufacturer or
supplier of the product. The second five digits identify a specific product. &n optical
bar-code reader is often used with a point of sale terminal.
2.1=.4 M-n!tic6in* Chrct!r" R!d!r 2MICR8
& magnetic-in' character reader can read characters printed on paper by using magnetic
in' i.e. an in' that contains magneti3able particles of iron o$ide. IC8 is widely used by
ban's to process the tremendous volume of che,ues received each day. 2n the lower
left-side of the che,ue the ban'%s identification number and the depositor%s account
number are printed with the special in' before the che,ues are issued to the user. 2n
the lower right-side of the che,ue the amount of the che,ue is printed by the ban' staff
with the same special in' after the che,ue has been presented. &n IC8 can read these
characters and transfer the data to the computer. &s the che,ue enters the reading unit,
it passes through a magnetic field, which causes the iron o$ide particles in the in' to
become magnetised. 8ead heads can now interpret the characters printed on the
che,ue with the special in'. The data being read is entered directly into a computer.
+orting of che,ues is also done according to their identification code numbers. IC8
can process Upto B/"" che,ues per minute.
2.11 C!ntr& Proc!""in- Unit 2CPU8
The C-U is the heart of any computer system. This microprocessor is the heart of the
computer. The microprocessor is the central processing. ?ach microprocessor carries a
number on it li'e 4"4A, 4"B4A, 4"54A, 4">4A, %-entium%. This number refers to the
processor series number. The higher the series number, the higher is the power of the
microprocessor. 2ne can identify the microprocessor chip in the computer system very
easily as, of all the other chips( this is the biggest one with respect to its si3e.
2.11.1 Arith$!tic Lo-ic& Unit 2ALU8
The &LU is the area where calculations and comparisons )decisions* are made. 2nce
the data from the input device is fed into primary storage, it is transferred to the &LU, as
and when re,uired. The entire processing ta'es place here. ;ata moves bac' and forth
from the primary storage area to the &LU, using the wor'ing storage area )of the
primary. storage section* until the processing is over. The results of processing are
released to the output storage area where they are held until release.
The &LU contains one or more storage locations called registers. The registers provide
temporary storage for one or both of the operands that ta'e part in the arithmetic or
logical operations. 1enerally, the result is also produced in a register.
2.11.2 Th! Contro& Unit
This is the central nervous system of the computer. It controls, maintains order and
directs the operations of the entire system. The program instructions are stored in the
main memory before e$ecution. ;uring e$ecution they are transferred one by one to the
control unit of e$ecution. <ere, the instructions are interpreted and appropriate action for
its e$ecution is ta'en.
2.11.0 Out%ut ,!.ic!"
+imilar to the input devices, the output devices are instruments of communication
between the user and the computer system. These devices are used to output results
from the C-U. The most common output device is printer, which prints the result on
paper. 2ther output devices are7 magnetic tape drive, magnetic dis' drive, floppy dis'
drive, plotter, visual display unit )C;U*, etc.
2.11.4 Pri$r' Stor-! S!ction
This is the main memory of the computer and is logically divided into the following four
areas7
0. Input storage area7 The area in which input data is held until it is ready
to be processed.
B. .or'ing storage area7 The area that holds the data being processed and
the intermediate results.
5. 2utput storage area7 This is where finished results )output* are held until released
to the output devices.
>. -rogram storage area7 .hile the above three areas are data related storage areas,
the program storage area holds the processing instructions.
It should be noted that these four storage areas are not created through physical
boundaries in the primary storage section. They may vary from application to application.
The memory of the computer is of two types7
i* 8ead 2nly emory )82*
ii* 8andom &ccess emory )8&*
2.11.7 Scr//&! 6 An An&o-'
The +crabble brand crossword game is li'e a computer%s memory. The instruction
boo'let is li'e 82-you can read it, but you cannot change it. The board is li'e
8&-you can add, remove, or move data to and from, around on it.
2.12 MEMOR?
emory is an essential component of a digital computer. It is needed to store programs,
data and results. & computer uses a number of memory devices of different technologies
such as semiconductor memory, magnetic memory and optical memory. The C-U is a
semiconductor device and it operates at a very high speed. The speed of the memory
should also be very high and it must match the speed of the C-U. If memory is slow, the
C-U has to wait for data and instructions. This will reduce the processing speed of the
computer. To match the speed of the C-U a very fast semiconductor memory called
cch! $!$or' is directly connected to the C-U. It stores currently needed instructions
and data of a program being e$ecuted. Its access time is about 0" ns. It uses static
8&s. The ne$t level of memory, which is used in a computer system, is the $in or
%ri$r' $!$or'. It is also a fast semiconductor memory. It stores programs and data,
which are being processed by the C-U. Its access time is about /" ns. It is cheaper than
cache memory. It uses dynamic 8&s. +ince cache memory is very e$pensive its
capacity is 'ept about B to 5 percent of the capacity of the main memory. The main
memory is connected to the cache memory. The currently needed instructions and data
of the program are loaded into the cache memory from the main memory.
+emiconductor memory is a static device. It is faster, smaller in si3e and lighter in weight
and consumes less power compared to other types of memory devices. The main
memory of the computer system is volatile )cache is also volatile*. It holds information
)programs, data and results* as long as power supply is on. Therefore, to store
programs, data, results and supervisory programs )operating system* a computer must
have a permanent type of memory at 5rd level. -ermanent memories such as magnetic
and optical dis's are used at 5rd level of memory. The memory that stores information
permanently is called secondary or au$iliary memory. agnetic and optical memories
are cheaper than semiconductor memories and hence they are ,uite suitable for
secondary memory. The secondary memory is a mass storage device. It stores
operating system, compilers, assemblers, application programs, etc. -rograms, data and
results are saved on secondary memory. The magnetic dis's and optical dis's are not
static. They rotate during operation. They are slower than semiconductor memory. The
access time of magnetic dis's is about /-0" ms. The access time of optical dis's is
about 4" ms. agnetic dis's are suitable for online secondary storage. 2ptical dis's
)C; 82s* are suitable for archival memory.
6ac'up memory is also needed for a computer system. It is used to store copy of
important programs such as operating system, compiler, application programs, etc.
These programs are usually loaded into the secondary memory but their copies are 'ept
in bac'up memory so that they can be reloaded into the secondary memory in case the
programs stored in the secondary memory are lost or corrupted. 9loppy dis's,
detachable hard dis's, magnetic tapes, and optical dis's are suitable for bac'up
memory.
1.12.1 S!$iconductor M!$or'
There are two main types of semiconductor memory7 8& )8andom &ccess emory*
and 82 )8ead 2nly emory*. 8&s are used as r!d+:rit! memory of a computer.
They are volatile memory whereas 82s are permanent type of memory. The brief
description of different types of 8&s and 82s are given below7
2.12.1 Rndo$6cc!"" $!$or' 2RAM8
8andom &ccess emory )8&*7 Under this type of memory, programsFdata are stored,
only as long as the power is 2@. It is a readFwrite memory, i.e., information may be
written on to, or read from it. 8& is used to store an ever-changing parade of programs
and data. .hen you load a program into the computer or create a word processing
document, the data you enter using the 'eyboard is stored in random-access memory
)8&* also called main, primary, or user memory. Usually, if you turn off the computer,
any programs or data stored in this memory are lost( thus 8& is said to be volatile
memory.
The term random comes from the way the data in memory can be located or accessed
by the computer. 2ne way to understand random is to thin' of the differences between a
tape cassette and an audio C; disc. To play the third song on a tape cassette, you must
first advance the tape past the first two songs. This is called se,uential access because
you access each song in se,uence. .ith an audio C; disc you can go directly to the
trac' where the third song begins. This is called random access because you can
randomly access songs without first advancing through the songs that precede them.
The access time is same for each and every memory location. +ince information can be
written into or read from 8&s, they are used as r!d+:rit! memory of a computer
system. 8& is not the correct name because 82 has also random access property.
The correct name of 8& should be readFwrite memory. +ince 8& is the established
name for the readFwrite memory, and hence, it is usually used for it.
8& is a volatile memory. It stores information as long as power is supplied to it. Its
contents are lost when power supply is switched off or interrupted. The user has to
reload his programs and data when power supply is resumed.
There are two types of 8&7 Sttic RAM )+8&* and d'n$ic RAM );8&*. & +8&
retains the stored information as long as power supply is on. 6ut a ;8& loses its
stored information in a few milliseconds even though its power supply is on. & ;8&
stores information in the form of charge on a capacitor, which lea's away in very short
time. Therefore, its contents must be periodically )usually every B milliseconds*
refreshed by restoring the capacitor charge to its full value. It re,uires a refreshing and
control circuitry. & ;8& needs only one transistor per memory cell and hence its
pac'ing density is high. & memory cell is an electronic circuitry, which stores a binary bit
" or 0. ;8& consumes less power. It is cheaper than static 8&. It is produced in
large si3es. +8& uses conventional flip-flop circuit consisting of two cross-coupled
inverters, to store binary bit " or 0. & 8& memory cell must be associated with read
and write facility. +i$ transistors are needed to form a memory cell of +8&. <ence, its
pac'ing density is low. It consumes more power. It is faster than ;8&. It is
manufactured in smaller si3es.
2.12.0 IRAM
It is an integrated 8&. .ith advances in CL+I technology it has become possible to
integrate a dynamic 8& and its controller, and to build them on a single chip )IC*.
2.12.4 S,RAM 2S'nchronou" ,RAM8
It uses the same cloc' rate as the C-U. &s a result the memory chips remain ready to
transfer data when the C-U e$pects them to be ready. They run at the processor
memory bus without imposing wait states. ;8& is an asynchronous device.
2.12.7 SGRAM 2S'nchronou" Gr%hic" RAM8
It is synchronous 8& suitable for graphics applications. ?;2 )?$tended ;ata 2utput*
is a modified ;8&. In ?;2 memory, any memory access )including refresh* stores B/A
bits into latches. The latches hold B/A bits of information, so in most programs, which
are se,uentially e$ecuted, the data are available without wait states.
2.12.5 Error ,!t!ction nd Corr!ction in RAM"
?rror detection and correction circuitry are also used for 8&s. The simplest techni,ue
for error detection is parity chec'ing. & parity bit is generated and written along with
data. .hen data is read, parity bit is also read and chec'ed. The parity chec'ing can
detect only single-bit errors. It does not detect multiple errors. To detect multibit errors
<amming codes are used. ICs such as Intel 4B"A are available for detecting multibit
errors using <amming codes. The IC also corrects errors.


2.12.9 M!$or' $odu&!"
1i-. 10 ?;2 8& and +;8&
?;28&
+;8&
In most systems you don%t add memory by adding individual chips. Instead, memory is
plugged into the computer%s system board using memory modules. These are circuit
boards into which memory chips have been inserted
2.12.9.1 SIMM
+ingle In-Line emory odule )+I* is a small circuit board on which ;8& memory
chips are placed. This board plugs vertically into a single soc'et on the main system
board of the computer )mother board*. +I+ of different si3es are designed to use the
same si3e soc'et. 9or e$ample, 0$4, >$4 and 0A$4 bit +II& all use the same
5"-pin soc'et. The !B-pin +Is are often organi3ed as 0$5B or 0$5A )with parity*.
2ther si3es are7 B$5B, >$5B or 40&$ 5B. These are also available with parity. The
capacity of >$5A +I is 0A bytes.
2.12.9.2 ,IMM 2,ou/&! In6Lin! M!$or' Modu&!8
In ;I circuit cards memory chips and contacts are placed on both sides of the printed
circuit card. ;Is are preferred in newer systems because they can be used singly
instead of in pairs li'e the older +Is.
2.12.9.0 ROM 2R!d On&' M!$or'8
& 82 is a static, unchanging and non-volatile memory. It stores information
permanently. Its contents are not lost when its power supply is switched off. It is not
accessible to user, and hence he cannot write anything into it. 82 is used to store
permanent )fi$ed* programs. It is used to store initiali3ing programs of a computer,
microcodes of a CI+C processor, supervisory programs )monitor* of a
microprocessor-'it, fi$ed programs in microcontrollers, etc. Its contents are written at the
time of its IC fabrication. It is cost-effective for high-volume production because of high
cost of preparing a mas' needed for writing the desired contents into the 82. It is
simple, cheap and dense. It uses one-transistor memory cell.
2.12.9.4 PROM 2Pro-r$$/&! ROM8
& -82 is a programmable 82. The user can write a program, data or any other 'ind
of information permanently into a -82. -82+ are only once programmable i.e. the
user can write his programF data into a -82 only once. & special e,uipment called
PROM %ro-r$$!r is re,uired for writing programs into a -82. & -82
programmer is provided on standard microprocessor 'it. Uni.!r"& PROM %ro-r$$!r
is also available which is more powerful and provides greater facilities, and accepts a
variety of -82+.
2.12.9.7 EPROM
&n ?-82 is an erasable -82. Its contents can be erased and it can be
reprogrammed more than once. To erase its contents it is e$posed to high intensity short
wave ultraviolet light for about B" minutes. To facilitate e$posure of ultraviolet light the
?-82 chips are pac'ed in a pac'age, which has transparent window. The ultraviolet
light having wavelength of B/5!& is used for erasing the contents of an ?-82. &n
e,uipment with ultraviolet source called EPROM !r"!r is available for this purpose.
The entire contents are erased in this process. &nother disadvantage of this techni,ue of
erasure is that the ?-82 chip has to be ta'en out of the system board and placed in
an ?-82 eraser%s chamber. ?-82s are cheap and reliable. <ence, they are widely
used. ?-82s are used to store programs, data or any other 'ind of information which
are permanent but need updating. The programs, which are at development stage, are
also stored in ?-82 because they are to be modified many times. ?-82s are far
more economical than -82+ because they can be reused. It uses one-transistor
memory cell and hence it has high density
2.12.9.5 EEPROM or E
2
PROM
??-82s are electrically erasable -82+. They are also called ?&82 )?lectrically
&lterable 82*. They need not be removed from the system board for erasure.
??-82 is byte erasable. +o, selective erasure of its contents is possible. Its contents
can be erased and programmed on the system board itself very easily on byte-by-byte
basis. Its disadvantage is that different voltages are re,uired for erasing, writing and
reading the stored information. It re,uires a pulse of B0 volts for writing or erasing, and /
volts for read operation. It uses comple$ memory cell structure and therefore, it has low
density. It has also high cost and lower reliability it is used in certain applications, where
byte-alterability is needed.
2.12.9.9 1&"h M!$or'
It is electrically erasable and reprogrammable. It is inherently non-volatile memory.
Unli'e ??-82, flash memory uses one-transistor memory cell resulting in high
pac'ing density, lower cost and higher reliability. Its entire contents can be erased in
one operation. It is not byte by byte erasable li'e ??-82. +ome new flash memory
provides bloc' erasure of its contents. It can be erased or reprogrammed on the system
board itself. It possesses the feature of ,uic' pulse programming. 9lash memory name
has been given due to fast reprogramming capability. 9lash memory is suitable for
storing firmware )codes* whereas conventional ??-82s are suitable for storing
parameters. .hen codes are updated the entire codes are rewritten to avoid errors. 9or
updating firmware codes flash memory is ,uic' and economical compared to an
?-82. In case of parameter updating, they are to be rewritten individually on-line byte
by byte. <ence, ??-82s are best suited for parameter updating.
2.12.9.C Virtu& $!$or'
Cery large programs and very large files of data can strain the capacity of even a large
computer%s memory. To solve this problem, modern operating systems and many
application programs store parts of their programs or data outside 8& until needed.
This type of storage is called virtual memory. 2n a system that uses virtual memory, only
the parts of the program or data file currently needed are stored in the computer%s
memory( the rest are stored on a hard dis' drive. .hen the computer needs a part of the
file stored on the dis', it moves something in memory to the dis' to ma'e memory
available. It then moves the programme or data from the dis' into memory. 9or e$ample,
as you scroll through a long document, only part of it may be in 8& at any one time.
The rest remains on the dis' until you scroll toward it. Cirtual memory reduces the
overall cost of the system because it%s cheaper to store data on a hard dis' drive than it
is to add additional memory chips to the computer.

2.12.9.3 Cch!"
.hen a computer is operating, it is fre,uently moving data between the C-U, dis', and
memory. To process data, the data must first be moved to the C-U from wherever it is
stored. +ince this ta'es time, special techni,ues have been developed to speed up this
operation. The basic techni,ue is to store data in a special area of high-speed memory
called a cache that is located between the C-U and main memory. .hen the processor
needs data, it will chec' in high-speed cache first to see if the data is there. If not, then
the processor will retrieve the data from slower main memory.
<ow does the computer 'now what to store in the cacheR 6asically it guesses. .hen
you as' for something, the computer needs to go to 8& or the dis' for it, it also gets
the data that follows it. The assumption is that if you loo' at the first name in a database,
the ne$t one you want may be to loo' at the second name. It then moves all of this data
into the cache so the C-U can get it from there rather than going to the dis' for it.
Unfortunately computer can%t always anticipate correctly what should be in the cache.
.hen the C-U finds the right data there, itGs called a Ecache hit.E .hen it doesn%t, it%s
called a Ecache miss.E
Cache memory uses special chips, often +8& )+tatic 8&* chips. 2n some systems,
these chips are four times as fast as regular memory. There are two levels of cache
memory7
Level 0 cache )also called L0, internal, or primary cache* is physically a part of the
microprocessor chip. This cache typically ranges up to B/A 'ilobytes on des'top
systems.
Level B, cache )also called LB, e$ternal, or secondary cache* is in the form of memory
chips mounted in special soc'ets on the system board. This cache is larger than L0,
ranging up to 06 or more.
2.10 Bu##!r"
+ome programs allocate a small portion of the computer%s random access memory as a
buffer. 6uffers have several applications. 9or e$ample, a buffer stores data that you
enter from the 'eyboard until the C-U can accept it. )If the buffer becomes full, the
computer beeps, and any 'eys you press are not stored, so you must re-enter them
when the C-U empties the buffer*. &nother buffer temporarily saves a record of the most
8egisters
ain
memory
agnetic
dis's
2ptical
dis's
agnetic
tapes
1i-.14 emory hierarchy
CPU
Cache

emory -rimary
emory
+econdary
emory
1i-.17 Connection of different types of memory
recently used commands and deleted te$t so you can EundoE any mista'es. +till another
buffer )sometimes called a clipboard* is used as a storage area when you cut or copy
data so that you can later paste it elsewhere. 9or e$ample, you can create a graph in a
spreadsheet program and copy it to the clipboard. Nou can then open a word processing
program and paste the graph into a report.

2.14 Bu"!" #or In%ut And Out%ut
The computer must have connections, or circuits, along which information travels among
all the components. This communication path is called a bus. &ll communications,
whether internal or e$ternal, are sent along a bus. & bus is a pathway across which data
travel within computer. & -ersonal Computer has -rocessor 6us, &ddress 6us, emory
6us M 0F" 6us.
The -rocessor 6us is a communication pathway between the C-U and
immediate support chips as shown in the fig. The support chips are
called C<I-+?T.
The emory 6us is used to transfer information between the C-U and main
memory )8&* as shown in the fig.
2.17 Th! /u"
The bus in a computer is li'e a high way for the data. & bus is a set of copper
connections on the computer%s system board. The concept behind a bus is relatively
simple. There are only two ways to connect all the components7 ?ither run wires
between each component in the system or connect them all to a common set of wires a
bus. The bus simplifies the design, reduces the number of re,uired circuits, and lowers
the cost. & bus also allows new components to be added by simply plugging them into
the bus.
E@TERNAL
CACHE
1i-.15 -rocessor 6us
C P U
ain +ystem 6us
C - U
E(t!rn&
Cch!
R A M
-rocessor 6us
Bu"
Contro&&!r
Chi%"
ain +ystem 6us ain +ystem 6us
1i-.19 M!$or' Bu"
2.17.1 S'"t!$ /u"!"
The system bus is simply a set of connections that connect the C-U to other devices in
the computer. 9or e$ample, any peripheral connected to the bus with an adapter card is
connected to the C-U. The system bus includes address line and data lines. The
address lines carry the address of data in memory. The data lines carry the data bits
themselves. The number of data lines determines the width of the bus. Thin' of the data
bus as a set of parallel wires, each of which can send one bit at a time. The more wires
in the bus, the more bits that can be sent at a time. The number has increased over the
years from 4, to 0A, and now 5B to 'eep up with the performance of microprocessors.
+ome high-end systems are already using the ne$t step bus, one that carries A> bits.
2.17.2 Loc& /u"!"
&s graphical user interfaces such a .indows have become more popular, parts of the
computer system have become bottlenec's to acceptable performance. 2ne of these
bottlenec's has been updating the screen display. This is no small tas'. 9or e$ample, a
high-end display may have 0"B> pi$els across the screen by !A4 down, or a total of
almost 4"",""" pi$els that have to be updated A" or more times per second. This puts a
tremendous load on the system and you notice it when it ta'es a long time for the screen
to be redrawn when you page up or down. To solve the problem, local buses have been
added to ta'e peripherals off the IF2 bus and connect them, together with the C-U and
memory, to a wider data pathway. This speeds up how fast data can be sent from
memory through the microprocessor to the screen or other devices.
&lmost all new des'top computers use a fast and ine$pensive -eripheral Component
Interconnect )-CI* bus. -CI was invented by Intel but is now controlled by an industry
wide standards committee. Li'e everything else in computing, -CI is evolving ,uic'ly. &s
microprocessors speed up, it%s essential that other components of the system 'eep up
the pace so they aren%t bottlenec'. The -CI bus is constantly evolving to meet this
challenge. It gets faster in one of two ways7 it speed increases or its data path widens.
This is li'e raising the speed limit on a freeway or adding additional lanes. The bus is
now fast enough for computers to process multiple video streams and simultaneously
support very high-speed networ'ing.
2lder computers used first I+& buses )Industry +tandard &rchitecture* and then ?I+&
buses )?$tended Industry +tandard &rchitecture*. The first carried 0A bits at 4<3 and
later 5B bits at 0"<3. 6oth were abandoned as microprocessor speeds increased and
they could no longer 'eep up. 9or e$ample, where -CI can send up to B/A6ps, I+&
can send only /6ps. The local bus uses a new set of connections in line with the
normal bus for a direct path to the C-U.
2.15 ,i##!r!nt E(%n"ion Crd"
C6Bit E(%n"ion crd ;ata is transmitted among e$pansion slots and other
components on the bus only along 4 parallel data lines. The data lines use only a
fraction of the 50 pairs of connectors that fit into the e$pansion slot. &s remains the
same with never boards, the other connectors supply the boards, the other connectors
supply the board with power, instructions, and addresses for data locations either on the
e$pansion boards or in memory. This was the only type of e$pansion slot in the original
I6 -C.
1i-. 19 4-6it?$pansion Card
1i-. 1C 0A-6it or I+&
card
156Bit or ISA crd .ith 04 more pairs of connectors, the I+& )Industry +tandard
&rchitecture* card transmits data over 0A data lines, doubling the amount of data it
moves compared to an 4-bit card. Today, -Cs with faster and never local bus slots still
have I+& e$pansion slots. & 0A-bit card is powerful enough for components, such as
serial and parallel ports, and internal modems that donGt handle the e$treme amounts of
data transmitted by video, net-wor', and dis' controller cards.
5B-6it C& Card The I6 icro Channel &rchitecture )C&* card uses 5B of its =5 lines
to send and receive data. It also includes special circuitry that, li'e plug and play
technology, ma'es the card easier to install. The C& e$pansion slot, which I6
refused to let others clone for a long time, will not accept 4-bit or adapter cards.
026 Bit EISA Crd The design of ?$tended industry standard &rchitecture )?I+&* can
use e$pansion cards designed specifically to wor' with the slotGs =! connectors that are
1i-.13 5B-6it C& Card
1i-. 2= 5B-6it ?I+& Card
1i-.21 5B- 6it -CI Local-6us Card
divided between two levels. These ?I+&-specific cards transmit 5B bits of data at a time,
and, li'e C& and plug and play, are easier to set up. 6ut ?I+& slots also accept 4-bit
and 0A-bit cards. -lastic tabs allow the older cards to fit only far enough into the slots to
ma'e contact with the first level of connectors, which wor' the same as I+& connections.
6ut boards designed specifically for the ?I+& slot can enter farther and align their
connectors with the lower row of connectors that handle signals based on ?I+&
specifications.
026 Bit PCI Loc&6Bu" Crd The peripheral Component Interconnect )-CI* local-bus
adapters have connectors similar to those on C& and ?+I& cards. &ll handle 5B bits of
data at a time, and are smaller and more tightly pac'ed than I+& connections. -CI slots
wonGt accept I+& or 4-bit cards. Closely integrated with plug and play, -CI slots currently
are the most common in -Cs.
026Bit Acc!&!rt!d Gr%hic" Port ;espite being called a port, the &1- is an
e$pansion slot, technically an adaptation of the -CI slot design. Unli'e other e$pansion
slots that can handle a variety of add-in cards, the &1- is designed only for a special
type of video card. The >> pins on an &1- card are arranged in a fashion similar to
those on an ?I+& board, interweaving every other connector so that some touch slot
connectors along a bottom row and remaining pins come in contact with top row of slow
connector.
2.19 Ad%t!r crd" And Mu&ti$!di S'"t!$"
any users li'e to customi3e the computers to better serve the needs. To ma'e this
possible, most computers have e$pansion slot inside the cabinet into which you can plug
adapter cards )also called add-in boards or cards*. These e$pansion slots are connected
directly to the computer%s bus, so cards plugged into them perform just as if they were
built into the computer. &dapter cards can serve variety of functions. +ome allow the
computer to display colours or graphics, send fa$es, connect with the Internet, or add
sound. +till others connect peripherals or are the peripherals themselves. 9or e$ample,
you can plug in an adapter card that controls a hard dis' drive located elsewhere in the
system, or you can plug in a card that contains the hard dis' drive itself.
2.1C P&u- nd %&'
.hen you want to change e,uipment on your system, such as plugging a modem into a
noteboo' computer, you often have to first turn it off. If you are adding a new
component, such as a fa$ card, you might even have to configure it. To eliminate these
1i-. 22 5B-6it &ccelerated 1raphics -ort
problems, some operating systems support plug and play. -lug and play means the
operating system automatically detects new hardware and automatically configures it to
run on your system. It does this by loading and unloading device drivers as you connect
and disconnect peripherals such as printers, modems, and networ' cards. .hen you
plug one of these into the computer while it%s running, the operating system detects the
new device. It then loads the re,uired driver without rebooting the system. -lug and play
re,uires three components that support the technology7 an operating system, a 6I2+,
and devices.
2.13 Mu&ti$!di "'"t!$"
&t the current time, one widespread use of e$pansion slots is to ma'e -Cs into
multimedia systems capable of displaying high-,uality graphics, animations, and sound.
These capabilities were originally used for games but are increasingly used for
education, business presentations, and demonstrations. To upgrade a -C for
multimedia, the system must have added to it a sound card, a C;82 drive, and an
optional graphics accelerator. &ll of these components are added using cards that slide
into e$pansion slots in the system%s bus.
Gr%hic" cc!&!rtor< ultimedia re,uires a powerful system capable of
showing high-,uality illustrations, movies, and animations on the screen. This
isn%t an easy tas' because of the amount of information that is sent to the screen
to achieve these effects. To speed up the screen display so it isn%t a drag on the
system, a graphics accelerator card can be inserted into a slot and the display
screen is then plugged into that card. These cards have their own processors
that ta'e much of the graphics load off the system%s C-U.
C,6ROM dri.!< ultimedia uses lots of graphics, sound, animation, and movies.
&ll of these ta'e up huge amounts of storage space. To get all of these files onto
the same dis', C;-82 dis's are used because they have much more capacity
at lower costs than other media. To play these dis's, the system must have a
C;-82 drive. To connect the drive to the system, you must plug an adapter
card into one of the e$pansion slots.
Sound crd< To get high-,uality-spo'en sound from a system, you insert a
sound card into one of the slots and then plug spea'ers into the card.

CHAPTER NO 0 C1B
COMMUNICATION ;ITH PERIPHERALS

0.1 Introduction< & computer system is li'e a component stereo system where you use
cables to connect a tape dec', turntable, and spea'ers to the main amplifier. 2n a
computer, the components you plug in are called peripherals. These typically include
devices such as printers, display screens, modems, 'eyboards, mice, scanners, hard
drives, and C;-82 drives. To connect them, you plug their cables into soc'ets on the
computer called ports. The number and type of ports on a computer vary, but they
usually include serial, parallel, and +C+I )pronounced Escu3-eE* ports.
0.2 Co$%ut!r %ort"
-orts are soc'ets usually mounted on the bac', of the computer. Nou plug cables into
these ports to connect peripherals such as printers or modems.
+erial ports )sometimes called 8+-B5B-C ports or asynchronous communications ports*
are where you attach modems and devices used to communicate with other computers.
2ne big advantage of serial ports is that the data is sent and received over only two
lines. This ma'es them ideal for connection to the phone circuits, which also use two
data lines.
.hen data is sent out a serial port, it is sent 0 bit at a time. +ince the data is processed
inside the computer at up to A> bits at a time a serial port is li'e a narrowing on highway
at +erial port provide slower communications and are therefore not ideal for printer
connections.
-arallel ports )sometimes called centronics interfaces* are normally reserved for printers
and some types of e$ternal storage devices. They carry data 4 bits at a time on parallel
paths. 6ecause they can transmit data 4 bits or 0 byte at a time, they are a faster way for
the computer to communicate input and output devices. There is less narrowing than on
a serial port, so traffic moves faster.
0.2.1 SCSI 2S$&& Co$%ut!r S'"t!$ Int!r#c!8
any devices such as scanner, hard drives, C;-82+ drives, -rinters, and other
devices can be connected to a +C+I port. 2ne big advantage of this type of port is that
more than one device can be connected to the same port. 2ne device is plugged into
the port, and then another device is plugged into the first device. This process, called
Edaisy-chaining,E reduces the number of slots ta'en up by all of these devices.
& single +C+I controller manages upto seven devices through a daisy-chain
connection. +ome versions of +C+I can run 0/ devices off one +C+I host card.
?ach device on the daisy chain, called the +C+I bus, has a uni,ue identifying
number from "-!. & deviceGs I; number is assigned when the device is installed,
by setting switches either physically through software. The +C+I card usually
assigns itself the ! I; number, leaving "-A for other devices.
1i-. 2 +C+I Card
/"--in internal
Cable connector
/"--in e$ternal
Cable connector
L?; is a >-pin hard drive activity L?; connector. Connect pin 0 to
the -ositive connector of the hard drive activity L?;.
The last device on the daisy chain must have a terminator installed on the
connector thatGs not being used.
Connection of +C+I Card with internal and e$ternal devices are shown in the figures

+C+I
Controller
Card








C; 82 drive -rinter
+canner
Terminator
1i-.1 +C+I adapter and ;evices

0.0 Uni.!r"& S!ri& Bu" 2USB8 nd #ir! :ir!
&s inputFoutput demands have increased, serial and parallel, and even +C+I, ports have
become bottlenec's to system performance. Two new but complementary serial ports
are now being added to systems to improve this situation. 6oth of these ports have
features in common. They can each7
Use thin cables to ma'e connections easier.
&llow to daisy chain devices so only a single port is needed on the computer.
+upport plug and play so that you donGt have to open the case, insert an adapter
card, and then run a special program to install the card so that the system 'nows
it is there. The computer will automatically recognise the new device.
1i-. 4 ?$ternal ;evice Termination
-lace Terminator <ere
Last +C+I ;evice on /"-pin
?$ternal cable
+C+I Card
?$ternal +C+I ;evices
1i-. 0 Internal ;evice Termination
Last +C+I ;evice on /"--in cable
-lace
Terminator
here
+C+I Card
Transfer data much faster than the older serial and parallel ports.
+upport hot plugging )adding and removing devices with the computer on*.
;istribute power, so low-consumption devices can operate without a separate
power cord.
Universal serial 6us )U+6* allows you to plug up to 129 devices into a U+6 port on the
bac' of the computer, or into any other device already plugged in to that port. 9or
e$ample, you can plug a 'eyboard into the serial bus port and then plug a mouse into
the 'eyboard. Li'ely candidates for U+6 are 'eyboards, mice, and joystic's, followed by
printer, scanners, and e$ternal modems. U+6 is much faster than the older serial port
and handles all but the most data-hungry devices such as hard drives, fast C;-82
drives, and high-end video e,uipment. 2ne big advantage is that you can easily
customi3e a system. 9or e$ample, you can have a small mouse for children and large
one for adults both active at the same time. U+6 wor's at 0Bbps and is ine$pensive.
9ire wire was originally conceived by &pple but has since been adopted by the entire
computer and consumer electronics industry. +ometimes referred to as I??? 05=>, 9ire
wire is much faster than U+6 and is designed to connect up to A5 high-bandwidth
consumer electronics devices such as digital camcorders, digital cameras, and digital
video disc players and also typical -C devices such as C;-82 drives, printers,
scanners, and hard drives. It is also enabled high-speed Internet connections.
?ventually, many -Cs will have both the slower and less e$pensive U+6 and the faster
and more e$pensive 9ire wire connection ports.
0.4 CRT ,i"%&' 2Vid!o ,i"%&' Unit8
C8T displays are widely used with computers to display alphanumeric characters and
graphs. C8T stands for cathode ray tube. To display characters on a C8T screen an
electron beam is swept bac' and forth across the screen. The beam is also swept up
and down. This method of displaying images is 'nown as raster scan method. The
cursor points the spot on the screen where one can enter the desired character. The
1i-.7 +ystem and Leyboard with U+6
cursor moves left and right, up and down. & C8T terminal also contains a 'eyboard to
enter programs. The typed te$ts are displayed on the screen. If there are errors, they
can be corrected. To correct an error the cursor is brought at the spot where correction
is to be made. Then 'ey for the correct character is pressed. & character is formed by
light dots. To display a character the re,uired light dots are energised to glow. The
screen of a commonly used C8T terminal can accommodate B/ lines. ?ach line contains
4" characters.
& television screen can be used as a C8T screen. & suitable interfacing circuitry is to be
incorporated for the purpose.
& C8T controller is an IC, which contains the necessary circuitry to control the operation
of a C8T. The Intel 4B!/ is programmable C8T controller, which is used to interface a
C8T raster scan display with microcomputer system. It is compatible with C+-4/, 4"4A
and 4"44 system.
& C8T contains one or more microprocessors to control communication between
'eyboard and C8T, and between C8T and microcomputer. The baud rate decides the
rate of data transmission from the microcomputer to C8T or vice versa. 0" characters
per second are e,ual to 00"-baud rate.
0.7 R"t!r Scn Co&our Gr%hic"
9or a monochrome display inner side of the screen is coated with a single phosphor,
which produces the images of desired colour. 9or colour display the screen is coated
with red, green and blue phosphors. 2ne techni,ue of coating is to have dots of the
three phosphors in a triangular pattern over the entire screen. The three different
phosphors are bombarded by three separate electron beams. 6y turning on and off
different combinations of red, blue and green beam 0A colours can be produced. Instead
of switching on and off beams, if their intensity is controlled using ; F& converters, a
variety of colours can be produced.
0.5 V!ctor Scn CRT ,i"%&'
The electron beam is scanned over the entire screen in a raster scan C8T. In certain
applications only lines are to be shown on the screen. 9or such applications it will be
wasteful to scan the electron beam over the entire screen. & diagonal line drawn on
raster C8T loo's li'e stair steps. & vector scan C8T does not have these
disadvantages. If a line between points & and 6 is to be drawn on a vector scan C8T,
the electron beam moves directly from & to 6. This is achieved using ;F& converters in
hori3ontal and vertical deflection circuitry. The values of inputs to these converters
decide the position of the beam on the screen. The vector scan C8T is good to display
graphics containing straight lines, but is not suitable for curves.
0.9 ,ISPLA? TECHNOLOGIES DVI,EO ,ISPLA? A,APTERS
Cathode 8ay Technology uses vacuum tube enclosed in glass. 2ne end of the
tube contains an electron gun( the other end contains a screen with a
phosphorous coating.
8esolution is the amount of detail that a monitor can render. This is e$pressed in
terms of Dpi$elsJ. 8esolution re,uired depends on the application.
Inter-laced and @on-interlaced scanning modes refresh the entire screen in
the same amount of time. This techni,ue redraws the screen faster and provides
more stable images.
&n idle time detail, Computer sends signals to monitors. Cideo card decides
when to send these signals to save power.
0.C VI,EO CAR,S BASE, ON IN,USTR? STAN,AR,S
onochrome ;isplay &dapter );&* can display te$t at a !B"$5/" resolution
and also incorporated a printer port.
;& designed with K=G-pin monochrome display connector.
Colour 1raphics &dapter )C1&* has two modes of operation
QQ &lphanumeric )& F @* mode.
QQ&ll points addressable )&-&* mode.
In &-& mode 5B"$B"" with four colours and A>"$B"" with two colour resolutions
are available.
C1& designed with colour direct drive % = pin ; - shell connector.
?nhanced 1raphics &dapter )?1&* capable of displaying A>"$5/" pi$els in 0A
colours from a palette of A>.
Cideo 1raphics &rray )C1&* is an analogue system. It overcomes the drawbac'
)limited number of possible colours* of the digital system.
C1& displays up to B/A colours on screen from a palette of B/AL colours.
8esolution +tandard ;esignation
&cronym
A>" $>4" Cideo 1raphics &rray C1&
4"" $ A"" +uper C1&
+C1&
0"B> $ !A4 ?$tended 1raphics &rray I1&
0B4" $ 0"B> Ultra C1&
UC1&
1i-.5 Typical C8T display )8ear M 9ront view*
+ignal input
&C Line Inlet
-ower )2nF2ff*
-ower Indicator
0.3 M-n!tic M!$or'
The magnetic memory is permanent memory. It is not volatile. It is used as a secondary
memoryFbac'-up memory in a computer system. The following types of magnetic
memory are used today in a computer system7
<ard dis'
9loppy dis'
agnetic tape
0.3.1 Hrd di"*"
<ard dis's are on-line storage device. They are used as secondary memory for mass
storage of information permanently. They store programs, data, operating system,
compilers, application programs, etc. & hard dis' is made of aluminium )or other metal or
metal alloy* base with a thin coating of magnetic material )iron-o$ide* over it. +tandard
hard dis' si3es are7 /.B/,5./, and B./-inch diameter. 5./-inch dis's are commonly used.
B./-inch dis's are used in portable computers. /.B/-inch dis's were used earlier. ;igital
information is stored on the magnetic coating )film* by applying current pulses of suitable
polarity to the magnetising coil of the read Fwrite head. The logic 0 or " depends on the
direction of magneti3ation of the very small area of the magnetic film, which comes
under the readFwrite head. There are two types of recording techni,ue7 longitudinal
recording and vertical recording. In longitudinal recording the magneti3ed regions are
oriented parallel to the dis' surface along the trac'. In the vertical recording the
magneti3ed regions are vertical to the dis' surface. The vertical recording stores many
times more data as compared to longitudinal recording. ;uring read operation a voltage
is induced in the coil of the read Fwrite head due to the changes in the magnetic field in
the vicinity of the head. The coil now serves as a sensing coil. 9ig. shows a readFwrite
head. <ard dis's and readFwrite heads are placed in a sealed, air-filtered enclosure. This
techni,ue is called .inchester technology. The hard dis's that use this technology are
called ;inch!"t!r di"*". The hard dis's together with readFwrite heads, access
mechanism, driving motor for a hard dis's unit form a unit called hrd di"* dri.! unit.
The whole unit is permanently installed in a computer system. This unit is fi$ed in a
computer system, and it is not removable. & platter i.e. dis' cannot be removed or
inserted into a hard dis' drive unit.
& hard dis' is a surface device. Its surface is divided
into a number of concentric trac's, and each trac' is divided into a number of sectors as
shown in 9ig. 0.>. Trac's and sectors do not have physical e$istence on the surface of a
dis'. They are logical things. To increase the storage capacity several hard dis's, c&&!d
%&tt!r"E are mounted on a common drive to form a dis' pac' as shown in 9ig. 0./. ;ata
bits are stored serially on each trac'. The set of the same numbered trac's on different
dis's of a dis' drive unit will lie on the surface of an imaginary cylinder. The dis's are
addressed by drive number, cylinder number )i.e. trac' number*, surface number and
sector number. The speed of hard dis' drives lies in the range of />""-0/""" r.p.m. The
storage capacity is 4-!/ 16. The storing capacity per platter is B-B" 16. The data
transfer rate is 55.5 -0A" 6Fs. The time re,uired to move the readFwrite head to the
specified trac' is called "!!* ti$!. This depends on the initial position of the head
relative to the trac' specified in the address. The &t!nc' ti$! )or search time* is the
time re,uired to rotate the specified sector under the head. The sum of seek time and
the latency time is called cc!"" ti$!. The access time is about /-0/ ms. The head
moves to the specified sector in a random way. To readF write information it moves on
the trac' of the specified sector in serial way. +o a dis' is a "!$i rndo$ d!.ic!.
The readFwrite heads of a dis' system are either fi$ed or movable. In a fi$ed head
system, a separate head is provided for each trac' of each surface. This type of system
contains only one platter. In a movable head type unit, there is one head per surface. &ll
heads are mounted on an arm, which can move radially across the platters to access to
individual trac's, as shown in 9ig. 0./. The moving-head system is commonly used. The
fi$ed head system has faster access but it re,uires more electronic circuitry. 2n the
other hand moving head system re,uires more comple$ mechanical arrangement for
moving the heads.
1i-. 1= Trac's and +ectors of a agnetic
;is'
;ue to high speed a thin air cushion of about 0" micro-inch is formed between the
rotating dis' and the head. .hen the dis' is rotating, the head floats on the air cushion
and remains 0" micro inch off the dis' surface. It does not ma'e any physical contact
with the dis' surface. <ard dis's must be contained in dust free environment, because
dust particles may be 0" times the thic'ness of the air cushion. &ny dust particles or any
other contamination present in the sealed container, will cause head crash. In head
crash the coating of magnetic material on the dis' surface is damaged where head
stri'es. The data of that portion of the dis' surface is lost.
0.3.2 Hrd ,i"* Contro&&!r
agnetic dis' drive also re,uires controller. It converts instructions from software
running on the computer to the electrical signals re,uired to operate the hard dis'. The
function of a dis' controller is dis' drive selection, trac' and sector selection, head
loading, to issue command to the drive system to perform readFwrite operation, data
separation, serial to parallel and parallel to serial conversion of data, error chec'ing etc.
The data recorded on a magnetic dis' is the combination of cloc' )timing information*
and data. Therefore, data read must be separated from the cloc' information. The data
processed by a C-U or stored in the main memory is in the byte form. The bytes to be
recorded on a magnetic dis' must be converted into serial format. The data read from a
dis' is in the serial format, which has to be converted to parallel format so that it can be
sent to the C-U or stored in the main memory. & typical +eagate hard dis' is shown in
fig.
1i-.11 <ard dis' pac' 1i-.12 8eadF.rite head
1IG.10 +eagate <ard ;is'
0.3.0 R!$o./&! hrd di"*"
8emovable hard dis's are also available for bac'up protection. They are costlier than
magnetic tape bac'up. The capacity of +yVuest%s removable dis' system is +yjet 0./
16, Iomega%s :a3 0 16 and B16.
FIP ,ri.!. It is a super floppy dis' drive. Its si3e is about 5./ inch. It is slightly thic'er
than 5./-inch floppy dis'. It uses magnetic-coated ylar dis', protected by hard plastic
shell. It runs at 5""" r.p.m. It uses two-readF write heads - one for each side of the dis'.
The heads are about one-tenth the si3e of a floppy drive%s head( closer to the si3e of
readFwrite heads in a hard dis' drive. The heads touch the surface of the dis' very lightly
compared to a floppy drive. It uses about B""" trac's per inch. It uses special magnetic
material, which is not easily magnetised. &s a result magnetic field from the write head
affects for smaller area to write " or 0. Its capacity is 0"" 6, B/" 6.
,i"* Cch!
+ince dis' access is slower than 8& access, there is also dis' caching, which stores
information the user might need, from the hard dis' in faster 8&. The function of dis'
cache is to enhance the performance of the hard drive or other mass storage devices,
for e$ample, C; or ;C;. odern hard dis' drives are now built with their own on board
cache memory of 06 or >6.
0.1= 1&o%%' ,i"*"
& floppy dis' is made of thin plastic circular dis'. The thin plastic material is ylar. It is
coated with a magnetic material such as iron o$ide or barium ferrite. The dis' is not a
hard plate, rather it is very thin fle$ible plastic, and hence it is called G#&o%%'G di"*.
9loppy dis's are also c&&!d di"*!tt!". They are used as secondary or bac'up memory.
1enerally, users use floppy to store their programs and important informations. ;ifferent
si3es of floppies are7 /.B/ inch and 5./ inch diameter. The floppies are 'ept in plastic
protective cover, which is /.B/-inchF5./ inch s,uare. The protective cover of 5./-inch
floppy is hard plastic whereas that of a /.B/ inch floppy is soft plastic. The protective
cover )the dis' jac'et* of a /.B/-inch floppy dis' is usually blac'. 2n inner surface of the
cover, there is a white felt liner. The liner is designed specially to help the dis' rotate
smoothly. It also wipes the floppy dis' clean. & floppy dis' is a surface device. It is
divided into concentric trac's, and each trac' is divided into sectors. They use
longitudinalFvertical magnetisation technology. & floppy dis' rotates at 5A" r.p.m. .hile
rotating, the readFwrite head ma'es contact with the dis' surface. The large oval slot
provides the opening through which the readFwrite head touches the dis'.
9ig. 0.! shows a schematic diagram of /.B/ inch floppy. The readFwrite window is oval
shaped cut into the cover. There is a hole at the centre for drive spindle. & plastic hub
ring is fitted at the centre of the floppy dis' to protect the internal edge of the dis',
otherwise the edge will come in direct contact with the drive spindle and may be
damaged. The write protect notch protects the stored information. & blac' or silver
adhesive tape is supplied with each floppy. It is c&&!d :rit! %rot!ct t/. If a tab is fi$ed
on the notch, then the computer will not be able to write on that dis' any more. It cannot
erase the information stored on the dis'. This techni,ue protects the contents of the dis'
from accidental erasure. If someone decides to write some thing on that dis' or erase
some information, it can be done can do so by removing the tab. 2ne cannot use
transparent tape because the dis' drive chec's for a write-protect tab using photodiode
and L?; assembly )i.e. by passing light through it and not by touching it. The /.B/-inch
floppy has an inde$ hole. It is a small hole just off the central hole. It provides a
reference point, which gives the physical beginning of a trac'. The floppies are also
classified as "o#t6"!ctor!d nd hrd6"!ctor!d dis's. & soft-sectored dis' contains only
one inde$ hole, which serves as the reference point to the first sector, and the reference
1i-. 14 Inch 9loppy dis'
of the other sectors is obtained with respect to it. & hard-sectored dis' contains separate
hole for each sector apart from an inde$ hole for the identification of a sector.
+oft-sectoring is common. It is more reliable than hard-sectoring. The two small cuts on
either side of the readFwrite slot are called &i-n$!nt 2or "tr!""6r!&i!#8 notch!". They
help ensure that the jac'et does not wrap.
9ig. 0.4 shows the schematic diagram of 5./ inch floppy. 2n 5./ inch floppy readFwrite
window
is covered by a sliding metal cover )i.e. a metal shield*. The dis' drive pushes the cover
aside when a dis' is inserted into the drive. The write-protect notch employs a plastic
button which slides in a trac'. It can be slided into the two positions. 2ne position allows
reading, writing and erasing. The C; other position allows only reading. .hen light is
visible through the trac', then the floppy is write-protected. The capacity of a /.B/-inch
floppy is 0.B 6. The capacity of 5./ inch floppy is 0.>> 6. .hen only one side of a
dis' is used to store information, it is called single sided. & double-sided dis' stores
information on both sides )surfaces* of the dis'. The terms single density, double density
and ,uad density are used in conte$t with dis's. & double density dis' stores double
information per unit length of a trac' as compared to a single density dis'. & ,uad
density dis' stores > times information compared to that of a single density dis'.
+-;2+ stores /0B bytes of information per trac'. /.B/-inch double density floppy uses
>4 T-I )Trac's -er Inch*, and ,uad density =A T-I. The 5./-inch floppy uses 05/ T-I
densities. <igher density dis's store 0"B> or B">4 bytes per sector.
0.11 Hi-h6C%cit' 1&o%%'
9ujifilm company has recently developed B"" 6 floppy dis'. It can store 0""""" pages
of te$t. It combines 9ujifilmGs film coating and magnetic media recording technology with
+ony%s drive hardware. It uses &T2 )&dvanced +uper Thinlayer and <igh output
1i-.17 Inch 9loppy dis'
atel edia* technology, a dual-layer coating system. The 'ey features of an &T2
coated storage product are its special layers on each recording surface.
0.12 1&o%%' ,i"* Contro&&!r
& floppy dis' system also re,uires a controller. The function of a dis' controller has
already been discussed while discussing hard dis' controller. Intel has developed
4B"!4, 4B"!!&& and 4B"!!+L floppy dis' controller.
0.12.1 Cution" in Hnd&in- 1&o%%' ,i"*"
& floppy dis' should always be 'ept in a plastic bo$ when it is not in use.
It should be 'ept in vertical position.
The e$posed area of the dis' surface should not be touched with fingers.
& felt-tipped pen should be used for writing the label. +harp and hard-point such
as dot pen )ball point pen* should not be used.
9loppy dis' should be 'ept away from magnetic fields such as that created by
electric radios, televisions, tape recorders, telephones, motors, and other electric
appliances.
The dis' may also be damaged by heat, moisture and dust. +o it should be 'ept
away from e$cessive heat such as that produced from radiation or direct sun.
It should be 'ept in dust and moisture free environment.
The dis' should not be removed while drive is running. & dis' should not be bent.
0.10 1or$tin- o# M-n!tic ,i"*"
agnetic dis's must be specially prepared before they are used first time. This
preparation is called formatting of a dis'. .hen a new blan' dis' is formatted, the trac's
and sectors are mar'ed on it. ?ach sector is numbered, going around each trac', from
the outside trac'. 6esides data a number of other information is recorded on the dis' for
correct data transfer between the dis' and the main memory. The outermost trac's
contain operating system files, dis'%s main directory, information about dis' space
allocation, etc. +ector number 3ero on each trac' is reserved for identification purposes,
rather than for storing data.
0.10.1 M-n!tic T%! Unit
The magnetic tape unit is used for both input as well as, output operations. These are
similar to the ordinary spool tape recorders.
The tape is divided into seven or nine parallel trac's, which run along the length of the
tape. +even or nine bits can be recorded across the width of the tape, representing one
byte of data. agnetic tape drives have one readFwrite head for each trac', and as the
tape moves, reading or writing occurs.
<alf-inch .ide plastic tapes coated on one side with magneti3able material are used to
store information. The tape speed varies from !/ to B"" inches per second )I-+* and the
recording density varies from 4"" to AB/" bytes per inch )6-I*. Thus with a tape speed
of !/ 8+ and a density of 0A"" 6-I, the rate of transfer of data becomes 0A"" $ !/ W
0,B",""" bytes per second. The length of the tape varies from A"" ft. to B>"" ft. ;ata on
the tape is stored as groups of bytes, called records.
agnetic tape cannot be used for direct inputs. It must first accept input from another
source, such as punched cards, C;U, etc. 2nce the data is recorded on magnetic tapes
it can be transmitted to the computer system at a high speed. Information can be
retained for a long duration on tape, and recorded information can be erased and
replaced with new information. Thus magnetic tapes are e$tensively used as bac'up
storage of data for on durations.
&n inter-record gap )I81* )9ig. 0.=* is generated due to the physical limitations of
starting and stopping a tape. In order to read the ne$t record, the tape drive ta'es time to
come to its normal speed and similarly, after a record has been read, some time elapses
before the tape finally stops. This brings us to an interesting statistic. & record of 0""
characters typically stops. This brings us to an interesting statistic. & record of 0""
characters typically occupies about 0FA of an inch, whereas the inter-record gap
occupies somewhere between 0F> to 5F> of an inch. <ence, a lot of tape is wasted. If
multiple records are stored together in a bloc' )in one write operation*, then the gap on
the tape between two bloc's of data is referred to as an inter-bloc' gap )I61*.
The data stored on magnetic tapes is easily accessible, one bloc' after another. This is
why tapes are called se,uential access processing systems. agnetic tapes are
commonly used as a low-cost medium for off-line storage of data. This is the most
common means of providing data -transfer between multiple computer installations in the
absence of a direct communication channel.
0.14 Crtrid-! T%! ,ri.!
Cartridge tapes represent the latest development in secondary storage devices. &
cassette, typically B./$> inches in si3e have a capacity of storing B"6 to B/"6 of
information. It is compact and loo's similar to a videocassette.
0.14.1 In%ut + Out%ut ,!.ic!"
+ince computes and humans do not spea' the same language, a device that can
translate human language into machine language and vice versa becomes necessary.
Input devices read information prepared by users and convert it into a code than can be
6loc' of records Inter-bloc' gaps 6loc' of records Inter-bloc' gap 6loc' of records
Inter-bloc' gaps
Interbloc' gaps )I61*
0
st
8ecord Inter record gap B
nd
8ecord Inter record gap 5
rd

8ecord >
Inter-record )I81*
1i-.15 Interrecord and Interbloc' gaps
conveyed by electrical pluses into the computer system. 2utput devices convert
computer-stored data into a form understandable to us.
+ince many of these devices can be used both for input and output, they are generally
referred to as inputFoutput devices or more fre,uently as IF2 devices. They are also
'nown as peripheral devices or peripherals.
Some of the commonly used I/O devices are given below:
Crd R!d!r nd Crd Punch
The punched card is one of the oldest IF2 mediums. It serves a dual purpose in that it
can enter data into the C-U as well as receive information from it. <owever, cards have
certain inherent disadvantages that have limited their use.
Punch!d P%!r T%! R!d!r
Mr* nd Chrct!r R!co-nition R!d!r"
This method is used as an input medium. It recognises the mar's and characters directly
form actual transactions li'e che,ues etc. There are three types of readers available7
0. ar' +ense 8eader
B. agnetic In' Character 8eader )IC8*
5. 2ptical Character 8eaders )2C8*
0.17 RAI, "tor-! d!.ic!"
?$tremely large dis' drives, such as those used with mainframe computers, are very
e$pensive. To reduce the cost of secondary storage when large amounts are necessary,
8edundant &rray of Independent ;is's )8&I;s* has been developed. These systems
lin' together a number of ine$pensive dis' drives, li'e those used in -Cs. 6y definition,
8&I; has three attributes7
0. The array of dis' drives is viewed by the user as one or more drives.
B. ;ata is distributed across the set of drives in a defined manner.
5. ;ata is duplicated or it can be reconstructed in the event of a dis' failure.
These systems are not only faster and less e$pensive, but are also designed to protect
data. They do so by storing all data on more than one drive, using dis' mirroring or
striping. .hen data is mirrored, it is stored on two drives at the same time. .hen
striped, parts of it are stored on different drives and a record is 'ept of what is stored
where. If one of the drives fails, the data can be reconstructed automatically from the
other wor'ing drives on which it is stored. In addition, the inoperable dis' drive can be
replaced without shutting off the system )hot-plugging*. ;ata continues to be stored on
the other drives as the bro'en part is being repaired or replaced.
0. 17 O%tic& ,i"*"
.ith demand for higher capacity and more reliable secondary storage media, a new type
of secondary storage medium started getting popular. This% is, the C;. C; stands for a
compact disc. It is very similar to a floppy dis', but in terms of its storage capacity it is
very huge. &lso, rate of data retrieval from a C; is much faster. Typical storage
capacities of a compact dis' could be anywhere between />" 6 - > 16 of data. & C;
can be used to store numeric, alphabets, audio and video data.
2ne of the most recent and far reaching developments in the computer field is the new
technology of optical discs. ;ata is stored on and retrieved from these discs with a laser.
These dis's currently come in three widely used forms7 C;-82 and ;C;-82 discs,
write-once, read-many ).28* discs, and erasable optical discs. Their main advantage
over hard dis's is removability and greater density or storage capacity.
0.17.1 A%%&iction" o# o%tic& di"c"
C; 82 and ;C; 82 discs have changed the way information is stored, distributed,
and accessed. -ublishers li'e using these discs to distribute information and programs
because they cannot be illegally copied as easily as floppy dis's, they are a lot cheaper
to manufacturer, and they don%t pass viruses from one user to the ne$t.
0.15 C, di"c"
C;-82 discs are similar in concept to the audio discs )C;s* so popular in the music
recording industry. These discs can store up to AA" megabytes of data. Li'e other
media, they are rated by their access times and transfer rates. +ince many of their
characteristics are fi$ed by specifications that ma'e them compatible with the millions of
drives, performance is boosted by spinning them faster in the drive. The faster they spin
the faster are the access times and the higher the transfer rates. The spin rate is
designated by the B$, >$, A$, and 0A$ designations each drive carries. & 0A$ drive spins
0A times faster than the original drives. ost C;-82 discs can only be read but there
are other versions that you can write to.
0.19 ,V, di"c"
This latest generation of optic discs went through so many name changes )digital video
disc and digital versatile disc* that only the ;C; acronym remains in use. In one
massive shift, this new medium is about to replace music C;s, videotape, 0B-inch video
laserdiscs, and C; 82s. ;C; discs loo' li'e C; H 82 discs, but ;C; can store
more than BA times as much data as C; H 82s. .hile current C; 82s can store as
much as 0!16, depending on the model drive and disc.
0. 1C MOTHERBOAR,
& other 6oard is the main -rinted Circuit 6oard in a computer that contains the
central processing unit, appropriate coprocessors and support chips, device
controllers, memory, and e$pansion slots to give access to the computerGs
internal bus.
The other 6oard classification refers to the type of C-U that the board can
support.
+oc'et-! motherboards are designed for -entium and -entium I C-U+.
+oc'et-4 motherboards are made for -entium -ro C-Us.
+lot-0 motherboards are made for -entium-II systems.
other 6oards are also classified with their 9orm 9actor.
The 9orm factor is nothing but dimensions of the board and its mounting hole
positions as well as the general layout and placement of 'ey components
such as
C-U, +ingle Inline emory odules )+Is* and e$pansion slots.
&T style motherboard uses two sets of A-pin Inline power connectors.
The C-U is positioned inline with I+& bus slots on &T style board. &lmost always
obstructs full-length I+& cards.
In &TI motherboard, all input F output port connectors are concentrated into a
single
E IF" -anel E at the rear end.
&n &TI motherboard uses a B"-pin power connection from the power supply.
The C-U%s location is very clear and away from all e$pansion bus slots.
0.13 G&o""r' o# Moth!r Bord T!r$"
0.13.1 BIOS 2B"ic In%ut Out%ut S'"t!$"8<
& small code of instructions etched into a 82 chip and put on the motherboard. The
6I2+ is the most crucial component of a motherboard. It determines and detects what
'ind of hardware is present on your motherboard. .hen your system starts, the
processor loo's for its first instruction in the 6I2+. <ardware is identified, and the
operating system, starts up. Initially, 6I2+ came in ??-82 )?lectrically ?rasable
-rogrammable 8ead 2nly emory* chips. The problem with these was that the 6I2+
code couldnGt be updated. +o for e$ample, if a new processor was introduced and your
motherboard didnGt support it, you had to buy a new motherboard. Later, new type of
82 was introduced, called the flash 6I2+, which is also popular today. Nou could
update the 6I2+ code here using a software program. otherboards that use chipset
li'e the Intel 40" are li'ely to have their 6I2+ embedded with in the chip set itself. 9lash
6I2+ offers many advanced features, such as the ability to change the processor cloc'
speed and setting soft power option through the 6I2+ itself, which once had to be set
using jumpers.
0.13.2 S&ot" nd "oc*!t"<
The processor slot or soc'et on a motherboard determines which processor your
motherboard supports. The following are the most-commonly used soc'ets on
motherboards.
Soc*!t 9< otherboards with this type of slot can house the -entium class of
processors, including IntelGs -entium range, &; 'A-B and 5, Cyri$ II, and I;T
.inchip. The processor in the soc'et is mounted hori3ontally. Today, these
motherboards are identified as +uper +oc'et!. The difference is that +uper +oc'et !
motherboards contain an &1- port and U+6 support.
Soc*!t 09=< This soc'et is similar in appearance to +oc'et !, e$cept that it supports
only Intel Celeron processors. In this category, >55<3 Celerons are now commonly
available.
S&ot 1< Intel first introduced this slot for its -II processors. Later, it also introduced its
Celeron processors on it, but moved them to +oc'et 5!" subse,uently. +lot 0 now also
supports -III processors. +lot 0 mounts the processor vertically, similar to a normal add-
on card. The processor is mounted on a -C6 )-rinted Circuit 6oard* that contains the LB
cache.
S&ot A: .hen Intel patented its +lot 0 design, other processor manufacturers had to
resort to other slot designs, and thatGs how +lot & came into picture. This slot is designed
for &;Gs &thlon and the -III canGt be e$changed for each other.
0.2= M!$or'
SIMM< +hort for +ingle In line emory odule. +I slots were ,uite common in soc'et
! motherboard, and housed the earlier asynchronous ;8&, such as ?;2 8&.
<owever, motherboards today no longer have +I slots.
,IMM< +hort for ;ual In line emory odule. This 8am slot is found in all new
motherboards. It houses +ynchronous ;8&, or +;8&.
0.21 Port"
& small portion of motherboard is devoted to connectors for e$ternal peripherals, such
as hard dis's and floppy drives. ;ifferent types of connectors used are7
I,E< +hort for Integrated ;evice ?lectronics. This interface is used to connect hard
drives and other &T&-I )&T &ttachment -ac'et Interface* - compliant devices such as
C;-82 drives, C;-.riters, etc. & motherboard usually has two I;? ports, termed as
primary and secondary. Nou can connect two devices to each I;? port, which are then
termed as master and slave devices. Nou have to change the jumper settings on each
device to determine whether itGs master or slave. Usually, the primary master is a hard
drive on which the operating system is loaded.
1,, conn!ctor< This floppy drive port is similar to an I;? connector, e$cept that it has
fewer pins. ItGs usually placed with the other two I;? ports.
USB 2Uni.!r"& S!ri& Bu"8< &ll motherboards have provision for this port, but some
donGt provide the connectors for it. & motherboard usually has two U+6 ports. U+6 is an
interface that allows a ma$imum of 0B! devices to be daisy chained on after the other.
The transfer rates are also pretty high, reaching 0B6Fsec. U+6 ports are plug-n-play,
that is, any device connected to it gets recogni3ed immediately.
1ir!:ir! 2IEEE610348< 9irewire developed to meet the demands of todayGs audio and
video applications. ItGs e$tremely fast, with transfer rates of >""6Fsec. 9ire wire
supports three different rates-0""6Fsec,B""6Fsec,and >""6Fsec. & ma$imum of A5
devices can be connected by daisy chaining them through two Dgame boyJ type
connectors that have si$ pins each. 9irewire technology is e$pensive, but is applicable in
areas where the wor' involves a lot of digital video.
0.22 Bu"!"
This is a term meant to identify slots for inserting add-on cards in a motherboard. D6usJ
refers to a set of lines that help in transferring data between the C-U and other devices.
& personal computer has -rocessor 6us, &ddress 6us, emory 6us and IF2 6us.
H!r! r! th! .riou" /u"!" #ound on $oth!r/ord<
ISA 2Indu"tr' Stndrd Archit!ctur!8< I6 introduced this 4-bit bus architecture in
0=40. It had a theoretical transfer rate of >6Fsec. In 0=4>, with the release of the B4A
data processor, which used a 0A-bit data path, the I+& bus was e$panded to 0A bits.
The theoretical transfer rate for this was 46Fsec. The 0A-bit I+& bus is still in use on
many motherboards today. & major disadvantage of this bus was that I8Vs had to be
manually defined through jumpers on cards that mounted on the bus.
MCA 2Micro Chnn!& Archit!ctur!8< The release of the 5B-bit 54A resulted in I6
coming out with the C& bus.
VESA 2Vid!o E&!ctronic" Stndrd A""ocition8< The C?+& bus developed by @?C,
also 'nown as the CL )Cideo Local* bus, came into e$istence in &ugust 0==B. Unli'e its
predecessors, it ran at the speed of the processor rather than at a speed of 4.55<3. It
could even access memory at the same speed and gave a theoretical throughput of 0B4
to 05B 6Fsec. It was compatible only with >4A processor and speeds of 55<3.
PCI 2P!ri%h!r& Co$%on!nt Int!rconn!ct8< &nother bus specification spearheaded by
Intel in 0==B, and currently found on all motherboards. The -CI bus re,uired an
additional bridge chip to connect to the IF2 of the C-U, rather than directly tapping into
the processor bus. This allowed it to use the system bus and ta'e full advantage of the
C-UGs data path. -CI runs at 55h3 and gives a throughput of 05B6Fsec. &nother
important feature of -CI is that it was the model for the -n- )plug-n-play* specification,
which meant that -CI cards could be configures via software, rather than through
jumpers as was the case with I+& cards.
AGP 2Acc!&!rt!d Gr%hic" Port8< The &1- port is a dedicated graphics port based
on -CI. ItGs a dedicated point-to-point channel that enables the graphics controller to
access main memory, bypassing the bottlenec' of the -CI bus. It allows te$tures to be
stored in main memory rather than video memory. The &1- channel is 5B bits wide and
runs at AA <3, giving a bandwidth of BAA6Fsec. &1- also supports two optional
faster modes, giving throughputs of /556Fsec and 0."! 16Fsec.
0.20 Chi%"!t"
The bac'bone of all motherboards is undoubtedly the chipset, which performs an ever-
increasing number of jobs. & chipset is nothing but a set of chips around which a
motherboard is built. They aid the processor in communicating with the outside world.
To understand this, letGs compare a chipset to a human body.
The coordinator for all functions in the body is the brain. This is e,uivalent of the
processor on a motherboard. The brain needs other parts of the body to interact with
the e$ternal world. This includes the eyes to see, mouth to spea' and taste, ears to
hear, nose to smell and breath, limbs to wal' around and feel other objects. +imilarly, a
chipset lets the C-U interact with the outside world, e$ternal as well as internal to the
motherboard. ThereGs an &1- controller to which you can connect a display adapter to
view all the data )eyes*. ThereGs a -CI controller that lets you connect various other
devices such as a sound card )tal', hear*. This chip also controls the hard dis' and
memory. +imilarly, thereGs another chip that controls all the ports such as U+6, parallel,
;I@, -+FB,etc.
Chipsets are available from various manufacturers. They differ in the amount of
functionality they can provide. ItGs up to the motherboard manufacturer to include some
or all functionalities when using these chipsets. 9or e$ample, a manufacturer may not
provide U+6 functionality, although a chipset might support it.
0.20.1,i##!r!nt t'%!" o# Chi%"!t"
The different ICs that are used on a motherboard to support additional features
)li'e ultimedia &dvanced 1raphics @etwor' Interface etc* as a set are termed
as Chi%"!t.
@ew Chipsets are developed for modern motherboards to support their new
features.
The most commonly used motherboards with their Chipsets are7
X AM, Chipsets used with &;-A>" system controller M &;-A>/ peripheral
bus controller.
X Int!& -entium Chipset used mainly for integrating support for Universal +erial
6us )U+6*, mice, 'eyboards, :oystic's, +canners, and Cameras. Intel has
produced different Chipsets for different generation processors li'e Intel >5"
TI Chipset for -entium I processor etc.
X VIA Chipsets, manufactured by &-2LL2 are used for high performance -CI F
I+& des'top and noteboo' -C systems based on A>-bit Intel -entium -ro
processors.
X SiS Chipsets are mainly used for mobile -Cs and for multimedia applications.
&lthough they are slow when compared to CI& and Intel, they are economical
for entry-level -Cs.
X OPTi Chipsets are used mainly for multimedia and mobile computers. They
are fully compatible to -Cs based on -entium -ro processors. It provides an
au$iliary -CI bus that can be used as the &1- port and also supports Unified
emory &rchitecture )U&* with A>-bit core logic.
6ased on the C-Us they support, motherboards are divided into different types.
Typical Layouts of a otherboard are shown in the following figures.

H &T Leyboard Connector 6 H &TI -ower +upply
/ H &TI -ower +upply ? H Infra H 8ed )I8* Connector
! H Integrated 9unctional Connector 9 H emory odule +oc'ets
1 H +erial C20, C2Band parallel -ort I H 5C Lithium 6attery
Connector
: H -CI &;;- in 6oard Connector l H L&@ Connector
$ H odem Connector H 9ront -anel 9unction Connector
@ H 9lash 6I2+ 2 H 9loppy ;rive Connector
- H I;? ;evice Connector V H .&L?U--LI@L <eader
8 H +6-LI@L and Creative -CI <eader + H C-U +lot 0
" H +oc'et 5!" C-U +oc'et T H C-U 9&@ Connector
U H &udio Connectors . H C1& Connector
1i-. 19 otherboard Lay out
I H C; &udio Connector N H &u$iliary Connector
O H Telephone Connector

T'%ic& PC Con#i-urtion
The hardware and software specifications re,uired for a -C or any other type of
computer is termed as the computer configuration. & typical -C configuration is given
below7
icroprocessor7 -entium series
<ard dis'7 B" 16 -one number
9loppy dis'7 0.>> 6 - one number
Leyboard +tandard Leyboard
onitor 0>Eor 0!E colour digital monitor
-rinter In'jet printer )if hard copies are re,uired*
ultimedia 'it C; 82 drive, spea'ers, and sound card
ouse 5-button ouse.
+ystem software )2+*7 windows =4 or windows B""".
&pplication software7 + 2ffice =4 or B""".
.ith Internet technology touching almost everybodyGs life today, it is imperative to have
a net connection also. <owever the mention of it is important here since in this case the
hardware re,uirements mentioned above get one more item added to it. It is the
modem, a device that is a must at the userGs premises for the Internet connectivity.
Ann!(ur!
The system bo$ is the main body of -ersonal Computer )-C*. It contains echanical,
?lectrical, ?lectro-mechanical and ?lectronic parts.
The main units of S?STEM BO@ are7
+witch ode -ower +upply )+-+*
other 6oard
+erial -orts
-arallel -orts
Ley 6oard connector
icroprocessor
C2+ chip )82 6I2+* with 6attery
;I slots for 8&
Chip set
?$pansion slots
Integrated ;rive ?lectronics )I;?* connectors for connecting Compact ;is' ;rives
)C;-;rives* and <ard ;is' ;rives )<;;s*.
&dd-on-Cards )+ound card, ;isplay card and @etwor' Interface Card etc.*
9loppy ;is' ;rive
<ard ;is' ;rive
Compact ;is' )C;* ;rive
-ower Connectors and 8ibbon Cables
S:itch $od! %o:!r "u%%&'
-ower supply is located in the rear right ,uarter of the enclosure.
&C supply through the &C line card.
Then power supply produces a series of ;C outputs.
These dc outputs power the motherboard and drives.
&dvanced Technology )&T* and &dvanced Technology ?$tended )&TI*
motherboards re,uire different types of power supplies.
Ad.nc!d t!chno&o-' 2AT8 "t'&! %o:!r "u%%&'<
&T style power supply provides four ;C voltages to the motherboard.
The voltages are P/C, -/C, P0BC and -0BC. &ll are ;C.
These voltages supplied through a series of T.2 A-pin connectors.

-4
0. 2range -ower 1ood
B. 8ed P/Cdc
5. Nellow P0BCdc
>. 6lue -0BCdc
/. 6lac' 1round
A. 6lac' 1round
- =
0. 6lac' 1round
B. 6lac' 1round
5. .hite -/Cdc
>. 8ed P/Cdc
/. 8ed P/Cdc
A. 8ed P/Cdc

<int7 If you can%t remember the orientation of -4 M-= connectors, just
8emember that the HBLACA ;IRESG of each connector 1o together.
The Po:!r Good "i-n& is tied up with C-U%s reset pin.
.hen the -C is first powered up this signal is &o-ic = 2I!ro8. &nd forces C-U
into a continuous reset mode.
&fter the power supply is stable )about "./ seconds from the time power switched
on* this signal rises to &o-ic 1 2on!8.
This releases reset and C-U begins processing boot process.
Po:!r Conn!ction" to Int!rn& ,ri.!" o# PC7
9loppy ;is' ;rive )9;;*, <ard ;is' ;rive )<;;* and Compact ;is'
;rive )C;-;rive* are ?lectro-mechanical devices, demands more current for their
operations.
&ll drives are connected through heavy-duty wire connector from +-+.
?!&&o: J12Vdc
B&c* Ground
B&c* Ground
R!d J7Vdc
The P0BCdc signal powers the drive%s motors.
The P/Cdc signal operates the drive%s logic circuits.
To connect more drive power connectors, use K?L "%&itt!r to transform ONE power
connector into T;O.
Cution
;on%t use inade,uate power connectors, may push power supply beyond it%s
capacity. 8esults in ?88&TIC +N+T? behaviour.
@ever split power connectors operating <ard ;is' ;rive )<;;*. If do so results in
?88&TIC <;; performance and ;&T& C288U-TI2@.
AT@ Po:!r Conn!ctor Pin Out<
Conn!ctor. No Si-n& Conn!ctor. No Si-n&
0 P 5.5C 00 P5.5
C
B P5.5C 0B -0B C
5 1round 05
1round
> P/ C 0>
-.-2@
/ 1round 0/
1round
A P/ C 0A
1round
! 1round 0!
1round
4 -ower 1ood 04 -/ C
= P/ C+6 )stand by for 0= P/ C
real time cloc'
0" P0B C B" P/ C
CMOS S!t u% Routin!
The <ardware configuration for any computer is maintained in a C2+ 8&.
C2+ set up routine is re,uired for accessing the system%s configuration. 6I2+
and C2+ 8& are not the same, although two are intimately related.
6I2+ refer to firmware instructions located on 6I2+ 82.
C2+ refers to lower power 8& that is holding the system%s set-up
parameters.
6I2+ read the C2+ 8& into memory at start time.
&lso provides Eset-upE routine that allows to change the contents of C2+.
The C2+ 8& F 8TC )8eal Time Cloc'* device is a totally different IC.
S'"t!$ S!r.ic! Routin!"
The system services )6I2+ services* are a set of individual functions that form
the layer between hardware and the operating system.
+ervices are called through the use of interrupts which causes the C-U to stop
and sends program control to another address in memory, which usually starts a
subroutine to deal with that interrupt.
The interrupts can be produced from three major sources
X The C-U itself. )?rroneous program result*
X & hardware condition )by devices to get C-U%s attention*
X & software condition )To chec' or manipulate a hardware device*
PENTIUM II
-entium II is optimised for use with 5B-bit 2perating systems and software
)such as .in =$ or .in @T*. --II also includes the I architecture and /!
new instructions needed to handle I )ulti edia ?$tensions* applications.
&t BAA <3, the -entium II processor can provide from 0.A to B times the
performance of a B"" <3 -entium processor.
-entium II uses a 5BL6 L I )Level 0* cache right in the C-U pac'age - this
allows a 0AL6 cache for data, and a 0AL6 cache for instructions.
It also provides /0BL6 LB )Level B* cache right in the C-U pac'age to
ma$imi3e the processor%s performance without relying on the
motherboard for cache.
- II supports up to A>16 of physical 8& and allows dual processors, thus,
motherboards can be designed for basic +ymmetric ulti -rocessing )+-*.

P!ntiu$ II Proc!""or S%!ci#iction"
Introduced ay 0==!
a$imum rated speeds B55 BAA, 5"" h3
C-U cloc' multiplier 5./$ >$->./$
Internal bus width 5""-bit
?$ternal bus width A>-bit
Integrated-cache bus A>-bit
emory address bus 5B-bit
a$imum memory A>1
Integral-cache si3e 0AL code, 0AL data
Integral-cache type @on-bloc'ing, L0 cache
@umber of transistors !./ million
LB cache si3e /0B L
Transistors in LB cache 50 million
Circuit si3e ".5/ micron
?$ternal si3e B>B-pin +ingle ?dge Cartridge
ath coprocessor 6uilt-in 9-U )9loating--oint Unit*
-ower management / )+ystem anagement ode*
2perating voltage B.4 C
B"ic In%ut Out%ut S'"t!$ 2BIOS8<
6I2+ provides an interface between raw -C hardware and standardi3ed
operating system
& 6asic IF2 system is added on read only memory )82* ICs.
& -C can be fitted with up to / or more 6I2+ 82s.
+ystem )other board* 6I2+
Cideo 6I2+
;rive controller 6I2+
@etwor' adapter card 6I2+
+mall Computer +ystem Interface )+C+I* adapter 6I2+
6I2+ contains three sections7
o -ower 2n +elf Test )-2+T*
o Complimentary etal 2$ide +emiconductor )C2+* set-up routine
o +ystem services routine
The particular section of 6I2+ code e$ecuted depends on the computer%s
state and its activities at any given moment
Po:!r On S!&# T!"t 2POST8<
-2+T is a collection of test programs.
The function of these programs is to test the various functional units )8&,
Leyboard, dis' drives M C-U etc.,* in the -C.
Cerifies whether they are in proper condition or not and gives warning either in
the form of a display or a series of beeps if something is wrong.
.hen we turn 2@ -C, an electrical signal follows a permanently programmed
path to the C-U to clear data from the chip%s internal memory registers.
The C-U then addresses to the 82 6I2+ boot program, which invo'es the
-2+T.
The -2+T procedure tests the memory contained on the display adapter and the
video signals that control the display and then. runs a series of tests to ensure
that 8& chips are functioning properly.
Loc& /u" in co$%ut!r "'"t!$
The e$ternal devices which are plugged in L2C&L 6U+ e$pansion slots can access
the part of the bus local to C-U i.e. -rocessor 6us. Thus +peed increases.
-eripheral Component Interconnect )-CI* developed by inserting another bus
between C-U and native I F " bus by means of bridges.
Information is transferred across the -CI bus at 55<3 at the full data width of the
C-U.
9I8? .I8? )I??? - 05=>* is a new bus technology, e$tremely fast with data transfer
rates tip to an >"" 6 Fsec.
& ma$imum of A5 devices can be connected to a single I??? H 05=> adapter card by
daisy chaining.
U@IC?8+&L +?8I&L 6U+ )U+6* allows for connection to 0B! devices through the
use of daisy chaining.
U+6 devices can be E% <2T E plugged or unplugged.
Th! P6Rtin- 2PR8 S'"t!$<
@on-Intel C-Us such as Cyri$, I6 icroelectronics, etc. created --rating
system for their C-Us, so that they can be e,uated to an Intel -entium.
9or e$ample if any other processor li'e &; 055h3, &m/$4A is mar'ed -8!/,
then it performs comparably to an Intel !/h3 -entium.
.hen a rating of a DPJ or DPPJ suffi$ )e.g. -8!/PP* is given, it means that this
processor is -erforming better than Intel !/h3 -entium.
CPU Soc*!t"<
?ach generation of C-U uses a different number of pins.
& different physical soc'et must be used on the motherboard to accommodate
each new generation processor.
+oc'et -ins Vo&t" C-U
+oc'et 0 0A= / C >4A +IF;I
+oc'et B B54 / C >4A +IF;IF;IB
+oc'et 5 B5! 5 C F / C >4A
s$Fd$Fd$BFd$>
+oc'et > B!5 / C A"FAA h3
-entium
+oc'et / 5B" 5 C !/F="F0"" h3
-entium
+oc'et A B5/ 5 C >4A ;I>
+oc'et ! 5B0 B./ C F5.5 C !/F="F0"" h3
-entium
+oc'et 4 54! B./ C -entium -82
+lot 0 B>B @F& -entium II
CISC VS. RISC CPU"<
Comple$ Instruction +et Computing )CI+C* allows any no. of instructions to be
used in the
C-U. ?$amples are -entium I etc.
8educed Instruction +et Computing )8I+C* uses a limited no. of very powerful
instructions
8esulting in faster computing with lesser power consumption. )?g. -entium II
etc.*
CPU is closely related to the overall speed )@o. of instructions e$ecutionFsecond*
and performance of personal computers.
CPU performs mathematical calculations, logical comparisons and data
manipulation.
The data bus carries information to and from the C-U. It is one of most familiar
yardstic' of C-U performance.
The si3e of the data bus is 4, 0A, 5B or A> bits.
9or C-U to read or write data, it must be able to specify the precise IF2 port or
location in system memory.
Locations are defined through the use of an address bus.
Control signals are used to synchroni3e and co-ordinate the operation of a C-U
with other devices in that computer.
G!n!r& %r!cution" :hi&! conn!ctin- th! co$%ut!r
?lectronic components should be handled carefully.
<andle them as seldom as possible
&void touching any gold edge connectors
&t least three power points of / &mp. each are re,uired to connect the system
Connect system and room air-conditioner through different wiring points. The
computer ground must be separate from the air- conditioning ground
&lways use a voltage stabili3er, to get a constant voltage of BB"C PF- 0"#
It is recommended to use a U-+ to prevent the data from getting corrupted
during power cuts
,i##!r!nt conn!ction" on co$%ut!r
1i-.13 Leyboard connection
1i-. 21 oniter Connection )= pin connector*
1i-.2= &C -ower cord connection
&C -ower cord
1i-. 22 -rinter Connection )B/ pin connector*
1i-.24 +wincthing 2@ +e,uence
1i-. 20 +erial Connection ) = pin
connector*
+erial port harnes
1i-.27 +wincthing 299
+e,uence
Ta'e out the 9loppies and C;s
before switching 299