Upgrading a pc volume 2

BIOS

What Is BIOS?
The BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) is a chip
on the computer's motherboard that is designed
to provide the interface required between
hardware devices such as hard disks, display and
the software usually operating system.
The BIOS has instructions as to how to load the
basic computer hardware along with a test
usually referred to as a POST (Power On Self
Test) that ensures that the computer meets the
requirements to boot up properly. In case the
computer fails to pass the POST then there will
be a combination of beep sounds that indicate a
malfunctioning within the computer.
The BIOS usually has 4 main functions:
POST - Before the process of loading the
Operating System is initialized, POST tests the
computer hardware to see if they are properly
functioning.
Bootstrap Loader - It is a process of locating
the operating system. In case a active Operating
system is found BIOS will pass the control to it.
BIOS - Software / Drivers which interfaces
between the operating system and the hardware.
CMOS Setup - It is a configuration program that
allows configuring of hardware settings such as
computer passwords, time, and date.

When Is A BIOS Update Necessary?

The following list shows the benefits of a ROM
BIOS upgrade:
Adds support for hard drives greater than 10GB
Adds support for Ultra-DMA / 33, UDMA / 66, UDMA
/ 100, or faster IDE hard drives
Adds or improves Plug-and-Play support and
compatibility.
Corrects calendar-related bugs.
Corrects known bugs or compatibility problems
with certain hardware and software.
Adds support for newer or faster processors.
In general, if a computer is not able to utilize
all the features of new software or hardware, it
may need a BIOS upgrade.

ADAPTER CARDS

Adapter Cards are also referred to as controller

cards, expansion cards, or interface cards. They
accommodate the flow of data as well as the
instructions between the CPU and the devices
thereby enhancing the capability of the computer
viz. memory expansion, advanced graphics, sound,
I/O expansion, etc.
These are installed or plugged into slots on the
motherboard, or bus extensions such as the Local
Bus. They enhance the flexibility of the
computer in accepting devices such as monitors,
memory adapters and parallel and serial
peripherals.
The slots that they fit into are:
ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) Slot.
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Slot.
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) Slot.
PCI-Express Slot.

Upgrading a Video Card

A video card provides signals that operate the
computer monitor. A computer will have either an
AGP graphics or PCI Express (PCIe) graphics.
With the arrival of graphic intensive games, the
video card manufacturers have integrated a
processor and memory on the video card. The
greater the memory, the faster the processor,
the higher the quality of the game produced by
the monitor.
Most mid-range and faster graphics chipsets no
longer support the PCI slot. Besides faster
throughput, AGP has two other big advantages
over PCI for video:
AGP has a dedicated direct connection to the
processor instead of sharing bandwidth with
other PCI slot and motherboard devices.
AGP can use onboard or motherboard RAM for
handling 3D textures.
Some of examples of video cards in the market are

AGP PCIe, Radeon 9600 XT, GeForce 6800 Ultra

Radeon X800 XT, etc.

Upgrading a Sound Card

Some cards add functionality of generating sound
to the computer. Older PCI sound cards are very
resource hungry and offer a limited sampling
rate of 16 bits at 44,100 Hz. Newer PCI sound
cards can take the rate up to 24 bits at 96 KHz
which is the specification for DVD quality audio
discs. Most Motherboards ship with an on-board
soundcard, which gives you a free PCI slot for
use in the future.
Most sound cards support both of the current
entertainment audio standards: AdLib and Sound
Blaster. The Sound Blaster is a family of sound
cards sold by Creative Labs.
A sound card has many uses, including the
following:
Adding stereo sound to entertainment (game)
software.
Adding sound effects to business presentations
and training software.
Playing audio CDs.

A LITTLE ABOUT LAPTOPS

 Laptops are gaining in popularity due to there
portability and compact size. There is a problem
with upgrading laptops because of their compact
size. It severly limits the components you can
upgrade
in a laptop due to the difficulty in gaining
access to them.
If you have ever taken a laptop apart, you will
find there
is little to no room inside the casing ( a price
we pay for
wanting things smaller and more portable). The
average
user will have to spend money taking their laptop
to a
computer shop or sending it off to the
manufacturer for
upgrades, unless you have experience taking one
apart or
are a qualified technician. So when you purchase a
laptop
remember that you will be limited on upgrades, so
get the
most advanced model out at the time you make a
purchase.
You have to remember though, even if you get the
top of the
line model at that time, in six months your laptop
will be
outdated.

Laptop power sources

Power supply output capacity
Portable computer systems like the laptops,
notebooks, and also the PDA's run on batteries
when not connected to any power source. There
are many types of power sources available for a
portable device like a laptop. Some of them are:
Nickel-cadmium.
Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH).
Lead-acid.
Lithium-ion.
Lithium-ion-polymer.
Reusable Alkaline.
Fuel cell.
Let us look at some of these power sources in
detail.

Lithium-ion
A type of battery made of Lithium. Also the
lightest metal having the highest
electrochemical potential. Lithium as a metal is
unstable. So Lithium-Ion batteries are made from
Lithium ions from chemicals.
This is the fastest growing battery system for
portable devices such as laptops as they offer
high-energy density and low weight.
Using various energy densities, Lithium-ion
batteries can be produced. Though commercial
lithium-ion batteries are safe, super-high
capacity lithium ion for defense applications
are not approved for general use due to safety
reasons.
Some of the main features are:
These batteries have a longer life span than
Nickel Cadmium or Nickel Metal-Hydride
batteries.
These batteries are more expensive than any of
its counterparts.
Lithium-Ion batteries do not use poisonous
metals, such as lead, mercury or cadmium.
The only disadvantage to Lithium-Ion batteries
is that they are currently more expensive than
other battery types.

Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH)

It is a rechargeable battery type. They are in
use since the late 1980s. Due to their steady
increase in performance, they prove excellent
for small, lightweight, portable, and handheld
applications.
Some the features of NiMH are:
Its energy density is higher when compared to
other types but at the expense of reduced cycle
life.
There are no toxic metals, and
Less prone to memory effect than NiCd.
The cylindrical nickel-metal-hydride used for
commercial purpose gives a mid-range energy
density of around 80Wh/kg and delivers roughly
400 cycles. The prismatic nickel-metal-hydride
is a battery that is made for slim geometry,
compromises on energy density and cycle count.
It is rated at a moderate 60Wh/kg and offers
around 300 cycles. Highly durable
nickel-metal-hydride for industrial use are
packaged in cylindrical cells, provide a modest
70Wh/kg but last for about 1000 cycles.

Fuel Cell
It is an electrochemical device that generates
electric power from either hydrogen or from
alternative fuels like methanol, propane, butane
or natural gas. The power output of these cells
for compact portable system is in the range of
25 watts to 45 watts.
Some salient features of these Fuel cells are:
They are environmentally friendly technology.
Recharging the battery involves replacing the
liquid fuel only and does not require shutting
down the computer.
Fuel cell-based computers are still relatively
expensive.
Solid-oxide fuel cells have electrolyte layers
 that are 100 microns thick or more (a micron is
one thousandth of a millimeter). The thinness
cuts down internal resistance to electric
current which makes it possible to get
comparable power output at much lower operating
temperatures.
The portable electronics industry is also
exploring miniature fuel cells as a more
powerful and long lasting replacement for
batteries.

PCMCIA CARDS
Why PCMCIA Type I, II, III cards are required?
Notebook has two PC Card slots (also known as
PCMCIA card slots). These slots accept Type I,
II, and III cards.
PC Cards are now used in many diverse
applications including several types of RAM
memory, pre-programmed ROM cards, modems, sound
cards, floppy disk controllers, hard drives, CD
ROM and SCSI controllers, LAN cards, to name a
few.
The PC Card standard has a 68-pin interface
between the peripheral card and the socket into
which it is inserted. It defines three standard
PC Card form factors, called Type I, Type II and
Type III. All PC Cards are of the same length
and width. However, they differ only in
thickness.
For changing most cards the laptops need not be
restarted as they support hot-swapping.

Type I, II and III Cards

Currently there are 3 standardized PC Card
physical form factors:
Type I is the original 3.3 mm thick card. These
cards have their application in memory devices
such as Flash, OTP, and RAM. However, modems and
other devices also are included.
Type II expands the thickness to 5.0 mm. These
are typically used in I/O devices such as data /
fax modems, LANs, and also mass storage devices.
Type II cards are the most sought after size
today and are used for most functions barring a
few special applications.
Type III further expands the thickness to 10.5
mm and is used for devices whose components are
thicker, such as hard drives.
The latest release of the PC Card Standard
provided information to improve compatibility
and added support for features such as 3.3 volt
operation, and DMA support.

Written by BobbyR1234 on 4/6/08 and uploaded to Scrbd.