Chapter 3 Bulletin

The CPU sockets today are ZIF (Zero Innsertion Force) sockets.

Thermal compound or paste helps to keep the CPU cool

When you are installing a used CPU, clean the CPU and the
base of the heat sink with isopropyl alcohol.

RAM provides temporary data storage for the CPU while the
computer is operating. RAM is volatile memory, which means
that its contents are lost when the computer is shut down.
Typically, more RAM will enhance the performance of your
computer.
HDD and floppy disk install in the 3.5-inch drive bay &
powered by a Molex power connector.
Optical drive is installed in the 5.25-inch drive bay &
powered by a Molex power connector.
Floppy disk drive fits into the 3.5-inch bay on the front of the
computer case & powered with a Berg power connector
About PCI slots:

Installing a wireles NIC (Network Interface Card) into a PCI

slot

Installing a NIC (Network Interface Card) into a PCIe x1 slot

Installing a video adapter card into a PCIe x16 slot

(we could also use AGP which will be soon obsolete)

Power Cables:
20-pin ATX power connector

4-pin AUX Power connector

SATA power connector

Molex power connector

Berg Power connector

3-pin Power connector

Data cables

Floppy drive uses a 36-pin data cable similar but not the
same as PATA (36-pin data cable is recognised by the
reverse at the end)

NOTE: If pin 1 on the floppy drive data cable is not aligned

with pin 1 on the drive connector, the floppy drive will not
function. This misalignment will not damage the drive, but the
drive activity light will display continuously. To fix this problem,
turn off the computer and reconnect the data cable so that
the pin 1 on the cable and the pin 1 on the connector are
aligned. Reboot the computer.

The Boot process

When the computer is booted, the basic input/output system

(BIOS) performs a check on all of the internal components.
This check is called a power-on self test (POST).
POST checks to see that all of the hardware in the computer
is operating correctly. If a device is malfunctioning, an error
or a beep code alerts the technician that there is a problem.
Typically, a single beep denotes that the computer is
functioning properly. If there is a hardware problem, the
computer may emit a series of beeps. Each BIOS
manufacturer uses different codes to indicate hardware
problems.
The BIOS contains a setup program used to configure
settings for hardware devices. The configuration data is
saved to a special memory chip called a complementary
metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), as shown in Figure 1.
CMOS is maintained by the battery in the computer.
To enter the BIOS setup program, you must press the proper
key or key sequence during POST.

Following are the steps the PC follows when it boot up:

First is the POST, this stands for Power On Self Test, for the
computer. This process tests memory as well as a number of other
subsystems. You can usually monitor this as it runs each test.
After that is complete the system will run POST for any device that
has a BIOS (Basic Input-Output System). An AGP has its own
BIOS, as do some network cards and various other devices.
Once the POST is complete and the BIOS is sure that
everything is working properly, the BIOS will then attempt to read
the MBR (Master Boot Record). This is the first sector of the first
hard drive (called the Master or HD0). When the MBR takes over it
means that Windows is now in control.
The MBR looks at the BOOT SECTOR (the first sector of the
active partition). That is where NTLDR is located, NTLDR is the
BOOT LOADER for Windows XP. NTLDR will allow memory
addressing, initiate the file system, read the boot.ini and load the
boot menu. NTLDR has to be in the root of the active partition as
do NTDETECT.COM, BOOT.INI, BOOTSECT.DOS (for multi-OS
booting) and NTBOOTDD.SYS (if you have SCSI adapters)
Once XP is selected from the Boot Menu, NTLDR will run
NTDETECT.COM, BOOT.INI and BOOTSECT.DOS to get the
proper OS selected and loaded. The system starts in 16-bit real
mode and then moves into 32-bit protected mode.

NTLDR will then load NTOSKRNL.EXE and HAL.DLL.

Effectively, these two files are windows XP. They must be located
in %SystemRoot%System32.
NTLDR reads the registry, chooses a hardware profile and
authorizes device drivers, in that exact order.
At this point NTOSKRNL.EXE takes over. It starts
WINLOGON.EXE that in turn starts LSASS.EXE, this is the
program that display the Logon screen so that you can logon.