INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER

What Does Computer System Mean?

A computer system is a basic, complete and functional hardware and
software setup with everything needed to implement computing
performance.

ta, process the

data into a
meaningful
information as
output. A computer
is
a machine or tool,
which is capable of:
A computer is a machine or tool, which is capable of:

. Taking input data

2. Storing the input
data.
3. Processing the
input data.
4. Producing the
output report on
paper or
computer store
for human
being to use
The term
computer is ob
1. Taking input data

2. Storing the input data.

3. Processing the input data.

4. Producing the output report on paper or computer store for human

being to use.

PART OF A COMPUTER

There are two main parts of computers, hardware and software.

HARDWARE

are all part of computer he computer you can see and touch or visible part
of a computer which means is the physical device one can see and touch
the range from the smallest of chips to the total unit called computer
system.

SOFTWARE are list of instructions needed by a computer to perform

specific tasks. Software is often called a programme, most times they are
compilation of codes written in specific language.

There are type of software such as utility software, application software

etc.

HARDWARE COMPONENTS OF THE COMPUTER

AND THEIR FUNCTION
1.Keyboard and Mouse
The keyboard and mouse are the two most common input
devices. The computer performs different actions depending
on the icons you click and commands you type. The
computer gives you nearly instant feedback, moving a
pointer on the screen as you move the mouse and displaying
characters as you type. Though the keyboard and mouse
might seem directly connected to the screen, the
microprocessor oversees the whole activity, receiving
keystrokes from the keyboard, clicks from the mouse and
sending data to the screen.
2. Monitor /Displaying Screen
A monitor is an output device that displays the results of the
work done by the microprocessor and other parts.

3. Microprocessor
The microprocessor is a chip slotted into its socket in
the mother board of the computer and performs
computation or calculations. The speed is rated in
gigahertz (GHz) which makes it possible to run a billion
or more instructions per second and can appear to run
many programs at the same time.
Fig 3.1: Showing the speed of each core( 2.60Ghz) of a five-core
microprocessor system and its RAM of 8Gigabyte.
4.Memory
There are different memory devices used in a computer, namely,
I. Hard/Drive: This is the internal permanent storage device. A computer
hard drive (or a hard disk or HDD) is one kind of technology that
stores the operating system, applications, and data files such a
documents, pictures and music that your computer uses. The rest of
the components in your computer work together to show you the
applications and files stored on your hard drive.
II. Random Access Memory: This is an internal temporary high speed
storage device. The computer uses random access memory, or RAM, as a
high-speed working storage space for programs, documents and the
intermediate results of calculations. Character for character, RAM
storage is about a thousand times more expensive than hard drive
space, though it is more than a thousand times faster. It is faster
because it consists of millions of tiny transistors that store data as
electric charges; the electricity moves at nearly the speed of light. RAM
is called "volatile storage" because it can hold data only while the power
is on.
III. Flash memory: This is an external permanent storage device. It is
another form of transistorized data storage.
5. Sound Card

The sound card is incorporated in the mother board and can input audio as
well as produce sound with the aid of the connected speaker. The computer
stores representations of sound as long strings of numbers; a graph of the
numbers would resemble sound waves. The microprocessor sends the
sound card these number strings, which the card turns into electrical waves
you hear as sound through speakers or headphones. The sound card can
also turn audio from a microphone or other source into number strings,
which it passes to the microprocessor. Internally, the computer treats
sound as numbers, making the storage, processing and playback of music
straightforward and accurate. A typical sound card usually has four ports. A
personal computer sound card is placed into the PCI (Peripheral Component
Interconnect) slots of a mother board.
 Fig : A typical Sound Card

6. Graphic Card

The graphic card is embedded on the mother board and controls all the
screen display actions of the pixels. It controls the lightening of all pixels,
their alignment, and the different colours to be displayed by each pixel in
order to form an image.

The graphic card like the microprocessor(s), performs a lot of actions thus
producing a lot of heat which needs to be dissipated away from the system.
To conduct the heat away, the heat sink is connected to the graphic card
with an intermediate paper-like conductor to ensure maximum heat
transfer from the graphic card to the heat sink, which is then mechanically
blown away by the fan.

6. The Mother Board and Its Components

The role of the motherboard is to allow all components on it to

communicate with each other. Considering the fact that all the other
components are installed on the motherboard or connected to it, it is safe
to say that the motherboard is the central piece of a PC, the component
that brings it all together.

The mother board has on it the microprocessor(s) or central processing unit

socket, graphic card socket, universal serial bus port, earphone port,
peripheral component interconnector slots, VGA (Video Graphics Array)
port, HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) port, microphone port,
 DDR( Double Data Rate) memory slots, capacitors, resistors, diodes,
connectors, RAM, memory slots, BIOS(Basic Input/ Output System), CMOS,
power connectors, IDE connectors, spider ICs( power and regular spider ICs)
and CD-ROM interface.

Fig: A typical Mother Board

Functions of some components in the Mother board

1. Resistor: To regulate the amount of current entering each component in
the board as some require higher current than others

2. Connectors: These are insulated conductors used to transfer data from one
component or point to another.

3. Power Connectors: These receive electrical power from the computer

power supply and distribute it to the CPU, chipset, main memory and
expansion cards.

4. Clock generator: It produces the system clock signal to synchronize the

various components.

5. CPU Socket: is an electrical component that attached to the printed circuit

board and in which one or more microprocessors may be installed. It is a
special type of integrated circuit socket designed for very high pin counts
and to provide physical structure to support the CPU, and heat sink. It also
forms an electrical interface between the CPU and the PCB.

6. Video Card Slot: It is situated at the right below the processor. High-end
gaming motherboards come with multiple video card slots, allowing the
installation of multiple video cards for improved graphics.

7. Expansion Slots: Expansions have the role of letting you install additional
components to enhance or expand the functionality of your PC. These
ports are located under the video card slot, and come in the form of PCI
slots (on older motherboards) or a scaled-down version of PCI-Express
slots (on newer motherboards).

8. IDE (Integrated Device Electronics) and SATA (Serial Advanced Technology

Attachment) ports: IDE and SATA ports are used to provide connectivity
for the storage devices and optical drives. The IDE is much slower and an
older connector to the SATA, thus being outdated.
9. BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) chip and battery: The BIOS chip
contains the basic code needed to take your computer through the boot
process, up to the point where the operating system takes over. Since the
BIOS code is stored on a memory chip that needs constant power to
function, a battery is also present to keep the chip powered when the
computer is unplugged.

10. Northbridge and Southbridge: The northbridge is responsible for

coordinating the data flow between the memory, the video card and the
processor. A secondary chip, known as Southbridge, has a similar function,
coordinating the data flow between the processor and peripherals such as
sound cards or network cards.

And a lot more.

CHAPTER 4
COMPUTER REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE TOOLS

To accurately and easily troubleshoot a system, a computer engineering

needs to possess all the basic tools required for computer maintenance
and other relevant tools also. Some of these tools include;

Hardware Tools
i. Tweezers: It is a too; used for picking up and manipulating objects
too small to be handled with the human hand.

Fig 4.2: A tweezer

ii. Long Nose Plier: It used to cut wires and can get in and out of tight
spots, unlike regular pliers.

Fig 4.3: A plier

iii. Soldering Iron: It is essential for repairs on mother board but with
extreme care. When used carelessly, it can destroy the board as well
as injure the engineer.

Fig 4.4: Soldering Iron

iv. Hot air blower/Work Station: This is used in desoldering parts that
are faulty or have been being wrongly soldered. It weakens the lead.
It is also used in the application of paste ( heat dependent gum) on
board.

Fig 4.6 Hot air blower

v. Set of Screw Drivers: The different parts of the computer are made
of nuts and screws of different sizes, thus the need for multi-mouth
screw driver set. It is used in the loosening of nuts and screws.
 Fig 4.7: Set of screw drivers
vi. Soldering wire/ lead: This is a metallic conductive joining material. It
is applied using the soldering iron at high temperature. Soldering on
the motherboard requires a high level of care as the soldering iron
lacks precision(mouth-size of 2mm-3mm)

Fig 4.9: Soldering lead

vii. Storage (USB Flash and External Hard disk): This stores all the
engineer’s working softwares. Without which the engineer can do so
little.
Software Tools: Like hardware tools, there are a variety of software
tools that can be used to help technicians pinpoint and troubleshoot
problems. Many of these tools are free and several come with the Windows
operating system. Examples are;
i. Disk Management tools: Initializes disks, creates partitions, and
formats partitions.
ii. ScanDisk : Checks the integrity of files and folders on a hard drive by
scanning the file system. These tools might also check the disk
surface for physical errors.
iii. Disk Cleanup: Clears space on a hard drive by searching for files that
can be safely deleted.
 iv. HP Diagnostic tool: It troubleshoots the inactive hardwares and tries
activate them, on request. When unable to fix a problem, it gives the
cause of such problem (e.g missing drive).
v. DriverPack Online: It scans a system and then lists the missing drives
or drives that needs update in the system.
vi. HP Support Solutions Framework: It scans faulty systems and
provide online solutions.
PROTECTION TOOLS
Virus and spyware can damage operating systems, applications, and data.
Computers that have been infected may even have problems with hardware
performance or component failure, thus the need for protection tools.

i. Windows Action Center: Checks the status of essential security settings.

The Action Center continuously checks to make sure that the software
firewall and antivirus programs are running. It also ensures that
automatic updates download and install automatically.
ii. Antivirus program: Protects the system against virus attacks.
iii. Antispyware program: Protects against software that sends information
about web surfing habits to an attacker. Spyware can be installed
without the knowledge or consent of the user.
iv. Windows Firewall: Runs continuously to protect against unauthorized
communications to and from your computer. But when a system has a
working anti-virus, the operating system automatically disables the
windows firewall, as the two perform same function.

PRACTICAL WORK

PROCEDURE FOR UNCOUPLING A SYSTEM DOWN TO MOTHERBOARD

i. Remove the battery. This is ensure that charges do not destroy the
board.
ii. Unscrew the back body nuts and open the back.
iii. Remove the hard disk.
iv. Unscrew body bearing in mind the different positions of the
screws.
v. Remove keyboard.
 vi. Detach the screen from the hinges.
vii. Detach disk drive and RAM
viii. Unscrew the upper body to see more components to unscrew.

PROCEDURE FOR FORMATTING AND DRIVING A SYSTEM

Drivers are software’s that enable hardware’s in the system to function

properly. Every hardware has a number of drivers that run it. Drivers enable
upgrading/updating of hardware’s.

After formatting a system, all the drivers have to be installed back. Example of
software packages that provide system drivers are Driver Pack and Driver
Identifier. The procedure is thus explained;

i. The operating system to be installed after formatting is procured in a

storage device (CD, external hard drive, or flash) in compressed form.
ii. Important files present in the system must be extracted to an
external storage device.
iii. On start-up, the boot process is intercepted by immediately pressing
F9 key (in HP) or F12(in Dell), and then changing the boot device at
the BIOS.
The boot device is where the computer boots from and where an
operating system is saved. The four (4) boot device options are
a. Notebook Upgrade Bay or CD-ROM
b. Notebook Hard Drive
c. USB Hard Drive 1
d. Notebook Ethernet or Network
iv. When the boot device has been chosen, and system restarts, it
searches for the OS and starts up. Page for format pops up.
v. Option for format and deletion of partitions are listed, the partition
to be formatted is then chosen. And the raw partitions are divided if
needed.
vi. Windows is installed on main partition
vii. Then, some relevant selections like language, time and date are
made.
viii. Connect device to an external storage and install an anti-virus
 ix. Using either DriverPack or DriverIdentifier, drivers for the different
hardware’s are reinstalled.
x. Then software’s are installed.

BASIC COMPUTER FAULTS AND SOLUTIONS

i. Heating up of the system:

Causes
a. Dormant fan.
b. Evaporated processor paste.
c. Improperly connected heat sink or low conducting power of heat
sink.
d. Blockage of vent by dust or dirt.
Solution
a. Change of fan or properly connecting fan.
b. Application of more processor paste.
c. Opening up of system and placing the heat sink properly or
change of the heat sink to a more conductive one.
d. Dusting of the vent.

ii. Hanging of the system:

a. Low or incompatible RAM.
b. Filled hard disk.
c. Heating up of system.
Solution
a. Increase RAM size.
b. Delete some files in the hard disk and install a cleaner or replace
the hard disk.
c. Heating up can be resolved using the first (i) solutions.
iii. Inability to power on.
Cause: Bad IC on the board.
Solution: Locating and changing faulty IC.
iv. Error disk display on starting up
Cause: Weak or completely bad hard disk.
Solutions
 a. Trouble shooting at the hardware section of the BIOS on start up
by immediately clicking the F9 key(on HP) or F12( on Dell).
b. If weak, try to transfer important file to an external storage
device.
c. If bad, change hard disk.
v. Unresponsive speaker
Causes
a. Speaker driver needs update.
b. Undrived speaker.
c. Spoilt speaker.
d. Spoilt sound card.
Solution
a. Disable drive and restart the system, if it doesn’t work, drive or
update the speaker using DriverPack.
b. Format system.
c. Change speaker.
d. If changed speaker doesn’t work, troubleshoot sound card.
vi. Inability of USB ports to recognize devices.
Causes
a. Dormant USB controller drive.
b. Poorly driven USB ports.
c. Driver needs to be updated.
d. Damaged USB ports.
Solution
a. Disable USB controller drive and restart the computer system.
b. Redrive USB controller.
c. Update USB controller drive.
d. Change USB hardware.
vii. Uncontrolled restarting of system.
Causes
a. Use of unlicensed or trial version of an operating system.
b. Virus infection.
c. Inability of the power connectors and power spider ICs to
efficiently distribute power.
Solution
a. Formatting and installation of licensed operating system.
 b. Installation of an anti-virus, and performing a deep system scan to
identify and delete the malware.
c. Change of power connector and troubleshooting of motherboard
to identify faulty power ICs.

MY EXPERIENCE
Training at THE REDEEMED CHRISTIAN BIBLE COLLEGE IT DEP. widened my idea
on a working man’s experience. The punctuality and loyalty involved when you
are obliged to officially take orders from someone for the primary sake of skill
acquisition. It also helped me realise that being an average wealth owner
doesn’t require only working hard but trying to find where demand and supply
meets as seen in this world of trending computer-demanding environment.
7.1 DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED
During the period of training, I met a lot of challenging walls.
I find it difficult to uncouple dell ea900000 series because of how it’s
connected.
I find difficulties in resetting and changing some setting BIOS of a system(dell
inspiron and latitude)
They worst of all as at the time of my training was the use of my laptop
for practical on formatting due to the want for the trending window 10. Worst,
because, the first installed windows 10, was a trial version (causing
uncontrolled restarting), the second installed produced a lot of error codes.
Then, the return to windows 8.1 which after installation, stopped my cursor
and windows key which led me to read a lot about that and fix it by not driving
it after another windows 8.1 installation.
So, within that period of test on my own laptop, I formatted it four
times.
LESSON AND ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE
I, from the attended computer training class and self-practice have eliminated
the fear of computer related issues as I have seen that almost all computer
problems have solutions except the extreme case of BIOS lock which is
reversible by the computer manufacturer and faulty Motherboard.
I have also had a taste of working for a living.
CONCLUSION: The introduction of SIWES as a varsity practice is really a
good idea as it widens one’s idea about work and its needed qualities.