MAXIM NYANSA

I.T SOLUTION
(NIGERIA)
NOTE ON COMPUTER
REPAIRS
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER

 Computer is basically a group of electronic devices that can

accept data, conduct a series of arithmetic and logical

operations on it and give result of these operations as

information that is useful to people.

 In other words, Computer is an electronic device capable of

performing commands and these commands are basically

input, output, storage, arithmetic and logical operations.

TYPES OF COMPUTER
Computers can be generally classified by size and power as follows, though there is
considerable overlap:

• Personal Computer: A small, single-user computer based on a microprocessor. E.g.

Tower Model, Desktop Model, Laptops (Notebook , Subnotebooks ), Thinclient.

• Workstation: A powerful, single-user computer. A workstation is like a personal

computer, but it has a more powerful microprocessor and, in general, a higher-quality
monitor.

• Minicomputer: A multi-user computer capable of supporting up to hundreds of users

simultaneously.

• Mainframe: A powerful multi-user computer capable of supporting many hundreds or

thousands of users simultaneously.

• Supercomputer: An extremely fast computer that can perform hundreds of millions of

instructions per second.
PART/COMPONENT OF COMPUTER SYSTEM
A computer system consists of two major components, namely, hardware
and software.

A computer system is made up of multiple physical components of

computer hardware, upon which can be installed a system software
called operating system and a multitude of software applications to
perform the operator's desired functions.

1. Input Unit
2. Central Processing Unit (Control Unit, Arithmetic Logic Unit)
3. Memory Unit (Main Memory, Secondary Storage)
4. Output Unit
DIAGRAM THAT ILLUSTRATE
COMPONENT OF A COMPUTER

Central Processing Unit

Control Unit

Arithmetic Logic Unit

Input Unit Output Unit

Memory Unit

Main Memory

Secondary Storage
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Computer Hardware is the Physical component of the Computer. In a nutshell it
the devices we can see, feel and touch on the Computer.

The computer is a box, which contains most of the working electronics. It is

connected with cables to the peripherals.

Hardware in Computer Unit Peripherals

The Motherboard: CPU, RAM, ROM chips, Chip Keyboard,
sets, Ports, Buses and Expansion Slots. Mouse.
Joystick,
Drives: Hard Disk, Floppy Disk, CD-ROM etc. Monitor,
Printer,
Expansion Cards: Graphics Card (Video Adapter), Scanner, Loudspeakers,
Network Controller, Sound Card, Video & TV External Drives, Modem
card etc. etc.
MOTHERBOARD
It houses the CPU and is a hub that all other
hardware runs through. The motherboard acts as
a brain; allocating power where it’s needed,
communicating with and coordinating across all
other components – making it one of the most
important pieces of hardware in a computer.
When choosing a motherboard, it’s important to
check what hardware ports the motherboard
supplies. It’s vital to check how many USB
ports, and what grade (USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1) they
are, as well as what display ports are used
(HDMI, DVI, RGB) and how many of each there
are. The ports on the motherboard will also help
you define what other hardware will be
compatible with your computer, such as what
type of RAM and graphics card you can use.
ARRANGEMENT CHIPSET ON MOTHERBOARD
The chipset on the motherboard is arrange in 2 segments,
The North and South Bridge.

NORTHBRIDGE SOUTH BRIDGE

The Northbridge is close to the South bridge is distance away from
Processor. the processor

 It is an integrated circuit that allows Its connected to the low speed
communications between the CPU component (Audio chip, Network
interface, AGP, and memory chip, power chip etc)

Its connected to the fast speed

component (CPU, RAM, PCI, USB
3)
 COMPONENTS OF A MOTHERBOARD:
 CPU Slot: It is provided to install the CPU. It is a link between a
microprocessor and a motherboard. It facilitates the use of CPU and prevents
the damage when it is installed or removed. Furthermore, it is provided with a
lock to prevent CPU movement and a heat sink to dissipate the extra heat.
 RAM Slot: It is a memory slot or socket provided in the motherboard to insert
or install the RAM (Random Access Memory). There can be two or more
memory slots in a computer.
 Expansion Slot: It is also called the bus slot or expansion port. It is a
connection or port on the motherboard, which provides an installation point to
connect a hardware expansion card, for example, you can purchase a video
expansion card and install it into the expansion slot and then can install a new
video card in the computer. Some of the common expansion slots in a computer
are AGP, AMR, CNR, PCI, etc.
 Capacitor: It is made of two conductive plates, and a thin insulator
sandwiched between them. These parts are wrapped in a plastic container.
 Inductor (Coil): It is an electromagnetic coil made of a conducting wire
wrapped around an iron core. It acts as an inductor or electromagnet to store
magnetic energy.
 Northbridge: It is an integrated circuit that allows communications between the
CPU interface, AGP, and memory. Furthermore, it also allows the southbridge
chip to communicate with the RAM, CPU, and graphics controller.
 USB Port: It allows you to connect hardware devices like mouse, keyboard to
your computer.
 PCI Slot: It stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect slot. It allows you to
connect the PCI devices like modems, network hardware, sound, and video
cards.
 AGP Slot: It stands for Accelerated Graphics Port. It provides the slot to
connect graphics cards.
 Heat Sink: It absorbs and disperses the heat generated in the computer
processor.
 Power Connector: It is designed to supply power to the motherboard.
 CMOS battery: It stands for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor. It is a
memory that stores the BIOS settings such as time, date, and hardware settings.
MONITOR
A monitor is the display unit of a computer on which the processed data, such as
text, images, etc., is displayed. It comprises a screen circuity and the case which
encloses this circuity. The monitor is also known as a visual display unit (VDU).

Types of Monitors:
 CRT Monitor: It has cathode ray tubes which produce images in the form of
video signals. Its main components are electron gun assembly, deflection plate
assembly, glass envelope, fluorescent screen, and base.
 LCD Monitor: It is a flat panel screen. It uses liquid crystal display technology
to produce images on the screen. Advanced LEDs have thin-film transistors with
capacitors and use active-matrix technology, which allows pixels to retain their
charge.
 LED Monitor: It is an advanced version of an LCD monitor. Unlike an LCD
monitor, which uses cold cathode fluorescent light to backlight the display, it has
LED panels, each of which has lots of LEDs to display the backlight.
 Plasma Monitor: It uses plasma display technology that allows it to produce
high resolutions of up to 1920 X 1080, wide viewing angle, a high refresh rate,
outstanding contrast ration, and more.
KEYBOARD:
It is the most important input device of a computer. It is designed to allow you
input text, characters, and other commands into a computer, desktop, tablet, etc.
It comes with different sets of keys to enter numbers, characters, and perform
various other functions like copy, paste, delete, enter, etc.

Types of Monitors:
 Types of Keyboards:
 QWERTY Keyboards
 AZERTY Keyboards
 DVORAK Keyboards
MONITOR
A monitor is the display unit of a computer on which the processed data, such as
text, images, etc., is displayed. It comprises a screen circuity and the case which
encloses this circuity. The monitor is also known as a visual display unit (VDU).

Types of Monitors:
 CRT Monitor: It has cathode ray tubes which produce images in the form of
video signals. Its main components are electron gun assembly, deflection plate
assembly, glass envelope, fluorescent screen, and base.
 LCD Monitor: It is a flat panel screen. It uses liquid crystal display technology
to produce images on the screen. Advanced LEDs have thin-film transistors with
capacitors and use active-matrix technology, which allows pixels to retain their
charge.
 LED Monitor: It is an advanced version of an LCD monitor. Unlike an LCD
monitor, which uses cold cathode fluorescent light to backlight the display, it has
LED panels, each of which has lots of LEDs to display the backlight.
 Plasma Monitor: It uses plasma display technology that allows it to produce
high resolutions of up to 1920 X 1080, wide viewing angle, a high refresh rate,
outstanding contrast ration, and more.
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)
 A Central Processing Unit is also called a processor,
central processor, or microprocessor. It carries out all the
important functions of a computer. It receives
instructions from both the hardware and active software
and produces output accordingly. It stores all important
programs like operating systems and application
software. CPU also helps Input and output devices to
communicate with each other. Owing to these features of
CPU, it is often referred to as the brain of the computer.
 CPU is installed or inserted into a CPU socket located on
the motherboard. Furthermore, it is provided with a heat
sink to absorb and dissipate heat to keep the CPU cool
and functioning smoothly.
 WHAT IS CPU CLOCK SPEED?
The Clock Speed of a CPU or a processor refers to the number of instructions it
can process in a second. It is measured in gigahertz. For example, a CPU with a
clock speed of 4.0 GHz means it can process 4 billion instructions in a second.

Types of CPU:
CPUs are mostly manufactured by Intel and AMD, each of which manufactures its own
types of CPUs. In modern times, there are lots of CPU types in the market. Some of the
basic types of CPUs are described below:
 Single Core CPU: Single Core is the oldest type of computer CPU, which was used in
the 1970s. It has only one core to process different operations. It can start only one
operation at a time; the CPU switches back and forth between different sets of data
streams when more than one program runs. So, it is not suitable for multitasking as the
performance will be reduced if more than one application runs. The performance of these
CPUs is mainly dependent on the clock speed. It is still used in various devices, such as
smartphones.
 Dual Core CPU: As the name suggests, Dual Core CPU contains two cores in a single
Integrated Circuit (IC). Although each core has its own controller and cache, they are
linked together to work as a single unit and thus can perform faster than the single-core
processors and can handle multitasking more efficiently than Single Core processors
 .
Quad Core CPU: This type of CPU comes with two dual-core processors in
one integrated circuit (IC) or chip. So, a quad-core processor is a chip that
contains four independent units called cores. These cores read and execute
instructions of CPU. The cores can run multiple instructions simultaneously,
thereby increases the overall speed for programs that are compatible with
parallel processing.
Quad Core CPU uses a technology that allows four independent processing
units (cores) to run in parallel on a single chip. Thus by integrating multiple
cores in a single CPU, higher performance can be generated without boosting
the clock speed. However, the performance increases only when the
computer's software supports multiprocessing. The software which supports
multiprocessing divides the processing load between multiple processors
instead of using one processor at a time.