A+ Hardware Tutorial

Topic 1
Installation, Configuration, and Up gradation:
Computer Motherboard and its constituent components:  

There are primarily two types of motherboards:

The AT and ATX motherboards differ in the form factor.

 AT motherboard.
 ATX motherboard.

AT motherboards are older and not commonly used now days. The AT and ATX motherboards
differ in the form factor. Full AT is 12" wide x 13.8" deep and Baby AT is 8.57" wide x 13.04"
deep.  Full-ATX is 12" wide x 9.6" deep and Mini-ATX is 11.2" wide x 8.2" deep . Other major
differences include power supply connector, and keyboard connector . AT has 5-pin large keyboard
connector, where as ATX has 6-pin mini connector. Similarly, AT has single row two connectors
+/-5V, and +/-12V, whereas ATX motherboard has double row single connector providing +/-5V,
+/-12V, and +3.3V.

A typical ATX PC motherboard with constituent components is given below:

 ATX are modern computers.

The important constituent components of an ATX Motherboard are given below:

1. Mouse & keyboard

2. USB

3. Parallel port

4. CPU Chip

5. RAM slots

6. Floppy controller

7. IDE controller

8. PCI slot

9. ISA slot

10. CMOS Battery

11. AGP slot

12. CPU slot

13. Power supply plug in

 1. Mouse & keyboard: 

Keyboard Connectors are two types basically. All PCs have a Key board port connected
directly to the motherboard. The oldest, but still quite common type, is a special DIN, and
most PCs until recently retained this style connector. The AT-style keyboard connector is
quickly disappearing, being replaced by the smaller mini DIN PS/2-style keyboard
connector.

You can use an AT-style keyboard with a PS/2-style socket (or

the other way around) by using a converter. Although the AT connector is unique in PCs, the
PS/2-style mini-DIN is also used in more modern PCs for the mouse. Fortunately, most PCs
that use the mini-DIN for both the keyboard and mouse clearly mark each mini-DIN socket
as to its correct use. Some keyboards have a USB connection, but these are fairly rare
compared to the PS/2 connection keyboards.  

2. USB (Universal serial bus): 

 USB is the General-purpose connection for PC. You can find USB versions of many
different devices, such as mice, keyboards, scanners, cameras, and even printers. a USB
connector's distinctive rectangular shape makes it easily recognizable. 

USB has a number of features that makes it particularly popular on PCs. First, USB devices
are hot swappable. You can insert or remove them without restarting your system.

3. Parallel port: Most printers use a special connector called a parallel port. Parallel port
carries data on more than one wire, as opposed to the serial port, which uses only one
wire. Parallel ports use a 25-pin female DB connector. Parallel ports are directly supported
by the motherboard through a direct connection or through a dangle.

4. CPU Chip: The central processing unit, also called the microprocessor performs all the
calculations that take place inside a pc. CPUs come in Variety of shapes and sizes.
    Modern CPUs generate a lot of heat and thus require a cooling fan or heat sink. The
cooling device (such as a cooling fan) is removable, although some CPU manufactures sell
the CPU with a fan permanently attached.

5. RAM slots: Random-Access Memory (RAM) stores programs and data currently being
used by the CPU. RAM is measured in units called bytes. RAM has been packaged in many
different ways. The most current package is called a 168-pin DIMM (Dual Inline Memory
module).   

6. Floppy controller: The floppy drive connects to the computer via a 34-pin ribbon
cable, which in turn connects to the motherboard. A floppy controller is one that is used to
control the floppy drive.
 7. IDE controller: Industry standards define two common types of hard drives: EIDE and
SCSI.  Majority of the PCs use EIDE drives. SCSI drives show up in high end PCs such as
network servers or graphical workstations. The EIDE drive connects to the hard drive via a
2-inch-wide, 40-pin ribbon cable, which in turn connects to the motherboard. IDE
controller is responsible for controlling the hard drive.

8. PCI slot:  Intel introduced the Peripheral component interconnect bus protocol.  The
PCI bus is used to connect I/O devices (such as NIC or RAID controllers) to the main logic
of the computer. PCI bus has replaced the ISA bus.

9. ISA slot:  (Industry Standard Architecture) It is the standard architecture of the

Expansion bus. Motherboard may contain some slots to connect ISA compatible cards.

10. CMOS Battery: To provide CMOS with the power when the computer is turned off .all
motherboards comes with a battery. These batteries mount on the motherboard in one of
three ways: the obsolete external battery, the most common onboard battery, and built-in
battery.  

11. AGP slot:  If you have a modern motherboard, you will almost certainly notice a
single connector that looks like a PCI slot, but is slightly shorter and usually brown. You
also probably have a video card inserted into this slot. This is an Advanced Graphics Port
(AGP) slot .

12. CPU slot: To install the CPU, just slide it straight down into the slot. Special notches
in the slot make it impossible to install them incorrectly. So remember if it does not go
easily, it is probably not correct. Be sure to plug in the CPU fan's power.  

13. Power supply plug in: 

The Power supply, as its name implies, provides the necessary electrical power to make
the pc operate. The power supply takes standard 110-V AC power and converts into +/-
12-Volt, +/-5-Volt, and 3.3-Volt DC power.

The power supply connector has 20-pins, and the connector can go in only one direction.

TOPIC 2

BIOS Firmware:
BIOS stand for Basic Input/output System. It contains basic instructions to interact with various
hardware modules such as Motherboard controllers or that of interface cards. BIOS are the
software that is run by a computer when first powered on. 
A computer motherboard inevitably contains a BIOS chip in the form of an onboard PROM, EPROM or
flash memory.  When the computer is powered on, it performs diagnostic tests on the computer hardware
devices such as hard drive, FDD, and memory. It searches for other BIOS's on the plug-in boards, and
takes care of them. It then loads the operating system and passes control to OS. The BIOS accepts
requests from the drivers as well as the applications as shown in the figure below:

BIOS are also known as PC firmware because it is an integral part of the motherboard.

Firmware on adapter cards: A computer can contain several BIOS firmware chips. The
motherboard BIOS is normally used to access basic hardware components such as the keyboard,
floppy drives, and hard disk controllers. Adapter cards such as SCSI, RAID, and video boards
may include their own BIOS software.

Firmware generally available in different forms:

1. EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), for updating a BIOS firm using EPROM, you may
need to get a new chip from the manufacturer.
2. EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), you can update a BIOS firmware
using EEPROM using "boot to floppy", and running the Firmware update program.
3. Flash ROM - faster at rewriting the chip
 BIOS chip BIOS chip after insertion into a socket.

A typical BIOS chip used on motherboards is shown in the figure below. Though it is a square-
type PLCC package, BIOS chips come in different forms. Figure 2 shows the BIOS after
insertion into the socket.

TOPIC 3
Memory:

PC memory stores data and programs currently being executed by the computer. It is important
that the information is fetched by the CPU quickly to further processing. There are several
memory types available. Important among there include the following:

 Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

 Synchronous RAM (SRAM)
 Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)
 Ram bus DRAM (RDRAM)
 Video RAM (VRAM)
 Windows RAM (WRAM)
 EDO RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory.

Dynamic RAM (DRAM): In dynamic RAM, the RAM gets refreshed continually by the
controller. DRAM has been introduced in the earlier stages, and RAM versions available today
are much bigger and faster than the earlier simple DRAMs.
DRAMs store data in the form of capacitive charges. Since any capacitor tends to be leaky, a
DRAM needs to be refreshed on a continual basis. 

Synchronous RAM (SRAM): SRAM contains a clock built onto the memory module, enabling
the SRAM to be in synchronization with the motherboard cloak. SDRAM doesn't require
frequent recharge like DRAM. L-2 memory caches are usually made of SRAM and exhibit very
fast read and write operations.

Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM): SDRAM works in sync with the motherboard, and hence
works quite fast. SDRAMs have speeds of the order of 133MHz, 800MHz, etc.

Ram bus DRAM (RDRAM): RDRAM technology was developed originally by Rambus, Inc.
Ram bus memory is integrated onto Ram bus Inline Memory Modules (RIMMs). RDRAM chips
are synchronized to the processor's memory bus.

Video RAM (VRAM): VRAM is primarily used on video cards. It is dual ported, in the sense
that while one device writes to VRAM, another device can simultaneously does read operation.
This is quite useful in animation and other speed sensitive video applications.  VRAMs are more
expensive than DRAMs, but provide better graphic display.

Windows RAM (WRAM): is another type of memory used for graphics, and is similar to
VRAM in functionality. However, with the faster memory access schemes like DDR and RAM.
WRAM are slowly becoming obsolete.

Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM):

DDR SDRAM is similar to SDRAM, but for the difference that DDR reads data on both the
rising and falling edges of the clock. SDRAM reads only on the rising edge of a signal. This
technique allows the DDR module to achieve speeds twice that of SDRAM. For example, instead
of a data rate of 133MHz, DDR memory transfers data at 266MHz.

Memory
Synchronization
Type
CPU synchronized to the motherboard. DRAM is neither synchronized to the
DRAM
motherboard nor CPU.
SRAM CPU and memory module are synchronized to the motherboard.
Synchronizes to the memory bus clock. Memory bus clock is much faster than the
RDRAM motherboard clock. Hence faster data transfer between the CPU and the memory
module occurs.

Memory Modules:

Memory modules are printed circuit cards made up of memory chips, and a few other passive
components. Normally, memory modules are the those that get installed on the motherboard, and
you don't handle individual memory chips. The following are the prominently used memory
modules (also called memory cards):
  Dual In-line Package (DIP)
 Single In-line Memory Modules (SIMM)
 Dual In-line Memory Modules (DIMM)
 Rambus In-line Memory Modules (RIMM)
 DDR
 DDR II

Dual In-line Package (DIP): Initially, PC XT, and AT systems came with DIP sockets.
Individual memory chips were inserted into the sockets.

DIP chip DIP socket

A typical DIP socket and chip are shown in the figure above. As can be seen, there is only one
chip per DIP package. This arrangement resulted in several DIP sockets being present on the
motherboard. If you need to enhance the memory, buy additional chips and insert into any
existing DIP sockets. There are several disadvantages because of this method:

1. Due to size, these chips used to take lot of space,

2. The chips used to dislodge from respective sockets, and give raise to errors
3. It is cumbersome to insert individual chips
4. Used to take more power

Because of the above problems, memory chips were integrated into SIMM (Single In-line
Memory Modules) that overcome several of the said problems.

Single In-line Memory Modules (SIMM):

SIMM modules have several memory chips soldered in-line on its own circuit board. A typical
SIMM is shown in the figure below. There are two types of SIMM modules: 30-pin SIMM
modules, and 72-pin SIMM modules. Typically, a 72-pin SIMM has 32-bit wide memory bus,
whereas a DIMM has 64-bit wide memory bus. On a SIMM, the edge connector pins on either
side of a SIMM are shorted, representing only one signal pin.
 Typical SIMM package:

Memory Size:64MB

Memory Speed: 60nS

Pins: 72

Dual In-Line Memory Modules (DIMM):

DIMMs are very similar to SIMMs. The major difference is that a DIMM has two different
signal pins on each side of the module as shown in the figure. One big advantage of DIMM is
that only one module can be inserted into the motherboard, whereas you need two SIMMs
(paired) when working with 64-bit microprocessors like Pentium II and above. Since SIMM
provides only 32-bit bus, you need to use 2-SIMMs paired together with any modern 64-bit
processor.

Typical DIMM package (using

DDRAM):

Memory size: 256MB

Pins:168 pin

SIMMs typically have 72 pins, whereas DIMM have 168 pins.

Ram bus In-Line Memory Module (RIMM):

Ram bus inline memory modules (RIMMs) use Ram bus Dynamic RAM (RDRAM) chips.
 A RIMM package using RDRAM

Double Data Rate:

DDR modules are also called DIMMs (Dual-In-Line-Memory Module). A typical DDR module
(DIMM) is shown above. The DIMM package using DDR is twice as fast as the one using
SDRAM.

Memory Size: 2X512MB

Memory Speed: 400MHzPC3200

Memory Type: Dual Channel DDR

Pins: 184

4.Micro Processors, and Socket Types:

Micro processor, also called CPU (Central Processing Unit), is a major component of a micro
computer. We discuss various CPUs starting from Pentium IV, and onwards.

 Socket 478
 Socket 423
 Socket 370
 Socket 8
 Socket 7
 Socket A
 Slot A
 Slot 2
 Slot 1
Socket 478:

Socket 478 is a PGA socket used by Intel Pentium 4 microprocessor family (not all P IV family
processors support Socket 478)..

Socket type: Socket 478 (mPGA478B)

Front Bus Frequencies: 400 MHz - 800 MHz (100 MHz - 200 MHz QDR)

Socket size: 1.38" x 1.38" (3.5 x 3.5 cm)

Number of contacts: 478

Compatible package types:

478-pin micro FC-PGA

478-pin micro FC-PGA2

Compatible processors:

Processors Intel Pentium 4 (1.4 - 3.4 GHz)

Intel Celeron (1.7 - 3.2 GHz)
Celeron D (to 3.2 GHz)
Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition (3.2, 3.4 GHz)

This socket has currently been replaced with socket 775.

Socket 423:

The socket was used for low-end Pentium IV processors below 2000MHz frequencies. It became
obsolete with the advent of Socket 478.

Number of Contacts: 423

Compatible package type: Organic Land Grid Array (OLGA)

Front Bus Speed: 100 MHz FSB

Compatible Processors:  Intel Pentium 4 (1300 MHz - 2000 MHz)

Socket 370:

Socket 370 (PGA370) is a PGA socket compatible with Intel Celeron and Pentium III processors
in Pin Grid Array (PGA) package.

Socket 370 Processor package

Salient Features:

Compatible package types:

370-pin Plastic Pin Grid Array (PPGA); 370-pin Flip-Chip Pin Grid Array (FC-PGA)
370-pin Flip-Chip Pin Grid Array (FC-PGA2)

Number of contacts: 370

Front Bus Frequencies:  66, 100 and 133 MHz

Supported Processors include the following:

Intel Celeron (PPGA, 300–533 MHz)

Intel Celeron (FC-PGA, 533–1100 MHz)
Intel Celeron (FC-PGA2, 900–1400 MHz)
Intel Pentium III (FC-PGA, 500–1133 MHz)
Intel Pentium III Tualatin (FC-PGA2)
Celeron Tualatin (FC-PGA2)
VIA C3 (FC-PGA)
Socket 8:

Socket 8  was used for a very limited number of processor types. The socket is being no more
used by newer processors.

Number of Contacts: 387

Front Bus Speed : 66-75 MHz

Supported Processors include the following:

Pentium Pro 150~200, Pentium II OverDrive 300~333

Socket 7:

Socket 7 was introduced by Intel for Pentium 133 - 200 MHz processors. It is also used in
Pentium MMX processor family.

Socket 7 Compatible Processor

Salient Features:

Compatible package types:

296-pin staggered Plastic Pin Grid Array (PPGA)

296-pin staggered Ceramic Pin Grid Array (CPGA or SPGA)
296-pin Flip-Chip staggered Ceramic Pin Grid Array
321-pin ceramic Ping Grid Array (CPGA)

Number of contacts: 321

Front Bus Frequencies:  66 - 83 Mhz System Clock
Supported Processors include the following:

AMD K5 (75 MHz - 200 MHz); AMD K6 (166 MHz - 300 MHz)
AMD K6-2 (200 MHz - 570 MHz)
AMD K6-III (333 MHz - 550 MHz)
Cyrix 6x86, 6x86L and 6x86MX (90 MHz - 266 MHz)
Cyrix MII (233 MHz - 433 MHz)
Intel Pentium (non-MMX) (75 MHz - 200 MHz)
Intel Pentium MMX (166 MHz - 233 MHz)

Socket A (Socket 462):

Socket A (also called Socket 462) is a PGA socket compatible with AMD K7 family of
processors.

Socket A Processor for Socket A

Bus Frequencies: 100 MHz, 133 MHz, 166 MHz and 200 MHz

Number of contact pins: 462 pin holes

Compatible Processors include the following:

AMD Athlon (650 MHz - 1400 MHz)

AMD Athlon XP (1500+ - 3300+)
AMD Duron (600 MHz - 1800 MHz)
AMD Sempron (2000+ - 3300+)
AMD Athlon MP (1000 MHz - 3000+)

Compatible package types:

462-pin ceramic Pin Grid Array (PGA) package, 462-pin organic PGA.
Slot A:

Slot A is used by AMD's Athlon family of processors. It has 242 contacts, physically similar to
that of Intel's Slot 1. But Slot A is electrically different from that of Slot 1.

Slot 2:

Slot 2 is a 330 contact version of Slot 1. Intel's Xeon processor uses Slot 2. The Slot 2 cartridge
may house as many as four processors and an L2 cache.

Slot 1:

Slot 1 is a Slot-type connector. This connector is compatible with Pentium II family of

processors, and some of low-end Celeron processors. Pentium III was the last microprocessor
family that used the Slot 1.

Pentium IV family of processors do not use Slot 1.

Number of Contacts: 242

Processors types supported include the following:

Intel Celeron (SECC, 233-466 MHz)

Processors Intel Pentium II (SECC, 233-450 MHz)
Intel Pentium III (SECC2, 450-1133 MHz)

Compatible package types:

Single Edge Processor Package (SEPP)

Single Edge Connector Cartridge (SECC)
Single Edge Connector Cartridge 2 (SECC 2)

TOPIC 5

Storage Devices, and Interfaces

A computer normally contains several storage options. Commonly used storage devices include
the following:

1. Floppy Disk Drive

2. Hard Disk Drive

 3. CD/CDRW

4. DVD/DVDRW

5. Flash ROM

1. Floppy Disk Drive (FDD): 

A Floppy Disk Drive is a disk drive that enables a user to  save data to removable disk. Initially,
FDDs used the 5 1/4" floppy disks, which were later replaced with 3 1/2" disks. However, with
the advent of removable hard disks, and flash drives, many computers no longer use floppy disk
drives.

The Pentium motherboard provides a standard 34-pin connector for interfacing with FDD. A 34-
pin flat ribbon cable is used to connect the motherboard to FDD. This cable connects the
motherboard's FDD interface with one or two floppy disk drives. Floppy Disk Controller (FDC)
uses I/O address range 370 to 37Fh. FDD divides the floppy disk into 80 tracks per side, with 9
or 18 512-byte sectors per side. This provides the system with  720KB ( 737,280 bytes) or 
1.44MB (1,474,560 bytes) of storage. For power supply, FDD uses a Berg connector as
illustrated in the figure below.

The FDD controller is assigned the IRQ-6 in PC-compatible systems. The FDD controller
generates an interrupt signal each time it receives a Read, Write, or Format command from the
system.

3.5" Floppy Disk Drive. Connector side of the FDD

Yellow wire: +12V

Red wire: +5V
Black wires: Ground.

Berg Connector
Floppy Drive Interface Cable:

The FDD interface cable is used to connect the FDD to the motherboard.

Figure: A Five connector Floppy Interface Cable

The FDD cable in the figure shows traditional five connectors configuration. It has connectors
for 5.25" drives, as well as 3.5" drives, and 34-pin wide. However, 5.25" drives are rarely used
now-a-days. "Cable Twist" in the floppy cable is located between the two pairs of connectors
intended "A" and "B" floppy drives. This twist causes the drive at the end of the cable to appear
as A: to the system and the one in the middle to be as B.

2. Computer Hard Disk Drive

 Working of a Hard Disk Drive

 Hard Disk Drive Interfaces

Working of a HDD:

The hard disk drive (Abbreviated as HDD or HD) holds the main storage media of a computer. A
HDD consists of several platters (or hard disks) along with head actuator, head arm secured in a
chassis. A schematic diagram of a HDD is shown in the figure below:
Schematic of a Hard Disk Drive Photo of a HDD that has two concentric disks

The individual hard disks (platters) are used to store the information. The storage is achieved by
depositing a thin magnetic film on either side of each disk. The disks are mounted on a rotary
drive.

Basically, the surface of each disk is divided into concentric Tracks. Then each track is divided
into Sectors. The data is accessed by specifying the disk number, track number, and the sector
number. The disks rotate at a very high speed ( several thousands of revolutions per minute),
enabling very fast read and write operations. The magnetically sensitive head reads/writes
information when the disks rotate. The disks are sealed to prevent any dust or moisture entering
the drive.
A typical hard disk drive is shown in the figure.

Hard Disk Drive Interfaces:

There are several standards connected with the Hard Disk Drives. These include the following:

 IDE/EIDE

 SCSI

 Serial ATA

 Notebook IDE/PATA

IDE/EIDE Hard Disk Drives:

IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics), also known as ATA is used with IBM compatible hard
drives. IDE and its successor, Enhanced IDE (EIDE), are the commonly used with most Pentium
computers..

 
Figure: A 40-pin IDE cable connector

Enhanced IDE (EIDE) is the enhanced version of IDE technology, and supports faster access to
the hard disks.

Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI): SCSI is commonly used with server grade machines.
IDE supports only two drives (one master drive and one slave drive) per channel, whereas SCSI
can support 8 or more hard drives. There are different versions of SCSI available today.
Different versions of SCSI include the following:

1.  SCSI-1

2.  SCSI-2

3.  SCSI-3

4.  Ultra-2

5.  Ultra-3

6.  Ultra-320

7.  Ultra-640

8.  iSCSI

9.  Serial SCSI

The various standards primarily differ in the following:

 Maximum throughput (MB/sec)

  Maximum cable length, and

 Maximum number of devices that could be connected.

For example, SCSI-I has a throughput of 5MB/sec, where as SCSI-3 can go up to 40MB/sec.

Serial ATA (SATA):

Serial ATA (SATA) is a next generation technology based on ATA, and for transfer of data to
and from a hard disk. Earlier, ATA was used to mean parallel transfer of bits between the
motherboard and the hard drive. However, with the advent of SATA, traditional ATA was
named as PATA (Parallel ATA).  IDE/EIDE is usually associated with PATA.

 3. CD-R and CD-RW

A CD-R stands for Compact Disc-Recordable. CD-R holds large volumes of data, in the range of
100s of MB, and replaced Floppy Disk Drives gradually. CD-R allows only one "Write"
operation, and any number of "Read" operations. CD-RW stands for Compact Disc -ReWritable.

CD-Rs resemble DVDs as their physical dimensions are the same. The disks come in the
dimensions of 120 mm (4.72 inches) or sometimes 80 mm (3.15 inches) in diameter. The
technology used in CD-R, and DVD manufacture and information storage is completely
different. DVDs have much higher storage density compared to CD-R or CD-RW.

CD-R or CD-RW comes in different speeds. At 1x a recorder writes 150 KB (153,600 bytes) of
data per second and at a multiple of that figure at each speed increment above 1x.

Specification Speed

Initial Speed 1x - 4x

High Speed 4x - 12x

Ultra Speed 16x - 24x

Ultra Speed + 32x

. An IDE CDROM drive is shown in the figure below:

Front side of an IDE CDROM Drive Back side of an IDE CDROM drive

Majority of IBM compatible PCs use IDE connector (or EIDE) for CDROM drives. Most of the
HDDs use IDE/EIDE connectors. To avoid conflict between the two, CDROM drive is
designated as "Slave", and the HDD is designated as "Master". The "Master", and "Slave" setting
is typically done by configuring jumpers at the back of the CDR or HDD. The IDE controller
recognizes the "Master" and "Slave" settings and chooses the correct device.

5. DVD and DVD RW

DVD stands for Digital Video Disk (Also known as Digital Versatile Disk). Essentially, DVD
looks very similar to CD-R, but contains larger storage space and can hold video, audio, and/or
computer data. A single-layer, single-sided DVD has a capacity of 4.7GB where as a CD-ROM
has a capacity of around 650MB. A double-layer, double-sided DVD-ROM disk can have
capacity over 17GB. The DVD specification supports access rates of 600KBps to 1.3MBps.

DVD-R is a once-recordable form of DVD. DVD-RW or DVD-R/RW can be written multiple

times. Many DVD drives can read data from a CD-R. But, some DVD drives may not be able to
read CD-Rs. You need to ensure compatibility with CD-R when procuring a DVD drive.
Normally, CD-R drives are not compatible with DVD, and you will not be able to read a DVD
using a CDR.

The original speed rating for DVDs is different from that of a CD-R. For a DVD, 1x is
1352.54KB/sec. Following the convention, 2x for a DVD drive is 2,705KB/sec, 4x is
5,410KB/sec, 8x is 10,820KB/sec, and 16x would be 21,640KB/sec.
A DVD drive is shown in the figure above. It looks very similar to that of a CD drive.

6. Video Display Devices

The display devices used commonly can be classified as below:

 Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display

 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display

 Plasma Displays

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT): 

CRT display is the most commonly used form of visual displays, through it is getting gradually
replaced with LCD and Plasma displays. 

Computers monitor using CRT display.

In a CRT, an  electron beam sweeps the display screen horizontally, one line at a time, gradually
down the screen. A synchronization (sync) signal brings the beam back to the top row of the
display. This type of scanning (line-by-line) is known as raster scan. 

 
Figure: CRT cross sectional diagram showing important components of a CRT.

There are two types of cathode ray displays. One is non-interlaced, and the other is interlaced.
Normally, all the displays are interlaced to reduce flicker.

As shown in the figure, for non-interlaced display, the scanning is done continuously from top to
bottom. For non-interlaced display, alternate rows are scanned. 

A black and white monitor contains only one electron gun, whereas a color display monitor will
have three electron guns, each of which represent red, green, and blue. 

The horizontal and vertical deflection takes place by applying appropriate voltages to the
horizontal and vertical deflection plates. Usually, the screen is refreshed between 60-100 times
per second. 

The grid shown in the figure controls the speed with the electrons hit the screen. If a positive
voltage is applied to the screen grid, because of which the electrons are accelerated and hit the
screen, making the screen brighter. If a negative voltage is applied to the grip, the electrons are
decelerated and the screen will not glow. The microscopic control of electron beam flow,
produces images on the screen.

One basic unit of measurement is "pixel". A pixel is the smallest area in a graphics display that
can be manipulated.
Given below are the commonly used screen resolutions:

Display Type Number of pixels

Video Graphics Array

640 * 480 pixels
(VGA)

Super Video Graphics

800 * 600 pixels
Array(SVGA)

eXtended Graphics
1024 * 768 pixels
Array (XGA)

Super eXtended
1280 * 1024 pixels
graphics Array (SXGA)

Screen resolution is always stated as the horizontal number of pixels by the vertical number of
pixels. A screen displaying 800 x 600 pixels has 600 rows, each 800 pixels wide.

Graphics Cards: The graphics card resides in the CPU box, and drives the video display. A
typical graphics card is shown below:

The graphics card shown includes DVI connector, TV/Video connector, and a VGA connector.
The card has an on-board graphics processor with cooling fan. Usually, for graphic intensive
applications, you need a higher end graphic adapter card. For normal desktop usage, a video
adapter will be sufficient.

7. PCM CIA Interface Cards (PC Cards)

PCMCIA stands for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. PCMCIA
standards were developed for small, credit card-sized devices, called PC Cards. Though
PCMCIA cards (PC Cards) were originally developed for use with Notebook computers, the
same are being extensively used in other devices also. 

Types of PC Cards: 

There are 3 types of PC Cards.

1. Type-I

2. Type-II

3. Type-III

1. Type-I PC Cards are typically used for memory devices such as RAM, Flash,  and SRAM
cards.
2. Type II PC Cards are typically used for I/O devices such as modems, and LAN cards.
3. Type III PC Cards are used for devices that consist of thicker components, such as rotating
mass storage devices. 

Important characteristics of PC Cards:

Property Value

Physical Interface
68 pins
Connector

Length 85.6 mm

Width 54.0 mm

Thickness
Type-I 3.3 mm

Type-II 5.0 mm

Type-III 10.5 mm

Depends on the functionality of the PC

Back-end I/O Connector
Card

PCMCIA Card (PC Card) slots:

Just like PC Cards, PCMCIA slots also come in three sizes:

Type I slot: Holds up to one Type I card
Type II slot: Holds up to one Type II card or two Type I cards
Type III slot: Holds up to one Type III card or a Type I and Type II card.
Advantages of PC Cards: 

Several advantages offered by PC cards are as given below:

1. Card Bus: Card Bus allows PC Cards and hosts to use 32-bit bus mastering.
2. DMA: The Standard allows cards to utilize Direct Memory Access technology directly in the
hardware when matched with a corresponding host system.
3. Execute in Place (XIP): XIP allows operating system and application software to run directly
from the PC Card. This in turn improves performance, and eliminates the need for large amounts
of system RAM.
4. Low Voltage Operation: The Standard enables 3.3V as well as 5V operation. 
6. Plug and Play: PC Cards can be inserted or removed while the system is powered-on.
7. Power Management: The Standard provides a means to interface to APM (Advanced Power
Management).

PC Card Uses:

Some of the frequently used PC Card types include the following:

 LAN card
 Wireless LAN card
 Modem card
 ATA flash disk card

 IEEE 1394/Fire wire

 USB

A wireless LAN serves the same functionality of a traditional LAN card, but operates without
being physically wired to a network device.  It enables a mobile user to connect to a local area
network (LAN) through a wireless connection. IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g specify the
technologies for wireless LANs.

Linksys 802.11b/g Wireless PC Card

A wireless LAN card is shown in the figure above. Typical specifications for the same are given
below:

Connection Type: Wireless

Connector: PCMCIA
Supported Wireless Standards: 802.11b, 802.11g
Supported Operating Systems: Windows, 98, ME, 2000, XP

8. IRQs (Interrupt ReQuest)and I/O Addresses:

An IRQ allows a device to request certain system resources on priority. Normally, the system
allocates the different non-competing IRQ numbers to different devices. The system allocated
IRQs may sometimes be manually changed. However, it may lead to serious IRQ conflicts
resulting in a hung operating system.

:IRQ Usage Comments

This IRQ is used within the system board for system
0 System Timer
timing.
This IRQ is assigned to the keyboard. Not available to any
1 Keyboard Controller
other add-in cards.
2 Tied to IRQs 8-15 This IRQ was assigned to older EGA video cards.
This IRQ is assigned to the serial ports COM 2, and COM
3 COM2
4. Avoid setting this IRQ to other devices.
This IRQ is assigned to the serial ports COM 1, and COM
4 COM1
3. Avoid setting this IRQ to other devices.
This IRQ is assigned to a secondary printer port LPT2. If
5 LPT2 or Sound Card
LPT2 is not available, it is used for sound card.
This IRQ is assigned to the Floppy Diskette Controller.
Floppy Diskette
6 Since most systems use FDC, do not use this IRQ for other
Controller
requirements.
This IRQ is assigned to the parallel port LPT1. It can also
be made available to other add-in cards, but avoid using it
7 LPT1
for any other cards. It may lead to conflicts at a future time,
when you least anticipate it.
This IRQ is reserved for the internal real-time clock. This
8 Real Time Clock
line is NOT available to other add-on cards.
This IRQ uses IRQ 2 to talk to the CPU. Normally used for
9 Substitutes for IRQ 2
network cards.
10 Not Assigned Can be used for network card, or others
11 Not Assigned Left open for use with any other device
This IRQ is used for the PS/2 style mouse port normally
available on many motherboards. If you are using PS/2
12 PS/2 Mouse Port
Mouse port on system, do not use this IRQ for anything
else.
Numerical Processing Used for math co-processor, and not available for other
13
Unit (NPU) devices.
 Primary Hard Disk
14 This IRQ is assigned to the primary hard drive interface
Controller
Secondary Hard Disk
15 This IRQ is assigned to the secondary hard drive interface.
Controller

I/O Addresses:
Memory Mapped Input/output addresses:

Input/output addresses (I/O addresses for short) are resources used by almost every device in the
computer. The I/O addresses represent the location in memory for a given device to exchange
information between itself, and the rest of the system. These address spaces are permanently
allocated to the system devices. If an address space allocated to one device (say, LPT) is
assigned to another device (say, IDE controller) than I/O address conflict will arise, and the
system may hang or not function normally.

Given below is the list of commonly used I/O address spaces allocated to various system
devices:

I/O
Common Device using the Address Space
Address
060h and
Used by keyboard controller
064h
130 and
Used by SCSI host adapters
140
170h  Secondary IDE Interface
1F0h  Primary IDE Interface
220 Default address for Sound cards
Optional address for sound cards and network
240
cards
260 and Optional address for sound cards and network
270 cards.
278h Assigned to LPT2 or LPT3
Optional address for sound cards and network
280
cards
300 Default for many network cards
2E8h Assigned to COM 4 and used with IRQ 3
2F8h Assigned to COM 2 and used with IRQ 3
300h nother Network Interface Card choice
Used for a SCSI host adapter or MIDI device. You
320h can use this for a Network card when not assigned
to any SCSI or MIDI device.
330h Used for the SCSI host adapters
340h Could be used for a SCSI host adapter
Could be used for a Network card, provided there
360h
are no conflicks.
This is assigned to the first parallel printer port
378h (LPT 1) in color systems. Normally used with IRQ
7.
This is assigned to the first parallel printer port
3BCh
(LPT1) in monochrome systems.
3E8h Assigned to COM 3 and used with IRQ 4
3F8h Assigned to COM 1 and used with IRQ 4

A rule of thumb for IEQ, and IO address conflicts is that the PC is unable to boot or giving error
codes during boot process. If you have installed any device recently, remove or disable it and see
if the PC boots properly.

9.Cables and Connectors

a) Serial Ports:

The serial port is an Asynchronous port which transmits data one bit of data at a time. Serial
port hardware usually consists of a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter). 

Most commonly used serial ports are given below:

1. DB9: 

DB9 adheres to the RS-232c interface standard. It has 9 pins as shown in the figure. The
connector is "D" shaped, and easy to recognize. The function of each pin is described below.

Outline Diagram of DB-9  DB-9 Female Connector

Pin description:
Pin # Pin Description

Pin 1 Data Carrier Detect DCD

Pin 2 Received Data RxData

Pin 3 Transmitted Data TxData

Pin 4 Data Terminal Ready DTR

Pin 5 Signal Ground Gnd

Pin 6 Data Set Ready DSR

Pin 7 Request To Send RTS

Pin 8 Clear To Send CTS

Pin 9 Ring Indicator RI

2. DB25: 

DB25 adheres to the RS-232C interface standard. It has 25 pins as shown in the figure. The
connector is "D" shaped, and easy to recognize. DB-25 is normally used in older computers, and
not much used in modern day computers. 

DB-25 Male Connector

3. RJ-11: 

RJ-11 is a 4-wire connector, commonly used with a modem. It should not be confused with
bigger RJ-45 cable and connector. RJ-45 is commonly used for Ethernet network interface card
(NIC).

 
 An RJ-11 Cable with
Schematic of RJ-11 Connector
Connector

Pin # Function

A1 Ground

A2 Rx (Data Input)

A3 Tx (Data Output)

A4 Vc (Power)

4. RJ-45: 

An RJ-45 connector has 4 pairs of wires as shown in the schematic diagram below. Note that an
RJ-11 is a 4-wire connector, where as RJ-45 is an 8-wire connector. 

RJ-45 connector crimped

RJ-45 connector schematic
to a cable.
RJ-45 connector is commonly used for Ethernet Networking ports. Devices that normally use RJ-
45 ports include NICs, Hubs, Switches, and Routers.

There are basically two types of cables. One is Straight-through cable, and the other is Cross-
over cable. Straight-through cables are used for connecting a network device to a work station.
Cross-over cables are used for connecting a hub to a switch or a hub to another hub.

B.Parallel Ports:

1. DB-25

DB-25 connector is most commonly used in conjunction with a parallel printer. It has an 8 bit
data bus as shown in the figure below.

Pin # Function

Pin 1 Strobe

Pin 2 Data Bit 0

Pin 3 Data Bit 1

Pin 4 Data Bit 2

Pin 5 Data Bit 3

Pin 6 Data Bit 4

Pin 7 Data Bit 5

Pin 8 Data Bit 6

Pin 9 Data Bit 7

Pin 10 Acknowledge

Pin 11 Busy

Pin 12 Paper End

Pin 13 Select

Pin 14 Auto Feed

Pin 15 Error

Pin 16 Initialize Printer

Pin 17 Select Input

Pin 18 - Pin 25 Ground (return for pins 0-7)

The length of Parallel Printer cable usually limited to a maximum of 15 feet

Other Type of Parallel Ports:

Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP): The Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) operates close to ISA bus speed
and can achieve transfer rates up to 1 to 2MB/sec of data.

Enhanced Capabilities Port (ECP): The Enhanced Capabilities Port (ECP), is an additional
enhanced Parallel port.

1. USB

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. The most important features of USB bus include the
 following:

 Plug'n'Play: USB is a truly plug-n-play port. The port is automatically detected by the
system, and its ready to use.

 Hot plug and unplug: It is possible to insert an USB device and and unplug without
affecting the functioning of a computer. You dont need to power-off the computer to
remove or insert a USB device.

 127 physical devices: A USB can support up to 127 devices. This is much more than
what is normally required.

 Low cost cables and connectors

USB connectors can be broadly divided into USB A, and USB B. The difference between the
two is in the physical layout of pins in the connector. Both are shown in the figure below.

Pin # Function

Pin 1 +5V DC

Pin 2 Data-

Pin 3 Data+

Pin 4 Ground

USB"A" plugs are used towards the host system and USB "B" plugs are used towards the USB
device.

2. FireWire/IEEE1394

FireWire/IEEE1394 port provides data rates up to 400 Mb/sec. The standard is most suitable for
transferring high volumes of information including video, and voice data.
Given below are some of the important features of IEEE 1394 standard:

 Based on open licensing system.

 Digital transmission with data rates of 100, 200, or 400 mega bits per second (Mb/sec).
 Plug and play: Automatically detected by the operating system during start-up or during usage.
 Hot pluggable: Cables can be connected and disconnected without turning off power to the
computer.
 Flexible: You can connect FireWire cables in a daisy-chain or in branching cable configurations.
 Peer-to-peer functionality
 Compatibility, lower speed USB devices can be connected with higher speed devices.
 Supports both asynchronous (Based on request-and-acknowledge form of computer
communication, used typically with dial-up modems). and isochronous data transfer.
( Continuous, guaranteed data transmission at a pre-determined speed. Useful for video and
audio).

4 PIN IEEE1394 (without Power)

A IEEE 1394 Connector schematic

Pin Function

Pin #1 Twisted-pair B, differential signals, TPB-

Pin #2 Twisted-pair B, differential signals, TPB+

Pin #3 Twisted-pair A, differential signals, TPA-

Pin #4 Twisted-pair A, differential signals, TPA+

6 PIN IEEE1394 (with Power):

IEEE1394 6-pin connector schematic.

Pin # Function

1 Power, 18-28v no load.

2 Ground
3 Twisted-pair B, differential signals, TPB-

4 Twisted-pair B, differential signals, TPB+

5 Twisted-pair A, differential signals, TPA-

6 Twisted-pair A, differential signals, TPA+

10. PC Power Supplies

PC power supplies deliver required DC power to the computer electronic sub-systems
including Motherboard, Hard drive, CDROM drive, Keyboard, Mouse, and others. Usually,
regular CRT monitors derive power separately from the mains. PC power supplies work by
converting the AC mains power supply to required DC power supplies.

There are mainly two types of power supplies used in computers:

 ATX Power Supply 

 ATX12V Power Supply 

ATX12V power supplies are intended to be downward compatible with ATX power supplies.

As the PC components take more and more power, to enable the delivery of more +12 VDC
current to the motherboard, additional 4-pins are provided for taking care of  +12 V power
supply. Thus, ATX12V will have a +12 V power connector, and a simple ATX power supply
with not have the +12V power connector.

An ATX power supply, typically found in all Pentium class computers is shown below:
 

The voltages produced by ATX/ATX12V power supplies are:

1. +3.3 Volts DC 

2. +5 Volts DC 
3. -5 Volts DC 
4. +5 Volts DC Standby 
5. +12 Volts DC 
6. -12 Volts DC 

ATX and ATX12V power supply connectors pin configuration is shown below:

ATX12V Connector (it has 24 pins) ATX Connector (it has 20 pins)

In addition to the Motherboard power connector, a power supply may have a CPU power
connector, and an Auxiliary power connector. 
Following are the most commonly used power supply connectors:

 4 Pin Berg Connector: Used to connect the PSU to small form factor devices, such as
3.5" floppy drives. Available in: ATX & ATX12V
 4 Pin Molex Connector 4 Pin Molex Connector: This is used to power various
components, including hard drives and optical drives. Available in: ATX and ATX12V
 20 Pin Molex ATX Power Connector: This is used to power the motherboard in ATX
systems. available in: ATX (ATX12V have 24 pins)
 4 Pin Molex P4 12V Power Connector: Used specifically for Pentium 4 Processor
Motherboards. available in: ATX (integrated into the power connector in ATX12V)
 6 Pin AUX Connector 6 Pin AUX Connector: Provides +5V DC, and two connections of
+3.3V.available in: ATX/ATX12V

To power up an ATX or ATX12V PSU for testing, short pin 14 (PS_ON) with any of the ground
pins.