1.1 Identify the fundamental principles of using personal computers

> Identify the names, purposes and characteristics of storage devices

FDD (floppy disk drive) has only 1.4 Mb storage space. Was used for backup of data and mode of transferring data from one PC to another. As of 2005 3½-inch drives were still common equipment on many new PCs other than laptops. But have become pretty much obsolete, portable storage options, such as USB storage devices and recordable or rewritable CDs / DVDs have taken its place.

Floppy Connection on Motherboard

Floppy Drive

HDD (hard disk drive) is a data storage device that stores data on a magnetic surface layered onto hard disk platters.

As of June 2006 the smallest desktop hard disk still in production has a capacity of 40 gigabytes, while the largest-capacity internal drives are a 3/4 terabyte (750 gigabytes), with external drives at or exceeding one terabyte by using multiple internal disks.

Types of Hard Drives

• ESDI (Enhanced Small Disk Interface) was an interface developed by Maxtor to allow faster communication between the PC and the disk.
• SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) was an early competitor with ESDI, originally named SASI for Shugart Associates.
• ATA / IDE and EIDE (Advanced Technology Attachment, also known as Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics)
• SATA (Serial ATA)

CD / DVD / RW (e.g. drive speeds, media types)

CD-ROM Compact Disc Read-Only Memory Used for data storage and data transfer. A standard 120mm CD-ROM holds 650 or 700 Mb of data.

DVD-ROM Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high quality video and sound. DVDs resemble compact discs as their physical dimensions are the same but they are encoded in a different format and at a much higher density allowing for a greater data capacity of about 4.7 GB

CD-RW

• CD-RW recorder can rewrite 700 MB of data to a CD-RW disc roughly 1000 times.
• CD-RW recorders can also write CD-R discs. Except for the ability to completely erase a disc, CD-RWs act very much like CD-Rs.
• CD-RWs cannot be read in CD-ROM drives built prior to 1997.
• CD-R is considered a better technology for archival purposes as disc contents cannot be modified.

DVD-RW

• Rewritable optical disc with equal storage capacity to a DVD-R, typically 4.7 GB.
• Primary advantage of DVD-RW over DVD-R is the ability to erase and rewrite to a DVD-RW disc.
• DVD-RW discs may be written to about 1,000 times before needing replacement, making them comparable with the CD-RW standard.
• DVD-RW discs are commonly used for volatile data, such as backups or collections of files.

Dual Layer recording allows DVD-R and DVD+R discs to store significantly more data, up to 8.5 Gigabytes per disc, compared with 4.7 Gigabytes for single-layer discs.

> Removable storage

Tape drives mainly for backup and long-term storage. Can be connected with SCSI (most common), parallel port, IDE, USB, FireWire or optical fibre. Tape drives can range in capacity from a few megabytes to upwards of 800 GB compressed.

External CD-RW and hard drive May be used for backup, easy transfer of data to another PC, and are good choices for offsite backup data storage in case of fire et..

Thumb drive, flash and SD cards small, lightweight, removable and rewritable data storage devices. Some recent USB flash drives act as two drives - as a removable disk device , and as a USB floppy drive. This is likely intended to make it easier to use them as a bootable device.

> Identify the names, purposes and characteristics of motherboards

A motherboard, also known as a mainboard, logic board, or system board, and sometimes abbreviated as mobo, is the central or primary circuit board of the computer. A typical computer is built with the microprocessor, main memory, and other basic components on the motherboard. Other components of the computer such as external storage, control circuits for video display and sound, and peripheral devices are typically attached to the motherboard via ribbon cables, other cables, and power connectors.

Form Factor

Form factor refers to the size and format of motherboards

ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) is a full size board measuring 12" wide by 9.6" deep (305 mm x 244 mm)

BTX (for Balanced Technology Extended) was originally slated to be the replacement for the aging ATX motherboard, but it has not been widely accepted by the market as of early 2006.

microATX is a small motherboard size of 9.6" x 9.6" (244 mm x 244 mm). Compared to full size ATX, microATX has reduced the amount of I/O slots but a smaller power supply can be used.

> Components

> Integrated I/Os