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Posts Tagged ‘computers’

Copyright 2006 Otis Cooper

The System Memory is more commonly called RAM or Random Access Memory. This is the memory used by the computer to hold programs and data.

This data is lost once the computer is turned off.Because demands by powerful software have skyrocketed, system memory requirements have been accelerating at an alarming pace.

Random Access Memory is mounted directly onto the motherboard and transfers data by use of address and data buses. Each data bus consist of a number of circuits.

In 1985, Intel had the 386 processor with its 32 bit bus and the Pentium processor came along in 1993 with a large 64 bit bus. RAM memory is made using DRAM Chips.

RAM chips are large rectangular shaped and made with memory cells with support logic that reads and writes data. These chips must be continously refreshed, that is, data is constantly sent to allow the cells to hold data.

Information being transferred between the CPU Chip and RAM memory is called a memory cycle. During the late 90s, the DIMM chip was the standard RAM Chip. So just what is this DIMM chip? Let’s talk about the different Ram memory chips used in the computer.

Static RAM is a type of RAM that holds its data without being refreshed, for as long as power is supplied to the circuit. This is contrasted to dynamic RAM (DRAM), which must be refreshed many times per second in order to hold its data contents.

TYPES OF RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY CHIPS

SIMM or Single Inline Memory Modules came on the scene in the early 90s. The SIMM chips first came with 30 pins. And then the 72 pin SIMM which had 32 bit data paths or buses.

DIMM or Dual Inline Memory Module replace the Simm chips. These chips had 168 pins as compared to the 72 pin Simm variety. The data bus of the 30 pin chip was 8 bits while the 72 data bus can send data on the 32 bit data bus.

DIMMs also come in a smaller form factors suitable for use in notebook computers. These SO DIMMs or Small Outline DIMMs are available in both 32-bit wide/72-pin and 64-bit wide/144-pin form factors.

RIMM came in 1999 and the connectors for this new chip fits in the same sockets as the DIMM chips. They have 184 pins as compared to the Dimm which have 168 pins

The RIMM chip was to come along when DRDRAM OR Direct Rambus DRAM: a totally new RAM architecture, was introduced. A single Rambus Channel has the potential to reach 500 MBps in burst mode; a 20- fold increase over DRAM.

Computers will have DRAM for their main system memory, instead of SRAM, even though DRAMs are slower than SRAM. The reason that DRAMs are used is that they are cheaper and take up much less space. To build a 64 MB core memory from SRAMs would be very expensive

All computers will contain a Memory Controller which,as its name implies, control the memory.It generates signals to regulate the reading and writing of information to and from the memory. The system chipset is normally where the memory controller is integrated.

And just what are the chipsets? Well,they are like the traffic cops for all chips on the motherboard. They keep in check such data transfer from and to the CPU, data buses, printer, video card, and nearly all other devices.
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Copyright 2006 Otis Cooper

The Motherboard is the largest component in your PC and the Central Processing Unit is its brain. But when your input devices go on the blink, you’re shut down for awhile. When Computer Mice problems come, we don’t panic as fast when we cannot access our hard drive.

When you grab your Mouse and either click or roll the buttons and nothing happens, your computing fun stops. Even though the mouse is a little input device, you will wish you understood its every aspect when it dies.

When input device failure occurs, the problem may lie with the computer’s hardware,the mouse, the OS or Operating System. Let’s take a look at what you should check when mouse failure occurs. If you need help with mouse components, http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com contains photos of every component in the computer.

When the mouse dies, you should be able to perform the same functions with the keyboard. It may be a little closer but you won’t be shut down completely.

NO MOUSE MOVEMENT

First…If the mouse has no movement, first look at the mouse connection at the rear of the computer.Be sure it is plugged in completely.

Second…remove the plug and inspect for connectors or pins that may be broken or bent. The connector is color coded with green being that of the mouse.

If your mouse uses the USB or Universal Serial Bus connector, check the connectors for any damage and be sure it is plugged in.

MOUSE STOPPED DURING OPERATION

Should your mouse quit in the middle of computing, save your work immediately. Press the ALT key to access your program and save your work.

Check the connection in the rear to be sure it has not worked itself loose.If the connection is tight, inspect the mouse components for birt.

Remove the retain and trackball inside the mouse. Clean the Ball with a mild solution and be sure all residence is removed.And clean the Ball Cavity with a cotton swab. Replace the ball and secure it with the retainer.

Connect the mouse to the system unit and boot the the computer. Try clicking a program to see if the mouse wotks. If the mouse fails, check the device driver for the mouse.

MOUSE POINTER MISBEHAVING

This problem may be the result of your computer be affected by a virus. Use your Anti Virus software to scan your sysem for viruses.

You can go to http://www.free-av.com to download a free version of anti virus software if you don’t have anti virus software installed on your system.

A corrupt device driver can also cause the mouse to misbehave. Check the device driver by opening the Control Panel, and open the System folder.

Select the device driver tab and use the down arrow key to scroll down to the mouse.Expand the mouse to see if the driver is installed.

If you see a yellow icon, the mouse has a problem and you can try to re-install the device driver.First uninstall the mouse from Windows and reboot the PC.

After the system reboots, the operating system will find the mouse and re-install the driver.If you have a wireless or USB mouse, re-installing the special software may be in order.

A misbehaving mouse may occur when you install another device on your system.If this happens, the mouse and new device may be conflicting with each other by using the same address.

Unplug any hardware you installed and uninstall any software recently installed. See if the mouse operates properly.

Use the System Restore utility to set your computer back to a time when the mouse was working as it should. The Registry can be the culprit of the mouse behaving badly.

You can connect your mouse to another computer to verify it is bad. If the mouse works on another system, check the problems mentioned in the PC’s operating system.

MAINTAINING YOUR MOUSE

To keep the mouse performing at its very best,you should take the time to clean the components of your mouse.Regularly clean the mouse, both inside and out.
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The term, “virus”, in computer technology, refers to a self replicating application that spreads by making copies of itself by inserting into other programs, other executables or documents, and when executed begins to perform harmful actions on the system. All computer viruses are deliberately created, not always malicious and some of them may be benign and simply annoying.

Non-Memory Resident and Memory Resident Viruses:

Non-Memory resident viruses, when they are executed, immediately look for other hosts that can be infected. When they infect these targets, they transfer control to the application program they infected. A non-resident virus has a finder module and a replication module. The finder module, once it finds a new file to infect, calls upon the replication module to infect that file.

Memory-Resident virus stays in the memory and do not look for hosts to infect when they are executed. It stays active in the background after its host program is terminated, and infects files as soon as they are opened or accessed by other programs or the operating system. It does have the replication module like the non-memory resident virus, but without the finder module.

Types of Computer Viruses:

File Viruses: These types of viruses are the most common, and mostly infect open files and program libraries on an operating system. The virus functions by inserting itself into a host file, modifies it in such a way that the virus is executed when the file is opened. They are also known as left viruses. Today, there are known viruses infecting all kinds of executables of standard DOS: batch command files (BAT), loadable drivers (SYS, including special purpose files IO.SYS and MS- DOS.SYS) and binary executables (EXE, COM). There are also viruses targeting executables of other operating systems – Windows 3.x, Windows95/NT, OS/2, Macintosh, Unix, including the VxD drivers of Windows 3.x and Windows95.
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PCs have become a staple in every home. Without PCs, you will find it hard to stay connected and to even do the work required of you in school or in the office. With so much PC packages being shoved to our throat every time we go to department stores and computer shops, you’ll really get quite confused on what you really need and what PC package will fit your budget and lifestyle. To help you through this dilemma, here is a brief backgrounder of the parts of PCs that you should get to know.

Processor.

This is one of the three primary components of your PC. The processor is the part that determines how fast your computer process information. Intel is still the leading brand in processors but competitors such as American Micro Devices (AMD) are slowly catching up, offering cheaper alternative. In shopping for a processor, one should consider the following:

Clock speed – this will show the number of instructions that a computer can execute in a second. This usually comes after the brand name. Processors nowadays are already set at the gigahertz range.

Cache memory – this stores the data that were previously accessed. This simplifies the work of the computer as it would not take twice as long to access information already stored in memory bank. Without a cache memory, much of the work will fall on the RAM (Random Access Memory).

Operating temperature – some processors easily heats up. Before buying, make sure that you have asked about the operating temperature just in case you need to buy additional fans or put the computer in an air-conditioned room.

RAM (Random Access Memory).

RAM serves as the temporary memory of the PC, containing information that are needed for the computer and the programs to function. In addition to processors, RAM also determines the speed of the computer. The higher the RAM, the faster the computer is in accessing information and responding to commands.

Motherboard

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