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A+ Certification Notes (from James Messer series).
(last revised 9/26/11)
1. need to review chapters19-21
2. Hyperlinks
a. Summary of Processors
b. Computer Boot Process
c. Windows Boot Process
d. IRQ Assignments
e. Max HD Sizes
f. Laser Printers
g. Laser Printer Problems
h. PCMCIA cards
i. Recovering the OS
j. Troubleshooting Windows
i. Password recovery
ii. Unable to access Hidden Partition
iii. Troubleshoot Hard Drive
k. POST Diagnostic Error Codes
l. Networking Overview
m. OSI Seven Layer Model
n. Network Cabling
o. TCP/IP Addresses
p. Wireless Range and Throughput
q. Troubleshoot Network Connections
r. Misc Notes Start Here
s. Power States
t. TCP/IP Service Ports
u. Registry Hives
v. Viruses
w.
3. Tools needed
a. floppy drive $24.99
b. ST card
c. Cable tester
d. Cable pin out tester
e. antistatic cleaner liquid / microfiber cloth
f. wrist strap
g. vacuum
h. antistatic mat
i. power supply tester
j. multimeter
k. canned air, screwdrivers, torx, pliers, part retriever, paperclip, USB to SATA/IDE bridge cable, flashlight, cable ties, Windex, paper towels, Q-tips, alcohol, CPU dope, thumb drive with utilities, USB drive for backups, all versions of windows on CD/DVD, IDE/SATA cables, on/off switch/cable, mouse, keyboard, hard drive?, power supply?, PCI video card?, power cable, CAT5 patch cable, PS2/USB adapter, laptop, earphones (to test audio), new Windows XP/Vista/7 (for cust with lost activation numbers), magnifying glass, replacement screws, electrical tape,
l. r
4. Expansion Slots >
a. AMR: audio / modem riser (located past last expansion slot)
b. CNR: communications and networking riser (located before first expansion slot)
5. VGA port – DE-15
DVI (Digital Video Interface) sends both digital and analog
6. USB: Type A
7. Firewire is Apple trademark, so others label “IEEE 1394”. They run at 400 or 800 Mbps
8. Form Factors
a. AT: IBM, early 1980’s – mid 90’s.
b. ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) 1995
i. uses 20 or 24 pin power, may also have 4/8 pin connector.
ii. memory at 90 degrees from expansion cards
iii. Softpower: 5V to MB. Software can turn the PC on and off.
c. Slimline Form Factors:
i. LPX (Low Profile Extended): used a “riser card” (aka, daughterboard)
ii. NLX (new Low Profile Extended), has AGP port, replace mb w/o screws, no longer produced, uses riser board
d. microATX- similar power and mounting points to ATX
e. BTX- Balanced Technology eXtended –
i. memory and exp slots parallel, better airflow
ii. CPU at 45 degree angle
iii. no longer produced
f. microBTX and picoBTX still around
9. Level 1 cache (L1): on the processor, often per core
Level 2 cache (L2): was on MB now on chip, per CPU
Level 3 cache (L3): on the MB
10. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and Floating-Point Unit (FPU)
a. ALU and FPU retrieve info from memory, then store/work with it in the cache
b. FPU, formerly known as Math Co-Processor
11. AX, BX, CX, and DX registers are examples of where ALU and FPU temporarily store info. (Not sure if these are part of L1 and L2)
12. FSB has two pieces, Address Bus and Data Bus, which connect CPU to Northbridge (aka, Memory Controller Hub). CPU requests memory address thru Address Bus, MCH sends the data over the Data Bus.
13. CPU Modes:
a. Real Mode: no memory protection in hardware, no multitasking
b. Protected Mode: begin 80286, multi-task, virtual mem, memory paging
c. Test question: ???CPU's operate in how many different modes? 3 real mode (16 bit software), protected mode(32 bit software), and virtual real mode(16 bit programs within an 32 bit envrionment.
14. CPU Features
a. Hyperthreading (HTT): one CPU looks like multiple CPU’s to the app or OS
XP and later can take advantage. 15-30% performance increase.
b. CPU throttling (aka, Dynamic Frequency Scaling): slows cpu when not busy
Intel calls this “SpeedStep”
c. Microcode: Specialized instructions built into CPU hardware (e.g., MMX)
d. Voltage Regulator Module (VRM): CPU can request different voltages at different times thru Voltage Identification (VID) (e.g., 1.1V or 3.3V). Older CPU’s might have jumpers for you to set a static voltage.
15. 32 bit vs 64 bit refers to bus size, or amount of memory the bus can move at one time
16. Actual speed affected by: clock speed, CPU architecture, bus speed, bus width, L1 or L2 cache size, OS capability. Speed no longer expressed in clock cycles e.g., 2 GHz. Have to compare systems using benchmark software.
17. Overclocking: Bios changes to increase things like FSB, CPU multiplier, memory timings
18. CPU sockets:
a. Dual In-line Package (DIP) e.g., 8088
b. Single Edge Cartridge (e.g., Pentium II) fit in “slot 1”
c. Pin Grid Array (PGA) (e.g., Pentium III) put in Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket
d. Know how many pins are on each processor /socket
i. Slot 1 242 Pentium II and III
ii. Socket 370 370 PIII and Celeron
iii. Slot A 242 AMD Athlon
iv. Socket 423 423 P4
v. Socket 478 478 P4 and Celeron
vi. Socket A 462 AMD Athlon XP and Duron
19. Gordon Moore’s Law, 1965, # transistors double every two years
20. History of CPU’s
a. 8086 1978 – 1990’s 5-10 MHz
b. 8088 1979 – early 1990’s 5-10 MHz
c. XT/286 introduced 1982 thru early 1990’s 4-25 MHz
d. 80386 introduced 1985 -2007 12-40 MHz
e. 80486 1989 – 2007 16-50 MHz PGA socket 1,2,3
f. Pentium – created 1990, released 1993-1999, (Socket 4, 5 and 7)
i. 60-300 MHz
ii. 64 bit data bus, superscalar arch., MMX.
iii. Note: In this case the 64 bit data bus refers to the external data bus. When you talk about a “64-bit processor” you are referring to the internal registers of the CPU.
g. Pentium Pro: 1995, Socket 8
i. 150-200 MHz, superscalar arch.
ii. 4 pipelines
iii. on package L2
iv. out of order execution
h. AMD K5: 1996-98, PGA Socket 5 or 7
i. 75-133 MHZ (speed no longer equals performance),
ii. pin compatible with Pentium
i. Pentium II: 1997, Single Edge Cartridge (SEC), Slot 1 (242 pins)
i. 233-450 MHz
ii. consumer version of Pentium Pro with MMX
j. AMD K6: 1997, PGA, Socket 7
i. 166-300 MHz
ii. 3dNow! (ie, another specialized instruction set… this one for graphics)
k. Celeron Pentium II: 1998, Single Edge Processor
i. value line for this and later intel chips
l. Pentium III: 1999, SEC (Socket 370) and PGA
i. 450-1.4 GHz, high speed L2,
m. AMD Athlon: 1999, Classic (462 pin? slot A) and Thunderbird (PGA)
i. 500-2.33 GHz, advanced caching, Enhanced 3DNow!
n. AMD Athlon XP: 1999, PGA
i. (Palomino, Thoroughbred, Barton, Thorton),
ii. 500-2.33 GHz, increased clock speed, lower voltage
o. Pentium 4 2000, Socket 423 and 478, PGA
i. (Willamette, Northwood, Gallatin, Prescott, Prescott 2M, Ceder Mill)
ii. 1.3 – 3.8 GHz
iii. Netburst arch., deep pipeline
iv. PII and PIII were basically improved P-Pro’s. P4 was complete redesigned core called “Netburst” with 20-stage pipeline
v. featured “quad-pumped frontside bus” where external data bus sampled four times per clock cycle
vi. Switched to Land Grid Array (LGA) 775 with codename Prescott
vii. Introduced hyperthreading with Northwood and Prescott. Each pipeline can run more than one thread at a time
viii. Starting with LGA 775 Prescotts, intel began cryptic 3-digit numbering system starting with a “5” or a “6”. (e.g., 2.66 GHz P4 is “506”, 2.8 GHz P4 is “521”, 3-GHz P4 is a “630”. No obvious logic to these numbers.
p. AMD Duron: 2000, 462 pin slot A, PGA
i. 600-1.8 GHz
ii. smaller L2, larger L1
iii. easily upgraded to faster Duron with just replacing CPU
iv. this is a lower end CPU based on Athlon but with smaller cache.
q. Intel Xeon 2001, PGA (Slot II)
i. High end, (Xeon 3000, 5000, 7999, 9000), designed for server systems
ii. Server processors tend to be physically larger and have massive caches
r. Intel Itanium / Itanium 2: 2001 PGA with Pin Array CartridgePAC
i. 64 bit, 9 models so far,
ii. branch predication, speculative execution, branch prediction
iii. first Intel chip to have 64-bit processing? but several others had 64 bit CPU’s long before this.
s. Athlon-64 2003
i. first For-The-Desktop 64-bit
ii. first to have both 32 and 64 bit processing
iii. two types: Regular and FX
iv. about 20 sub-types of Athlon 64s, with different codenames
v. Introduced Hypertransport: point to point replacement for FSB. Memory controller into CPU, so no external MCC. Essentially eliminated the FSB. RAM directly connects to the Athlon-64
t. AMD Opteron; 2003, Micro-PGA
i. 64 bit
ii. could also run 32 bit apps without slowing down
iii. included high speed I/O path called “Hypertransport”
iv. First AMD 64-bit? (supercomputers had 64-bit long before)
v. Runs 32 and 64-bit
vi. “lower end” 64-bit CPU
vii. pitched to server market (like Itanium 2)
u. AMD Sempron 2004 Sockets A, 754, 939, AM2, S1, AM3
i. (successor to Duron)
ii. low end market, two socket sizes, less cache than Athlon-64
v. Pentium D (LGA775) 2005
i. was first dual core CPU. It was basically two P4’s, each with its own cache, on one chip
ii. two codenames: Smithfield and Presler
w. Athlon-64-X2 (Socket 754, 939, 940 and later Socket AM2) 2005
i. first AMD dual core.
ii. two separate cores shared one L1 cache
x. Intel Core series: Confusing naming system: Core Solo and Core Duo are based on Pentium M architecture. Core 2 processors are based on Core architecture
i. “Intel Core”: (2006, 478-pin FCPGA)
1. mobile only
2. solo and duo versions
3. based on 32 bit Pentium M, but without NetBurst architecture
4. 12 stage pipeline
5. single or dual core
6. named with a letter followed by 4 digits (e.g., T2300)
ii. “Core 2” 2006-2010 Socket T (LGA 775)
1. is a brand encompassing a range of Intel’s consumer64-bit x86-64 single-, dual-, and quad-core microprocessors on the Core microarchitecture. The single- and dual-core models are single-die, whereas the quad-core models comprise two dies, each containing two cores, packaged in a multi-chip module.
2. Fall back from Pentium 4 because do not have hyperthreading technology.
3. redesigned to maximize efficiency
4. up to 40% energy saving over Pentium D
5. increased cache from 2 to 4 MB
6. wide short pipeline, can perform multiple actions in a single clock cycle
7. Three Core 2 versions for desktop:
a. Core 2 Solo
b. Core 2 Duo
c. Core 2 Quad
i. With four processing cores, up to 12MB of shared L2 cache¹, and 1333 MHz Front Side Bus
ii. Wide Dynamic Execution, Smart Memory Access, Advanced Smart Cache, HD Boost, Virtualization Technology
8. There is also a Core 2 Extreme for “enthusiasts” that comes in Duo and Quad configurations
iii. Pentium Dual Core 2007 LGA 775, Socket M, Socket P
1. aka “Pentium” Don’t know why they re-used the name Pentium for this processor??? Pretty confusing!
2. line of mid-range dual-core processors developed at request of laptop manufacturers
3. positioned between Core 2 and Celeron Dual-core lines
y. AMD Phenom 2007 (Socket AM2+ or AM3) (can run in AM2, but with a penalty)
i. AMD’s first quad core desktop CPU. Each CPU core has own L1 and L2, but all share same L3 to facilitate communication between. They call this “native quad-core” processor. All processors are on same piece of silicon, compared to the “multi-core module” design of Intel’s Core 2 Quad series.
ii. 64 bit. Use the AMD64 technology found in Athlon 64 CPU’s
iii. based on AMD K10 microarchitecture
iv. integrated memory controller (no FSB) that supports two channels of DDR2 memory. Same HypreTransport bus as Athlon 64/Opteron.
v. Phenom X4: Phenom with 4 cores
vi. Phenom X3: (triple core) quad core processor with one core shut off due to a defect
vii. Phenom Black Edition: enthusiast version, includes unlocked clock multiplier for overclocking
z. AMD Phenom II 2008 Socket AM2+ and AM3
i. triples L3 cache from 2 to 6 MB
ii. Some versions support AMD’s Turbo Core overclocking technology
iii. based on AMD K10 microarchitecture (same as Phenom)
iv. have dual, triple, quad and hex core version
1. some of the dual and triple core versions do not have the defective core, one core is just de-activated to reach lower end markets. These can be unlocked with right bios and motherboard.
2. However, some of them DO have the defective core
aa. Core i7 (high-end), Core i5 (mid-level) and Core i3 (low-level)
i. Core i7 2008 LGA1366 or LGA 1156 socket
1. i7 9xx (first version was codenamed “Bloomfield”) 2008
a. Introduced in 2008, As of 2010 this is top of Intel Core line
b. Initially based off the Bloomfield design, which was the first Core i7 design and is made on a 45nm manufacturing process. Newer models based on Lynnfield and Clarksfield and Arrandale
c. Core i7 900 are quad cores, though a 6 core processor (Gulftown) was launched in 2010.
d. Include hyper-threading, Turbo Boost, and virtualization. Also comes in “Extreme Edition” , which are fastest processors Intel has available (? in 2010?) and they include an unlocked multiplier which allows for easier overclocking.
e. Core i7 900 use the LGA1366 socket. This is only found on motherboards using the X58 chipset.
f. copied AMD with built-in MCC
g. Quick Path Interconnect: intel counter to AMD’s hypertransport: super fast replacement for FSB
2. i7 8xx 2009
a. Core i7 800 built on a 45nm process using the Lynnfield design.
b. Core i7 800 are quad cores which include hyper-threading, Turbo Boost, and virtualization.
c. Don't have an integrated graphics processor.
d. Performance is among the best of any processor made by Intel or AMD.
e. Core i7 800 are socket LGA1156 processors
ii. Core i5 2009
1. i5 6xx 2009
a. Least powerful Core i5 processor, and is a mainstream variant of Core i7
b. 32nm processors based off the Clarkdale design
c. includes an on-die graphics processor.
d. Core i5 600 are dual cores which have hyperthreading, Turbo Boost, virtualization, and the AES instruction set.
e. Performance of the Core i5 600 series processors is roughly on par with mid-range Core 2 Quads and high-end Phenom II processors.
f. Core i5 600 uses LGA1156 socket
2. i5 7xx 2009
a. LGA1156
b. manufactured at 45nm and use the Lynnfield design.
c. Core i5 700 quad core processors. They do not have hyperthreading but they do have Turbo Boost and they do support virtualization.
d. have no integrated graphics processor
e. Corei5 700 performance is on par or somewhat better than high end Core 2 Quad and Phenom II processors.
f. This same processor with different features (such as hyperthreading) are sold as Core i7-8xx and Xeon-3400 series. They are distinct from high end i7-9xx and Xeon 3500 series that are based on Bloomfield design
3. i5 5xx 2010
a. Mobile processors based on Westmere shrink of Nehalem microarchitecture
b. Integrated graphics, but only two processor cores
c. have Turbo Boost
d. L3 cache is reduced to 3 MB
e. based on same chip as i7-6xx and i3-3xx but with different features
iii. Core i3
1. i3 5xx
a. Launched 2010
b. Includes graphics processor die with CPU
c. Dual Core with hyperthreading and support virtualization
d. Do not have Turbo Boost
e. Performance similar to lower end Core 2 Quad like Q6600
f. Intel rates i3 performance better than entry level Celeron or Pentium processors
g. LGA1156 socket
h. based off the 32nm Clarkdale design
ab. Sandy Beach Bridge? 2011
21. Buying Advice: (In Nov 2010) Core i5 750 remains the best overall value out of all the processors in the Core lineup. The Core i5 750 offers performance which is surprisingly close to the Core i7 processors in most situations. The Core i3 and Core i5 600 series products are not slow, but because the price gap is so small it usually makes sense to go for the Core i5 750. (Need to check whether best bet for laptop is the i5-5xx series…. even tho its dual core. gn.)
22. Intel Centrino: refers to mobile “solutions” including mobile processor, support chips and wireless networking. Does not refer to a specific CPU. In general, mobile versions of CPU’s use less power, produce less heat, and run at about 77 percent of equivalent desktop speed.
a. Mobile versions of CPUs may include some of following:
i. System Management Mode (SMM): intro’d with 80386 and gave CPU ability to turn off devices that use a lot of power such as monitor or hard drives
ii. Throttling: CPU slows during low demand. Intel calls this “SpeedStep”, AMD calls it “PowerNow!”
b. Mobile versions of CPUs (often have “mobile” or “M” in name:
i. Mobile Pentium III
ii. Pentium M
iii. Mobile Athlon 64
iv. AMD Turion 64
v. Intel Core Duo
vi. Core i5 5xx
23. Multicore:
a. has two (or more) “execution units” or sets of pipelines on one chip, but they share caches and RAM
b. Parallel Processing: multicore CPUs can process more than on thread at a time.
24. Summary of Processors:
Pent Socket 4, 5, or 7 1993-1999
Pent Pro Socket 8 1995
K5 Socket 5 or 7 1996 .
Pent II SEC/Slot 1 1997 K6 Socket 7 1997 .
Celeron Pent II Single Edge Processor 1998
Pent III SEC & PGA 1999 Athlon Slot A or PGA 1999 .
Pent 4 PGA 2000 Duron Socket A / Socket 462 Micro-PGA 2000.
P4: socket 423 & 478
P4 intro hyperthreading, huge pipelines.
Xeon 2001 PGA Socket 603
Itanium / Itanium 2: 2001 (Intel’s first 64 bit)
“Athlon 64” 2003 .
first 64 bit CPU (at least in AMD vs Intel) .
first to have both 64 bit AND 32 bit processing .
Intro’d hypertransport: point-to-point replacement .
for FSB. So memory controller chip on the CPU .
Opteron 2003 Micro-PGA Socket G34 and C32 .
First 64 bit processor by AMD .
32 and 64 bit, Hypertransport .
Sempron 2004 Low end successor to Duron .
Pentium D: LGA775 2005 (first multicore processor ) (is actually a type of P4)
“Athlon 64 X2” 2005 .
actually had first dual Core (ie, for the Athlon) .
Athlon sockets: 754, 939, and 940 .
Intel Core (Solo and Duo) (mobile only) 2006, 468-pin FCPGA
Core 2: 2006 Socket T (LGA 775)
Pentium Dual Core 2007 (mobile), Socket M, P, and LGA 775 (aka “Pentium”)
Phenom: 2007 comes in dual, triple, and quad .
core: Socket AM2, AM2+, and AM3 .
Phenom II: 2008 Socket AM2+ and AM3 .
Athlon II: 2009 based on Phenon II but without L3 cache .
Core i7 (2008) LGA 1156 / Socket H and LGA 1366/Socket B
Core i5 (2009) LGA 1156 / Socket H
Core i3 (2010) LGA 1156 / Socket
Sandy Beach (2011)
25. users..au/cpuburn/ cpu burn-in / test utility
hwmonitor.php monitor cpu temp
cpuz.php
26. Memory
a. CPU registers for temporary storage
b. Cache has On-die Static Ram (SRAM).
i. This is L1 and L2
ii. L3 is external (off die) cache
c. Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)
d. Paging systems / Virtual memory: space on HD used for memory
e. Memory transfer deals with Bandwidth (i.e., width of the memory bus).
i. Number of bytes transferred with each clock cycle.
ii. Memory bandwidth usually 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits.
f. Memory speed: synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) is synchronized to the FSB and measured in clock speed. So if 100 MHz bus, then SDRAM would use PC100 chips
g. DDR and DDR2 is measured in throughput,
i. So if 100MHz bus x 8 bytes/cycle=800MBps, then
ii. DDR: 800MBps x 2 =PC1600
iii. DDR2: 800 MBps X 4 – PC2-3200
h. Memory Latency (aka, CAS Latency or CL)
i. (Messer’s explanation): number of clock cycles once memory is requested to get an answer.
ii. (Meyers’ explanation): delay between two separate MCC requests for lines of memory from RAM
iii. Column Address Strobe (aka, Column Address Select, or Column Array Strobe) (CAS): one of the wires in the RAM that helps the MCC find a bit of memory
iv. Lower CL number = fewer clock cycles = faster data transfer
v. Greg’s memory is DDR3 with CL Latency = 9.0 clocks
i. Memory that checks itself
i. older systems had Parity memory, shut down if error, no correction
ii. Error Correcting Code (ECC): detects and corrects errors
j. Registered memory: buffers memory before sending to the system. Buffers between RAM and memory controller. Found on high speed servers with many banks of RAM
k. Single vs Double sided memory: does not refer to physical layout.
i. Refers to groupings of memory on a module called “ranks” or “sides”. Ranks are the “groups” of memory on a module that can be accessed at one time.
ii. If one rank on a DIMM, it is single-sided. If 2 ranks on a DIMM, it is double sided.
l. Types of Memory
i. ROM: Read Only Memory
ii. BIOS:
iii. PROM: programmable ROM (write once)
iv. EPROM: erasable PROM: (write / erase / write again)
v. EEPROM: Electrically Erasable PROM (aka flash memory)
m. Identifying Memory:
i. Not on exam
1. SIMM - Single inline memory
2. Fast Page mode (FPM) DRAM
3. Extended Data Out (EDO DRAM)
4. Burst EDO (BEDO) DRAM (??fastest type??)
5. Double Data Rate 3 (DDR3) SDRAM
ii. Dual inline memory module (DIMM),
1. 64 bit data width,
2. used for SDRAM (168 pins), DDR (184 pins) and DDR2 (240 pins)
iii. Rambus Inline Memory Module (RIMM).
1. Rarely see anymore. have memory shields.
2. 16 bit (184 pins) and 32 bit (232 pin) modules.
3. Every memory slot had to be filled. If only use one, had to have a blank to fill the other slot. These blanks were called C-RIMM or CT-RIMM’s
iv. Small Outline DIMM (SO-DIMM):
1. a type of SDRAM used for laptops and PDAs.
2. 72, 144, and 200 pin versions
3. 72 pin chips are 32 bits wide, others are 64 bits wide.
v. MicroDIMM
1. half length of SO-DIMM,
2. 64 bit bus,
3. used for very small laptops or mp3 players,
4. 144 and 172 pin versions
n. >> Know for eg, how many pins in a SO-DIMM
i. SDRAM 168 pins >
ii. Rambus
1. Rambus16 bit 184 pins
2. Rambus 32 bit 232 pins
iii. DDR 184 pins
iv. DDR2 240 pins
v. DDR3 240 pins
vi. SO-DIMM 72, 144, and 200 pins
vii. MicroDIMM 144 and 172 pins
o. Most common type of RAM in video cards is DDR SDRAM
p. Ram width
i. Memory chip is an array of capacitors and transistors
ii. If memory chip is 64 bits wide and has 8 chips, each is 8 bits
1. may instead have 4 chips that are 16 bits
iii. Memory on test
1. Fast Page Mode (FPM) RAM:
a. on very old systems.
b. not tied to system clock.
2. Synchronous Dynamic Ram (SDRAM)
a. debut in 1996
b. comes on a stick called a DIMM
c. runs based on the system clock
i. pc100 is 100 MHz
ii. only one that has 2 notches, one each end
iii. 168 pins is most common
1. (laptop versions come in 88,144, and 172 pins)
iv. obsolete
v. 5 clock speeds on early SDRAM: 66, 75, 83, 100, 133
3. RAMBUS
a. 184 pins for desktop (160 pin SO-RIMM for laptops)
b. heat shield
c. ran at some multiplier of the system speed (called double or quadruple pumping) (i.e., send 64 bits of data two or four times for each clock cycle
d. RIMM (RIMM) is the chip,
i. Continuity C-RIMM (or CT-RIMM) is the fake.
e. very expensive, always install in pairs (put C-RIMM in blank slots)
f. also obsolete
4. DDR (double pumping / Double Data Rate
a. basically copied RAMBUS, many same features,
b. double pumping = DDR
c. 184 pin
d. Two numbering systems (i.e., DDR- and PC-)
i. DDR100 = pc800 (mult DDR # *8 to get PC #)
ii. if clock speed is 200, DDR speed 400, PC speed 3200
5. DDR2
a. twice as fast as DDR
b. 240 pin
c. core RAM isn’t faster, speed increases due to faster input/output and adding special buffers
d. if clock speed is 200, DDR2 speed 800, PC2 speed 6400
(ie, 200 clock * 2 * 2 = DDR2 800) * 8 = PC2 6400)
6. DDR3
a. 4 times speed of DDR
b. 240 pin stick
c. lower power consumption than DDR2
7. DRAM: uses a capacitor to refresh RAM, dominant type
8. SRAM: used on CPU’s cache, doesn’t have to be refreshed, very expensive
q. Specialized types of Ram
i. Non-parity:
1. RAM by default is non-parity
2. older “parity” ram had an extra chip to keep track of the other chips
ii. ECC (Error Correction Code) memory:
1. Parity memory has been replaced by ECC on high end systems, not on home systems.
2. Requires an expensive MB with an MCC designed to handle ECC
3. typical home systems are “non-parity” and non-buffered
iii. Buffered Memory:
1. used on big servers with many ram slots.
2. Most home/office PC memory is unbufferred.
3. Most PC’s have only 4 memory slots.
4. More than 4 complicates motherboard design.
r. When memory fails:
i. system locks up completely, or
ii. get BSOD,
iii. get repeating beeps at boot until you turn off the computer
s. Replacing RAM:
i. be sure to wear antistatic wrist strap and refer to MB manual
ii. be sure replacement has correct:
1. Type (e.g., DDR3)
2. Speed (e.g., PC2-3200)
3. Capacity (e.g., 8 gig)
iii. Colors in memory slots refer to “banks” or “channels.” Need same size/type chips in the same color slot
1. may have “dual channel” (e.g., two blue slots) or even “triple channel” (it’s the motherboard that’s dual channel, not the memory chips)
2. MCC alternates between the two (or three) slots to increase speed, so chips must match for type and speed
iv. 32 bit OS will only recognize 4 GB RAM
t. Types of memory
i. Static RAM (SRAM):
1. fast, expensive, and large.
2. Found in L1 L2 L3 caches
ii. Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM):
1. must be constantly refreshed,
2. basically just a bunch of capacitors
iii. Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM):
1. synchronous with the system clock, ie, the FSB.
2. So 133 MHz clock = PC133
3. not really used any more
iv. Rambus DRAM (RDRAM):
1. intro’d with P4,
2. expensive compared to SDRAM
v. Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM.
1. Twice the data rate of SDRAM
2. So instead of 100MHz clock x 8 bytes/cycle = 800 MBps, the double data rate would be 1600MBps so labeled PC1600.
vi. Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) SDRAM:
1. enhanced interface, more buffers
2. instead of 800 MBps (see above) would have 800 MBps x 4 (DDR2) = PC2-3200
u. Installing and Upgrading Memory
i. check memory spec with:
1. Motherboard book
2. Memtest86
3. CPU-Z (see “memory” and “SPD”)
a. Serial Presence Detect (SPD): chip on the memory stick that stores specs. PC queries SPD for info.
ii. check total memory installed:
1. see Task Manager, bios, or “system”
2. However, some memory taken by things like on-cpu graphics, best quick reference is to look at the mem count during bootup
v. Memory troubleshooting tools
i. Before Vista there was no built-in memory test
ii. Ultimate Boot CD
1. includes Memtest86, Memtest86+ (can use for all Win versions)
iii. Windows Memory Diagnostic
iv. DocMem RAM Diagnostic
v. TestMem4
w. Disk Thrashing: Excess disk activity when switch between programs. Suggests need for more RAM. (?? means there is excess use of the swap disk??)
27. Basic Input Output System (BIOS) (aka, firmware)
Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
a. BIOS ROM, CMOS,
Option ROM, Device Drivers, POST
b. Chipset – refers to Northbridge + Southbridge
c. Every device on the computer connects to the address bus
d. Every device on the computer needs BIOS
e. Firmware: programs (aka: services) stored on ROM chips
Software: programs stored on erasable memory
f. CMOS: Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
i. Separate chip that does not store programs. Stores data that is read by BIOS.
ii. No longer a separate chip, now built into Southbridge
iii. CMOS is a type of memory, requires battery
iv. BIOS config stored in CMOS
v. Access CMOS by: Delete, F2, Ctrl-S, Ctrl-Alt-S
vi. ATA Security Mode Feature Set (aka, Drivelock): feature in some CMOS for protecting HD if system is lost or stolen
vii. Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
1. small circuit board on some MB’s to encrypt the HD.
2. It can also accelerate the “bitlocker” encryption in VISTA.
g. the “System ROM” chip stores the system BIOS (i.e., program needed by the CPU to communicate with devices) and the POST
h. Device Driver: file on the HD containing all commands for a device
i. Option ROM: BIOS on the hardware device itself
j. Power-on-Self-Test (POST)
i. also located on the system ROM (along with BIOS)
ii. tests all device and notifies user with beep codes and text messages
iii. Post program sends signal to each device initializing device built-in self-test
iv. Two stage process
1. check basic components including system clock, RAM, keyboard controller, video card. Failure produces beeps.
a. steady short beeps: power supply may be bad
b. long continuous beep: memory failure
c. steady long beeps: power supply bad
d. no beep: power supply bad, system not plugged in, or beeper may be bad
e. one long, two short beeps: video card failure
2. After video tested, bios displays errors on screen in numeric code or text message
k. Beep Codes:
i. most modern PC’s have only one – for bad video – one long and 2 or 3 short beeps
ii. one or two short beeps at end of successful POST
iii. Not really POST beepcodes, but
1. If memory is a problem you hear some sort of beeps which continue till you turn off computer
2. series of short beeps after running for a while may signal CPU reaching heat limit
iv. POST cards: FF or 00 indicate successful POST
v. IBM POST Diagnostic Code Descriptions
1. 100-199 : System board failures
2. 200-299 : Memory failures
3. 300-399 : Keyboard failures
4. 400-499 : Monochrome video problems
5. 500-599 : Color video problems
6. 600-699 : Floppy disk errors
7. ---- others ------
8. 1700-1799: Hard disk problems.
Some May Keep Money Coming Forward – Hard 17
9. see:
l. Test question: While POST is running on your computer, you encountered an error message: 161. What is the likely cause? The CMOS battery need to be replaced
m. American Megatrends and Phoenix Technologies control 99% of BIOS business
n. BIOS
i. To reset BIOS password, remove (CMOS) battery or use jumper for battery {}
ii. To verify valid BIOS update
1. look in release note for the “checksum” and compare that to manufacturer value on web. Manufacturer adds up all bytes in file, and gives last 16 or 32 bits of that long number.
2. FsumFrontEnd:
a. graphical frontend for unix or linux Fsum checking utility.
b. Open FsumFrontEnd, load the file, select “methods” (e.g., sum16 and sum32), click “Calculate Hashes” icon, compare values to those from manufacturer’s release notes
iii. Use “printscreen” to doc bios…. or write them down, before upgrade
iv. Have backup of current bios, if possible, before upgrade
o. Boot Process: (see also: Windows Boot Process)
i. Power Supply sends signal down “Power Good” wire to awaken cpu
ii. CPU sends a built-in memory address via address bus. This address is first line of POST on system ROM
iii. POST passes content to last BIOS function: Bootstrap Loader,
iv. Bootstrap Loader reads CMOS for info on where to find the OS
p. Boot Sequence summary: {}
Power good, CPU, executes BIOS in ROM, including POST (also on system ROM), bootstrap loader reads CMOS to find a bootable device (one with a “boot signature”, BIOS then loads boot sector and xfers to boot code (e.g., MBR), MBR checks its partition table for one with “active flag” set, loads boot sector code from that partition, which loads/executes the OS kernel
q. Any PC made after 2002 will boot to factory defaults if CMOS clears
r. To maintain CMOS settings while changing battery, leave computer plugged in. The 5.5 volt “soft power” on MB will keep CMOS charged
s. The bootstrapping process (from Wikipedia) {}
i. CPU executes software contained in ROM (e.g., BIOS of a PC)
ii. this software searches for devices eligible to participate in booting and load a small program for the “boot sector” of the most promising device
iii. Second Stage boot loader (e.g., NTLDR, BOOTMGR, GRUB, etc)
1. not itself an OS, it loads the OS then transfers control to it
2. can give user a choice of OS to load
iv. Of a one minute boot, about 15 sec taken by POST and preliminary boot loader, rest by loading the OS and other software.
t. More detailed boot info {}
i. x86 CPU runs instruction at BIOS memory location CS:IP FOOO:FFFO
ii. This is near the end of 1 MB system memory available in “real mode”
iii. Has a jump instruction to transfer to location of BIOS startup program
iv. This program starts POST to check/initialize devices
v. Bootable device is one that can be read from, and last two bytes of first sector contain the word 0xAA55 (knows as the boot signature)
vi. Bios then loads boot sector and xfers execution to the boot code. For a hard drive this is called the master boot record MBR).
vii. MBR checks its partition table for a partitions with the “active “ flag set, then loads the boot sector code from that partition and executes it.
viii. Boot sector’s main function is to load and execute the OS kernel, which continues startup.
ix. see also in Wikipedia: “other kinds of boot sequences”
x. Several devices enable user to “quick boot” to a usually Linux-powered OS for various simple tasks such as internet access (e.g., Splashtop or Latitude ON)
28. Storage
a. System boots, goes to first sector (aka, Master Boot Record -MBR) on hard drive,
i. MBR contains:
1. Table of Primary Partitions
2. Disk Signature
3. Directions for starting the OS
ii. If OS fails, check MBR… there are tools to check it, and overwrite/refresh it {}
1. for XP see: FixMBR and FixBoot
2. for Vista/Win7 see: System Recovery Options
b. Data Encoding
i. Flux: hard drives store data in tiny magnetic fields call flux, which can switch from “north to south” in process called “flux reversal” {}
ii. Hard drives read flux reversals in groups called “runs”. The data encoding system is called Run Length Limited (RLL). More advanced HD’s use an advanced RLL method called Partial Response Maximum Likelihood (PRMS) encoding.
iii. Storing fluxes vertically on platters has allowed manufacturers to exceed one terabyte HD sizes.
c. Drive mechanics
i. Read /write heads move across platter on ends of “actuator arms”. The arms are moved by either “stepper motor” or “voice coil” technology.(p 400)
ii. Heads: each platter has two read/write heads to store data
iii. Cylinders:
iv. Sectors per Track”
d. Storage Technologies
i. ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) 1989
1. now called parallel ATA or PATA
2. IDE: Integrated Drive Electronics: Western Digital originated this standard, but now it’s usually called ATA or PATA
ii. ATAPI: AT Attachment with Packet Interface
iii. SCSI: Small Computer Systems Interface
iv. SATA: Serial Advanced Technology Attachment
e. Types of ATA
i. ATA - AT Attachment (aka, ATA-1)
1. intro’d around 1989
2. originally called Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), which as a standard became known as Parallel ATA (PATA)
3. PATA cables may be 40 pin or the faster 80 pin (which has a separate ground for each wire)
a. 40 pin master is middle, slave on end connector
b. 80 pin master connects to end, slave to middle cable
ii. ATA-2 (aka, Enhanced IDE (EIDE)) 1990
1. higher capacity HD using Logical Block Addressing (LBA)
2. support for non-hard drive devices
3. support for a second controller, so two more ATA devices (total of 4)
4. ATA Packet Interface (ATAPI):
a. This was part of ATA-2
b. this standard allows non-hard drive devices (e.g., CD’s) to plug into the same cable and MB interface as a HD.
c. Red wire is always pin #1
iii. ATA-3
1. added Self Monitoring, Analysis and Support Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) which helps predict when a drive is going to fail
iv. ATA-4
1. Introduced Ultra DMA.
2. Uses DMA bus mastering to achieve faster speeds
v. ATA-5
1. changed the ribbon cable to 80 wires.
2. The extra 40 wires act as grounds to improved high speed signals
3. added two faster DMA modes (44.4 and 66.6 MBps)
a. the 66.6 MBps DMA was most popular and also called ATA/66.
b. It is distinguished by a blue connector for the MB, gray for the slave and black for the master drive. {}
vi. ATA-6
vii. ATA-7
viii. Serial ATA (SATA) solved many problems:
1. earlier ribbon cables impeded airflow and were difficult to install
2. ribbon cables had max length of 18 inches
3. could not hot-swap PATA drives
4. created point-to-point connection between hard SATA device and the Sata Controller (aka, Host Bust Adapter HBA).
5. Serial connections only need 7 wires (vs 80 for parallel found in PATA)
6. allowed cable length up to 40 inches (one meter).
7. Each drive connects to one port, no more master/slave or daisy chaining
8. No max number of drives (MB’s commonly support up to 8)
9. Two flavors
a. SATA/150: 1.5 GB/sec
b. SATA/300: 3.0 GB/Sec (aka, SATA II)
c. Test question: Serial ATA transfer rates begin at: 66 MBps
f. SATA
i. Native Command Cueing (NCQ): disk optimization feature of SATA
ii. ACHI (Advanced Host Controller Interface): SATA feature that allows hot swapping
iii. Max internal cable length: 40 inches (1 meter)
Max external cable length (eSATA): 2 meters
g. Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI)
i. up to 16 devices in a daisy chain
ii. Formats: Fast, Ultra, Ultra Wide, Ultra2, Ultra3, Ultra-320, Ultra-640
iii. Note: “Ultra Wide” interface must have Ultra Wide peripherals or storage devices
iv. Supports hard drives, scanners, tape drives… can put all these devices on the same “daisy” chain, on the same bus
v. Simplified the configuration process
vi. Each device on a single bus is assigned a separate number (from 0-15). Need a termination at the end and this may be a plug or may be internal to the last device. Newer (serial-attached) SCSI devices don’t have jumpers/terminators – the figure it out on their own.
vii. 50 or 68 pin HD connectors
viii. The two electrical types of SCSI cables are: Single ended and Differential
ix. Test question: Which cable/connection types are used for SCSI devices: DB-25 Female connector, 50 pin internal cable, 68 pin Connector (?external?)
h. Removable Drives
i. Floppy (1.44MB), CD (700MB) DVD (4.7 / 8.5 GB) Blue-ray (25 / 50 GB)
ii. Legacy (e.g., Iomega Zip or Jaz)
iii. Flash memory
iv. External HD: USB, Firewire, eSATA
29. Hard Drives
a. RAID: Redundant Array of Independent (Inexpensive) Disks.
Seven types:
i. 0 – striping (block level striping without parity or mirroring)
1. technically not true RAID because no redundancy or fault tolerance
ii. 1 – mirroring (without parity or striping)
1. Disk Duplexing: use separate controller card for each disk. Faster and safer
iii. 2 – bit level striping with dedicated parity
1. all disk spindle rotation is synchronized and data are striped such that each sequential BIT is on a different disk
iv. 3 – byte level striping with dedicated parity
1. all disk spindle rotation is synchronized and data are striped such that each sequential BYTE is on a different disk
v. 4 – Block level striping with dedicated parity
1. all parity data confined to a single drive
vi. 5 – Block level striping with distributed parity.
1. most common type.
2. Distributes parity info across all drives
3. If four 200 GB drives, then 600 GB storage
vii. 6 – block level striping with double distributed parity
1. requires at least 5 drives, but can lose up to 2 at once
b. JBOD: “Just A Bunch Of Disks” – multiple independent disks. No RAID.
c. HD jumpers xxx
i. some use “cable select”
1. drive position on cable determines master vs slave
2. both drives must be jumpered to “cable select” and requires a cable- select cable
d. Reverse PATA cable, no problem. Reverse SCSI cable, can damage drive
e. CMOS “autodetect” may find a CD/DVD drive, but you still need to install drivers
f. Hybrid hard drives
i. combine flash memory with platters.
ii. Faster and less platter spin.
iii. Less power used. Good for laptops
g. Max hard drive sizes
i. Original AT: 504 MG
ii. AT with LBA: 8.4 GB
iii. INIT13 extensions: 137 GB (these overcame limitations of old AT bus)
iv. Basic Disk partitions: up to 2 Terabytes
v. Dynamic Disk partitions: up to 16 terabytes (more if tweak cluster size)
h. Partitioning: divides drive into groups of cylinders called partitions (or volumes)
i. Two partitioning methods:
1. Master Boot Record (Basic disks)
2. Dynamic Storage Partitioning (Dynamic disks)
ii. Basic disk partitioning creates MBR and partition table. Places these on 1st sector (i.e., the Boot Sector)
iii. BIOS looks to MBR. MBR’s only job is look in partition table and find partition with valid OS
i. Basic Disk
i. up to 4 partitions, 3 of these can be bootable
ii. partitions are Primary or Extended (extended are not bootable)
iii. Extended partitions do not get drive letters. Must create a Logical Drive in the extended partition and give logical a drive letter
iv. Primary or Logical drive may be a folder on primary partition instead of getting a drive letter
v. Only one partition may be active at a time
vi. Primary partition and Logical drive on Basic disks called “basic volumes”
j. Dynamic Disks
i. introduced with Win 2000
ii. refers to “volumes” rather than primary or extended partitions
iii. Spanned Volume – goes across up to 32 drives
iv. Only have MBR and Partition Table for backward compatibility with older OS’s
v. All info about dynamic disk is on hidden partition on last 1 MB of the HD
vi. Foreign drive – see this in Disk Management Utility if move dynamic disk to a new computer. R-click and choose “import”
vii. Five types of dynamic disk: Simple, Spanned, Striped, Mirrored, RAID5
viii. XP and Vista Home editions do not support dynamic disks
ix. Master (C:\) drive cannot use some dynamic disk features (e.g., spanning and extending) unless you use a “Volume Mount Point”: mount another volume as a folder
k. Disk Management
i. FDISK: thru Win ME this was used to partition HD’s
ii. Disk Management utility: graphical partitioning program beginning with Win 2000
1. Disk Initialization: must R-click and initialize a new HD before you can partition
2. Windows requires NTFS on any partition larger than 32 MB (even tho FAT32 will support up to 2 TB)
3. Allocation Unit Size = Cluster Size (use the windows default)
4. 8 MB unallocated partition – Windows creates this on install. Uses it when convert to dynamic disk
5. Still sees disk as “Basic” if create RAID using hardware (controller card or motherboard-based) RAID controller. (Can you still convert it to “Dynamic” in windows without losing data?? gn)
iii. Linux FDISK: has same function but very different program.
1. Most Linux users prefer GParted, rather than FDISK, but it requires a Linux OS on CD to run it.
iv. Re-size partitions
1. Win2000 and XP can resize to make larger
2. Win Vista can expand or shrink partitions
v. Formatting: Creates file system and makes the root directory
vi. Four entries in FAT table:
1. End of file
2. Bad Sector
3. Cluster available
4. Next cluster file number
vii. Three Microsoft file systems: FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS
1. FAT16 (p. 458)
a. max 32 MB partition (clustering allowed up to 2 GB part.)
2. FAT32
a. began with Win95 OSR2
b. partitions up to 2 TB
c. allowed smaller clusters, more efficient storage
3. NTFS (New Technology File System)
a. introduced with Win NT
b. more complex clusters and allocation tables
c. six major improvements: Redundancy, Security Compression, Encryption, Disk Quotas, Cluster Sizing
d. has small immovable partition in center of disk for Master File Table
e. EFS (Encrypting File System)
i. not available in XP Home, XP Media Center, Win 7 Starter, Win 7 Home Basic, Win 7 Home Premium)
ii. does not hide files, just makes unreadable by other users
iii. not a part of the NTFS security system
f. ACL (Access Control List) controls NTFS security features
viii. Quick Format: does not test the clusters
ix. Error Checking Utility (XP, Vista, Win7)
1. same function as ScanDisk & ChkDsk in earlier windows
2. flags bad clusters on HD, tries to fix invalid filenames, removes “lost chains” (ie, clusters without filenames)
3. CompTia A+ exam uses ChkDsk rather than “Error Checking”
4. run weekly as part of maintenance plan
l. Disk Cleanup – cleans Recycle Bin, temp internet, downloaded prog, and temp files
m. Troubleshoot Hard Drives:
i. (Also see: troubleshooting windows)
ii. Four areas to check: Connectivity, Partitioning, Formatting, Dying HD
iii. Data corruption
1. run Error Checking utility (for pre-XP, use ScanDisk & ChkDsk)
2. if unable to load critical windows files
a. pre-Vista: use command line to extract from CAB file on CD
(e.g., EXPAND E:\I386\*.CAB –F:FILENAM.DLL
b. {} For Vista/Win7, presumably you do this by booting the install media > System Recovery Options > Repair Your Computer
3. if same errors continue after running error checking utility, try a “disk cleaning” utility like “SpinRite”, which marks bad sectors more accurately than windows built-in Error Correction Code (ECC)
4. If SpinRite fails, try Low Level Format utility from HD manufacturer
5. Ultimate Boot CD by Ben Burrows has over 100 HD tools, including low level format tools from various HD manufacturers
30. Removable Media
a. Floppy Drives
i. 34 pin cable with 7-wire twist in middle to differentiate A vs B
ii. Uses “mini power connector” with beveled edges called “chamfers”
iii. Floppy 3 Mode Support in CMOS: refers to 1.2 MB floppy used outside US
iv. Floppy drive is the most frequent component to fail
b. Flash Memory - two types:
i. USB thumb (aka, jump or flash) drives
1. hot swappable in Win 2000 / XP / Vista / 7
2. Cross platform compatibility: xfer between Mac, Win, and Linux OS’s
3. Bootable USB with GParted partition editor utility. See: “GParted LiveUSB” at
ii. Flash Memory Cards
1. Compact Flash (CF)
2. SmartMedia
3. Secure Digital (SD): most common flash media format
a. SD type: only stores data
b. SDIO type: also supports devices like GPS and cameras
c. no way to tell difference between SD slot and SDIO slot, so read the manual
d. Three forms: SD, Mini Secure Digital (MiniSD, and Micro Secure Digital (MicroSD)
e. Storage Capacity
i. Standard SD: 4 MB – 4 GB
ii. Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) 4-32 GB
iii. Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC): 32GB – 2TB
4. Memory Stick: Sony proprietary flash memory. Several formats
5. XD Picture Card / Extreme Digital (xD): Olympus and Fujifilm proprietary format for digital cameras. Three formats
c. Optical Drives: (CD / DVD / Blu-ray)
i. CD media
1. Data stored in microscopic pits that are laser burned into glass master disc. Then plastic copies are coated with reflective material. CD readers use a laser and mirrors to read the data. The reflective “top” surface must be intact. Small scratches on the underside are not a problem and can be polished out.
2. CDDA (CD-Digital Audio) – special format for first CD’s. Designed for playing music. No error checking, file support or directory structure – so no useful in data storage
ii. CD-ROM
1. special format for storing data on CD. Divided CD into fixed sectors. Similar to a hard drive’s partitions, but still no file structure. Format is named: ISO-9660 or “CD File System” (CDFS), though there are several “extensions” to this format
iii. CD-R (CD-Recordable)
1. Records data using special organic dyes embedded into the disc. The “burn laser” heats the organic dye, causing change in reflectivity of the surface which if functional equivalent of CD’s “pits”
2. Chemicals used to make them produce a brightly colored recording side
3. come in two varieties
a. 74-minute holds 650 MB
b. 80-minute holds 700 MB
iv. CD-RW
1. burn laser heats an amorphous (noncrystalline) substance, that when cooled, becomes crystalline. Crystalline areas are reflective, amorphous areas are not.
2. Three drive specs: Write speed / Rewrite speed / Read speed (e.g., 12x10x32 or 48x24x48)
3. Multisession: burn files to CD-R, then come back later and burn additional files
4. UDF: Universal Data Format
a. replaced the ISO-9660 format for CD media
v. ADAPTI-Compliant:
1. means that the drive can plug into the ATA controller on the motherboard just like a hard drive.
2. You don’t need to install drivers?? (not so sure about that. gn)
3. You still need “burner software” to record. This is built into XP and Vista
vi. Music CD
1. Use a slightly different disc called a “music CD-R”. To restrict duplication, you can record TO a music CD-R or music CD-RW, but you can’t record FROM them
vii. DVD-Video (Digital Video Disc) 1995
1. Developed for video
2. can store 2 hours of video on each side
3. MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group) - standards of video and audio compression
a. MPEG-1 352 x 240 at 30 fps (just below VHS quality)
b. MPEG-2 used for DVD. Allows up to 1280 x 720 at 60 frames/sec sec with full CD quality audio. OK for TV, including HDTV
c. MPEG-4 – uses “wavelet” compression which is superior to earlier versions. Used to deliver video over web and for Blu-ray
viii. DVD (Digital Versatile Discs)
1. adaptation of DVD-video for data storage
2. DVD-ROM: can store up to 16 GB of data
3. Smaller, more densely packed pits than CD
4. Can be single or double sided, single or dual-layer
5. Recordable DVD: at least six standards:
a. DVD-R for general use
b. DVD-R for authoring
c. DVD+R
d. DVD-RW
e. DVD+RW
f. DVD-RAM (requires a special cartridge, so rarely used)
ix. Blu-ray
1. near perfect audio and video quality
2. up to 25 GB (single layer) or 50 GB (dual layer)
3. two sizes: standard and mini
4. HD-DVD was a competing standard that was conceded (by Toshiba) in 2008
5. Uses a blue-violet laser with wavelength 405 nm
(DVD uses a red laser with wavelength of 640 nm)
6. smaller wavelength is much more precise, so sharper image
7. can handle higher definition video resolutions than DVD
8. Blu-ray disc requirements >
a. at least P4 or Athlon 64 X2
b. 1 GB RAM for XP / 2 GB RAM for Vista
c. HDCP compliant video card (either DVI or HDMI)
9. Region codes >
a. instituted to stop piracy
b. region code on older drives can only be changed 4 times
c. newer drives are “region free”
d. USA is “Region 1”
x. BD-ROM
1. Read only version of Blu-ray
2. most drives are backward compatible with DVD and CD formats
3. PlayStation3 uses a Blue-ray disc player
xi. BD-R: recordable
BD-RE: rewritable
1. see LG WH10LS30K at Newegg for $99 (Nov 2010)
xii. PATA optical drives use regular 40 pin IDE cables
xiii. ADAPTI drives require no CMOS changes
xiv. CD and DVD drives do not come with eSATA connectors, but some Blu-ray disc drives use eSATA
xv. Clean optical disks with damp cloth. Brush from center to edge, do not use circular motion
xvi. Buffer Underrun
1. all CD/DVD/Blu-ray burners have onboard buffer RAM. Underrun is inability of computer to keep the burner loaded with data
a. Don’t multi-task during burn unless you have “BURN-proof” technology to turn off burning and restart when buffer fills
b. Burning from ISO solves underrun problems when duplicating CD’s
xvii. AUTORUN.INF: by default Windows looks for this file when insert a CD
xviii. Technical specs for various optical drives are found in books named for their color. (e.g.,
1. Red book = Audio CD’s
2. Yellow book = Data CD’s
3. Orange book = Recordable CD’s
d. Troubleshoot optical disk drives
i. Most problems due to incorrect device drivers, disconnected cables or incompatible/bad media
31. Power
a. Electricity
i. Amp: rate of electron flow past a point in one sec
ii. Voltage: electrical “pressure” pushing the electrons
iii. Watt: measure of real power. Volts * Amps = watts
eg 120V * 0.5A = 60W
iv. Volt-amperes (VA): measure of apparent power
v. Alternating Current: flow of electrons alternates back and forth
1. Frequency of alternating current
a. AC travels long distance better, but most electronic devices use DC
b. US/Canada: 110-120 volts of AC (VAC), 60 Hz (60 cycles/sec)
c. Europe: 220-240VAC, 50 Hz
vi. Direct Current:
vii. current moves one direction with constant voltag
viii. e
1.
2. Photo: stock.xchng
Transistor is a solid state device used to amplify a signal or serve as a
switch
[pic]
Capacitor stores charge when being supplied with a voltage and releases it when put into a circuit without one.
[pic]
b. Circuit Breaker: If push too much amperage thru, the wiring inside detects the increase in heat and automatically opens the switch.
c. Connectors
i. 4-pin peripheral power connector (Molex)
1. for devices needing 5 or 12 volts
ii. Floppy drive power connector (mini-connector)
1. also supplies 5 or 12 volts
iii. SATA power connector
1. 15 pin connector that can supply 3.3, 5, or 12 V
d. Power Supply: converts AC to 3.3, 5, and 12 Volt DC
i. AT
1. in original IBM PC
ii. ATX (aka, ATX12V) 1995
1. 20 pin (P1) connector with 3.3, 5 and 12V to MB
2. standby power/soft power: always “on” when plugged in. Always have 5V running to MB, so always unplug (though most have a true power off toggle on the back)
iii. ATX12V 1.3 2003
1. 20-pin main MB connector,
2. added the 12V (P4) 4-pin MB connector. This is used by some high power demanding MB’s,
3. added 6-pin (flat) AUX connector for additional 3.3 and 5V power to MB (not standardized so different manufactures varied the configuration.)
iv. EPS12V:
1. Developed for power hungry servers.
2. had more connectors
3. introduced “rails”
v. ATX12V 2.0:
1. 24 pin connector, but backward compatible with 20 pin ver 1.3 connectors
2. Dropped the AUX connector, but required SATA hard drive connectors (SATA power connectors have 15 pins)
3. had two 12 volt rails for any power supply rated higher than 240 watts.
vi. ATX12V2.2
1. Standard 24 pin (P1) main connector (driven by PCI express),
2. increased +12VDC output,
3. dropped the 4-pin AUX connector
4. has 6 pin PCI express connector,
5. 4-pin +12V (some MB’s use these), 24-pin MB, Molex, Floppy, SATA
e. Rails:
i. Originally power supplies took AC and transformed it to 3 DC voltage rails of 3.3, 5, and 12 volts.
ii. MB and any devices using 12V shared the same rail. Later power supplies divided this into multiple rails (at least for 12V)
iii. ATX12V standard requires up to 18 Amps for each 12 volt rail. Look for 12 to 18 A per rail when replacing power supply
f. Active Power Factor Correction (Active PFC)
i. transforming AC to DC creates a humming noise called “harmonics”
ii. Active PFC eliminates harmonics, be sure new power supply specifies this
g. There is always some power loss when convert from AC to DC. ATX12V 2.0 requires at least 70% efficiency in the transformation.
h. Generally, have at least 500 watt power supply
i. Troubleshoot Power Supplies
i. To test for defective power supply, test the connectors where they attach to the MB by sticking probe beside wires on molex and P1/P4 connectors
ii. Can use Power Supply Tester, but this doesn’t test performance under load. If PS starts at all, its better to use volt meter while P1 is attached to MB to test the various connectors
iii. Paper clip test: connect green and black wires on P1
1. If PS starts with paper clip, remove clip:
a. PS stops=pass, PS stays on=fail
2. Jump the Power on/off soft switch on MB with screwdriver’
a. If unable to start by crossing on/off pins on MB = MB problem
b. If can cross the MB pins to start PS, replace power on/off switch.
c. Note: Fixed one pc by turning on/off with switch while paperclip inserted, then removed clip and switch started working…. May have been due to re-seating the connectors, but it worked)
iv.
v. Power supplies tend to die with intermittent errors. Examples include
1. Computer boots fine, then locks up. Pressing ctrl-alt-del repeatedly gets it to restart
2. Intermittent and inconsistent error codes on bootup
3. Computer runs fine for an hour or two, then locks up
4. Only floppy disk drives fail more often than power supplies in PC’s
vi. Always have a Class C fire extinguisher on the workbench. This is for electrical fires
j. Testing tools
i. Circuit tester: lights show if ground, etc wired correctly
ii. Power Supply Tester: can check new PS or one disconnected from MB. Faster way to test all cables from PS, but does not test under load.
iii. Multimeter: (aka, Volt-Ohm Meter or digital multimeter)
1. video on multimeter use:
2. Four electrical tests:
a. Continuity: whether electrons can flow from one end of wire to the other. Use to test for bad fuse or broken wire
b. Resistance: broken wire or fuse will also show infinite resistance
c. AC Voltage (VAC) and
d. DC Voltage (VDC)
3. DC has polarity. For DC, be sure Red to hot, Black to ground.
eg, red lead to red Molex, black to black wire = 5 volts
red to yellow wire, black to black wire = 12 volts
4. To measure DC current, open the circuit at the point where you want to measure the current. Place the multimeter probes in series with the circuit.
5. Test Question: A multimeter is set up to DC, Ohms, and 20k. How would a good 4-ampere fuse measure? 0.00
6. Test Question: A multimeter is set up to DC, Ohms, and 20k. How would a bad 4-ampere fuse measure? infinitely high
7. Test Question: The farad is the basic unit of measurement for: capacitors
8. Ohms is the basic unit of measurement for: resistors
9. using an ohmmeter: remove power to the circuit before attaching the meter
k. Polarized plug: larger connection is neutral (white wire), smaller is hot (black wire)
l. Before replacing an AC adapter (aka, external power supply), on a laptop be sure to check: voltage, amperage, and polarity.
m. Surge Suppressor
i. power spikes and noise (e.g., start vacuum), storms, power grid changes. Smooth out spikes by diverting spikes to ground
ii. noise filters remove line noise. Higher decibel is better.
iii. Joule rating: 200-good, 400-better, best if > 600, (Meyers says at least 800)
iv. Surge amp rating: higher is better
v. UL1449 voltage let-through ratings: 500, 400, and 330 volts. Lower is better.
n. Power Conditioner:
i. line noise can cause keyboard lockups, data corruption and other problems
ii. filters electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI)
o. Uninterruptable Power Supply:
i. for blackouts, brownouts, surges. UPS types include
1. Standby
2. Line-interactive: increases output when power drifts down
3. On-line UPS: always run from battery
ii. Features may include: auto shutdown, battery capacity, number of outlets, phone line suppression
32. Connectors
a. Universal Serial Bus (USB): Type A, B or Mini-B
b. Parallel: DB-25 Plug, magenta
i. Centronics Plug on printer
c. Serial: 9-pin or 25-pin (the 25 pin looked identical to 25-pin parallel)
d. IEEE 1394: Apple trademarked it “Firewire, (aka, i.LINK):
i. 9-pin Firewire 800
ii. 6-pin Firewire 400
iii. 4-pin Firewire 400
iv. EEE 1394 cabling consists of shielded cable pairs. There are 4 and 6 wire versions of this cable type, known as STP, used in IEEE1394 connections.
e. RJ-11 (phone / 4-pin), RJ-45 (Ethernet / 8-pin)
f. PS/2: (aka, Mini Din) first came on IBM PS/2 series computers, purple
g. 1/8” jack connector: used for audio
h. Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI): larger DIN connector for things like musical keyboards or other instruments
i. Sony/Phillips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF): may have coaxial (yellow?) and/or fiber connector. Fiber port may have a flap to keep dust out.
j. Cables: Ribbon, Coaxial, Twisted Pair, Sata, Fiber Optics,
i. Twisted pair: don’t put unshielded near florescent light
ii. Cable Conventions
1. male and female connections
2. red stripe on ribbon cable is pin 1
3. missing pins and keys
iii. Standard Cables
1. USB: printers, hard drives, scanners, phones, etc
2. Parallel cables
3. Serial
a. null-modem cable: connect to another device
4. Ethernet cables
a. cross-over cable: directly connect 2 Ethernet devices
k. Types of Connectors
i. D-Subminiature: DA-15, DB-25, DC-37, DD-50, DE-9
ii. Centronics: Wang Labs had surplus connectors for calculators, so used for printers
1. Centronics 36 – Printers / Centronics 50 – SCSI
iii. Networking
1. BNC: Early Ethernet “thin net”
2. IBM Type 1 – Token ring networking
3. RJ-45: modern copper cabling
4. Fiber Optic: ST, SC, LC, MT-RJ
l. Connecting cables:
i. Gender changers
ii. Null-modem adapters (allows you to use a modem cable as a null modem)
iii. Couplers
33. Adapter Cards / Expansion Bus
a. Every device on computer connects to external data bus and address bus.
b. Chipset provides an extension of address bus and data bus to expansion slots.
c. Every device soldered to MB runs at speed of the system crystal (aka, clock).
d. System crystal sits on its own bus
e. So that expansion cards are not limited to system crystal speed, there is a separate “Expansion Bus Crystal” which runs much slower than the FSB
34. History of Expansion buses
a. PC Bus (IBM)
i. on first IBM PC’s
ii. 8 bit expansion bus running at 7 MHz
b. AT Bus (IBM)
i. created for 80286
ii. 16 bit bus running at 7 MHz
c. ISA – Industry Standard Architecture
i. Early 80’s. Created by group of clone makers
ii. combined best parts of PC and AT bus
iii. 16 bits at 7 MHz
iv. too slow and narrow, each device had to be configured manually
d. Three unsuccessful attempts to take lead in late 80’s
i. IBM Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) – had to be licensed from IBM
ii. Extended ISA (EISA) - too expensive to produce
iii. VESA Local Bus (VL-Bus) from Video Electronics Standards Assoc. Only worked in tandem with ISA
e. Intel PCI – Peripheral Component Interconnect (1993)
i. released to public domain
ii. faster, wider, more flexible
iii. original was 32 bits wide and ran at 33 MHz
iv. could co-exist with ISA slots
v. self-configuring
vi. burst mode feature for efficient data transfers
f. AGP (Intel) -Accelerated Graphics Port (1997)
i. a specialized PCI card to handle the increased graphic demands of the Windows interface
ii. direct connect to Northbridge
iii. most were brown in color, so easy to identify
g. PCI-X - PCI Extended (1998)
i. 64 bit wide bus
ii. also accepts PCI cards
iii. 4 speeds (66, 133, 266, and 533 MHz)
h. Mini-PCI - for laptops
i. PCIe - PCI-Express (2004)
i. still PCI, but uses point-to-point serial connection with Northbridge (vs shared parallel used by PCI
ii. so connection not shared with other devices
iii. uses one wire to send its 32 bits of data and one to receive (called a “lane”)
iv. can have 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, or 32 lanes.
v. PCIe (x16) is the most common. Has 16 lanes.
35. PC communication has 4 parts: I/O Address, IRQ, DMA Channel, and Memory Address
a. Not all devices use all four, but all use IRQ’s.
b. In the old days you had to configure the I/O address and IRQ for each device manually. IBM tried to simplify this by reserving some I/O address and IRQ combinations for the serial and parallel ports. These preset combinations were called COM ports for serial connections and LPT ports for parallel connections. (p. 301-307)
c. I/O Address
i. every device responds to at least four I/O addresses
ii. the address bus to expansion slots is always 32 bit wide
d. IRQ –Interrupt Requests
i. allows device to stop the CPU long enough to send its data (e.g., that the mouse has moved)
ii. every CPU has an “interrupt wire.” A device puts voltage here to get CPU’s attention.
1. IOAPIC –I/O Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller - this is the intermediary chip receiving interrupt request from all devices, then charges the CPU’s interrupt wire.
2. CPU then queries IOAPIC to see which device interrupted.
3. This IOAPIC function is usually built into the Southbridge
4. Before IOAPIC, IRQ’s were actual wires leading to the previous generation of traffic cops, called PICs.
iii. IRQ’s are numbered 0-22. IRQ 9 is reserved for the IOAPIC and is its communication to the CPU interrupt wire
iv. Vista and Win7 have more extensive IRQ’s called “virtual” IRQ’s ranging from 0 to 190. However, they are all handled automatically by the OS.
e. DMA Channel – Direct Memory Access
i. DMA is accessing memory directly without using the CPU.
ii. Classic DMA involves a “DMA controller” (formerly called the “8237”) used for things like game sounds, moving data from floppy or HD into RAM. Controller allows devices to access external data bus when CPU is busy with internal calculations (i.e., about 95% of the time)
iii. Only floppy drives still use classic DMA. Modern devices use “bus mastering” to watch for other devices accessing external data bus and avoid conflicts.
iv. Ultra DMA is a type of bus mastering used by hard disks
v. Neither PCI nor PCIe support DMA so devices that use these expansion slots are not DMA devices
vi. Test question: Which use a DMA channel: Floppy Disk, SCSI adapter, sound card
f. Memory Address
i. Two reasons device may need memory addresses: for onboard RAM or for option ROM. This is handled automatically by modern OS’s
36. Typical Modern IRQ Assignments
|IRQ Line |Typical Device | |
|0 |System Timer | |
|1 |Keyboard | |
|2 |Reserved | |
|3 |COM2, COM4, SDLC | |
|4 |COM1, COM3, SDLC | |
|5 |LPT2 | |
|6 |Floppy Controller | |
|7 |LPT1 | |
|8 |Real Time Clock | |
|9 |Reserved | |
|10 |Unassigned | |
|11 |SCSI adapters | |
|12 |SCSI adapters | |
|13 |Co-processor | |
|14 |Primary IDE | |
|15 |Secondary IDE | |
37. Test question: IRQ that cascades with IRQ2: IRQ9
38. IRQ conflicts can cause: broken up system sounds, system lockups, printer doesn’t work while modem is on, mouse not work, and others
39. Misc Expansion Card notes from Messer videos:
a. Adapter card architectures
i. PCI 32-bit and 64-bit slots
1. PCI 32 bit expansion card: check voltage signaling keyway (3.3V or 5V), and 64 bit spacer keyway
2. 64 bit card may run in 32 bit slot, just slower
ii. Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP).
1. has the hook on the back to hold it in place
iii. PCI Express:
1. Newer motherboards use PCI Express for graphics
iv. Input/Output cards
1. SCSI adapter card: typically has SCSI ports on back and inside of computer (at top of card)
v. Serial / Parallel: some may fit on a PCI Express card
vi. Communications cards
1. Modem: may also connect to a PCI card
b. Install and troubleshoot adapter cards
i. Determine number and type of slots
ii. Check min hardware/software requirements for the adapter card. Are drivers available for your computer and OS
iii. Does driver need to be installed before card is installed? or vice versa?
Note: USB and Firewire devices often need drivers installed before the device.
iv. Drivers “unsigned” by Microsoft will usually install with no problem. However, Vista 64-bit is trying to be extra stable. Drivers MUST be signed by Microsoft
v. If Vista Ultimate warns driver is not digitally signed by Microsoft: You need to run SIGVERIF utility to manually create a digital signature for the driver.
c. Device Manager Error Icons
i. Black ! on yellow circle: device is missing, windows doesn’t recognize the device, or device driver problem
ii. red X: disabled device. May be damaged or turned off manually.
1. try enabling device, re-installing drivers, roll back to earlier driver, and check the “error code”
iii. blue ! on white field: device on which system resources have been configured manually. Only occurs on non-ACPI systems.
40. Motherboards: Characterized by Form Factor, Chipset, and Components
a. Form Factor: see #7 above
b. Chipset defines the type processor, RAM, and built in devices (including expansion slots)
i. Mostly composed of Northbridge and Southbridge
ii. Northbridge originally helped CPU work with RAM
iii. Newer MB’s Northbridge instead provides communication with video card and CPU has taken over role of memory controller
iv. Southbridge handles some expansion devices and mass storage devices.
v. Control of floppy drives, infrared connections, parallel ports and modems has been moved from Southbridge to the “Super I/O chip”
vi. The two dominant chipset makers are Intel and NVIDIA
vii. Intel calls Northbridge the Memory Controller Hub (MCH)
Southbridge is called: I/O Controller Hub (ICH)
or the Legacy I/O Controller Hub
c. Components: built in components determine the functionality of the system
41. Cooling Systems
a. Heat Sinks: dissipate heat through thermal conduction.
i. Fins/grid increases surface area.
ii. Made of copper or aluminum alloy
iii. 3rd party versions tend to have more surface area and to be quieter
b. On-chip or on-board fans
c. Case fans: most common sizes: 80mm, 92mm, 120mm
d. good site for reviews of quiet fans
42. Input/Output Devices
a. Video Displays:
i. CRT: Electron gun, electron beams, focusing coils, deflection coils, anode connection, separating mask for beams, phosphor layer
1. Refresh rate (hertz): higher refresh rate causes less eye strain
ii. LCD: florescent or LED light, color filter, horizontal filter crystal molecule vertical filter
1. Specifications:
a. Screen size
b. Native resolution: total number pixels across top and sides. Gives sharpest view.
c. Aspect ratio: 4:3=square 16:9=widescreen
d. Response time: how fast LCDs change color or move back and forth (in ms)
e. Brightness: candela per square meter (cd/m2), higher is better
f. Contrast ratio: contrast between black and white. Larger is better
g. Viewing Angle: in degrees,
h. Connection: VGA / DVI / S-Video, HDMI. Need converter if doesn’t match your adapter
iii. LCD Projectors: not always LCD
b. Video Adapters
i. Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP):
1. has special graphics connector on MB.
2. Has hook in back of card
ii. PCI Express: high throughput
iii. Features of Video Adapters
1. Video Ram (VRAM)
2. Supported resolutions: important for LCD monitors
3. Connectors may include: VGA, DVI, S-Video, HDMI
c. Audio Adapters:
i. input connectors: 1/8” (3.5mm) jacks or USB, webcam microphone (integrated into USB connection), built in to laptop
ii. Output: 1/8” (3.5mm) jacks or ¼” (6.35mm) jacks (for legacy devices)
d. Audio quality
i. Sample rate in kHz: 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48, 96
(e.g., 8 kHz would be 8000 samples per sec)
1. 44.1 kHz often used on CD’s
2. 48 kHz often used on DVD’s
ii. Audio bit depth: 8 vs 16 vs 24 bit: number of slices per cycle
1. 8-bit = 256 possible levels
2. 16-bit = 65,536 possible levels
3. 24-bit = 16,777,216 possible levels
iii. Number of channels (e.g., mono, stereo, ?more)
iv. Combine all above into Audio Bit Rate: maximum number of kilobits per second of audio: 128, 192, 320 kbps
a. Bit rate: (sampling rate) x (bit depth) x (number of channels)
eg, 48 kHz x 16 bits x 1
48,000 x 16
768 kilobits = 96 kilobytes per channel
e. Multimedia Devices
i. Digital Cameras
1. Pixel Density: megapixels
2. Storage: compact flash, secure digital, other formats (e.g., XD)
ii. Web cams: often use USB or built into laptop, usually for live video that is not stored
iii. Digital Video Cameras:
1. may have own hard drive
2. Flash memory (Compact Flash – CF), Secure Digital (SD)
3. Connectivity
a. Firewire on higher end cameras, or USB for lower end
b. Removable memory cards
iv. Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
1. industry standard since 1983
2. newer systems may use USB rather than midi connector
f. System Resources
i. Input/Output (I/O) address: every device (e.g., keyboard) has a 32-bit address. This is a hexadecimal number
ii. Interrupt request (IRQ): allows device-to-CPU interruptions
1. device actually talks to Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC)
a. originally there were 16 IRQ’s available
b. Advanced PIC: allows more than 16 devices
i. usually part of the Southbridge
ii. allows 24 IRQ’s
iii. Direct Memory Address (DMA):
1. allows device to bypass CPU and communicate with memory.
2. not all devices have DMA
3. coordinated with a DMA controller or through bus mastering
i. eg, hard drives just write to memory directly w/o going thru cpu
iv. Memory Addresses:
1. legacy device may be reserving part of memory addresses
2. Boot ROM: hard drive controllers, network cards
3. On-board RAM: video
v. Identifying Conflicts
1. Shown by yellow tag in device manager
2. go into properties, look for “conflicting device List” under “Resources”
a. may be able to change setting (e.g., for IRQ)
43. Printer and Scanner types
a. Laser Printers
i. prints full page at once
ii. Raster Image Processing types: page description language used to build the page for print
1. Adobe Postscript
2. HP Printer Command Language (PCL)
3. Microsoft XML Page Specification (XPS)
iii. printing process
1. clean excess toner from drum
2. negatively charge the drum
3. write image (laser reflects off mirror onto drum)
4. develop/add toner: only parts of drum where laser touched have negatively charged toner attached
5. transfer what’s on the photosensitive drum to paper
a. not yet fused so if pull out jammed page, lot of toner may fall/rub off
6. Fuse: heat up and pressure melts toner and sticks it to the paper
Clean Charge Write
Develop Transfer Fuse
(Can Charlie Write Down This Fact)
iv. Another explanation of printing process
1. Cleaning – electrically neutral soft plastic blade cleans excess toner from photoreceptor. Discharge lamp removes remaining charge
2. Charging - -600V charge placed on photoelectric drum (primary corona). Corona wire charges drum.
3. Writing – laser etches image on drum applying -100V charge. Negatively charged toner attracted to the relatively more positive (ie, -100V vs -600V)
a. There are six basic steps in the LaserJet print process. During which step does the laser scan the image? Writing
b. answer on a practice test: Used to create the image of a page on the drum when using a laser printer: Corona wire (not Laser) ????
4. Developing – applies negatively charged mist of toner to drum
5. Transfer - +600V charge applied to secondary corona wire attracting -100V charged toner to transfer to paper
a. Purpose of the transfer corona: Charges the paper so the ink sticks to it
b. To keep the paper from clinging to the drum, it is discharged by the “detac corona wire” immediately after picking up the toner
6. Fusing – image fused/baked to paper by 350° F
b. Inkjet (ink-dispersion) printer: inexpensive, quiet, expensive ink, eventually fades, clogs easily
i. Inkjet printhead moved where to keep from drying out: maintenance area
c. Dot-matrix (impact) printer: good for carbon/multiple copies, low cost per page, noisy, poor graphics
i. Test question: Impact printer prints well on left side, but fade as printing moves to the right: misaligned platen
d. Thermal printer: special white paper turns black when heated, very quiet, sensitive to light and heat (and clear tape!),
e. Solid ink (dye-sublimation) printer:
i. puts one color on paper at a time
ii. goes from ink to gas without liquid, using different heat levels to create different colors
iii. no true black, limited media size (need page-size roll of blue, red, yellow ink), wastes dye
iv. security risk: because taking some ink from the roll, leaves image behind
f. Scanners: flatbed, drum (archiving and high-end film scanning)
g. All-in-one devices: printer, scanner, fax, phone
44. Printer and Scanner components
a. Drivers: printer language, trays, colors, fonts, other options
b. Firmware: update via USB or via network, similar to BIOS upgrade
c. Paper: friction feeder/roller; continuous feed (with perforations between sheets), duplexing,
d. Consumables: Toner (powdered ink), ink cartridge, paper,
i. Paper rated in brightness: 92 or 97 brightness
ii. Weight of paper: basis weight (24 or 28 lb), actually refers to weight of paper before cut into smaller reams
45. Printer and Scanner interfaces
a. Serial, parallel/Centronics, USB, IEEE 1394/Firewire, SCSI
b. Remote printer interfaces: NIC card, Wireless (802.11, infrared, Bluetooth)
c. Can use loop-back plug to test a PC’s serial (RS232) (9-pin female plug) and parallel (25-pin male plug) ports.
[pic]
Parallel loopback plug (above)
46. Printer/Scanner Installing
a. Printer drivers: PCL, Postscript, Graphics Device Interface (GDI)
i. GDI is an application dev interface that is part of windows, so don’t need PCL, postscript, etc
b. Scanner drivers
i. TWAIN (Technology Without An Interesting Name): an open API for scanners developed in 1992
ii. Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) newer, for both scanners and cameras, new in XP
c. Initial setup
i. Calibrate the device: color printers, differences in paper, match printed image to monitor, match scanned image to print image
ii. Configure option defaults: resolution (print vs draft quality), cover sheet
d. Post Install: print test page, educate end user
e. Upgrades: laser printer may need more memory, firmware upgrade,
47. Printer Optimization
a. For slow network connections, it may help to “start printing after last page is spooled”
b. Color Management: in printers device driver, may want to calibrate color in advanced graphic uses such as photo printing, may need different profiles for different types paper. Scanners: may need to scan an item, print, then compare the two.
c. Media types: plain, matte, glossy. Different types absorb ink differently. Affects saturation, drying time, and brightness.
d. Paper size and orientation.
48. Scanner Optimization
a. Resolution: DPI. First commercial laser printers were 300 DPI, so usually look for that in scanning.
i. Color – High resolution (300+) for pictures
ii. Grayscale – 300 dpi – images and complex docs
iii. Black and White – Documents – 100 dpi
b. Color Depth: 8, 16, 32 bit. More disk space for greater depth
c. File formats:
i. BMP: device independent bitmap. Usually uncompressed
ii. JPG / JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
Lossy compression: less resolution than original, created to save disk space, good for photos
iii. GIF - Graphics Interchange Format: Compressed, limited to 256 color palatte, good for buttons on web pages
iv. TIF / TIFF – Tagged Image File Format: lossless compression, high-end desktop publishing
v. PNG – Portable Network Graphics: lossless compression, designed to replace GIF with larger color palatte
49. Troubleshoot Printers and Scanners
a. gather info, error codes, event log, connectivity, sample printout, test page, printer’s diagnostic utils, driver update, replace consumables, user manual, knowledge base
b. Tools
i. Multimeter: power from wall,
ii. Screwdrivers and magnets
iii. Cleaning solution (no isopropal on control panels), water, neutral detergent
iv. Print test pattern
v. Do not use standard vacuum cleaner due to static electricity and inadequate filtering of fine toner particles
c. Paper problems: Out of paper, paper jams
d. Output quality:
i. garbled print: may be a driver issue
ii. spots or smudging may be a cleaning issue
iii. Slow printing: DPI set too high, spooler disabled or set improperly, restart print spooler, clear queue, recycle printer (may be in wrong mode if multifunction
e. Dot matrix: print head not moving or not printing, paper not advancing
f. Inkjet problems: ink too low, cartridge needs aligning
i. inkjet printhead moved where to keep from drying out? maintenance area
ii. Methods of dispersing ink in inkjet printers: Thermal and Piezoelectric
g. Laser: low toner, lines down page may be scratch on drum
h. Scanner:
i. no connectivity,
ii. poor quality: resolution set too low, dirty glass or doc feeder
50. Laser Printer Problems (p. 1005)
a. Blank paper: out of toner. Remove toner and look at imaging drum. If image present, transfer corona or hi voltage power supply has failed
b. Dirty printouts: fusing mechanism dirty. Leaves speckles on printout
c. Ghosting: imaging drum not fully discharged, insufficient toner, or toner not adequately charged
d. Light vs dark ghosting: try printing a lighter image
e. Vertical white lines: clogged toner. Shake cartridge or replace it
f. Blotchy print: low toner, try shaking cartridge, dump paper, check fusing roller and photosensitive drum for foreign objects
g. Spotty print at regular intervals – damaged drum or toner stuck to fuser rollers. Wipe off fuser rollers
h. Embossed effect: foreign object on a roller
i. Incomplete characters on transparencies: adjust print density
j. Creased pages: try different type paper or different feed tray
k. Paper Jams: follow manufacturer jam procedure. May be bad jam sensor
i. Which of the following components in a laser printer are most likely to cause a paper jam? Photosensitive drum
Explanation: If laser printer’s static eliminator strip is broken, paper may jam because cannot curl around the photosensitive drum
l. Pulling multiple sheets: try new ream of paper. Check/replace the cork/rubber separation pad
m. Warped overprinted or poorly formed characters: may be paper or hardware problem. Avoid paper that is too rough, too smooth, or damp
n. If laser printer is on, hear fan operating, but will not print, first check: printer is online
51. Preventive Maintenance for printers and scanners
a. vendor guidelines for scheduled maintenance
b. follow vendor documentation
c. put on calendar, create ticket at scheduled time
d. install maintenance kits (manufacturer or 3rd party)
e. reset page count if sched maint is based on this
f. clean scanner glass
g. Unplug before working on inside of printer
h. Clean up spilled toner with cold water. It’s designed to melt if warm
52. Laptops and Portables
a. Expansion Cards
i. Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) (aka, PC Card). Each type of card uses the same 68-pin connector (a pin is a conduit inside a port that the computer uses to access peripherals connected to that port), so the cards are downward compatible. That means if you have a Type III slot or socket on your notebook computer you can connect a Type II card as well, and if you have a Type II slot, you can connect a Type I card in that slot. A Type III card will not fit in a Type II slot, however.
1. Type I: 16 bit, 3.3 mm thick
a. typical for memory devices (RAM, flash memory SRAM)
2. Type II: 16 or 32 bit, 5 mm thick
a. intro’d I/O support allowing NIC, modem and TV cards
b. often have miniature connector or dongle to full size connector
3. Type III: 16 or 32 bit, 10.5 mm thick.
a. Hard drives, interface cards with full size connectors
4. Type IV: 16 mm thick
a. intro’d by Toshiba, not officially standardized.
b.
[pic]
ii. Cardbus
1. looks similar to PCMCIA but keyed different. PCMCIA can fit in these slots, but not vice versa
[pic]
iii. Express Card
1. current trend. Two types: 34mm and 54 mm
[pic]
b. Communication connections
i. Bluetooth: voice, file transfer, and more
ii. Infrared: printing
iii. Cellular/Mobile WAN: network anywhere
iv. Ethernet
c. Mobile vs Desktop
i. Throttling: laptop CPU’s slow down when get too hot, some slow when on battery
ii. Power Management: extend battery life (e.g., stop HD spinning, run display with lower light)
iii. Mobiles likely have Wi-Fi
iv. Input devices: keyboard with track pad
v. Battery
1. Nickel-Cadmium (NiCad):
a. early batteries,
b. handled deep discharge well
2. Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH):
a. newer;
b. can be over-discharged and limit ability to recharge fully
3. Lithium Ion (Li-ion):
a. newest:
b. service life is limited, even if not in use;
c. Charge capacity decreases over time
vi. AC Adapters (i.e., external power supply)
1. generally auto-switching (110 vs 220volts)
a. if so, should say something like:
Input: 100-240V ~ 50-60Hz 2.0A
vii. LCD technology
1. Matrix: Active or Passive
2. Native Resolutions >
a. XGA (1024 x 768) – eXtended Graphics Array
b. SXGA (1280 x 1024) – Super eXtended Graphics Array
c. SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) – Super eXtended Graphics Array Plus
d. UXGA (1600 x 1200) – Ultra eXtended Graphics Array
e. WXGA (1280 x 800)
f. WXGA+ (1680x1050)
g. WUXGA (1920 x 1200) – Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array
d. Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) standard
i. Open standard for power management and device configuration
ii. Not seen on PDA’s
iii. Standby / Suspend / Hibernate >
1. Power-on Standby: (?aka: sleep) halt operation, power to CPU & memory
2. Suspend: completes all operations, memory is powered
3. Hybrid Sleep: designed for desktops, puts open docs and programs in memory AND on hard disk, then puts computer in low-power state. If power fails, Windows can restore work from hard disk
4. Hibernate: memory contents saved to disk, no power, primarily for laptops
e. Before replacing laptop hard drive, unplug and remove the battery
f. Laptop Troubleshooting
i. Boot Process
1. AC power lights, cables snug
2. Check DC from power supply with multimeter, or swap with known good power supply
3. Remove unnecessary USB’s and expansion cards
4. Check BIOS errors and look at system logs
5. Listen for clicks (hard drive) or beep codes
ii. LCD video:
1. Toggle between LCD / ext monitor / both
a. Tells if video adapter is working, even if LCD is not
2. Check LCD switch (turns screen off when close).
a. Physical switch on older systems,
b. internal magnetic switch on newer
3. Verify backlight is working.
a. May need to replace the LCD inverter or display if backlight not coming on.
b. Inverter converts DC to AC for the LCD screen
4. Verify set to native resolution if image is not very sharp
iii. Input interface
1. for touchscreen, stylus and digitizer must be in sync
2. digitizers tend to drift and need calibration
iv. Keypad problems:
1. check the “lock” buttons (e.g., scroll lock, F-Lock).
2. There may not be visual notification of these
v. Wireless problems: check the internal wireless card to be sure the antenna is attached
g. Laptop Preventive Maintenance
i. Use “neutral” detergents to clean
ii. put liquid on lint-free cloth first, then clean
iii. monitor internal temp using CPU-ID
iv. Google “computer cigarette smoke”
53. Operating Systems
a. All versions are available on Vista and Win7 install discs
b. Features of OS’s
i. File Management: (e.g., Add, delete, rename)
ii. Application Support: (e.g., memory mgt, swap file mgt)
iii. Input and Output support: (e.g., printers, keyboards, hard drives, USB drives)
iv. Operating system configuration and management
c. Two tools on XP install disc for checking hardware/software compatibility
i. Windows Catalog
ii. Upgrade Advisor
d. Microsoft tool to check hardware compatibility
i. Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)
ii. (formerly: Windows Logo’d Products List)
iii. (aka: Windows Catalog)
e. Before upgrade:
i. Check compatibility,
ii. backup data,
iii. un-install unnecessary apps,
iv. disc scan and defrag, virus scan
v. uncompress all files/folders,
vi. disable virus scanning in CMOS
f. Multiboot Session:
i. e.g., Install XP and 2000 in a separate folders
ii. Vista requires separate partitions for each OS
iii. Install OS’s in order from oldest to newest
g. Installation methods:
i. Place install files on shared network directory
ii. Image Installation: (aka, Disk Cloning)
1. complete copy of installed/configured OS (e.g., Norton Ghost)
iii. Remote Installation: beginning with Win 2000 server
iv. Automated Install:
1. Scripted Install
a. download “setup manager” for XP or 2000
i. unattended, sysprep, remote (p.591)
b. Vista: Automated Install Kit (AIK) (overly complicated)
2. Disk cloning: same as “image installation” (e.g., Norton Ghost)
v. slipstreaming: merge Service Packs with installation process
h. Windows unattended mode supports which data sources? (is this same as “automated install”
i. Network Connection and Optical Media (not Thumb Drive)
i.
j. Troubleshooting Install
i. If lockup during install: unplug and restart, (don’t Ctrl-Alt-Del or Reset). This will restart with Smart Recovery
ii. Check log files: SETUPLOG.TXT and SETUPAPI.LOG (located in \windows or \WINNT directory
iii. If install does not launch automatically:
1. Win 2000 or XP: run WINNT32.EXE
2. Vista: run SETUP.EXE
k. Migrating users:
i. XP: Files and Settings Transfer Wizard
ii. Vista/Win7: Windows Easy Transfer
l. Network roles: Workgroup or domain (Win7: HomeGroup)
i. In a workgroup:
1. All computers are peers; no computer has control over another computer.
2. Each computer has a set of user accounts. To log on to any computer in the workgroup, you must have an account on that computer.
3. There are typically no more than twenty computers.
4. A workgroup is not protected by a password.
5. All computers must be on the same local network or subnet.
ii. In a HomeGroup: >
1. Only Win 7 Home Premium and higher OS supports HomeGroups
2. If running a HomeGroup you can still share files with XP, Vista and Win 7 computers. However, limited to Advanced sharing mode of XP. >
3. If you are connected to a Domain, you cannot create a HomeGroup
4. Computers on a home network must belong to a workgroup, but they can also belong to a homegroup.
5. A homegroup makes it easy to share pictures, music, videos, documents, and printers with other people on a home network.
6. A homegroup is protected with a password, but you only need to type the password once, when adding your computer to the homegroup.
7. If you forget the HomeGroup password:
a. Start > Run > type “homegroup” > press Enter > click “View or print homegroup password”
8. Different technology from Workgroups. Uses IPv6 for communication.
iii. In a domain:
1. One or more computers are servers. Network administrators use servers to control the security and permissions for all computers on the domain. This makes it easy to make changes because the changes are automatically made to all computers. Domain users must provide a password or other credentials each time they access the domain.
2. If you have a user account on the domain, you can log on to any computer on the domain without needing an account on that computer.
3. You probably can make only limited changes to a computer's settings because network administrators often want to ensure consistency among computers.
4. There can be thousands of computers in a domain.
5. The computers can be on different local networks.
m. Minimums for Install
Win 2000 XP pro Vista
i. Pentium 133 MHz 233 MHz CPU 1 GHz 32 or 64 bit CPU
ii. 64 MB RAM 64 MB RAM 512 (home) or 1GB (others)
iii. 650 GB free space 1.5 GB avail HD 20-15 free home / 40-15 free other
iv. VGA SVGA 800x600 direct x9, 32MB (h) 128 (other)
v. net card and internet
vi. CD or DVD DVD
n. Upgrades
i. Can upgrade to XP Pro from: 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000 Pro, XP home
Upgrade Advisor: checks for compatibility
ii. Can upgrade from any XP version to Vista, but some require clean install
Upgrade from Win2000 to Vista requires clean install
iii. Steps: compatibility check, backup, removed unused apps, disc scan and defrag, uncompress files/folders, virus scan, disable virus checking in CMOS
iv. Beginning with Vista, all versions on same install disc
o. Major Current OS’s
i. Mac OS named after big cats >
1. Ver 10.3 = Panther
2. Ver 10.4 = Tiger
3. Ver 10.5 = Leopard
4. Ver 10.6 = Snow Leopard
5. browser named Finder
ii. Linux >
1. Unix-Compatible software system (but not actual Unix)
2. Portable, powerful, open source
3. Distributions: Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat / Fedora
4. Multiple virtual desktops selectable at bottom
5. Browser in Red Hat is named Nautilus
6. Advantages: free, works with wide variety of software, passionate user community,
7. Disadvantages: limited driver support (esp for laptops), limited support options
iii. Microsoft Windows
1. 85-90% of systems run windows
2. Windows 2000: (released 2001)
a. Professional: for desktops
b. Server: entry level server for databases or web server
c. Advanced Server: for windows domains to manage large groups of people
d. Datacenter Server: Rare. For large data centers needing fault tolerance and redundancy capabilities
3. XP: Home, Media Center, 64 bit, Professional
4. Vista: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, Ultimate (released 2006 / some ref’s say 2007?)
5. Windows Server 2003 and 2008
6. Windows Mobile,
7. Windows Tablet PC (XP, Vista)
8. Window 7 (released 2010)
p. Windows XP tidbits
i. Ways to access “System”
1. Start > Settings > CP > Performance and Maintenance > System
2. Winkey-Break
3. XP: R-click MyComputer > Properties
4. Win7: Start > R-click Computer > Properties
ii. Launch command prompt
1. Start > Run > “cmd”
2. Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt
3. this is not DOS, just looks like it
iii. regedt32
1. Start > Run > “regedt32”
a. In Win2000 regedt is different from regedt32
b. Beginning with XP regedt is same as regedt32
c. regedit = regedt (at least in XP and Win7)
2. folders folder beginning with “HKEY” are called “hives”
q. Windows Boot Process for Win 2000 and XP
r. Boot Sequence summary: (see Computer Boot Process)
Power good, CPU, POST (on system ROM), bootstrap loader reads CMOS, Operating System (simplified)
s. Power good, CPU, executes BIOS in ROM, including POST (also on system ROM), bootstrap loader reads CMOS to find a bootable device (one with a “boot signature”, BIOS then loads boot sector and xfers to boot code (e.g., MBR), MBR checks its partition table for one with “active flag” set, loads boot sector code from that partition, which loads/executes the OS kernel
see:
i.
ii. POST MBR NTLDR
NTBOOTDD.SYS BOOT.INI
NTOSKRNL.EXE HAL.DLL
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM
NTOSKRNL.EXE
Completes registry loading, initialize device drivers,
start WINLOGON.EXE
iii. System Files: refers to NTLDR, BOOT.INI and
iv. Power on Self Test (POST): >
1. before you see anything
2. initial inventory of hardware
3. quick hardware diagnostic
4. look/listen for error codes, beep codes
5. use POST diagnostic card
v. Master Boot Record
1. Bios finds the MBR, the first sector of the hard drive
2. MBR looks in partition table for a bootable partition
3. partition boot sector code launches NTLDR.EXE from the system partition
vi. NTLDR – The NT loader (located in root of drive C for XP and 2000, but not Win7)
1. Loads NTBOOTDD.SYS (if SCSI disk support is required). Note: system specific, can’t just copy this to anther system that has SCSI devices
2. NTLDR then processes the BOOT.INI file (also on root of drive C for XP and 2000, not Win7), which may prompt you to select on OS, or give you options when launching the default OS
3. After prompt on OS option, hit ENTER and NTLDR loads (you see a screen showing it initialize hardware). NTDETECT detects basic hardware required to start the OS, and returns this info to NDLDR. (for pre-Vista systems ntdetect also determines which hardware profile to use… if multiple profiles are configured.) If Windows takes a long time to boot, it may be stuck here trying to initialize a specific piece of hardware. If you append the /SOS command in BOOT.INI you get a more detailed report of hardware initialization and can see where it’s pausing.
4. Next NTLDR launches:
a. NTOSKRNL.EXE: the kernel of the OS
i. provides the Kernel and Executive layers of the Windows NT kernel space. Responsible for various system services such as hardware virtualization, process and memory management, etc. Contains the Cache Manager, the Executive, the Kernel, the Security Reference Monitor, the Memory Manager, and the Scheduler, among other things. (Wikipedia)
b. HAL.DLL: hardware abstraction layer. Windows uses this to communicate to hardware. Before HAL.DLL apps had direct access to hardware, but Windows introduction of HAL.DLL allows multitasking of this thru HAL
5. NTLDR finishes by loading registry hive named: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM, the system configuration is stored here
6. NT is now loaded and NTLDR transfers control of the OS to NTOSKRNL.EXE
7. NTOSKRNS.EXE completes the Registry loading, initializes all device driver and starts the WINLOGON.EXE program
vii. Alternate Explanation of the boot process:
1. CPU wakes up and runs system BIOS
2. BIOS sends routine looking for valid OS in boot sector of primary master HD
3. Master File Table (MFT) is in boot sector of C partition. It points to the OS system files
4. System files start the PC, then point CPU to the
5. boot files: NTOSKRNL runs and GUI loads, system is now running
viii. Other important Windows files
1. SYSTEM.INI WIN.INI : These have been replaced by the registry, but still exist (at least thru Vista, unsure about Win7) to help with legacy apps
2. SYSEDIT.EXE configuration file editor for legacy files – WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI, CONFIG.SYS AND AUTOEXEC.BAT
3. MSCONFIG.EXE: the Microsoft configuration utility. Takes the place of SYSEDIT in modern Windows to edit configuration files and tools. Launch manually using RUN command.
ix. Note: The Recovery Console can be used to restore damaged or corrupt NTLDR and files from the Win XP install CD
t. Vista/Win7 Boot process
i. Supports two different boot processes: one for systems using BIOS and one for those using UEFI
1. BIOS uses its boot order to scan partitions for a Master Boot Record. MBR scans partition table for system partition and loads its boot sector, which contains the BOOTMGR
2. UEFI system does not run boot MBR or boot code, it simply loads BOOTMGR directly.
3. BOOTMGR reads Boot Configuration Data (BCD)
a. may ask “Which OS do you want to load?”
b. then it loads WINLOAD.EXE, which readies the system to load the operating system kernel
c. by loading the Hardware Abstraction Layer, the system Registry, and drivers for any boot devices.
d. the OS then takes over.
4. Note: Boot Configuration Data replaces boot.ini from earlier versions and can be altered using the command line tool: bcdedit.exe
ii. BOOTMGR also brings windows out of hibernation. Check this if hibernation fails
iii. Unlike Win2000 and XP, the boot files and system files must all reside on same partition in Vista and Win 7.
u. Windows Installation
i. Windows 2000 Professional
Min Rec
Pentium 133 Pentium II
64 MB RAM 128 MB RAM
650 MB free HD 2 GB free HD
floppy CD-ROM
VGA (640x480) SVGA (800x600)
ii. Windows XP Professional
Min Rec
Pentium/K6 233 MHz 300 MHz
64 MB RAM 128 MB RAM
1.5 GB free HD
CD or DVD
SVGA (800x600)
iii. Installation Media
1. floppy, cd/dvd, USB
2. Network installation
3. Drive imaging
iv. Network configuration
1. computer name
2. Workgroup: used in smaller environments
Domain: larger enterprise where manage computers centrally
3. File System: FAT/FAT32, NTFS,
4. Dual-boot support: can run in same partition, but better to use separate partitions
v. Installation Techniques
1. From boot media
2. Unattended installation: uses Unattend.txt which answers the install questions (if you know answers in advance) {}
a. Unattended can be from optical media or network (not thumb drive)
3. Remote network install
4. Sysprep / drive imaging: used to package a new machine in advance and ask user minimum info. System specific answers already inserted.
vi. Preparing the computer
1. check Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List to see if system can run that OS
2. Partition or format the HD
3. Verify all software can run on the OS (are upgrades needed)
4. Assure any backups are compatible
vii. Window 2000 Install tidbits
1. “typical” settings for network include
a. Client for Microsoft Networks,
b. File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks,
c. TCP/IP transport protocol with automatic settings
viii. Windows XP Install tidbits
1. “typical” settings for network include
a. Client for Microsoft Networks
b. File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks
c. TCP/IP transport protocol with automatic settings
d. QoS Packet Scheduler: Packet Schedulers for Quality of Service: allows XP to support other applications that need higher quality of service, like voice and video
2. When systems become part of a domain they can be managed from a centralized place. Choose workgroup if no domain is to be configured
ix. Post-install checklist
1. verify boot, allow burn-in time
2. verify printer and other peripherals are working
3. Service Packs, Security patches, driver and app updates
4. Go to System and verify latest Service Pack is installed
5. Install/configure apps and updates
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