INTRODUCTION TO

COMPUTERS
Prepared and Presented by
Doren Nedrick

What is a computer?
A

computer is an electronic device,

operating under the instructions stored
in its memory. It can:
Accept data (input)
Manipulate Data according to specified
rules (processing) - CPU
Produce results (output) from the
processing
Store the data and results for future
use (storage)
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Components of a
computer
The

basic components of a computer

are:
Hardware and
Software.

Hardware
All

the tangible parts of the computer

(parts you can see and touch) and
includes:
The Mouse,
Keyboard
Monitor
Printer
System unit
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What are input Devices?

Gets

data into a computer. A mouse, a

keyboard and a scanner are all input
devices.

Output Devices
Gets

processed information out of a

computer, for example to a printer,
computer screen or even to speakers.

Software
Software

is intangible. Hardware is
useless without Software and vice versa.
Computer software provides instructions
to the hardware as to how to manipulate
data. Without the software programs the
computer would be useless, so
Programs used within a computer system
(A set of instructions the computer
carries out.)
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two types of software

1.

Operating systems
Utilities

2.

System Software including

Application Software, including

User application
Application packages

System Software
Manages

the resources of the computer

system. Two sub-categories are:
a. Operating System- communicates between
the hardware and the application programmes.
(Win 98, Win ME, Win XP, MSDOS, Win 2000,
Vista, Windows 7)
b. Utility Programme - maintain the computer's
health, i. Virus protection
ii. Data Compression
iii. Duplication of files/backing up/data
recovery etc.
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Operating Systems
The

OS is the most important program to

run on a computer. Every general-purpose
computer must have an OS to run other
programs. OS perform tasks, such as:
recognizing input from the keyboard
sending output to the display screen
keeping track of files and directories on the
disk
controlling peripheral devices such as disk
drives and printers.
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Application Software
a.

General Purpose - Used by anyone

to do a number various tasks- Word
Processing, Spreadsheet, Graphic
Presentation, Communication and
database
b. Custom Written- built to suit the need
of the customer - Like going to a tailor
c. Specialized - created to complete
specific tasks, (e.g. Payroll, AutoCAD,
Electronics workbench)
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What is the Central Processing

Unit CPU?
The

brain of the computer and controls

how the rest of the computer works. It
is assisted by the Control Unit (CU) and
the arithmetic logic unit (ALU). The CU
carries out the instructions in the
software and directs the flow of data
through the computer, the ALU
performs the calculations and logic
operation.
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What are peripheral devices?

Peripherals

are all the hardware

devices attached to the CPU - all the
input, output, storage and
communication devices attached to
the CPU. Note the CPU is not a
peripheral.

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Memory and Storage

Memory

refers to data stored in the

form of electronic chips while storage
refers to memory on tapes and disks.
Memory consists of one or more chips
on the motherboard or some circuit
board on the computer.

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Memory
Memory

stores three basic categories of

items:
The operating system and other system
software that control or maintain the
computer and its devices.
Application programs that carry out a
specific task such as word processing etc.
The data being processed by the
application programs and resulting
information.
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Types of Memory (Main

Storage)

Random Access
Memory (Primary
storage)
Type of memory that
can be read from and
written to by the
processor and other
devices

Read Only Memory

Type of memory that is

used to store
permanent data and
instructions. Data on
chips that cannot be
modified hence read
only

Loses its content

Does not lose its
when the computer is content when the

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Secondary Storage
Known

as backing or auxiliary storage

This is needed because RAM is limited
in size and is temporary
Secondary storage is of a non volatile
nature and has larger storage capacity.
These devices are able to store large
volumes of information over a long
period of time
Example floppy disk, CD ROM, hard
disks, DVD and tape drives.
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Secondary Storage
Secondary

Storage Devices fall under

two main categories
a. Direct Access Storage Device
(DASD)- data can be accessed or
stored without going through any
other,
b. Serial Access Storage Device(SASD) - Data has to be read and
written in a particular order
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How Data is Stored

When

data is entered it is stored in bytes. A Bit

is a binary digit (0,1). Eight bits make one byte
and a byte represents a character such as (&,
A, 1, etc). Storage capacity is measured in:
Kilobytes (KB) - Approximately 1 thousand
bytes Megabytes (MB) - Approximately 1 million
bytes Gigabytes (GB) - Approximately 1 billion
bytes Terabytes (TB) - Approximately 1 trillion
bytes
If a computer has RAM capacity of 256MB the
computer handles 256 x 1,000,000 =
256,000,000 bytes or characters. In bits that
would be 256,000,000 x 8.

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Examples of Secondary
Storage Devices
It

is necessary to format a disk in

order to get it ready for use
(storage/retrieval).
Formatting or initializing the disk is
the creation of the tracks and sectors.
Usually disks are bought formatted. If
not most operating systems contain
formatting programs.
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Importance of formatting
Without

formatting there would be no

way to know what data went with
what. It would be like a library where
the pages were not in books, but were
scattered anywhere in the building.

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Protective Devices
Surge

Protector

UPS

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Booting
The

process of starting a computer is known as

booting. The first thing a computer does when it
is booted is to check that it is working properly.
It does this by following certain instructions
held on a ROM chip known as the BIOS.
You can often see this happening as various
lines of text briefly appear on the computer
monitor.
It will then look for an operating system (OS) to
tell it what to do next. The operating system is
loaded from the disk to the computers random
access memory (RAM).
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Booting
1.

Switch on system by pressing the

power button and the computer will
then Boot Up
2. A login dialog box may prompt you
to enter information such as user
name and password.
3. You will now be at your desktop.
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26

File Management
File:

Every document that you use is called a

file.
Folder: Just as you would have a folder to
keep notes or documents together, files are
grouped together in folders (also called
directories)
Drive: Includes Hard drive, floppy drive, USB
drive or CD drive.
Path: To locate a file, you may have to select
the drive and then one or more folders
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Back up Data
Making

copies of your file

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Operating Windows Explorer

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AutoCAD

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Uses of the computer in

industry
Accounting/

Financial Applications
Human Resource Applications
Material Inventory Management
Process Control
Robotics
Decision Support System
Research and Development
CAD/CAM
CNC
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Data Communication
The

tarnsmission of data and

information between two or more
computers.
Data communication is essential for
electronic mail (E-mail), Voice mail,
facsimile (fax), telecommuting, video
conferencing, Global positioning
system (GPS) and the internet.
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Linking Computers
Computers

can be linked in different

ways or configurations to transmit data.
Two are:
Point to point: direct link between two
computers in a network.
Broadcast: using one computer to
transmit data and information to serve
the needs of several terminals or
computers connected to it in a network
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Network Configuration
Local

Area Network (LAN) A few

computers, printers and large hard
disks, usually on site, linked.
Many small and large computers,
located on different sites spread over a
large geographical area or in different
countries, can be linked in a wide
area network WAN
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 Computers

that are not networked are known

as stand-alone computers.
Data on a stand alone system has to be
transferred by E-mail or disk if it is to be used
on another computer.
To connect a computer to a LAN, you must
first insert a network card into which you plug
the network cable.
Then set up the system software which
enables the computer to operate on the
network.
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Hubs
Computers

are connected by cable to a

central device called a hub.
More than one hub if there is a large
number of computers on the network.
The hub(s) are then usually connected to a
file server.
File server A high performance computer
containing large hard disk drives that are
available to all network users.
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Wireless
Not

all networks are connected with

cabling; some networks are wireless.
Wireless LANs use high frequency radio
signals, infrared light beams, or lasers to
communicate between the workstations
and the file servers or hubs.
Each workstation and file server or hubs
has some sort of antennae to send and
receive the data.
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Wireless
For

longer distance, wireless

communications can also take place
through cellular phone technology,
microwave transmission or by satellite.

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Networking Terms
Modem

(modulator/demodulator)
converts between analogue and digital
signals.
Upload send information from your
computer to another computer in the
network.
Download receive information from
another computer on the network.
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