Computer

Hardware

INPUT/PROCESSING/STORAGE &
OUTPUT
© DEO
 COMPUTER
HARDWARE
This chapter will cover the following topics:
 The Computer systems
 What makes up the system unit
 Computer Hardware components
 How Computers Represent Data
 Storage & it Technology
 Input and Output Devices
 How to connect the different components together?
 Booting
Computer systems

 It’s a set of interrelated components linked and

working together in order to achieve a common goal.

 It’s a complete and functional computer, including all

the hardware and software required to make it
functional for any user.

 A computer system is a set of integrated devices that

input, output, process, and store data and information.
A computer system should have the ability to receive
user input, process data and with the processed data,
create information for future storage and/or output.
Components of a Computer System

 Five major parts of a computer system:

 Hardware
 Software
 People
 Procedures
 Data
 Components of a Comp System con..

 Hardware: All the system’s physical devices

 Software: Two types of software required:
 System software
 Application programs.
 People: all users of the computer system:
 System and database administrators
 Database designers
 Systems analysts and programmers
 End users
 Components of a Comp System con..

 Procedures: instructions and rules that govern the

design and use of the system.
 Data: the collection of facts stored in the database
 Systems are created and managed at different levels
of complexity.
 Communications devices. provide connections
between the computer and communications
networks.
 THE SYSTEM
 The
UNIT
computer system unit is the enclosure for all the
other main interior components of a computer. It is also
called the computer case, computer chassis, or computer
tower.
 A case that contains the electronic components of the
computer used to process data. The case of the system
unit, or chassis, is made of metal or plastic and protects
the electrical components inside
 Many people erroneously refer to system unit as the CPU.
Here you will find devices like the power supply, different
drives, the fan, the connectors, and the motherboard.
Note that in most cases, the monitor, keyboard, and
mouse will not be found inside the system unit layout.
What are common components inside the system unit?

It is important to know the electronic components of the

system unit in the event it needs to be open.
power supply drive bays

processor

ports memory

video card sound card

Computer Hardware
 These are physical, electrical, mechanical and tangible
(touch and see) components of a computer systems.
Computer hardware includes the physical parts or
components of a computer, such as the central processing
unit, monitor, keyboard, computer data storage, graphic
card, sound card, speakers.
 It also includes all the parts inside the System
unit(computer case), such as the hard disk drive,
motherboard, video card, and many others
 Sli COMPONENTS OF
de COMPUTER HARDWARE
The CPU
 The CPU is the part of the computer system where the
manipulation of symbols, numbers, and letters occurs.
 CPU controls the other parts of the computer system.
The(CPU) carries out the execution of instructions in a
computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical,
logical, input and output operations of the system.
 The CPU performs the following function.
i. Converts data into information
ii. Interprets and carries out basic instructions that
operate a computer
iii. Control center
iv. Set of electronic circuitry that executes stored
program instructions
 Components of CPU

The CPU is made up of the following

components
 Control Unit
 Arithmetic Logic Unit
 Registers
 Control Unit
 Directs and coordinates operations in computer
 Manages and supervises the operations of the processor and
other components that are crucial in data manipulation.
 Controls the flow of data between the CPU and Memory and other
peripheral devices.
 Directs the computer system to carry out execution of stored
program instructions
 Communicate with both the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and main
memory.
 Instructs the arithmetic logic unit on which logical or arithmetic
operation is to be performed.
 Communicates with other parts of the hardware and co-ordinates
the activities of the other two units as well as all peripherals (I/O)
and auxiliary storage devices connected to the computer.
 Arithmetic Logic unit

 An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a digital

electronic circuit that performs arithmetic
operations (Add, Subtraction, Division &
Multiplication)and logical operations(AND, OR,
NOT) on integer binary numbers.
 Represents the fundamental building block of
the central processing unit (CPU) of a
computer
 Registers
 A processor register (CPU register) is one of a small set of
data holding places that are part of the computer processor.
Registers are Special-purpose High-speed Temporary storage
Located inside CPU.
 A register is a very small amount of very fast memory that is
built into the CPU (central processing unit) in order to speed
up its operations by providing quick access to commonly
used values. Registers are the top of the memory hierarchy
and are the fastest way for the system to manipulate data.
Registers are normally measured by the number of bits they
can hold, for example, an 8-bit register means it can store 8
bits of data or a 32-bit register means it can store 32 bit of
data.
 Registers are used to store data temporarily during the
execution of a program. Some of the registers are accessible
to the user through instructions.
 Question? Explain the main types of registers found in
a CPU?
 Sli
INPUT DEVICES
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 An input device is a hardware component that is used to enter

data, programs, commands, and user responses into a
computer.

 Devices used for entering data into a computer e.g. mouse,

keyboard etc

 Input devices allow users and other applications to input data

into the computer for processing. The data input to a computer
can be in the form of text, audio, video, etc
 Sli
Classification of input
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Input devices are classified according to how they are used to enter data.
These include the following:-

Keying devices (human data entry devices)

These devices allow data to be entered by typing or keying in manually.

E.g. a keyboard

Pointing devices

These are the input devices that enter data or instructions by controlling a
pointer on the screen. E.g. mouse
 INPUT DEVICES

 Input device capture data or information and

translate it into a form that can be processed and
used by other parts of a computer.
 These are devices used to enter/feed data from
outside world into primary storage (A
computer)for processing .
 Input/output devices make up the h/w interface
between a computer and a user.
 Input devices are necessary to convert data into a
form which an be understood by computers.
Common input devices include; Keyboards,
Pointing devices, Game controllers, Scanners,
Styluses, Microphones, Digital cameras & Web
cams.
 Sli
de INPUT UNITs/INPUT
DEVICES
What is an input?

Input is any data or instructions that is entered

into a computer memory. Once input is in
memory, the CPU can access it and process the
input into output. Four types of input are data,
programs, commands, and user responses:
 Sli
TYPES OF INPUTS
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Data
Is a collection of unorganized facts that can include words,
numbers, pictures, sounds, and videos. A computer manipulates
and process data into information, which is useful.
A program
Is a series of instructions that tells a computer how to perform the
tasks necessary to process data into information.
A command
Is an instruction given to a computer program. Typing keywords or
pressing special keys on the keyboard can issue commands.
A user response
It’s an instruction you issue to the computer by replying to a
question posed by a computer program, such as do you want to
save the change you made? Based on your response, the
program performs certain actions.
 Input Devices: Giving
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Keyboard

Mouse

Other Pointing
Devices
THE KEYBOARD
This is the main standard and common input device
for computers used for entering data through keying
or typing. For instance, boot up a computer without a
keyboard and it stops, warning the user that no
keyboard is attached. The keyboard is the only tool
available at the command prompt, so it is a
necessity for a computer.
It is also used in almost every application like
spreadsheets, email, word processing documents
and coding.
It is almost unheard of for a computer to be without
some form of keyboard, be it a full QWERTY keyboard
or a smaller number pad, such as those found on a
cell phone
 Pointing devices-Mice
 Pointing devices are mainly used to choose and
enter commands. Pointing devices tend to have
PS/2 connectors or USB connectors
 PS/2 connector fits into a PS/2 port, which a
small round socket with small holes that fit the
pins on the connector
 USB connectors fit into USB ports, and these
are small rectangular openings on the back or
front of your computer, or even on your
keyboard or monitor.
 Various pointing devices are available
 Types of pointing devices:

 Mouse
• Mechanical mouse
• Optical mouse
• Wireless mouse
 Trackball
 Touchpad
 Pointing stick
 Light Pen
 Touch Pen
 Game Controllers
A game controller is a device used with games
or entertainment systems to provide input to a
video game, typically to control an object or
character in the game.
 Types of gaming devices
 Gamepads
 Joysticks
 Gaming wheels
 Force feed
 scanner
 A scanner, simply put, is a device used to
analyze an image and process it. Scanners allow
information such as a photo or text to be input into a
computer.
 Scanners are usually either A4 size (flatbed), as shown
below, or hand-held to scan a much smaller area.
 If text is to be scanned, you would use an Optical
Character Recognition (OCR) program to recognize the
printed text and then convert it to a digital text file that
can be accessed using a computer.

Scanned Im
age
 Sli
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Digital Input: Digital Cameras and
Digital Video

Digital Video
Digital Cameras

Click on the
picture to play
the video.
 Sli Alternative Input
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Devices
Scanners Fax Machines
Flatbed Sheet bed
scanner

Barcode reader
Revision
Explain how the following are used as
input devices of a computer?
i. Microphone
ii. Digital Camera
iii. Digitizer
iv. Web Cam
v. Optical Scanner and types
 Audio Input
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 Computers can accept input from a

microphone.
 An expansion card called a sound card
records and plays back sound files.
 Sound files contain digitized sound data.
 Popular sound file formats include:
 Windows WAV
 Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG)
 MP3 and MP4
 Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
 Audio Input: Speech
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Recognition
 Speech recognition is
a type of input in which
the computer
recognizes words
spoken into a
microphone.
 Special software and a
microphone are
required.
 Latest technology uses
continuous speech
recognition where the
user does not have to
pause between words.
 STORAGE DEVICE
 A storage device is a hardware device
designed to store information. There are two
types of storage devices used in computers; a
'primary storage' device and a 'secondary
storage' device.
 . A computer commonly has two types of
storage: internal and external. For example, an
internal storage is a device such as a hard disk
drive and an external / removable storage is a
device such as a floppy disk drive. Below are
examples of types of storage that can be found
on a computer.
 MAIN MEMORY (PRIMARY STORAGE
Sli OR WORKING STORAGE)
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This is a memory used to store the data and

instructions during execution of the instructions. It is
also used to provides a storage location for data and
instructions accessed by the control unit.

Main memory is divided into two:

i. Random Access Memory (RAM)

ii. Read Only Memory (ROM) are the primary

memory
 Random Access Memory
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(RAM)
This is a section of memory that is readily available for
retrieval in a direct mode. It is volatile, that means that the
content of this section are rubbed off when power is switched
off. The RAM contributes 70% of the internal memory.

Features of RAM

i. Data can be read (retrieved) and written (stored) in it.

ii. RAM is a temporary (volatile) storage because its content

can be lost when the computer is switched off.

iii. Its content is user defined i.e. the user dictates what is to
be contained in the RAM.
 TYPES OF RAM
Sli
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There

i. SRAM (Static RAM):

ii. DRAM (Dynamic RAM):

 Is a type of memory that must be re-energized constantly or else

its content will be lost. i.e. its content is refreshed (automatically
rewritten) several time per second.

Example of dynamic RAM

 SDRAM(Synchronous DRAM):

Is a faster version of DRAM because it is synchronized to the

system clock.

 RDRAM (Rambus DRAM): Is a newer type of DRAM that is

 READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM)
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This is a section of memory whose content can only be retrieved
(read) but not writing into it.

The ROM is none-volatile i.e. its content remains intact even if

power is switched off. The ROM section contributes 30% of
internal memory.

FUNCTIONS OF ROM

i. It stores the data and instructions that are necessary for the
normal functioning of the computer system hardware.

ii. It stores the control programs that are necessary for the
initial activation of the hardware on power switch on.
N.B
Sli
 dePrograms and data stored in ROM is developed and installed during
manufacturing of the computer hardware by the manufacturers.

 ROM instructions are necessary for the initial coordination of

hardware and operating system routines is referred to as
firmware.

 Features of ROM

i. One can only read its content but you can not write on it unless it
is a special type of ROM

ii. It is non-volatile i.e. its content can not be lost when the
computer is switched off.

iii. Stores permanent or semi-permanent instructions from the

manufacturer called
 TYPES OF ROM

i. SliMask read only memory (MROM)

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This can only be produced by manufacturer. Its content can not be
changed.

ii. Programmable read only memory (PROM), This is a type of ROM

that allows the user to change its content only once. The content on
this ROM chip is permanently placed on it.

iii. Erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), These are

user programmable memories that can be reprogrammed a number
of times.

iv. Electrically erasable programmable read only memory

(EERPROM), This type can be erased and reprogrammed using
electricity e.g. the memory that stores the basic input/output systems
(BIOS)
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RAM AND ROM
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RAM ROM

1 RAM is volatile ROM is non volatile

2 RAM is read and write ROM is read only

3 RAM is temporal ROM is permanent

4 RAM can be increased ROM is normally not

increased
 CACHE MEMORY
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Cache memory is a very high speed memory placed
in between RAM and CPU. Cache memory increases
the speed of processing.

It is a storage buffer that stores the data that is used

more often, temporarily, and makes them available to
CPU at a fast rate.

Cache memory is built into the processor, and may

also be located next to it on a separate chip between
the CPU and RAM.
SECONDARY STORAGE DEVICES
 This section of the memory is also referred to as
backup storage.
 The storage capacity of primary storage is not
sufficient to store the large volume so secondary
storage.
 Secondary storage also know as external
memory or auxiliary storage not directly
accessible by the CPU.
 Secondary storage device term used to describe
any location where information can be held
permanently for later use
 Floppy disk
drive
 A Floppy Disk Drive, or FDD for short, is a
computer disk drive that enables a user to easily
save data to removable diskettes.
 Although 8" disk drives were the first real disk
drives, the first widely used an floppy disk drives
were the 5 1/4" floppy disk drives, which were later
replaced with 3 1/2" floppy disk drives.
 However, today because of the limited capacity and
reliability of floppy diskettes many computers no
longer come equipped with floppy disk drives and
are being replaced with CD-R and other writable disc
drives and flash drives.
CD-ROM
Compact Disc-Read Only Memory, CD-ROM
drives are CD players inside computers that can have
speeds in the range from 1x and beyond, and have
the capability of playing audio CDs and computer
data CDs. CD ROM uses a laser scam to record and
read data along spiral tracks on a 51/4 disk. A disk
can store around 650/00mb of information. CD-ROMs
are normally used to store data as back up. Lots of
information can be written on CDROM and stored for
future reference.
 CDs come in different Variations
i. CR-R
ii. CR-ROM
iii. CD-RW
 HARD DRIVE

 Hard disk is the computer's main storage media

device used to permanently store all data on the
computer.
 Also referred to as a hard disk drive or
abbreviated as HD or HDD, the hard drive was first
introduced on September 13, 1956 and consists of
one or more hard disk platters inside of air sealed
casing.
 Most hard drives are permanently stored in an
internal drive bay at the front of the computer and
are connected with either ATA, SCSI, or a SATA cable
and power cable. Below is an illustration of the
inside of a hard disk drive.
 CLASSIFICATION OF SECONDARY STORAGE
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DEVICES
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Tape Drive – Floppy Disk Drive Hard Disk –
sequential – random-access random-access
storage storage storage

 Sequential – Storage devices that read and write

data in a serial (one after the other) fashion
 Random-Access/ Direct access– Storage
devices that read and write data without going
through a sequence of locations
 Examples of sequential access storage media
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Magnetic
de Tape

Magnetic tape is a plastic tape with magnetic coating.

They are durable, can be written, erased, and re-written. the tape
needs to rewind or move forward to the location where the
requested data is positioned in the magnetic tape.

Examples of Magnetic Tape

 Reel to reel Tapes
 Cassette tapes and Cartridge tapes.
Disadvantages of using magnetic tapes
i. They are slow because of linear storage of data records on the
Tape.
ii. Wastage of storage space between the successive Data
records called inter record gap {IRG}.
 Examples of random access storage devices
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1. Magnetic Disk

It’s a storage disk with a thin plastic or metallic circular plate

coated with magnetic oxide and encased in a protective cover.

Examples of Magnetic Disks

i. Floppy disks. Floppy disks are either 3.5 inches Or 5.25

inches.

ii. Zip disks. They are however slightly larger in size.

iii. Jazzy disks. These are small portable disks with high storage
capacity of about 1GB to 2GB. They are used for storing data
that require large storage.
 Examples of optical disks
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include
 LS-120 super disks. (SD),

 Compact disks (CDs)

 Digital versatile discs or Digital Video Disc (DVD)

 Compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)

 Compact disc- recordable (CD-R).

 Compact disc –rewritable (CD-RW)

 Difference between CD-R and
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CD-RW Discs
CD-R CD-RW
 Discs can be read and  Discs can be read and
written to rewritten to
 Discs can only be  Discs are erasable
written to “once”  Discs can be written to
 CD-R drives are many times
capable of reading  CD-RW drives are
and writing data capable of reading,
writing, and erasing
data
 MEMORY CAPACITIES.
Sli
The
de computer memory stores different kinds of data like input data,
output data, intermediate results, etc., and the instructions. Binary
digit or bit is the basic unit of memory.

A bit is a binary digit which is 0 or 1. A bit is the smallest unit of

information that a computer uses which is 0 (OFF) and 1 (ON).
However, the data is handled by the computer as a combination of bits.

A group of 8 bits form a byte. One byte is the smallest unit of data that
is handled by the computer. One byte can store 2 8, i.e., 256 different
combinations of bits, and thus can be used to represent 256 different
symbols.

In a byte, the different combinations of bits fall in the range of

00000000 to 11111111. A group of bytes can be further combined to
form a word.
 Data Storage Measurements
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Unit Description Approximate Size
 1 bit 1 binary digit (0 or 1)
 1 nibble 4 bits
 1 byte 8 bits 1 character
 1 kilobyte 1,024 bytes 1/2 page, double
spaced
 1 megabyte 1,048,576 bytes 500,000
pages
1 million bytes
 1 gigabyte 1,073,741,824 bytes 5 million
pages
 Storage
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Capacity and Speed
deFloppy Disk Hard Drive CD ROM / DVD

Capacity – 720 KB to Capacity – Up to 80 GB Capacity – CD-ROM 650

1.44 MB MB; DVD 17 GB
Access Time – 6 to 12ms
Access Time – 100ms Access Time – 80 to 800ms

 A storage device’s performance is measured by:

 Capacity – The number of bytes of data that a
device can hold
 Access Time – The amount of time a device can
take to begin reading data from the storage
device. It measured in milliseconds (ms),
OUTPUT
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DEVICES
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Out put, is any data that has been processed into
meaningful form called information. E.g. text, video, audio
and graphics etc.

An output device is an hardware component that conveys

information from the computer to the user.

The processed data, presented to the user via the output

devices could be text, graphics, audio or video.

The output can be on a paper or on a film in a tangible form,

or, in an intangible form as audio, video and electronic form.
 Examples of output devices:
 Speakers/ Headphones
 VDU (Monitors)
 Printer
 Terminal

 Output devices are peripheral devices that

enable us to view or hear the computer’s
processed data.
Forms of output
 Soft copy (Visual output – Text, graphics, and
video, Audio output – Sounds, music, and
synthesized speech)
 Hard copy- Print outs
 CLASSIFICATION
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OF OUTPUT DEVICES
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Output devices can be classified into two;

 Hard copy output devices; Hard copy
refers to tangible output that can be felt such
as a paper. E.g. Printer, Plotter, & Facsimile
machine (Fax)
 Soft copy output devices; Soft copy refers
to intangible output that can be seen or
heard such as screen display & sound. E.g.
Monitors, Data Project & Speakers.
 MONITORS
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CRT LCD

 A monitor is a peripheral device which

displays computer output on a screen.
 Screen output is referred to as soft
copy.
 Types of monitors:
 Cathode-ray tube (CRT)
 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD or flat-
panel)
 Sli
MONITOR SPECIFICATIONS
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 Screen size – The diagonal measurement of the

screen surface. It’s in inches (15, 17, 19, 21)
 Resolution – The sharpness and clearness of a
image, is determined by the number of pixels a
screen can display.
(800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1600 x 1200). Dot pitch,
is the distance between each pixel on a display.
 Refresh rate – The speed at which the monitor
redraws images on the screen. It’s and measured
in Hertz (Hz) (60Hz, 75Hz)
 Sli PRINTER
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 A printer- an output device that
produces a physical copy or
hard copy of the computer’s
output. Printed information is
called hard copy because the
information exists physically
and is a more permanent form
of output.
 There are two types of printers
 TYPES PRINTERS
Sli
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Impact printers; form
form characters and
characters and graphics by
graphics without actually
striking a mechanism
striking the paper.
against an ink ribbon that
physically contacts the  Examples
paper. An ink-jet printer
 Examples A laser printer
A dot-matrix printer A thermal printer
A line printer
A Plotter
 Printers
An external hardware device responsible for taking computer data
and generating a hard copy of that data. Printers are one of the
most commonly used peripherals and they print text and still
images on the paper.
 Impact printers. These printers have a
mechanism that touches the paper to create
an image. These printers work by banging a
print head containing a number of metal
pins which strike an inked ribbon placed
between the print head and the paper.

 Non Impact printers. These printers

create an image on the print medium
without the use of force. They don’t touch
the paper while creating an image.
 Non-impact printers are much quieter than
impact printers as they don’t strike the
 Differences between Impact & Non-
Sli
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Non-impact Printers
Impact Printers
 1. It prints characters or
 1. It prints characters or images images without striking the
by striking print hammer. papers.
 2. Its slower.  2. Its faster.
 3. Its printing quality is lower.  3. Its printing quality is higher.
 4. It uses continuous paper  4. It uses individual paper
sheet. sheet.
 5. It generates noise during  5. It does not generate noise
printing. during printing.
 6. It uses inked ribbon for  6. It uses toner or cartridge for
printing. printing.
 7. It is less expensive.  7. It is more expensive.
 COMPUTER BOOTING

 It’s the process of switching on the computer which involves

loading an operating system into computer’s memory.
 Before switching on a computer, make sure that all the
components are properly connected. The computer must be
connected to an active power source. Switch on the monitor
first, then the system unit using their respective power buttons.
 Types of booting
 Cold booting
 Warm booting
 Cold/Hard Booting

 It is the process of restarting a computer from a shutdown or

power-off state and restoring it to regular operation.
 Cold booting can also be referred to as starting of a computer
STEPS OF COLD BOOTING
a) First make sure that you have a stable power source
b) Make sure that all the components are well and firmly connected.
c) Turn on the power from the wall socket, then the UPS, the monitor and
finally the system unit.
d) Wait for the first screen you see is called a desktop.
 Warm/Soft booting
 It is the technique of restarting an already turned-on system
without completely shutting it down.
 PROCEDURE FOR SHUTTING DOWN A COMPUTER
 Ensure that all the work has been properly stored. This process is called saving.
 Close all programs that may be currently running.
 If your computer is running on Microsoft Windows.
 Click the start button on screen.
 Select the shutdown command from the menu list.
 In the prompt that appears select Shut down then press the Enter key on the keyboard.
 After a few seconds the message appears on the screen “it is now safe to turn off the
computer”.
 NB: Some system units switch themselves off automatically when you do the above
steps