Chapter 3 Getting Started

Figure 3.1 Diagram of a typical computer system

Processing Hardware The three most important components of personal computers hardware are the Processor Memory Hard disk. These three components most directly affect the computer’s price and performance.

Typical processor architecture

Figure 3.3 The machine cycle

Figure 3.2 Logical structure of RAM with 2N locations

Disk Drive

Disk Parameters Size # of surfaces # of heads # of cylinders # of sectors/cylinder # of bytes/sector Seek time Latency Time

Bus A set of connectors to carry data from one point to another Internal Buses: Data bus Address bus Control bus External Buses: USB, Firewire, PCMCIA

Figure 3.4 The software architecture of the LINUX operating system

Figure 3.4 The software architecture of the LINUX operating system (cont)

Figure 3.5 Text-based login screen on a typical LINUX computer

Table 3.1 Important Control Key Combinations

Table 3.2 Shell Configuration Files

Table 3.4 Useful Commands for the Beginner

Table 3.4 Useful Commands for the Beginner

Table 3.3 Sections of the LINUX Manual

Figure 3.6 Manual Pages first screen display for the passwd command