EET 450 – Lecture 1 Chapter 1 – How Computers Work
Computer overview CPU is central control point Some features now bypass the CPU
CPU accesses Memory Mass Storage Console/human interface –Monitor / keyboard / mouse Peripherals
Motherboard Provides spot for CPU(s) Most Main Memory Integrated peripheral ports USB Serial Parallel [video] [sound]
Motherboard Onboard storage support IDE/EIDE SCSI Raid ‘Glue Logic’ provides communications path among on-board components
Motherboard Expansion Bus May have ports for expansion cards –ISA (obsolete) –PCI –AGP –Others Memory Support SIMM/DIMM, etc.
Housing Contained in a case Standardized shape / size Port accesses/connectors Power Supply Provide power from AC source Drive Access
Software BIOS On main board May be Part of ‘Glue’ Flash/EEProm Upgradable CMOS Battery protected or EE memory settings
Software Operating System Provides application program link to hardware ‘universal trailer hitch’ CPU Dependent Network OS Windows 95/98/2000/XP (ME) Unix / Linux MAC OS
File Storage System FAT – File allocation Table NTFS – Windows NT file system Linux
Directory Structure Hierarchical tree structure Parent/child relationships
Assignment Read Chapter 2 – How Software and Hardware Work Together