Mid Term Study Guide Hints 03-08-10

Chapter 1 and 2 cover History of computers and components of PCs.

Here we want to know what things make up a PC. Be able to list the components that make
up a pc. (example power supply, memory, I/O etc etc)
Be able to convert between Hex, Decimal, and Binary
Be able to identify different expansion slots and ports on a PC by picture.

Chapter 20 is ESD and electricity

Here we want to know about electricity in out PC’s. The main things to know are Volts,
Amps, and Watts. See the description of Volts, Watts, and Amps in relation to pressure.

Chapter 3 and 4
This area is more extensive. We want to learn about processors. We need to know the main
two competing companies. We need to know what different families (or types) of processors
are. Be able to name the socket types as well. Also we need to know about the processor
and how cache memory works and how a processor is defined. (Example: what makes it a
64 bit processor)

Also we need to know about chipsets. What is a chipset and what does it do? Be able to
name some of the common form factors for motherboards. Think about some concepts in
motherboards that have allowed them to reduce their sizes over the years.
Know about buses PCI, PCI-E, etc, System Bus, Memory Bus, Front Side Bus.
Be able to draw a diagram of a motherboard and how data is transferred and control.
(Example Processor connected to buses connected to hubs. Etc etc.)

Chapter 5
Be able to explain the 4 steps of the BIOS and what they do.
Be able to memorize all 16 IRQs

Chapter 6
Be able to identify different types of memory (RAM) Know the number of pins and the type
of the memory (example SD-RAM vs DDR ram what is different and why upgrade?) and be
aware of the speeds

Chapter 7,9,12
Be able to explain the difference between the PATA and SATA interface, why they are
different. Be able to explain how the throughput of SATA is faster even though it transfers
data serially. Know about the RAID levels and what they do (0,1,5) Know the difference
between solid state drives and mechanical drives. Explain a little how they work. (see slides
and article link) Be able to explain a little about Partitions, Primary, Logical, and Extended.
And how many partition you can have on a disk, and how many can be active.
Be able to explain why it is a good idea to partition
Be familiar with File Systems, NTFS, Fat 16 and Fat 32 know their size restrictions. (see
partitions slides)
Be familiar with Master and Slave jumper configurations.
Know what a cluster size is and a sector size is and why they are different
This is not an exhaustive 100% list but if you know this you should be do fine. If you have a
question about a note or slide email me. hajek@iit.edu