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Newbie Guides 
New To PC's User Guide
The Hardware
At the bottom of each page is an arrow, linking to the next chapter,
if you prefer to step through the guide.
The Hardware
Computer hardware is the external "machinery" of the computer!
In a Personal Computer (PC) there is usually 5 different parts or components
that make up the whole: or the SYSTEM. The MONITOR, the KEYBOARD, the
COMPUTER UNIT, the PRINTER, the MOUSE. These are the basics. Let's look
at each one for a brief moment:
1 - The MONITOR is the TV Screen which doesn't get any stations:
but what it will get gives you graphics or computer images both of text
and pictures or images of various kinds. Depending on the type of video
instructions available in your computer you can get images that look like
cartoons (CGA) to images that look like photographs (SVGA) This is connected
to the Main Computer Unit by means of a cable (bundle of wires), and another
cable (cord) is plugged into a wall socket.
2 - The KEYBOARD is the combination typewriter keyboard and mathematical
calculator along with a few other "function" keys which are
used in various programs to accomplish certain tasks quickly and easily.
It is connected only to the Main Computer Unit, by means of a cable.
3 - The Main COMPUTER UNIT. This is the heavy, rectangular piece
of equipment the dealer told you to be VERY careful moving around! What
he told you is true, but you don't have to be paranoid about it and tiptoe
around the console! It is built to withstand an ordinary amount of shocks
and jolts! Inside of this cabinet is the "guts" and "brains"
of the computer system. It contains the "motherboard" or main
electronic circuit board with all kinds of components either plugged in
or soldered into place. The "brains" of the unit : the CPU or
Central Processor Unit is where all of the major activity in the operation
of the computer is processed. It generally looks like a 5 cm square component
piece that is plugged into the mainboard. It used to take 3 or 4 huge
rooms full of computer equipment to accomplish what this little piece
of plastic, silicon and wire do now! Amazing! The CPU in a "286"
model can process two bytes of information at a time (called 16-bit) ,
making it speedier than the "88" predecessor which only could
handle one byte at a time. A "386" can process 4 bytes of information
at a time (32-bit). A "486" has the same 32-bit but can also
do elaborate mathematical procedures very rapidly by using the math coprocessor
chip that comes with it! You can add on a math coprocessor to the 286
and 386 by adding a chip called a 287 and a 387. The Pentium family of
processors will just blow you away.
4 - The PRINTER, is a printer! That was easy! Once data (information)
has been prepared, it can be printed out on paper with the help of a printer
that has an "interface" or electronic plug in which it talks
to the CPU and gets the information it needs to print out on paper! There
are a variety of printer types depending on the quality of copy that you
want to make. The most letter perfect and professional looking copies
probably come from laser-jet printers. The spacing between lines in a
character for example are so close that it looks solid. Whereas in dot-matrix
printers, a bunch of dots are sprayed to make a character. Dots are round
and can therefore not give as good and crisp a quality per character as
can laser printing. That just makes sense! Laser printers are also quite
expensive - you have to always pay for the best in anything! Most people
with home computers have DOT-MATRIX printers. Printers can also print
in colour, not a whole rainbow, but at least 4, which makes for more attractive
presentations. Colour printers, you guessed it, costs more than a regular
black and white. Most people have the good 'old black and white!
5 - The MOUSE, is a mousy looking object! which is a device that
helps make running programs much easier and faster by moving the "cursor"
or point of operation around instantly anywhere on the screen! There are
usually two buttons at the top of the unit which when hit either one or
the other will cause various things to happen on the screen. "Clicking"
the buttons on the mouse (striking them two times in succession very rapidly)
can even activate parts of the program rather than typing in commands.
Objects on the screen can sometimes be "dragged" or moved around
using the mouse! Each program which uses a mouse, or "supports"
a mouse has it own directions on what the pressing the buttons on the
mouse will do.
There are many varieties of each of these components, but for the most
part each resembles its own kind. A monitor is a monitor, a keyboard is
a keyboard etc. The only radical difference would be a "tower"
case in place of a desktop unit. The "guts" of the desktop unit
can be transferred to a tall rectangular "tower" which can be
placed on the floor (or a smaller version that can also be placed on a
desktop, but usually off to the side someplace. The advantages of having
a tower are many, some of which are: more desktop space, and a lot more
room to add on component parts to the system, like CD-ROM and tape drives
and additional floppy drives etc. Towers are relatively inexpensive but
be very careful when making the switch that all the wiring is redone correctly!
Irrepairable damage can be done if it is not done correctly! (no, I am
not speaking from experience on that one!) The monitor, the printer and
the computer unit itself each must be plugged into electrical sockets.
The best way to do this is to plug a 6 or 8 socket power-surge-strip into
a single plug power-surge device and then plug that into the wall and
then plug each component into the strip. This gives double protection
in case of a power surge coming in from the outside, say during a thunderstorm
or even the ordinary amounts of surge that happen during a normal day
in any household. Sudden increased voltage could destroy the computer
components and all the data in it! Something to be avoided at all costs.
So double protection here is not too much. Also, each component needs
to be connected to the mainboard (main computer unit). This is done using
special cables that contain wiring and wiring interface devices that allow
information to pass to and from each component. This initial setting up
of the system can be a bit confusing to a novice, which is where Scotsmist
for one comes into play. A representative from Scotsmist could come to
your home and make all these connections for you as well as configure
your major programs. Once everything is plugged in, then all of the proper
instructions for running the programs need to be fed to the computer.
This is "configuring"! and can be quite confusing for someone
who has never done it before! Save yourself a lot of headache and call
on someone who knows a little more than you do - Scotsmist. (Or any friend
who knows what they are doing!) (Scotsmist 01355 263968)! Once it is all
"set up" then it is ready for you to take over and have FUN!
The first thing to know of course is how to turn the units on. Each of
the units that you plugged into the power strip has an OFF/ON Power Switch.
Hunt and search and find the switch on each unit. When turning on the
units use the following order:
1. - Printer
2. - Monitor
3. - Computer Unit
In turning them off: use the reverse order!
1. - Computer Unit
2. - Monitor
3. - Printer
Computers are built to remain on ALL OF THE TIME. But if your personal
usage is not such that it is used all the time then leave it on all evening
long, if you work during the day, or all day long if you work at home.
DON'T turn it off and on constantly, it is bad for the machinery and the
data. Turn it off at night. The bottom line is keep it running daily for
a while even if you don't use it at all. It needs the exercise. One last
thing to say here is that knowing how to type greatly increases the fun-ratio
of this whole proposition. There are many typing tutor programs that are
available to teach you step by step. Try searching the Internet for freebies.
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