P8 UNDERTAKE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE TASKS ON A STANDALONE COMPUTER SYSTEM.

Back up media: to backup your media files you have to select the files you want, copy them and past them to the desired destination you want.

Deleting temp files: to start the application click the start button, all programs, system tools and then disc cleanup.

 The disc clean-up application will open up and you then select the folders and files you want to delete, then click OK and the application will delete the selected folders, when the folders have been deleted you simply close the program and open the recycling bin and permanently delete the files from the bin.

Defragment computer: To defragment your computer you have to go to the start menu, all programs, accessories, system tools then disk defragmenter.

First make sure your data is backed up on another hard drive then close all programs currently open, then select the drive you want to defragment and click the defragment button and let the application do its job. When the defrag has finished just close the application and you’re done.

P7 TEST A CONFIGURED COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR FUNCTIONALITY.

What was tested.	How it was tested.	Screenshot.
Software applications open and work as intended.	Double click the icon (Microsoft word) and opened correctly and started working fine.
Desktop shortcuts go to right place.	Selected the icon, right clicked it, clicked open and it opened the application successfully.
Correct date and time are set.	Went to the control panel, double clicked on the date and time icon and the date and time are the same as the clock on the wall.

P6 CONFIGURE A COMPUTER SYSTEM TO MEET USER NEEDS.

To change the mouse settings on your computer all you have to do is click the start button, go to the control panel, double click mouse settings, double click the properties, then tick the box in the button configuration area and click apply with the right clicker.

Click the start button, go to the control panel, double click on the power settings, double click the properties, go to the themes tab then click the drop down bar and select the theme you want, click apply and close the window.

Click the start button, go to the control panel, double click power options, double click options, in the power schemes section click on the drop down bar and select the option you want, then close the page.

P5 SET U PA STANDALONE COMPUTER.

Hardware installation.
First of all i started by setting up my anti static mat.

 

I then inserted the hard drive in the slot intended and screwed it in place.

 

Then i connected the 20 pin connector in the back of the hard drive.

 

Then i inserted the 4 pin plug in the back and the hard drive was then ready to use.

Software installation.

Insert disc.

 

Insert cable into the back of the printer.

 

Licence agreement.

 

Select software to install.

 

The software is installing.

 

Installation complete.

 

Finish.

Uninstall software.

Uninstall printer.

 

Are you sure.

 

Driver being removed.

 

Finished.

Explain the purpose of different software utilities

Security.

Here are some examples for security: Virus protection, Firewalls and drive formatting.

Virus protection.

You can get a virus in many ways such as a dodgy email or a dodgy website. Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operations. A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your e-mail program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk. Computer viruses are often spread by attachments in e-mail messages or instant messaging messages. That is why it is essential that you never open e-mail attachments unless you know who it's from and you are expecting it. Viruses can be disguised as 

attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files.

Firewalls.

Firewall security software is one type of computer program that aims to protect a computer from computer viruses. A firewall monitors traffic coming into an operating system and helps stop harmful programs that attempt to gain access to the computer user's personal information or hinder the computer user's use of that computer. Typically, computers will not only have a firewall, but antivirus and antispyware software as well. Firewall security software can be purchased separately, though today, most operating systems have firewalls 

built in.

The firewall is usually located at the entry point of a network or individual computer. When Internet traffic accesses a computer, firewall security software is the first thing that receives it, and it is the last to handle outgoing traffic. When a user starts an Internet-related program, such as an online computer game, the computer connects to another website and sends information about the user’s computer system. Before accessing the computer, however, the data has to pass through the firewall. If the user has set the firewall to 
allow transfers of data to this site, the data will be processed through.

Drive formatting.

Before a magnetic disk can be used, it must be prepared for use. This process is called formatting. Formatting theoretically erases all data previously stored on a disk. Formats are specific to a disks operating system, for example a disk formatted for the use on a Microsoft Windows system will not read natively on an Apple Mac ( special drivers are required for this). Operating systems such as Microsoft Windows have GUI format utilities but can also perform the same process as the CLI. 

A disk format:

• ·         Prepares the physical locations ready for recording.
• ·         Sets up a filing system e.g. FAT on the disk.
• ·         Checks the disk for physical or magnetic errors.

What utility.
Norton utility does many things, this includes defragmentation and many clean up tools.

Defragmentation.
Most operating systems have disk filling systems which create fragmentation over time.
Fragmentation occurs when space reclaimed after a file id deleted, is used to store parts of a larger file. The end result is that a file does not exist in disk locations. Fragmented files are slower to load into RAM, simply because the hard drive has to work harder to physically locate and read the clusters which form the file. Most operating systems have a utility to defragment a file system. This utility may be run as an ad hoc (e.g. unplanned, whenever needed) process or on a regular schedule.

Clean up tools.
Most operating systems keep a detailed account of user activity. There are times when such accounts are not required. In order to manage such activity, most operating systems have options whether you want to remove personal information from the system. In the internet age, possibly the two most common footprints to erase are:

• Internet history.
• Cookies.
• Passwords.
• Information entered onto online forms.

These options will be located in the operating system or the internet client software.

In reality, formatting a disk clears the filing system’s ‘table of contents’; the data is still there but the Operating System will have no idea where the various files are physically stored. This means that data may still be recoverable using specialist data recovery software. Sensitive data (i.e. personal or business) should be safely deleted using data shredding software, the surest way to erase data is to physically destroy the disk itself.

Features and functions of operating systems.

FEATURE.	WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE	MAC OS X SNOW LEOPARD
1	Work in the language of your choice and switch between any of 35 languages.	Photo Booth
2	Help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker.	Boot Camp
3	In addition to full-system Backup and Restore found in all editions, you can back up to a home or business network.	Screen sharing
4	Connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join.	DVD Player
5	Run many Windows XP business programs in Windows XP Mode (separate download).	iChat
6	Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup.	Exchange Support
7	Watch many of your favorite TV shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV.	QuickTime X movie capture
8	Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8.	QuickTime H.264 hardware acceleration
9	Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often.	Developer tools
10	Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation.	OpenCL
11		64-bit support
12		Grand Central Dispatch
13		VoiceOver Gestures

Function of computer hardware components.

Motherboard.
The motherboard is perhaps the most important hardware component located inside the computer systems casing. The reason is simple: The motherboard is where other key components are plugged in or connected e.g. monitor. The motherboard chipset is the combination of the northbridge and southbridge processors. Some chipsets are more popular with system builders because they are more reliable or perform quicker in benchmarked tests. A southbridge may not be present on all motherboards, some manufacturers prefer to delegate its role to seperate subprocessors.

BIOS.

The basic input output system is a small collection of programs that are stored in a read only format (ROM) here are a few examples of this: Programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) or most commonly these days flash memory. Existing as a small chip, the BIOS is fitted onto the motherboard of a typical PC system. On a typical PC system, the BIOS chip contains all codes required to control the keyboard, display, disk drives and other critical functions. It can also monitor hardware to prevent any damage occuring to the hardware.

In addition, it has a BIOS set up program which lets the user configure the basic operations on the hardware. Another function of the BIOS is the power on the self test procedure that checks to see that all connected peripherals and components are functioning correctly.

Malfunctioning devices are often reported via short on screen messages or, commonly as a series of beep codes. Unfortunately beep codes tend to be specific to different BIOS manufacturers.

CMOS.
Complementary metal oxide semiconductors is a special type of battery-backed memory that stores the settings made by the BIOS set up program. If problems occur the settings may be reset by either removing the 3v lithium battery or by using the clear CMOS jumper that is usually located near to the battery or BIOS chip on the motherboard.

CPU.
In simple terms the central processing unit is the brain of the computer system. In reality the processor is alot more complex, sitting at the heart of the computer system, the processors job is to process data and instructions. The instructions are specific to the CPU it is called "the machine code". Machine code from one type of processor will not traditionally work on another unless they belong to the same family (they are then said to be code compatible). For many years Intel have developed an x86 family of processors including the 486, pentium, pentium 2, pentium 3, pentium 4 etc. These are all backwardly compatible with each other. Other manufacturers such as AMD created processors which were machine code compatible, these include the k5, k6, athlon, duron and sempron etc.

Processor speeds.
Processor speed is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). The speed is actually the clock frequency of a processor, a faster processor will execute a programs instructions quicker, this will not work if the motherboard cannot run at the same clock speed.

Processor bus.
A processor bus can also be called a front side bus (FSB).
It is the bidirectional link between the motherboard and the processor itself. Like the processor it operates at a certain clock speed, this is usually measured in MHz.
Multiplier: A bus multiplier is a value used to calculate the maximum processor speed.
The general equation for working this out is:
Maximum processor speed = processor bus speed  x  maximum multiplier e.g. 
          1992 GHz                =            166MHz        x            12

Power supply unit.

A power supply unit (PSU) can convert the incoming 110V or 220V alternative current (AC) into various direct currents, this makes voltages suitable for the computers internal components so that you don't get harmed e.g. electric/static shock. A power supply's output is measured in watts, 400 watts was a typical power output in 2007. Most PSUs come already fitted inside the computer systems casing, however they may have been purchased separately when a replacement is needed. As they contsin lethal voltages, they should never under any circumstances be dismantled even after the power has been removed.

Connectors.

 Laptop connector.

Most portable computers have power supplies that provide 25 to 200 watts. In portable computers (such as laptops) there is usually an external power supply (sometimes referred to as a "power brick" due to its similarity, in size, shape and weight, to a real brick) which converts AC power to one DC voltage (most commonly 19 V), and further DC-DC conversion (Direct Current) occurs within the laptop to supply the various DC voltages required by the other components of the portable computer.

Desktop connectors.

Power Cable

A power cable runs externally from the PSU case and is connected to the mains using a three-pin plug. The cable connects to the PSU using a standard three-point connector. Some PSUs also have a pass-through connector, which allows them to feed mains power to other external components, such as monitors.

Drive Connectors.

PSUs usually have at least 5 power connectors for delivering power to internal components not fixed to the motherboard. Typically, this includes hard disk drives and CD/DVD devices. Different cable and connector types are needed to connect PSUs to different devices, such as IDE-based drives and SATA-based drives. If more power connections are required, the number can be increased by using splitters which create 2 connections from one.

Motherboard Connectors.

Power is sent from the PSU to the motherboard via specific wired connections. The CPU, expansion slots, memory and other components all need to receive the correct voltage from the PSU, there are locations on the motherboard designed to receive the PSU connections. Connections to the motherboard must be made accurately, since the wrong connections can result in damage to the computer.

RAM.

RAM is a type of memory used to store the operating system, programs being run and most importantly the data being processed. It is also faster than ROM, which is why the BIOS is often shadowed (copied) to RAM and executed from there. Another important thing to remember is that RAM is volatile, this means that the contents of RAM are completely lost when electrical power is removed, when looking into RAM it is useful to think about the memory size. In computing, memory has traditionally been grouped into collections of bits and bytes, you can also encounter larger amounts like kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes.

Hard drives.

A hard drives technology has embraced three standards. The oldest technology, advanced technology attachment (ATA) - connects IDE hard drives to a motherboard via 40- or 80- wire cables, the most recent ATA standard is ATA133.

Another hard drive technology is small computer system interface (SCSI) and has been favoured for server systems, having a combination of large capacity, fast rotation speeds and superior transfer rates. 

A more recent development, serial ATA (SATA) has been introduced and is quickly becomingpopular with hard drive manufacturers. 

Hard drives have many uses, some uses are:

1. Everything gets saved to the hard drive.
2. The hard drive holds the installed programs, data files, operating system files and archives found on the computer.
3. A hard drive makes a modern computer function and work properly.

Optical backing storage.

Optical backing storage uses laser-generated light instead of magnetic fields to 'read' and 'write' data. In comparison it is typically slower than magnetic mechanisms. The most common  optical storage devices are CD's and DVD's, they are physically similar and both have the same diameter of 120mm.

The majority of optical devices use removable media, you are certainly familiar with CD-Digital Audio (CD-DA) discs used for music and DVD - ROM discs that hold popular films, television series and concerts. CD - ROM discs are manufactured with data literally 'pressed' into them in the form of pits (small indentations) and lands (the flat area between the pits). These pits and lands exist in a long spiral starting at the centre of the disc and working to the outer edge.

Optical storage have many uses, some uses are:

1. Optical CD-ROMs became the preffered method of software distribution.
2. DVD's allow much more data to be stored on a single disk.
3. Optical drives have now replaced tapes and CD-ROMs.

Pen drives.

Pen drives were introduced in the late 90's, pen drives are an increasingly popular form of backing storage due to their portability, ease of use and value for money. Based on NAND - flash architecture developed by Toshiba in the late 80's, a pen drive consists of a male USB connector, a printed circuit board containing flash memory and clock crystal (for synchronisation). These components are typically housed in toughened plastic packing or metal which include a removable cap to protect the sensitive contents from electro static discharge.

Flash memory cards.

There are many different formats of flash memory cards currently available and in use. Most flash cards use the name NAND - flash architecture as pen drives do but come in a number of different form factors. Common varieties include:

• Compact flash, created by SanDisk in 1994.
• MultiMediaCard created by SanDisk and Siemens in 1997.
• Memory stick created by Sony in 1998 varieties include Pro, Duo and micro.
• xD - Picture Card created by Olympus and Fujifilm in 2002.

It is becoming increasingly common for computer systems to have front bezels which contain multi-format card-reading slots. External card readers are also available and relatively inexpensive, they connect to the system via a standard USB port.

Performance factors for backing storage mainly concern three ain aspects:

1. Capacity - how much data it can store.
2. Data access time - how quickly specific data can be found.
3. Data transfer rate - how quickly data moves from the device into the computer.

Flash memory cards have many uses, some uses are:

1. Digital/video cameras, PDAs, industrial computers, portable computers and adaptors all use them in one way or another.
2. Can be used as a storage device to transport data to other devices.
3. Flash memory replaced floppy drives and film.

Expansion cards.

An expansion card is an electronic circuit board that adds more functionality to a desktop computer. Expansion cards are installed into the expansion slot of a computer motherboard. They enhance the computer’s ability to perform additional functions not offered by the motherboard. Video cards and sound cards are common examples of PC expansion cards. A new video card added will enhance the three dimensional graphics processing power of a computer while a new sound card may improve a computer’s audio input.

Laptops do not use standard cards due to their small form factor. A laptop expansion card can be in the form of a removable PCMCIA card that offers additional functionalities to it.

Most cards are inserted in PCI slots. PCI slots or “Peripheral Component Interconnect” slots are integrated circuits fitted onto the motherboard. One edge of the expansion card holding the contacts or keys is inserted into the PCI slot. This establishes an electrical contact between the motherboard and the card’s integrated circuits.

Electrostatic discharge.

Electrostatic discharge, ESD is one of the few things an individual can do to damage or destroy a computer or  its hardware components. Much like the shock you receive when rubbing your feet on the carpet abd touching something metal, ESD can occur when working in your computer and will cause components you touch  to no longer work properly. ESD can occur without the user feeling a shock and will only occur while working on the inside of the computer.

How to prevent ESD.

To prevent static shock you can use equipment like:

1. Antistatic workbench mat.
2. Antistatic wrist strap.
3. Antistatic bag.
4. crocodile clips.
5. reduce clothing to minimum (this means less friction).

After attempting an installation or upgrade and you find out your computer has stopped working correctly, you should remove the component you installed and find another one that is compatible with your computer. But if it does work when you reboot your computer then you can keep using it as usual as there shouldn't be a problem with the system.

Purpose of an operating system.

An operating system is the essential layer that exists between the BIOS and application software (e.g. word processing, spreadsheet, graphics, database, web browsers etc.). When a user opens a spreadsheet file the correct instruction needs to travel through the operating system and BIOS levels before the appropriate electronic signals are generated which tell the hard drive's reading heads to find and transfer the required data into RAM.

Here are a few examples of operating systems.

Windows.

When windows was introduced by Microsoft in 1985 it repeated the pattern of many earlier Microsoft: It was slow, ugly and underpowered. Eventually, however they got it right, in 1990, Microsoft released Windows 3.0 a version that did a lot of usual things. By then the machines had become fast enough to support Windows. You could write large applications and multi-task. A few useful applications followed. Then a flood of them, as well as even more powerful, cheaper computers to run them on. With Windows 3.1 in 1992 the speed, reliability and functions of the product improved again. Windows for work groups was added some networking capabilities for those who needed them.

Apple.

Apple is a computer company that specializes in personal computers and computer accessories. Apple has produced many different types of products and is primarily known for the advancement of multimedia personal computers. Most people that are involved with video, music, pictures and sound mainly use Apple computers for their projects because of the quality of the equipment that Apple uses. 

Many people view Apple as a runner up in the computer industry because of Microsoft's almost complete control on personal computers. The truth behind Apple and Microsoft is told in some documentaries. They go into great detail about how Apple was ahead of Microsoft and ended up not releasing their products before Microsoft because their ideas get stolen. What the documentaries try to explain is that Apple is not a runner-up company, but rather, a cutting edge company that pushes computers a step futher every day.

Linux.

Linux was initially created as a hobby project by young students, the students that created Linux software had a goal to create an operating system that exceeded some functionality. The Linux kernel is developed and released under the GNU general public license and as such its source code is freely available to everyone. These days other hand guide Linux's ongoing development and there is hundreds of different Linux distributors which are freely available for download. Each is geared for a particular purpose, some even fit onto a single floppy disk.

Command line & GUI.

Operating system user interfaces come in 2 different varieties.

1. Command Line Interface (CLI).
2. Graphic User Interface (GUI).

CLI.

The CLI is the oldest form of user interface. Being present in early operating systems such as UNIX and MS-DOS (Microsoft disk operating system).

It typically features:

• Text-only output.
• Basic command names.
• Limited user help for commands.
• Very basic error messages.

The most well known CLI is represented by  MS-DOS even today it still exists as a command prompt in modern versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems. In the Linux distributions, the GUI is optional, in theory all system functions can be controlled by the CLI. As such it is more powerful and has better user support in the form of online manuals (MAN files) which tell the user in detail how the command may be used.

GUI.

A GUI is based on WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus & Pointing device) systems as developed in the early 70's by a famous innovator at Xerox PARC. A GUI creates a user-friendly media-rich environment for users to explore, work and play in using a combination of moveable and resizeable windows. representative icons and intuitive point-and-click mouse control. Also the most familiar GUI is represented by Microsoft Windows.

User interface, resource management & input/output.

User interface.

As detailed above in the command line & GUI section, an operating system has to have some form of user interface.

The interface is responsible for:

• Accepting user commands.
• Parsing user commands (working out what the command actually is).
• Displaying error or warning messages when a device fails.
• Informing users of critical system events e.g. system is about to shut down.
• Confirming that a command has been successfully completed.

As we will see, there are 2 basic types of user interface - the command line (CLI) & the graphic user interface (GUI). The trend towards graphic user interfaces has made a computer system much more user-friendly and more approachable for novice users.

Resource management.

Resources found on a modern computer system are:

• Physical memory (RAM).
• Virtual memory (disk space used as RAM).
• Disc cache (RAM storing the most recently accessed data from the disk).
• CPU (the processor, balance between the operating systems 'time' and application 'time').
• Bandwidth (networking. video, bus etc.).

Input & Output.

Modern operating systems are PnP compatible so they tend to recognise new devices when they are first connected. Through the use of a driver, the operating system can communicate with the hardware.

In addition, it is the operating systems job to control the amount of CPU attention that an input/output device receives. An operating system is also vital in scheduling input and output operations so that the CPU is not idly awaiting data.