PCs For Dummies Quick Reference - Brossura

Gookin, Dan

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0470115262 ISBN 13: 9780470115268

Casa editrice: Wiley-VCH, 2007

Riassunto

All the PC essentials at your fingertips!

If you like your answers quick and your information up-to-date, look no further. This concise, superbly organized reference walks you through setting up a PC, the new interface and features of Windows Vista, using basic applications, organizing your stuff, getting on the Internet, networking (wired and wireless), burning CDs, upgrading your hardware, revving up your PC for high-speed game playing, and much more!

Su questo libro

Informazioni sull?autore

Dan Gookin has been writing about technology for over 600 years. He has contributed articles to numerous high-tech magazines and written more than 100 books about personal computing technology, many of them accurate. He combines his love of writing with his interest in technology to create books that are informative and entertaining, but not boring. Having sold more than 14 million copies translated into more than 30 languages, Dan can attest that his method of crafting computer tomes does seem to work.
Perhaps Dan’s most famous title is the original DOS For Dummies, published in 1991. It became the world’s fastest-selling computer book, at one time moving more copies per week than the New York Times number-one best seller (although, because it’s a reference book, it could not be listed on the NYT best seller list). That book spawned the entire line of For Dummies books, which remains a publishing phenomenon to this day.
Dan’s most recent titles include Word 2007 For Dummies, Laptops For Dummies, 2nd Edition; Programmer’s Guide to NCurses, and many more! He writes a blog and maintains the Wambooli Forums on his vast and helpful Web page www.wambooli.com.
Dan holds a degree in communications and visual arts from the University of California, San Diego. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he enjoys spending time with his boys in the gentle woods of Idaho.

Dalla quarta di copertina

All the PC essentials at your fingertips!

If you like your answers quick and your information up-to-date, look no further. This concise, superbly organized reference walks you through setting up a PC, the new interface and features of Windows Vista, using basic applications, organizing your stuff, getting on the Internet, networking (wired and wireless), burning CDs, upgrading your hardware, revving up your PC for high-speed game playing, and much more!

Estratto. © Ristampato con autorizzazione. Tutti i diritti riservati.

PCs For Dummies Quick Reference

By Dan Gookin

John Wiley & Sons

Copyright © 2007 Dan Gookin
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-470-11526-8

Chapter One

PC Overview

In this part ...

  Basic computer science

  PC types and models

  Hardware expansion

  The operating system

  The Internet

  Files, folders, and your stuff

Welcome to Part I, where I introduce you to the PC, piece by piece. Here you'll find a visual tour, personal introductions, basic understandings, and a hint of what's to come as you uncover the basics of the ever-useful personal computer.

What You See: Basic Hardware

A computer is really the sum of its parts more than it is a single gizmo. The parts all have official, technical names, which you may know already. Some parts live inside the box; some dwell outside. Connecting everything are cables - vast, tangled, and ugly. All together, the pieces, parts, and cables make up your computer system.

The central item in the computer system, the hive of high-tech wonderment, the PC's bosom (as it were), is the console. Other items surround the console and connect to it. Those things are peripherals.

Despite the common elements, each computer system is quite unique, sporting different internals, different types and amounts of storage, and different software to make things go. I suppose that's why the things are personal computers and not generic computers. The basic PC setup - console and peripherals - is illustrated in Figures 1-1 and 1-2.

Here are some of the basic components you should recognize and know by their official names:

  Console: The centerpiece of any computer system. It's the box-o-guts! Also called the system unit and often mistakenly referred to as the CPU. See also Part II.

  Monitor: The computer's display. It can sit on top of or to the side of the console. This part of the basic computer system is necessary because it's how you see the information the computer displays, also known as output.

  Keyboard: The thing you type on, and one method for you to send information to the computer, also known as input. Despite all the computer's graphics, most of the time you spend using it involves typing. See also Part XII.

  Mouse: The gizmo that helps you work with graphical images that the computer displays on the screen. It's the second method you use for entering information (next to the keyboard), a second form of input. See also Part XIII.

  Speakers: The PC speaks! And squawks, and plays music, and often talks. To hear that stuff, you need speakers. They can be either external or part of the monitor. See also Part II.

  Printer: The device that puts your work down on paper - documents, copies of e-mail messages, charts, graphics, photos, or anything else your creative heart desires. The printer is the PC's second most popular gizmo for output. See also Part IX.

  Lots of ugly cables: Rarely seen in the showroom and never in ads, although they exist! Cables! Lots of ugly cables keep everything connected. They're usually found 'round back of the console and other components. Yes, even wireless systems have lots of cables. See also Part II.

A computer system can include a variety of other devices and gizmos beyond the basic items mentioned here. These peripherals include scanners, digital cameras, external disk drives, modems, and a host of other gadgets various and sundry.

What You See: Console - the Front

The console is the sun of your computer's solar system, the central hub of activity. Every other device, gizmo, or gadget in the computer system plugs into the console in one way or another. The console is also home to many of your PC's most important, secret, and forbidden parts.

Figure 1-3 shows important items on the front side of the console. These are things you should be able to locate and identify on your own computer, although their specific locations may be different from what you see here:

  CD-ROM / DVD drive: Part of the PC's storage system, and one of the main disk drives, the CD-ROM / DVD drive is designed for reading and, often, creating CDs and DVDs. Access to the drive may also be hidden behind a panel or door.

  Future expansion: You can add disk drives or devices to the console. They may be obvious or well hidden, thanks to a clever console design.

  Floppy drive: An ancient part of the PC's storage system, although rarely found on today's PCs, this drive is designed to read from and write to floppy disks. Not every PC sold today has a floppy drive, but if yours does, it appears somewhere on the front of the console.

  Air vents: The thing's gotta breathe!

  Secret door/connectors: Many consoles have special connectors on the front for USB, digital video (IEEE 1394), and audio devices. These may be obvious on the front of the console or concealed behind a door or panel.

  Buttons and lights: The console has at least one button and some lights. Additional buttons may appear on some consoles, as with additional lights. The following list highlights some of the more common buttons and lights:

Power button: This button is used to start up the computer, turn the computer off, or do other power-related things. See also Part IV.

Reset button: This button lets you take control during times of woe, by essentially forcing the computer to stop and start in one swift punch. It's a powerful button, although not every console has one.

Sleep button: This button appears mostly on laptop PCs and is used to put the system into a special suspended, or Stand By, mode. Few consoles have such a button, yet the sleep icon may appear as a light on the console, to indicate that the computer is not off, but, rather, is "asleep."

Hard drive light: This festive light flashes as the hard drive is being accessed. Because hard drives are often buried internally, the light provides a visual clue to whether the drive is alive or dead.

Power light: This is merely a light on the console that is on when the computer is on. If your computer doesn't make much noise, this light is often your only clue that the sucker is turned on.

This list doesn't cover everything you could possibly find on the front of your computer. For example, your console may also have an infrared port for communicating with a laptop or handheld computer. Even so, become familiar with those few items mentioned in the list. Many computer manuals and software instructions assume that you know where everything is and what it's called.

What You See: Console - the Back

Forget the pretty face: When it comes to the important stuff, you need to look at the console's ugly rump (see Figure 1-4). That's where most of the computer's components connect to the console.

Other items are worth noting as well:

  Power connector: The power cord that plugs into the wall gazinta here.

  Fan: Air gets blown out here, to keep the inside of the console cool.

  Voltage switch: Some power supplies have two operating frequencies. This switch needs to be set only once to match the proper voltage for your country.

  Expansion slots: These slots are where add-on components and options are installed inside the console. You cannot see the slots directly, although the slot covers are visible on the back of the console, as shown nearby.

  Expansion cards: These items plug into the expansion slots and reveal a part of themselves on the console's rump, such as the digital video expansion card shown in Figure 1-4.

  Vents: That breathing thing again.

  I/O panel: Modern PCs put all their connectors in one central location, the I/O panel. It contains holes for plugging in a variety of goodies. See also Part II to find out what the holes are called and what plugs into them.

The I/O panel may be in one location, as shown in the illustration, or it may be split up into separate areas. For example, you can have one location for the mouse and keyboard connectors, plus another location for other items that attach to the console.

When the video connector (for the monitor) is on both the I/O panel and an expansion card, use the connector on the expansion card.

What You See: Console - the I/O Panel

I/O is computer-talk for input and output. The computer's world is all about input and output, and the console, because it's the center of your computer's world, plays a major role in that input/output thing. To accommodate all that input and output, an I/O panel is provided, replete with a variety of connectors. (See Figure 1-5.)

Here are a few items you can find on the I/O panel:

  Keyboard connector: Where the keyboard plugs into the console. A USB keyboard can plug into the USB port as well.

  Mouse connector: Where the mouse plugs into the console, although a USB mouse can plug directly into the USB port.

  USB port: The ever-versatile port for the multitude of USB devices to connect to your computer. See also Part III.

  COM (or serial) port: A once highly versatile connector that is now used primarily for ancient hardware-specifically, external modems and computer mice. Some consoles have two COM ports, labeled COM1 and COM2. In the olden days, it was called the RS-232C port. This port's connector has nine pins.

  Video connector: Where the monitor connects to the console. It's the same size as the COM port, but sports up to 15 holes. Use the I/O panel's connector only when you cannot find a second connector on an expansion card. (The expansion card connector indicates the presence of a much more powerful video adapter.) Note that newer digital monitors use a white, rectangular connector that may also be exclusive to an expansion card, not the I/O panel.

  S-Video out: A connector used for video output, primarily on PCs with high-end video. You use the S-Video out port to connect the PC to a TV set. (This port isn't shown in the illustration.)

  SPDIF in/out: A port that is used to connect the console to a high-end audio device, such as an external sound processor or a stereo system. The connector uses fiber optics to carry the sound signal, which is less susceptible to outside noise than a traditional wire connector. SPDIF stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format.

  Microphone jack: A jack that you can plug an optional microphone into for recording your voice or using voice-control software.

  Line In jack: An audio input used for connecting the PC's sound system to your stereo or VCR, for capturing audio and other sounds.

  Headphones/speaker jack: Where you plug in a set of headphones to listen privately to your computer, or plug in a set of speakers for more public listening.

  Modem: Where you plug in a standard phone cord, to connect your computer to the phone jack in the wall. That way, the computer's internal modem can use the telephone to contact the Internet. Modem holes can also be found on expansion cards in some PCs.

  Phone: A hole, if available, that's next to the modem jack. You can connect a standard telephone so that you can use a real phone on the same line as the computer.

  Ethernet: Where the computer connects to a network, or where you connect the computer to a cable or DSL modem. (Networking and the Internet are very similar things.) The hole for this port, also known as RJ-45, can also appear on the back of an expansion card. See also Part X.

  Printer port: Where the printer plugs in. This port is also called an LPT, or0 a Centronics, port. (That's for the old-timers.)

  IEEE 1394 port: A port that's similar to a USB port in that it accepts a variety of high-speed add-ons, such as an external disk drive, a scanner, or a videocamera. This port is also known as FireWire. The smaller of the IEEE 1394 ports, the 1394 mini, is used primarily to connect a digital video gizmo.

  Joystick port: A port that is found on some older PCs, used primarily to connect an old-style joystick or a MIDI musical device. Today, most of those gizmos are connected by using USB ports.

For more information on plugging stuff in, see also Part II.

I/O Symbol Table

Connectors, connectors everywhere! They can look similar, or they can be confusing as all get-out. Fortunately, the computer industry understands how confusing connectors can be. To make things easier, many connectors on a PC console not only have unique shapes, but are also color coded and often flagged with specific icons, as shown in the handy nearby table.

Note that the colors aren't an established standard, so some PCs may sport a different color scheme than what's indicated. Also, not every connector is color coded.

Also note that different icons or symbols may be used on different PCs.

The Basics: What Is a PC?

PC is an acronym for Personal Computer, so any type of personal computer, from a handheld or palm computer to a laptop to a desktop and, yes, even the Apple Macintosh, is a personal computer. As long as one person is using the computer, it's a personal computer, or PC.

Specifically, the type of computer now labeled a PC is the direct ancestor of the original IBM PC, introduced back in the early 1980s. Although there were other personal computers at that time, they were referred to as microcomputers and were used mostly by computer enthusiasts and home hobbyists.

Microcomputer was a play on words for mini-computer, but also on the name of the main piece of hardware, the microprocessor. (More on that in the next section.) The largest, most powerful computers available were mainframe systems, used by the government and large corporations. Mini-computers were used by small businesses and universities. Both the mainframes and minis had one central computer with multiple people using the system at once. The microcomputer, on the other hand, lacked such power and therefore was a one-person system.

When IBM introduced its own version of the microcomputer, it legitimized the microcomputer, making it "safe" for use in a business environment. Because of the IBM PC's tremendous popularity, it became the standard for all microcomputers.

Knockoffs and imitations were referred to as PC clones or PC compatibles. Those systems could run the same programs as the original IBM PC, but because the hardware wasn't made by IBM, manufacturers dared not use the term PC by itself. Over time, however, the terms clone and compatible were dropped, and any microcomputer that could use the same hardware and run the same software as the IBM PC was dubbed a PC.

The PC is now the standard computer platform around the world, so much so that being PC- or IBM-compatible is no longer an issue. Unless the computer says Macintosh or Sun on its case, it's a PC.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from PCs For Dummies Quick Referenceby Dan Gookin Copyright © 2007 by Dan Gookin. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Dettagli dell?edizione

• Editore: Wiley-VCH
• Data di pubblicazione: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0470115262
• ISBN 13: 9780470115268
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Lingua: Inglese
• Numero edizione: 4
• Numero di pagine: 242
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile