COMPUTER SYSTEM SERVICING NC II

COMPUTER is a digital electronics device, operating under the instructions stored on its own
memory that can accept data, process the data according to specified rules, produce results and
store the results for future use.
TYPES OF COMPUTERS
1. Personal Computer - is a computer that can perform all of its input, processing, output,
and storage activities by itself.
Types of Personal Computer
a. Desktop Computer - is designed so that the system unit, the input devices, output
devices fit entirely on or under the desk or table.
b. Laptop or Notebook Computer - is a personal computer often designed to fit on your
lap.
c. Tablet PC is a special type of notebook computer that allows you to write or draw
on the screen using a digital pen.
d. PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) provides personal information management
functions such as a calendar, appointment book, an address book, a calculator, and a
notepad.
e. Smart Phone is an internet-enabled phone that usually provides personal
information management functions in addition to phone capabilities.
f. Hand Held Computer (UMPC Ultra-Mobile Personal Computer) is a computer
small enough to fit in one hand that can communicate wirelessly with other devices or
computers.
2. Server / Mainframe - powerful computer that provide information services to numerous
users over a computer network.
3. Supercomputers - is the most expensive and powerful computers harnessing the strength
of hundreds or even thousands of processors simultaneously to accomplish very difficult
task.
4. Special-Purpose Computers - computers manufactured to serve a specific purpose, such
as game consoles, digital media players, digital cameras, and smart home appliances.

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ELEMENTS OF COMPUTER SYSTEM

A. HARDWARE - is a comprehensive term for all of the physical parts of a computer, as
distinguished from the data it contains or operates on, and the software that provides
instructions for the hardware to accomplish tasks.
Computer Hardware Devices
1. Input Device is any hardware component that allows you to enter data and instructions into
a computer.
Example of Input Devices:
a. Keyboard - is an input device, partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard, which
uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic
switches.
b. Mouse - is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion
relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under
one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons.
c. Scanner - is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an
object, and converts it to a digital image.
d. Microphone allows you to speak into the computer.
e. Web Camera - is a video capture device connected to a computer or computer
network, often using a USB port or, if connected to a network, Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
2. Output Device is any hardware component that conveys information to one or more
people.
Examples of Output Devices:
a. Monitor or Display - is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor
comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure. The display device in
modern monitors is typically a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFTLCD), or Light Emitting Diode (LED) while older monitors use a Cathode Ray
Tube (CRT).
b. Computer Speakers or Multimedia Speakers - are speakers external to a computer
that disable the lower fidelity built-in speaker. They often have a low-power internal
amplifier.
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3. Storage - device that holds data, instructions, and information for future used.
Examples of Storage Device:
a. Hard Disk also called a hard disk drive or hard drive, is a storage device that
contains one or more inflexible, circular platters that use magnetic particles to store
data, instructions, and information.
b. Optical Disc - is a type of storage media consists of a flat, round, portable disc made
of metal, plastic, and lacquer that is written and read by a laser.
Types of Optical Disc
a. CD Compact Disc
b. DVD Digital Versatile Disc
c. BD Blu-ray Disc
c. Flash Drive is a flash memory storage device that plugs in a USB port on a
computer or mobile device.
d. Memory (RAM- Random Access Memory) also called main memory, consists of
memory chips that can be read from and written to by the processor and other
devices.
e. Floppy Disk Alternatively referred to as a floppy or floppy disk, a floppy diskette
was first created in 1967 by IBM as an alternative to buying hard drives that were
extremely expensive at the time.
f. External Storage Device - comprises devices that temporarily store information for
transporting from computer to computer. Such devices are not permanently fixed
inside a computer.
4. Processing is any device in a computer that handles this intermediate stage, being
responsible for controlling the storage and retrieval of data.
Examples of processing device:
a. Processor (CPU Central Processing Unit) interprets and carries out the basic
instructions that operate a computer. It is the brain of the computer system
b. GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is a programmable logic chip that renders
images, animations and video for the computer's screen. GPUs are located on
plug-in cards, in a chipset on the motherboard or in the same chip as the CPU (see
diagram below). A GPU performs parallel operations on data to render images for
the screen.
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B. SOFTWARE - is a collection of computer programs and related data that provides

instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it. Software refers to one or
more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer.
Types of Software
1. System Software - handles task specific to technology management and coordinates the
interaction of all technology devices. It is responsible for managing a variety of
independent hardware components, so that they can work together harmoniously. Its
purpose is to unburden the application software programmer form the often complex
details of the particular computer being used, including accessories as communications
devices, printers, displays and keyboards, and also to partition the computer resources
such as memory and processor time in a safe and stable manner.
Classification of System Software
a. Operating System Software - controls your application software and manages how
your hardware devices work together.
Examples:
1. Windows OS (Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10)
2. Mac OS (Mac OS X)
3. Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat, Linux Mint, Fedora, Arch Linux)
b. Utility Software - provides additional functionality to your operating system
software.
2. Application Software - is developed to perform in any task that benefits from
computation. It is a set of programs that allows the computer to perform a specific data
processing job for the user.
Classification of Application Software
a. Application suite consists of multiple applications bundled together. They usually
have related functions, features and user interfaces, and may be able to interact with
each other, e.g. open each other's files. Business applications often come in suites,
e.g. Microsoft Office, LibreOffice and iWork, which bundle together a word
processor, a spreadsheet, etc.; but suites exist for other purposes, e.g. graphics or
music.
b. Enterprise software addresses the needs of an entire organization's processes and
data flows, across several departments, often in a large distributed environment.
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Examples include enterprise resource planning systems, customer relationship

management (CRM) systems and supply chain management software. Departmental
Software is a sub-type of enterprise software with a focus on smaller organizations
and/or groups within a large organization. (Examples include travel expense
management and IT Helpdesk.)
c. Enterprise infrastructure software provides common capabilities needed to support
enterprise software systems. (Examples include databases, email servers, and systems
for managing networks and security.)
d. Information worker software lets users create and manage information, often for
individual projects within a department, in contrast to enterprise management.
Examples include time management, resource management, analytical, collaborative
and documentation tools. Word processors, spreadsheets, email and blog clients,
personal information system, and individual media editors may aid in multiple
information worker tasks.
e. Content access software is used primarily to access content without editing, but may
include software that allows for content editing. Such software addresses the needs of
individuals and groups to consume digital entertainment and published digital
content. (Examples include media players, web browsers, and help browsers.)
f. Educational software is related to content access software, but has the content
and/or features adapted for use in by educators or students. For example, it may
deliver evaluations (tests), track progress through material, or include collaborative
capabilities.
g. Simulation software simulates physical or abstract systems for either research,
training or entertainment purposes.
h. Media development software generates print and electronic media for others to
consume, most often in a commercial or educational setting. This includes graphic-art
software, desktop publishing software, multimedia development software, HTML
editors, digital-animation editors, digital audio and video composition, and many
others.
i. Product engineering software is used in developing hardware and software
products. This includes computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering
(CAE), computer language editing and compiling tools, integrated development
environments, and application programmer interfaces.
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j. Entertainment Software can refer to video games, screen savers, programs to

display motion pictures or play recorded music, and other forms of entertainment
which can be experience through use of a computing device.
3. Programming Software - It includes tools in the form of programs or applications that
software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs
and applications.
C. PEOPLEWARE - is a term used to refer to one of the three core aspects of computer
technology, the other two being hardware and software. Peopleware can refer to anything
that has to do with the role of people in the development or use of computer software and
hardware systems, including such issues as developer productivity, teamwork, group
dynamics, the psychology of programming, project management, organizational factors,
human interface design, and human-machine-interaction.
Examples of Peopleware:
a. Computer Engineers
b. Software Engineers
c. Information Technology Specialists
d. Website Designer
e. Computer Technicians
D. DATAWARE - also known as Data Warehouse or Enterprise Data Warehouse. It is a central
repository of data which is created by integrating data from multiple disparate sources.
Types of Data Warehouse
Information processing, analytical processing, and data mining are the three types of data
warehouse applications that are discussed below:
1.

2.
3.

4.
5.

Information Processing - A data warehouse allows to process the data stored in it. The
data can be processed by means of querying, basic statistical analysis, reporting using
crosstabs, tables, charts, or graphs.
Analytical Processing - A data warehouse supports analytical processing of the
information stored in it. The data can be analyzed by means of basic OLAP operations,
including slice-and-dice, drill down, drill up, and pivoting.
Data Mining - Data mining supports knowledge discovery by finding hidden patterns
and associations, constructing analytical models, performing classification and
prediction. These mining results can be presented using the visualization tools.
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