Short course name:

Computer Hardware, Configuration and Operating Systems 1

Module number:

COM 101

Course Syllabus:

Computer Processors and processor sub-systems:

Processor functions and types

CISC versus RISC processor architectures

The use of embedded multimedia engines for processors

Processor socket types e.g. socket 5, 7, A and D ZIF variants

The use of SEC slots

Instruction caching – Level 1 and 2 system caches

Processor and motherboard chipset interfacing; bus and controller categories.


Computer Memory Hardware and Memory Sub-systems:

Computer memory hardware taxonomy

Physical versus logical memory

RAM versus ROM devices

Evolution of RAM storage devices; Synchronous versus asynchronous RAM operation
Characteristics of prime RAM types – DRAM, SRAM, VRAM, EDO-RAM, SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM, FPM-RAM, RamBus DRAM etc

Evolution of ROM storage devices

Characteristics of basic ROM types – PROM, EEPROM and Flash-Rom

Memory Bank issues – determining minimum numbers of memory modules for generic processor architectures

Troubleshooting memory problems – leaks and conflicts



Input/Output (I/O) Slots and Ports:

How computers handle I/O processes

Clocking and buffering schemes

Bus controllers within the chipset

Serial versus Parallel I/O processes

Evolution of I/O slot designs

Salient characteristics of ISA, MCA, VL-BUS, PCI, AGP, Firewire and USB I/O schemes

Standards and protocols for computer I/O e.g. IEEE and RS standards


Magnetic Disk Storage Systems:

Characteristics of hard disk assemblies and controllers

Legacy IDE and SCSI hard disk interfaces

Procedures for installing and configuring hard disk sub systems

Characteristics of floppy disk drives

Connecting floppy drives with IDC cabling

Partitioning and high-level formatting of hard and floppy disk drives

Disk partition types and form at S-primary, extended; - FAT16, FAT32, HPFS and NTFS

Dynamic storage and RAID schemes; hardware versus software RAID


Optical Disk Storage Systems:

Characteristics of CD-ROM and DVD-ROM devices

‘Pitting’ for digital encoding

Optical disk table of contents (TOC) standards

The use of CODECS for increased storage capacity

Combined Opto-magnetic re-writeable CD and DVD ROM devices