CTE 125 - COMPUTER WORKSHOP PRACTICE: WEEK ONE
CTE 125 LECTURE
NOTES
LECTURER-IN-CHARGE:
MR. ABDULHAMEED IDRIS (GMCPN, MSC)
DEPT. OF
COMPUTER ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY,
THE POLYTECHNIC
IBADAN
MAY 18TH
2017
WEEK ONE (ONE
HOUR)
TOPIC: Identifying the various tools and
equipment in computer repair laboratory
Objective: At the end of this class students
should be able to:
- Know the various tools in the computer repair laboratory (CRL)
- Know the Know the various equipment in the CRL
- Use various tools and equipment in the CRL
- Know what safe working conditions and procedures are
- Know the procedures helping one to protect equipment and data
- Know the procedures which helps to properly dispose of hazardous computer components and related material
- Know the tools and software used with personal computer components and what is their purpose
- Know what proper tool use is
Recommended books:
1.
IT Essentials (2013) Cisco Networking Academy,
5th Edition http://www.ciscopress.com/store/it-essentials-9781587133084?w_ptgrevartcl=IT+Essentials%3a+Computer+Lab+Procedures+and+Tool+Use_2086239
2.
ILO (2017) Safety-Health and Working
Conditions – Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_protect/@protrav/@safework/documents/instructionalmaterial/wcms_175900.pdf
3.
Heidi
Neff (2017) Computer Lab Manager Training Course, Zambia Pacific Trust, heidihneff@gmail.com, Accessed on 18th May 2017
4.
Abdulhameed,
I.A., Oladejo, B.F. and Iwayemi, A. (2017) Psychiatric Outreach Expert System
(Rule-Based System) International Journal of Computer Science and
Telecommunications, Vol 8, Issue , 2017 downloaded from
www.ijcst.org%2FVolume8%2FIssue2%2Fp4_8_2.pdf
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Undoubtedly, computer has come to solve a lot
of problems; from education to health; from mining to banking sector, and from
space shuttle to archaeology, just to mention but a few. To identify the tools,
there is need to know the basic tools - crimper, multi-meter, Integrated Circuit
(IC) extractor, blowers and so on. Before the advent of the digital multi
meter, network and technicians utilize the analogue metre. This is often used
by radio technician.
However, in the computer repair laboratory we
have a lot of researchers in building a standard laboratory of computer repair.
This, if compared to the standard laboratory - MIT (Massachusetts Institute of
Technology; Harvard University; Oxford University; King Fahd University of
Petroleum and Minerals). We shall see the differences as time goes on.
Before now, you may know that a computer is an
electronic machine, which accepts data in form of input, processes it to give
an output. The computer as a machine needs to be properly taken care of, just
like other machinery in other fields. No doubt, upon entering a company, the
first precaution seen is “safety first” or “think safety”? This is so
because the need for safety cannot be over emphasized, even in the computer
workshop. Therefore, as computer engineering technology
students you need to be safety conscious.
As part of my experience, there are lots of
computer technicians in Nigeria that do not follow standard; even the so called
academic institutions; therefore, we need to play active roles to meet up with
world standard. As students, you need to take this course seriously because it
will not only boost your interest, it will correct your attitudes on computer
repair workshop.
1.1 What is a Computer Repair Laboratory?
In the first class you learnt the basics of
computing. By now, you are expected to have learnt the definition of computer.
A computer is an electronic machine that accepts data in form of input,
processes it to give an output.
In the computer repair laboratory we see a lot
of equipment or tools like IC removal, set of screwdriver, soldering iron, lead
sucker, millimeter, microcomputer, installation discs (anti-virus; operating system
and so on).
Before you can define a computer repair
laboratory, the following concept is important:
Computer: Heidi
(2017) defines computer as a fabulous instrument that turns
human inputs into electronic information that stores or share through various
output devices. A computer performs (if
instructed to do so) the steps shown in the diagram below, using information
that a user provides (such as a typed sentence) (see fig 1 below): From the
figure we see the key sections – INPUT, PROCESSING and OUTPUT. Two or more
stages could be involved between PROCESSING and OUTPUT. One of the key areas of
applying computer is in health care and transportation (Abdulhameed et al,2017)
and (Abdulhameed & Akinola, 2016)
Figure 1: Basic block diagram of a computer
(Heidi, 2017)
1.1 Hardware
1.1.1.
Basic Hardware
Components
The
‘hardware’ is the physical equipment needed for a computer to function
properly. Therefore, without it, the computer is incomplete. A desktop computer
is shown in fig 2, but all of this equipment (hardware components) is also
found (in a more compact arrangement) in a laptop computer.
Figure 2 - Inside a Desktop Computer Case (Heidi, 2017)
A. Case. The computer case is also called a tower or
housing. It is the box that many of the parts shown below. It has attachment points, slots and screws
that allow these parts to be fitted onto the case. The case is also sometimes called the CPU,
since it houses the CPU (central processing unit or processor), but this
designation can lead to confusion.
B. Power Supply. The power
supply is used to establish connection to all of the parts of the computer
described below to electrical power. It
is usually found at the back of the computer case.
C. Fan. A fan is needed to diffuse
the significant amount of heat that is generated by the electrically powered
parts in a computer (eg Integrated circuit, microprocessor and HDD). It is important for preventing overheating of
the various electronic components.Some computers will also have a heat sink
located near the processor to absorb heat from the processor.
D. Motherboard. The motherboard
is a large electronic board (square)used to connect the power supply to various
other electronic parts, and to hold these parts in place on the computer. The computer’s memory (RAM) and processor are
attached to the motherboard. Also found
on the motherboard is the BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) chip that is
responsible for some fundamental operations of the computer, such as linking
hardware and software. It also contains
a small battery (that looks like a watch battery) and the chips that work with
it to store the system time and some other computer settings.
E. Drives. A computer’s drives
are the devices used for long term storage of information. The main storage area for a computer is its
internal hard drive (also called a hard disk).
The computer should also have disk drives for some sort of removable
storage media. A floppy disk drive was
very common until recent years, and is still found on many older desk top
computers. It was replaced by CD-ROM and
DVD drives, which have higher storage capacities. The current standard is a DVD-RW drive (both
read and write information using both CD and DVD disks).
F.
Cards. This term is used to describe important tools
that allow your computer to connect and communicate with various input and
output devices. The term “card” is used
because these items are relatively flat in order to fit into the slots provided
in the computer case. A computer will
probably have a sound card, a video card, a network card and a modem.
G.
RAM. RAM is the abbreviation for random access
memory. This is the short term memory
that is used to store documents while they are being processed. The amount of RAM in a computer is one of the
factors that affect the speed of a computer.
RAM attaches to the motherboard via some specific slots. It is important to have the right type of RAM
for a specific computer, as RAM has changed over the years.
H.
Processor. The processor is the main “brain” of a
computer system. It performs all of the
instructions and calculations that are needed and manages the flow of
information through a computer. It is
also called the CPU (central processing unit), although this term can also be
used to describe a computer case along with all of the hardware found inside
it. Another name for the processor is a
computer “chip” although this term can refer to other lesser processors (such
as the BIOS). Processors are continually
evolving and becoming faster and more powerful.
The speed of a processor is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz
(GHz). An older computer might have a
processor with a speed of 1000 MHz (equivalent to 1 GHz) or lower, but
processors with speeds of over 2 GHz are now common. One processor company, Intel, made a popular
series of processors called Pentium.
Many reconditioned computers contain Pentium II, Pentium III and Pentium
4 processors, with Pentium 4 being the fastest of these.
I.
Peripheral
hardware. Peripheral hardware is the
name for the computer components that are not found within the computer
case. This includes input devices such
as a mouse, microphone and keyboard, which carry information from the computer
user to the processor, and output devices such as a monitor, printer and
speakers, which display or transmit information from the computer back to the
user.
1.1.2.
Computer Ports
The peripheral hardware mentioned above must attach to the computer
so that it can transmit information from the user to the computer (or vice
versa). There are a variety of ports
present on a computer for these attachments.
These ports have gradually changed over time as computers have changed
to become faster and easier to work with.
Ports also vary with the type of equipment that connects to the
ports. A computer lab manager should
become familiar with the most common ports (and their uses), as described
below.
Serial Port. This port for
use with 9 pin connectors is no longer commonly used, but is found on many
older computers. It was used for
printers, mice, modems and a variety of other digital devices.
Parallel
Port. This long and slender port is also no longer commonly used, but was the
most common way of attaching a printer to a computer until the introduction of
USB ports (see below). The most common
parallel port has holes for 25 pins, but other models were also manufactured.
Figure 3 - Back of Desktop Computer Showing Ports
VGA. The Video Graphics
Array port is found on most computers today and is used to connect video
display devices such as monitors and projectors. It has three rows of holes, for a 15 pin
connector.
PS/2. Until recently, this
type of port was commonly used to connect keyboards and mice to computers. Most desktop computers have two of these
round ports for six pin connectors, one for the mouse and one for the
keyboard.
USB. The Universal Serial
Bus is now the most common type of port on a computer. It was developed in the late 1990s as a way
to replace the variety of ports described above. It can be used to connect mice, keyboards,
printers, and external storage devices such as DVD-RW drives and flash
drives. It has gone through three
different models (USB 1.0, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0), with USB 3.0 being the fastest
at sending and receiving information. The main
difference between the standards is speed. The maximum bandwidth of 3.0 is over
10 times higher than 2.0.
Figure 4: USB ports
(https://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/pc-ports-explained-get-to-know-the-back-of-your-computer-2/)
FIREWIRE. FireWire was developed by Apple to solve the lack of high-speed connections available to peripherals during the early 90s. Speed was given high priority, and it showed in the resulting standard. FireWire which went through several revisions and each was consistently quicker than USB.It was found in older cameras or peripherals.
Figure 5: FireWire ports (https://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/pc-ports-explained-get-to-know-the-back-of-your-computer-2/)
eSATA. This standard related to the common SATA standard that’s used by nearly all modern hard drives, but designed for external peripherals. It takes advantage of SATA’s excellent bandwidth to provide fast transfer speeds. While USB and FireWire are both capable of powering devices, which is why most USB peripherals and storage devices don’t need external power, there’s no support for that in eSATA.
eSATA. This standard related to the common SATA standard that’s used by nearly all modern hard drives, but designed for external peripherals. It takes advantage of SATA’s excellent bandwidth to provide fast transfer speeds. While USB and FireWire are both capable of powering devices, which is why most USB peripherals and storage devices don’t need external power, there’s no support for that in eSATA.
Figure 6: eSATA port (https://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/pc-ports-explained-get-to-know-the-back-of-your-computer-2/)
Thunderbolt. It’s a new type of connection developed by Intel under the codename Light Peak. Thunderbolt is less expensive and has the ability to deliver power, a critical attribute for any connection that dreams of widespread adoption. In fact, Thunderbolt can deliver a whopping 10 watts, which is over twice as much as USB 3.0.
Figure 7: Thunderbolt port (https://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/pc-ports-explained-get-to-know-the-back-of-your-computer-2/)
DVI. It was developed as a successor to VGA, this connection can handle analog signals. Away from the general-purpose connections, DVI focuses on audio and video. DVI also can output audio when paired with an appropriate video card and a DVI-to-HDMI adapter
DisplayPort. It was one of
two A/V connections (the other being HDMI) developed in the middle of last
decade. This connection was developed specifically with computer monitors in
mind and is meant to be the full-digital replacement for DVI. It allows for
daisy-chain configurations. It’s possible to run up to four 1080p displays with
a single DisplayPort connection. Another nice advantage is cable length: The
spec supports up to three meters in copper and fifteen with fiber-optic – but
be warned, those cables are expensive.
Figure 9: DisplayPort
port (https://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/pc-ports-explained-get-to-know-the-back-of-your-computer-2/
HDMI. The High Definition Multimedia Interface began
production in 2003 as a replacement to all earlier A/V connections. It was
built to be a do-it-all cable combining uncompressed audio and video for
maximum picture quality.
Figure 10: Ethernet port (https://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/pc-ports-explained-get-to-know-the-back-of-your-computer-2/)
TRS. TRS (tip, ring and sleeve) ports are also known as ports for mini-jacks or audio jacks. They are commonly used to connect audio devices such as headphones and microphones to computers
Repair: This
means putting into
good order something that is injured, damaged, or defective. We may have a lot
of damaged items, for example HDD, floppy drive, DVD ROM Drive and monitors. To
fix these devices, we need to work in a computer workshop. So, what is a
computer workshop? On the other hand, a laboratory (or lab) is where the
experiments are being done. It is used interchangeably with the world
‘workshop’. Therefore, a
computer repair laboratory is where damaged computers are being done.
PRE-TEST (SUBMIT TO IDRAB4ALLYAHOO.COM
USING THE FORMAT: NAME, MATRIC NUMBER,
EMAIL ADD, PHONE NUMBER before the next
class)
A.
List 5 items you can see in a computer
laboratory. 2 marks
1.2 Proper
Use of Tools
Using tools properly helps prevent accidents
and damage to equipment and people. This section describes and covers the
proper use of a variety of hardware, software, and organizational tools
specific to working with computers and peripherals.
1.2.1 Hardware
Tools
For every job there is the right tool. Make
sure that you are familiar with the correct use of each tool and that the
correct tool is used for the current task. Skilled use of tools and software
makes the job less difficult and ensures that tasks are performed properly and
safely. A toolkit should contain all the tools necessary to complete hardware
repairs. As you gain experience, you learn which tools to have available for
different types of jobs. Hardware tools are grouped into four categories:
- ESD tools: These are of two types: the antistatic wrist strap and the antistatic mat. The antistatic wrist strap protects computer equipment when grounded to a computer chassis. The antistatic mat protects computer equipment by preventing static electricity from accumulating on the hardware or on the technician.
- Hand tools: Most tools used in the computer assembly process are small hand tools. They are available individually or as part of a computer repair toolkit. Toolkits range widely in size, quality, and price. Some common hand tools and their uses are:
1.
Flat-head screwdriver: Used to tighten or
loosen slotted screws.
2.
Phillips-head screwdriver: Used to tighten or
loosen cross-headed screws.
3.
Torx screwdriver: Used to tighten or loosen
screws that have a star-like depression on the top, a feature that is mainly
found on laptops.
4.
Hex driver: Used to tighten or loosen nuts in
the same way that a screwdriver tightens or loosens screws (sometimes called a
nut driver).
5.
Needle-nose pliers: Used to hold small parts.
6.
Wire cutters: Used to strip and cut wires.
7.
Tweezers: Used to manipulate small parts.
8.
Part retriever: Used to retrieve parts from
locations that are too small for your hand to fit.
9.
Flashlight: Used to light up areas that you
cannot see well.
10. Wire stripper:
A wire stripper is used to remove the insulation from wire so that it can be twisted
to other wires or crimped to connectors to make a cable.
11. Crimper: Used
to attach connectors to wires.
12. Punch-down
tool: Used to terminate wire into termination blocks. Some cable connectors
must be connected to cables using a punch down tool
1.2.2
Cleaning tools: Having the appropriate cleaning
tools is essential when maintaining and repairing computers. Using the
appropriate cleaning tools helps ensure that computer components are not
damaged during cleaning. Cleaning tools include the following:
1.
Soft cloth: Used to clean different computer
components without scratching or leaving debris
2.
Compressed air: Used to blow away dust and
debris from different computer parts without touching the components
3.
Cable ties: Used to bundle cables neatly inside
and outside of a computer
4.
Parts organizer: Used to hold screws, jumpers,
fasteners, and other small parts and prevents them from getting mixed together
 |
| Add caption |
Figure 11: Computer tools (Cisco, 2017)
1.2.3 Diagnostic tools
These are used to test and diagnose equipment.
Diagnostic tools include the following:
- A digital multimeter, as shown in Fig 12, is a device that can take many types of measurements. It tests the integrity of circuits and the quality of electricity in computer components. A digital multimeter displays the information on an LCD or LED.
-
· A loopback
adapter: This is also called a loopback plug. It tests the simplest functionality of
computer ports. The adapter is specific to the port that you want to test
(search www.google.com/loopbackplug)
· Toner Probe: The toner
probe, as shown in Figure 13, is in two-parts. The toner part is
connected to a cable at one end using specific adapters, such as an RJ-45,
coaxial, or metal clips. The toner generates a tone that travels the length of
the cable. The probe part traces the cable. When the probe is in near proximity
to the cable to which the toner is attached, the tone can be heard through a
speaker in the probe.
This is a nice post
ReplyDeleteNice post. Anyway to contact you
ReplyDeleteSir can't u put it in a folder so we will able 2 download it.
ReplyDeleteSorry, it was an oversight. Will work on it. I need some volunteers to work with.
ReplyDeletenice lecture note
ReplyDeleteThanks @femi
ReplyDeleteSir can i describe required tools in the computer workshop into :
ReplyDelete1:hard ware tools
2:cleaning tools
3:diagnostic tools
Sir....please can't you make it a pdf we can download?
ReplyDelete