HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface)
is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data
VGA (Video Graphics Adapter)
a graphics standard for video display controller first introduced with the IBM. These Adapters do not deliver audio only video.
DVI (Digital Visual Interface)
Port that enables digital signals to transmit directly to the LCD monitor
SATA (Serial AT Attachment)
A popular bus used to connect hard drives and other mass storage devices to the computer.
USB Universal Serial Port
An external bus standard that supports data transfer.
fire wire port
port that can connect multiple types of devices that require faster data transmission speeds
driver
A small program that instructs the operating system on how to operate a specific piece hardware.
USB Type A
Printer, Scanner, Camera, Mouse, Keyboard, External CD-Rom, MP3 player, PDA
USB Type-C Port
a new port used to support a smaller, reversible connector
Ethernet Cable (RJ-45)
cable that connects computers to the LAN that allows the computers to communicate with each other and other peripherals.
Telephone Connector (RJ-11)
A fax modem uses twisted pair cabling with an RJ-11 connector at the fax end and a connector suitable for use with the country's phone system at the other end. Once used by dial up modems.
NFC (Near Field Communication)
Mobile technology that enables short-range ( around 2-inches) wireless communication between mobile devices. Now used for mobile payment technology such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet
Bluetooth
Wireless PAN technology that transmits signals over short distances between cell phones, computers, and other devices
Display Port
an alternative to DVI that also supports HDMI
Thunderbolt port
A high speed input/output port; Thunderbolt 2 provides two channels of 20 Gbps capacity on one port.
HID (Human Interface Device)
Input devices (peripherals) that enable the user to enter data and select commands
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)
uses radio signals to communicate with a tag placed in or attached to an object
PS/2 port
a round 6-pin port used by a keyboard or mouse.
Motherboard
A printed circuit board that connects all PC components
Firmware
Software that is permanently stored into hardware to give instructions
Basic Input/Output System/BIOS
Software built into the ROM that is the first instructions the computer processes to test devices
32-bit CPU
Slightly outdated form of processing with approximately 4 GB of RAM available
64-bit CPU
Modern CPU that allows for much more RAM to be used than a 32-bit
Intel CPU Brands
Core, Pentium, Celeron, Atom, Xeon
Ryzen & Epyc
The AMD CPU brands designed for desktop and workstation computers include:
Bus
The paths, or lines, on the motherboard on which data, instructions, and electrical power move from component to component.
Types of Bus
PCI (32 Bit), PCI Express or PCIe 1.0, PCIe x16 (4 GBpsGraphics adapters use x16 lanes)
Heatsinks
passive cooling systems that looks like metal fins to dissipate heat from components like chips
Thermal paste
A compound used to bridge the thermal gap between the surface of a chips packaging and the mating surface of a heatsink.
bootstrapping or booting a computer
standard means for the CPU to start processing instructions and initialize the other components
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)
provides support for 64-bit CPU operation at boot, a full GUI and mouse operation at boot, and better boot security. A computer with UEFI may also support booting in a legacy BIOS mode.
Optical Drive (CD/DVD)
A storage device that uses light instead of magnetism to store information. This include CD-ROM, DVD, and Blu-ray devices.
External hard Drive
An HDD that can be connected as a peripheral to a computer.
Network Interface Card (NIC)
A component, sometimes built into and sometimes plugged into the motherboard, that provides wired or wireless (or both) network connectivity.
Flash Storage
A compact, portable storage device that uses special memory chips to store data. Flash storage devices can be removed from a power source and its contents will remain intact.
Power Supply
The component of a computer that supplies the right amount and form of electricity to the motherboard and other computer components.
Plug and Play
technology that allows a hardware component to be attached to a computer so that it is automatically configured by the operating system, without user intervention
Device Manager
Primary Windows tool for managing hardware.
Web Interface
The interaction between a user and software running on a web browser. The page is downloaded and rendered.
LCD (liquid crystal display)
Type of display commonly used on portable computers. LCDs have also replaced CRTs as the display of choice for desktop computer users.
CRT Monitor (Cathode Ray Tube)
desktop monitor that contains a cathode-ray tube
laser printer
uses a toner cartridge filled with fine powder and a heated fuser
inkjet printer
A nonimpact printer that sprays tiny drops of ink onto paper.
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
the four ink colors used to create most process color printing
Webcam
A camera that broadcast images through the Internet through a computer or web cell phone.
printer consumables
Paper, Toner, Fusers and Rollers
thermal printer
generates images by pushing electrically heated pins against the heat-sensitive paper
volatile memory
memory that is lost when the computer is turned off. All RAM Modules are volatile
solid state drive (SSD)
long-term storage device that contains no moving parts. It's Solid, so nothing is moving.
hard disk drive (HDD)
A long-term storage device used to store and retrieve data from rapidly rotating disks coated with magnetic material.
flash memory devices
Electronic storage devices that are compact, portable, require little power, and contain no moving parts.
file system
Determines the way an operating system stores files on disk.
disk partition
A disk partition is a section of a hard drive that is treated as a separate storage unit;
NTFS (New Technology File System)
A file system developed by Microsoft to be used with all Windows Operating Systems
FAT32
File allocation table that uses 32 bits to address and index clusters. Commonly
used with Flash drives or Flash Memory Devices
ext3 and ext4
File systems commonly used by Linux/Unix and Apple's Mac Operating system
Task Manager
lists all the programs being used and indicates their status
File Explorer
The file management tool in the Windows Operating System used to organize files.
file permission settings
option that specify access rights for a specific file or directory
file permission levels
A specific permission which can be granted on files and/or folders.
-Full Control
-Modify
-Read/list/execute
-Write
file types
indicates the type of application that produced the document:
PDF, RTF, DOCX, XLS, PPT
executable files
programs or software that runs immediately after the user clicks on the file
.bat, .msi, .cmd, .com, .dll, .exe
Audio ports
-1 Side Speaker (Grey)
-2 Rear Speaker (Black)
-3 Audio In Sub woofer (Orange)
-4 Microphone (Pink)
-5 Audio Out Speakers (Green)
-6 Analog Line/Telephone (Blue)