COMPUTER SYSTEMS REVISION

QUESTION

a. OSI Model layers

In the OSI model, control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the application layer (Layer 7)
in one station, and proceeding to the bottom layer, over the channel to the next station and back up the
hierarchy. The OSI model takes the task of inter-networking and divides that up into what is referred to as
a vertical stack that consists of the following 7 layers.

Did You Know...? Most of the functionality in the OSI model exists in all communications systems,
although two or three OSI layers may be incorporated into one. OSI is also referred to as the OSI
Reference Model or just the OSI Model.

Application (Layer 7)

OSI Model, Layer 7, supports application and end-user processes. Communication partners are identified,
quality of service is identified, user authentication and privacy are considered, and any constraints on data
syntax are identified. Everything at this layer is application-specific. This layer provides application
services for file transfers, e-mail, and other network software services. Telnet and FTP are applications
that exist entirely in the application level. Tiered application architectures are part of this layer.

Layer 7 Application examples include WWW browsers, NFS, SNMP, Telnet, HTTP, FTP

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Presentation (Layer 6)

This layer provides independence from differences in data representation (e.g., encryption) by translating
from application to network format, and vice versa. The presentation layer works to transform data into
the form that the application layer can accept. This layer formats and encrypts data to be sent across a
network, providing freedom from compatibility problems. It is sometimes called the syntax layer.

Layer 6 Presentation examples include encryption, ASCII, EBCDIC, TIFF, GIF, PICT, JPEG, MPEG,
MIDI.

Session (Layer 5)

This layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications. The session layer sets
up, coordinates, and terminates conversations, exchanges, and dialogues between the applications at each
end. It deals with session and connection coordination.

Layer 5 Session examples include NFS, NetBios names, RPC, SQL.

Transport (Layer 4)

OSI Model, Layer 4, provides transparent transfer of data between end systems, or hosts, and is
responsible for end-to-end error recovery and flow control. It ensures complete data transfer.

Layer 4 Transport examples include SPX, TCP, UDP.

Network (Layer 3)

Layer 3 provides switching and routing technologies, creating logical paths, known as virtual circuits, for
transmitting data from node to node. Routing and forwarding are functions of this layer, as well as
addressing, internetworking, error handling, congestion control and packet sequencing.

Layer 3 Network examples include AppleTalk DDP, IP, IPX.

Data Link (Layer 2)

At OSI Model, Layer 2, data packets are encoded and decoded into bits. It furnishes transmission protocol
knowledge and management and handles errors in the physical layer, flow control and frame
synchronization. The data link layer is divided into two sub layers: The Media Access Control (MAC)
layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. The MAC sub layer controls how a computer on the
network gains access to the data and permission to transmit it. The LLC layer controls frame
synchronization, flow control and error checking.

Layer 2 Data Link examples include PPP, FDDI, ATM, IEEE 802.5/ 802.2, IEEE 802.3/802.2, HDLC,
Frame Relay.

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Physical (Layer 1)

OSI Model, Layer 1 conveys the bit stream - electrical impulse, light or radio signal — through the
network at the electrical and mechanical level. It provides the hardware means of sending and receiving
data on a carrier, including defining cables, cards and physical aspects. Fast Ethernet, RS232, and ATM
are protocols with physical layer components.

Layer 1 Physical examples include Ethernet, FDDI, B8ZS, V.35, V.24, RJ45.

b. Reasons for a layered model

 Standardization of communication between layers

 Provides an architecture which defines communication tasks
 Implementation of protocol behavior
 It prevents changes in one layer from affecting other layers.
 It describes what functions occur at each layer of the model that encourages industry
standardization.
 Dividing network communication process in smaller component makes software development,
design, and troubleshooting easier.
 Standardization of network components allows multiple-vendor development.
 It allows different types of network hardware and software to communicate.
 Dividing network in layers make network administrators life easier. They can troubleshoot
issue more quickly and effectually by looking in layer that is causing issue rather than finding
it entire network. It also makes learning easier.
 To create a common platform for software developers and hardware manufactures that
encourage the creation of networking products that can communicate with each other over the
network.
 To help network administrators by dividing large data exchange process in smaller segments.
Smaller segments are easier to understand, manage and troubleshoot. With layer approach they
only have to troubleshoot the devices which are working in faulty layer.

Bridge
 Operate at the data link layer
 Connect two or more network segments that use the same data link and network protocol
Router
 Operate at the network layer
 Connects two or more segments that use the same or different data link layer but the same
network protocol

Gateway
 Operate at the network layer
 Connect two or more networks that use the same or different data link and network
protocol
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QUESTION

Briefly describe and state the functions of the following components

a) Motherboard

 The main circuit board of a computer.

 It contains all the circuits and components that run the computer.
 Thus, a motherboard is the data and power infrastructure for the entire computer

1. The motherboard acts as the central backbone of a computer on which other modular parts are
installed such as the CPU, RAM and hard disks.
2. The motherboard also acts as the platform on which various expansion slots are available to
install other devices / interfaces.
3. The motherboard is also responsible to distribute power to the various components of the
computer.
4. Also used in the coordination of the various devices in the computer and maintain an interface
among them.

b) Northbridge chip

 Links the CPU to very high-speed devices, especially RAM and graphics controllers.
 The Northbridge connects the Southbridge to the CPU and is commonly known as the memory
controller hub.
 The Northbridge handles a computer's faster interaction requirements and controls
communication between the CPU, RAM, ROM, the basic input/output system (BIOS), the
accelerated graphics port (AGP) and the Southbridge chip.
 The Northbridge links I/O signals directly to the CPU.
 The CPU uses the Northbridge frequency as a baseline for determining its operating frequency

c) Southbridge chip

 Connects to lower-speed peripheral buses (such as PCI or ISA).

 The Southbridge, which is not directly connected to the CPU, is also known as the
input/output controller hub.
 Southbridge handles the motherboard's slower connections, including input/output (I/O)
devices and computer peripherals like expansion slots and hard disk drives.
 In many modern chipsets, the Southbridge contains some on-chip integrated peripherals,
such as Ethernet, USB, and audio devices

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QUESTION

i. Bit
 Binary digit i.e. 1 or 0

ii. Nibble
 4 bits or half byte

iii. Byte
 8 bits

iv. Computer word

 Refers to a string of characters or bits
 It refers to the number of bits of data a computer can transfer between the CPU and
memory at one time

v. Data Bus

 Bi-directional
 Carries data signals throughout the system
 carries the actual data being processed

vi. Address Bus

 Uni-directional
 Carries address signals
 Consists of a binary number that identifies a memory address location and specifies
memory storage locations

vii. Control Bus

 Controls and coordinates the activities and functions of the whole systems
 A control bus is (part of) a computer bus, used by CPUs for communicating with other devices
within the computer
 carries commands from the CPU and returns status signals from the devices

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QUESTION

a) Assembler
 Translates mnemonics or assembly language into machine language

b) Editor
 Program that allows the user to enter, edit and store a group of instructions or text
under a filename

c) Compiler
 Program that translates high level language into machine code

d) Debugger
 It’s a program that allows the user to test and debug object file

e) Loader
 Program that takes the hex file generated by the assemble and generate a file in a
binary load and loads it into memory for execution

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QUESTION

Outline the functions of the following troubleshooting equipment

i. Oscilloscope

 Used for measuring analogue waveforms: amplitude, phase values, or edge

measurements such as rise times, etc
 Shows and calculate the frequency and amplitude of an oscillating signal.
 Shows the voltage and time of a particular signal.
 Helps to troubleshoot any malfunction components of a project by looking at the
expected output after a particular component.
 Shows the content of the AC voltage or DC voltage in a signal.

ii. Signature analyzer

 Used for fault finding digital / logic electronic circuits.

 Able to detect digital waveform patterns
 Ideal for field repair and other similar applications where simple analysis of complex
waveforms is required.
 used for checking data on given nodes within a logic system such as a
microprocessor board
 In view of the significant increase in complexity of logic circuits the signature
analyzer is little used these days

iii. Logic analyzer

 Debug and verify digital system operation

 Trace and correlate many digital signals simultaneously
 Detect and analyze timing violations and transients on buses
 Trace embedded software execution

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QUESTION

Explain the following

i. Tribocharging

 Tribocharging is a contact electrification process that enables buildup of static electricity

due to touching or rubbing of surfaces in specific combinations of two dissimilar
materials.
 It is the separation of electric charges that occurs when two materials are brought into
contact and then separated.
 When there is physical contact, a chemical bond is produced between the surfaces to
some extent, and charges are transferred from one surface to another.
 Examples of tribocharging include walking on a rug, rubbing a plastic comb against dry
hair, rubbing a balloon against a sweater, or removing some types of plastic packaging.
 In all these cases, the breaking of contact between two materials results in tribocharging
 This causes a charge imbalance between those dissimilar objects, thus creating a
difference of electrical potential that can lead to an ESD event.

ii. Electrostatic induction

 This occurs when an electrically charged object is placed near a conductive object
isolated from the ground.
 The presence of the charged object creates an electrostatic field that causes electrical
charges on the surface of the other object to redistribute.
 Even though the net electrostatic charge of the object has not changed, it now has regions
of excess positive and negative charges.
 An ESD event may occur when the object comes into contact with a conductive path.

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QUESTION

Low level language High level language

- Machine dependent - Machine independent
- Not portable - Portable
- Difficult to write - Uses English like statements which
are easier to understand and code
-
- Difficult to find errors - Easy to write

(a) Structured programming

 is a programming paradigm aimed on improving the clarity, quality, and
development time of a computer program by making extensive use of subroutines,
block structures
 a top down technique of designing programs and systems
 complex programs are broken down into smaller programs which are manageable

(b) syntax
 Refers to the structure of a programming language
 Is the set of rules that defines the combinations of symbols that are considered to
be a correctly structured document or fragment in that language?
 Refers to the spelling and grammar of a programming language

(c) logic errors

 A logic error is a mistake in a program's source code that results in incorrect or

unexpected behavior. It is a type of runtime error that may simply produce the wrong
output or may cause a program to crash while running. Example

int average(int a, int b)

{
return a + b / 2; /* should be (a + b) / 2 */
}

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QUESTION

a) Describe POST in reference to a computer’s boot process.

 POST stands for "Power On Self Test." It is a diagnostic program built into the computer's hardware that
tests different hardware components before the computer boots up.
 POST begins by checking the BIOS chip and then tests CMOS RAM.
 If the POST does not detect a battery failure, it then continues to initialize the CPU, video card, secondary
storage devices, such as hard drives and floppy drives, ports and other hardware devices, such as the
keyboard and mouse, to ensure they are functioning properly.
 If any of these tests fail, the POST process will return an error message.
 This message may be displayed on the screen or may be output in the form of beeps or blinking lights.
 The most common type of POST error is a memory error.
 This can be caused by one or more bad memory modules or a memory chip that is loose or not fully seated.
 The POST process runs quickly at the beginning of the boot sequence before the operating system loads.
Therefore, you most likely will not notice it unless there is an error.
 Once the POST has determined that all components are functioning properly and the CPU has successfully
initialized the BIOS looks for an OS to load.

b) Compare and contrast GUI and CLI.

GUI CLI
 Uses graphics, images, icons and text.  It is a text based interface that requires text and
codes to operate
 Booting up is more demanding on the CPU.  Booting up system is less demanding on the
CPU
 A GUI requires more system resources because  A computer that is only using the command line
of the elements that require loading, such as takes a lot less of the computer's system
icons and fonts. Video, mouse, and other drivers resources than a GUI.
need to be loaded, taking up additional system
resources
 Mouse is used as the basic input device;  Keyboard is used as the basic input device. The
command line allows the user to keep their
hands on the keyboard, almost never touching
the mouse.
 Most users pick up this interface much easier  New users have a difficult time navigating and
when compared to a command line interface, operating a command line interface, because of
 the memorization and familiarity needed to
although new users may struggle learning to
use the mouse and all GUI features operate a command line interface,
 In a multitasking environment, GUI users have  Does not offer the same ease and ability to view
windows that enable a user to view, control, multiple things at once on one screen in a
manipulate, and toggle through multiple multitasking environment
programs and folders at same time. Allows more
than one process to work simultaneously.
 Slower than someone who is working in a  Fast in that Command line users only need to
command line, as using both a mouse and utilize their keyboards to navigate the interface.
keyboard to navigate and control your operating Additionally, they often only need to execute a
or file system is going to slow you a bit few lines to perform a task.

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QUESTION
i) Program Counter
 Holds the address of the next instruction to be executed

ii) Status register

 A status register, flag register, or condition code register is a collection of
status flag bits for a processor.
 The status register is a hardware register which contains information about
the state of the processor.
 Individual bits are implicitly or explicitly read and/or written by the
machine code instructions executing on the processor.
 The status register includes at least three central flags: Zero, Carry, and
Overflow, which are set or cleared automatically as effects of arithmetic
and bit manipulation operations.

iii) Memory address register

 Maps the address in memory
 Keeps the addresses of programs being executed

iv) Stack pointer

 Is a special register which points to the top of a set of memory locations of
information to be decoded or executed

v) Current instruction register

 Contains the current contents of the instruction being executed
 Contains both the operator and operand of the current instruction

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QUESTION

a) Roles of an Operating system

 Controls hardware access
 User interfacing - To provide users a convenient interface to use the computer system
 Platform for application software
 Resource management - To manage the resources of a computer system - To provide
efficient and fair sharing of resources among users and programs. - To keep track of who is
using which resource, granting resource requests, according for resource using and
mediating conflicting requests from different programs and users
 Error handling
 To hide the details of the hardware resources from the users
 To act as an intermediary between the hardware and its users and making it easier for the
users to access and use other resources

 Controls and coordinates the computer system

 Scheduling and loading of jobs to provide continuous processing. So that no parts of the
computer system are idle for any significant period of time.
 It is a platform for application programs
 Provides user interface
 Acts as an interface between hardware and application programs
 Provides error correctional routines
 Control over selection and operation of input-output devices & file handling.
 Records details of processing for control analysis
 File management, control the creation, deletion, saving and access of files
 Memory management, allocates memory to various jobs or tasks
 Multiprogramming, multiprocessing, multitasking, timesharing, housekeeping & handling
errors.
 Resource management manages processor time, memory space, disk space and peripheral
devices.
 Reports errors when they occur.
 Task management. Manage the accomplishment of the computing tasks of end users. It
may involve multitasking capability where several computing tasks can occur at the same
time.
 Minimizes the amount of human intervention required during processing.

b) Function of Unix shell

 Acts as an interface between the user and the kernel
 Serves as a command interpreter providing interactive control of operations

c) Unix shell
 C Shell
 Bourne Shell
 Corn Shell

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QUESTION

a) Define Network Operating System (NOS) and give any two (2) examples.

 Is the software that allows multiple computers to communicate, share files and hardware devices
with one another?
 A network operating system is an operating system designed for the sole purpose of supporting
workstations, database sharing, application sharing and file and printer access sharing among
multiple computers in a network.

Examples
 Microsoft Windows NT
 OpenVMS
 Microsoft Windows Server 2003,
 Microsoft Windows Server 2008,
 Linux
 Mac OS X.

b) State any two (2) functions of NOS

 Providing access to remote printers, managing which users are using which printers when,
managing how print jobs are queued, and recognizing when devices aren't available to the
network
 Enabling and managing access to files on remote systems, and determining who can
access what—and who can't
 Granting access to remote applications and resources, such as the Internet, and making
those resources seem like local resources to the user (the network is ideally transparent to the
user)
 Providing routing services, including support for major networking protocols, so that the
operating system knows what data to send where
 Monitoring the system and security, so as to provide proper security against viruses,
hackers, and data corruption.
 Providing basic network administration utilities (such as SNMP, or Simple Network
Management Protocol), enabling an administrator to perform tasks involving managing
network resources and users.

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QUESTION

Briefly explain the following network communication media

i. 10BASE2

 10Base2 is among the family of Ethernet network standards for local area networks
(LAN) that uses a thinner version of coaxial cable to establish a network path or medium
and operates at a speed of 10 Mbps to carry out baseband transmission.
 10Base2 is also known as cheapernet, thinwire, thinnet and thin Ethernet.
 10Base2 use RG- 58 A/U coaxial cable that is thinner, flexible, cheaper and
comparatively easier to install than cable used in 10Base5 standard.
 The maximum cable length within a 10Base2 is 200 meters, but 185 meter is a preferred
length.
 The maximum number of nodes that can connect within a 10Base2 network segment is
30.
 10Base2 use BNC T-connector to join two cables together and to connect with the
computer’s network interface card (NIC).
 Moreover, the cable must be terminated with a 50 ohm resistant at each end.

ii. 10BASE5

 10Base5 refers to a standard for Ethernet network technologies that use a thicker version
of coaxial cables. It has the capability to transmit data at speed of 10Mbps up to 500
meters using baseband transmission.
 10Base5 is also known as Thicknet, ThickWire and thick Ethernet.
 The 10Base5 is among the first of original standards of Ethernet along with 10Base2.
 The name 10Base5 is derived from its 10Mbps transmission speed and 500 meters as the
maximum segment length.
 Its coaxial cable is similar to RG-8/U but with a much thicker shield and braiding,
making it highly resistant to network interference.
 Its outer sheath even has the ability to resist and protect against fire.
 A 10Base5 network segment (LAN) can consist of a maximum of 100 nodes.
 Each node connects to the network segment or cable using an N-connector and must have
a distance of 2.5m between one another.
 Nodes can also be connected through a vampire clam that enables adding a new node in a
live network.

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QUESTION

(a) Scan disk

 Used in windows OS
 Scans the hard drive surface for physical errors
 An attempt is made to recover any information stored in bad sectors

(b) Defragmenter
 Gathers the non-contiguous data into one place making files run much faster
 Process of updating and rewriting some segments of files to contiguous sectors of
a disk in order to increase the effective and efficiency of access of these files

(c) Swap file

 makes the computer appear to have more memory than it has
 allows the execution of processes that may not be completely in memory

(d) Drive space

 Area of main memory that is used to hold blocks of data when they are read in
or written out
 Utilizes the hard drive

(e) himen.sys file

 specifies the location of the hymen program file
 has a program that coordinates the use of the system’s extended memory so
that no two programs use the same memory at the same time

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QUESTION

a) Distinguish low level programming and high level programming

Low level High level

 Low-level programming is difficult to learn.  High-level programming is easy to learn.
 Low-level programming is far from human  High-level programming is near to human
languages. languages.
 Programs in Low-level programming are  Programs in High-level programming are
fast in execution. slow in execution.
 Programs in Low-level programming are  Programs in High-level programming are
difficult to modify. easy to modify.
 Low-level programming provides facility to  High-level programming does not provide
write programs at hardware level. much facility at hardware level.

 Deep knowledge of hardware is required to  Knowledge of hardware is not required to

write programs. write programs.

 Normally used to write hardware programs.  Normally used to write application

programs.

b) Write a program in C++ to add two numbers

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main()
{
float num1, num2, sum;

// Taking input from user

cout << "Enter Two Numbers\n";
cin >> num1 >> num2;

// Adding two input numbers

sum = num1 + num2;

// Printing output
cout << "Sum of "<< num1 << " and " << num2 << " is " << sum;
return 0;
}

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QUESTION

(a) Power Good Signal

 Is a power OK signal
 It is a signal sent to the motherboard when all output voltages from the power supply
are OK
 The Power Good signal prevents a computer from attempting to operate on improper
voltages and damaging itself by alerting it to improper power supply.
 The ATX specification defines the Power-Good signal as a +5 volt (V) signal generated
in the power supply when it has passed its internal self-tests and the outputs have
stabilized
 The signal is then sent to the motherboard, where it is received by the processor timer
chip that controls the reset line to the processor.

(b) Power Good Delay

 Refers to the period or time a power supply takes to start up completely and begin
delivery to proper voltages to the connected devices
 Is the amount of time it takes a power supply to start up completely and begin delivering
the proper voltages to the connected devices?

(c) Oscilloscope

 Displays AC waveforms
 Used to measure amplitude

(d) Analog Multimeter

 Analogue measuring instrument used to measure voltage , current and resistance in an

electronic circuit

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QUESTION

Describe the operation of the following CPU architecture

i. RISC
 A reduced instruction set computer (RISC )is a computer which only use simple instructions
that can be divided into multiple instructions which perform low-level operation within single
clock cycle, as its name suggest “REDUCED INSTRUCTION SET”

ii. CISC
 A complex instruction set computer (CISC ) is a computer where single instructions can
execute several low-level operations (such as a load from memory, an arithmetic operation,
and a memory store) or are capable of multi-step operations or addressing modes within
single instructions, as its name suggest “COMPLEX INSTRUCTION SET”.

CISC RISC
 Emphasis on hardware  Emphasis on software

 Includes multi-clock  Single-clock

 complex instructions  reduced instruction only
 Memory-to-memory: “LOAD” and  Register to register: “LOAD” and
“STORE” incorporated in “STORE” are independent
instructions instructions
 high cycles per second, Small code  Low cycles per second, large code
sizes sizes
 Transistors used for storing  Spends more transistors on memory
complex instructions registers

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QUESTION

State the functions of the following special purpose registers

i. Program counter

 A program counter stores the address of the next instruction to be executed.

 Microprocessor increments the program whenever an instruction is being executed,
so that the program counter points to the memory address of the next instruction that
is going to be executed. Program counter is a 16-bit register.
 Consider that an instruction is being executed by processor. As soon as the ALU
finished executing the instruction, the processor looks for the next instruction to be
executed.
 So, there is a necessity for holding the address of the next instruction to be executed
in order to save time. This is taken care by the program counter.


ii. Stack pointer

 Stack pointer is also a 16-bit register which is used as a memory pointer.

 A stack is nothing but the portion of RAM (Random access memory).
 Stack pointer maintains the address of the last byte that is entered into stack.
 Each time when the data is loaded into stack, Stack pointer gets decremented.
 Conversely it is incremented when data is retrieved from stack.

iii. Instruction register

 Instruction register is 8-bit register just like every other register of microprocessor.
 The instruction may be anything like adding two data's, moving a data, copying a
data etc.
 When such an instruction is fetched from memory, it is directed to Instruction
register. So the instruction registers are specifically to store the instructions that are
fetched from memory.
 There is an Instruction decoder which decodes the information present in the
Instruction register for further processing.

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QUESTION

Describe the following types of memory

(i) Conventional memory

 Is the remaining 640kb from IBM real mode or base memory available
to load and run your applications

(ii) Expanded Memory

 Technique used to overcome the traditional 640kb limit of real mode

addressing.
 Addresses expanded memory blocks by switching them into base
memory range where the CPU accesses it in real mode

(iii)Extended Memory

 An additional memory to the 640kb introduced by using a protected

mode of addressing allows modern processors to handle up to 4GB of
protected mode memory

(iv) Memory Interleave

 Combines two banks of memory into one

 Process allows a memory access in the second portion to begin before
the memory access in the first portion has finished

(v) Memory Paging

 Divides system RAM into small groups or pages which can then be
loaded into memory for processing

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QUESTION

The Intel 8085 internal architecture can be divided into major functions. List any 4 major
functions.

1. Control Unit
 Generates signals within uP to carry out the instruction, which has been decoded.

2. Arithmetic Logic Unit

 The ALU performs the actual numerical and logic operation such as ‘add’,
‘subtract’, ‘AND’, ‘OR’, etc. Uses data from memory and from Accumulator to
perform arithmetic. Always stores result of operation in Accumulator.

3. Registers
 The 8085/8080A-programming model includes six registers, one accumulator, and
one flag register,. In addition, it has two 16-bit registers: the stack pointer and the
program counter.

4. Accumulator
 The accumulator is an 8-bit register that is a part of arithmetic/logic unit (ALU).
This register is used to store 8-bit data and to perform arithmetic and logical
operations. The result of an operation is stored in the accumulator. The accumulator
is also identified as register A.

5. Flags
 The ALU includes five flip-flops, which are set or reset after an operation according
to data conditions of the result in the accumulator and other registers. They are
called Zero(Z), Carry (CY), Sign (S), Parity (P), and Auxiliary Carry (AC) flags.
The most commonly used flags are Zero, Carry, and Sign. The microprocessor uses
these flags to test data conditions.

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QUESTION

a) List 3 DOS filename specifications

 Filename (also written as two words, file name) is a name used to uniquely identify
a computer file stored in a file system.
 Different file systems impose different restrictions on filename lengths and the
allowed characters within filenames.

 A filename may include one or more of these components:

 Host (or node or server) – network device that contains the file
 Device (or drive) – hardware device or drive
 Directory (or path) – directory tree (e.g., /usr/bin, \temp, [usr.lib.src],
etc.)
 File – base name of the file
 Type (format or extension) – indicates the content type of the file (e.g.,
.txt, .exe, .com, etc.)
 Version – revision or generation number of the file

b) State the function of the command.com

 is the filename of the default operating system shell for DOS operating systems and
the default command line interpreter
 responsible for setting up the system by running the AUTOEXEC.BAT
configuration file
 is the first program run after booting

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QUESTION

a) Define the following memory devices terms

i. Access time
 Access time is the amount of time it takes the processor to read data, instructions, and information
from memory.
 A computer’s access time directly affects how fast the computer processes data.
 Accessing data in memory can be more than 200,000 times faster than accessing data on a hard
disk because of the mechanical motion of the hard disk.
 Today’s manufacturers use a variety of terminology to state access times.
 Some use fractions of a second, which for memory occurs in nano seconds.
 A nanosecond (abbreviated ns) is one billionth of a second. A nanosecond is extremely fast.
Other manufacturers state access times in MHz; for example, 800 MHz RAM.

ii. Cycle time

 It is the time that is measured in nanoseconds, the time between one Ram access of time when the
next Random Access Memory RAM access starts.
 Access time were used as synonym of it but IBM separates that with some explanation.
 That Cycle Time find the right place for the memory to take place in the memory and transfer
time of that information/process.
 So one should not get confused while thinking about the Clock Cycle or Clock Speed which have
to do with number of cycles/second to which a processor is paced.

b) List any two (2) factors which affect memory speed within a system

 The amount of RAM memory

 The speed and generation of your CPU (the system clock)
 The size of the Register on your CPU
 The Bus type and speed
 The amount of Cache memory

c) Explain the concept behind memory banks

 A memory bank is the logical storage within computer memory that is used for storing and
retrieving frequently used data.
 It can be a part of standard RAM or the cache memory used for easily accessing and retrieving
program and standard data.
 A memory bank is primarily used for storing cached data, or data that helps a computer access
data much more quickly than standard memory locations.

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 Typically, a memory bank is created and organized by the memory access controller and the
actual physical architecture of the memory module.
 In SDRAM and DDR RAM, the memory bank can consist of multiple columns and rows of
storage units spread across several chips.
 Each memory module can have two or more memory banks for program and data storage.

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QUESTION

a) Define a bus in computer architecture.

 A bus is a common pathway through which information flows from one computer component to
another.
 This pathway is used for communication purpose and it is established between two or more
computer components.

b) Give any four (4) functions of buses in computers.

 Data sharing - All types of buses found in a computer transfer data between the computer
peripherals connected to it. The buses transfer or send data in either serial or parallel method of
data transfer. This allows for the exchange of 1, 2, 4 or even 8 bytes of data at a time. (A byte is a
group of 8 bits). Buses are classified depending on how many bits they can move at the same
time, which means that we have 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit or even 64-bit buses.

 Addressing - A bus has address lines, which match those of the processor. This allows data to be
sent to or from specific memory locations.

 Power - A bus supplies power to various peripherals connected to it.

 Timing - The bus provides a system clock signal to synchronize the peripherals attached to it
with the rest of the system.

c) Name any 4 common external bus types you have studied.

 ISA - Industry Standard Architecture

 EISA - Extended Industry Standard Architecture
 MCA - Micro Channel Architecture
 VESA - Video Electronics Standards Association
 PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
 PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association (Also called PC
bus)
 AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
 SCSI - Small Computer Systems Interface.
 MACINTOSH (Nu-bus)
 USB
 LOCAL BUS

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QUESTION

Illustrate the following logic gates using diagram and their truth tables

(i) OR
(ii) X-OR
(iii)AND
(iv) NAND
(v) NOR

i. OR
A B X
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

ii. X-OR
A X
0 1
1 0

iii. AND
A B X
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1
iv. NAND

A B X
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0
v. NOR

A B X
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0

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QUESTION

a) Describe the term RAID briefly.

 Redundant array of independent disks (RAID) is a method of storing duplicate data on two or
more hard drives.
 It is used for data backup, fault tolerance, to improve throughput, increase storage functions and
to enhance performance.
 RAID is attained by combining two or more hard drives and a RAID controller into a logical unit.
The OS sees RAID as a single logical hard drive called a RAID array. There are different levels
of RAID, each distributing data across the hard drives with their own attributes and features.
Originally, there were five levels, but RAID has advanced to several levels with numerous
nonstandard levels and nested levels. The levels are numbered RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 2, etc.
 RAID is mostly used for data protection allowing a continuation of two data copies, one in each
drive.

b) Explain the following RAID systems of paralleling hard drives

i. RAID 2

 In RAID 2, a central controller synchronizes the disks by making them spin at the same
angular orientation so that they all reach the index simultaneously.
 RAID 2 uses bit-level striping and each sequential bit is placed on a different hard drive.
 The error correcting code (ECC) used is the Hamming code parity, which is calculated across
bits and stored separately in at least a single drive.

 This configuration requires special driver hardware to make the disks spin synchronously.
The RAID 2 controller was expensive and hard to implement. As a result, it never really
caught on and was almost never used.

ii. RAID 5

 Because RAID 5 stripes data and parity bits across all disks, it is very tolerant of single disk
failures, although this reduces the disk capacity slightly. If a disk fails, it simply has to be
replaced and the system can go on. Further data reads are calculated from the parity so that
end users do not even notice the disk failure.

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 RAID 5 is similar to RAID 4, but the dedicated drive used for parity was removed and
replaced with a distributed algorithm. This resolves the bottlenecks caused by a dedicated
parity disk.

Advantages:

 Can tolerate the loss of a single drive

 Good random read performance
 Good sequential read and write performance

Disadvantages:

 Parity calculation may slow down system

 Due to parity overhead, random write performance takes a hit

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QUESTION

With the aid of well labeled diagrams briefly explain half duplex and full duplex
transmission modes.

HALF DUPLEX Mode

 In half duplex system we can send data in both directions but it is done one at a time that is when
the sender is sending the data then at that time we can’t send the sender our message.
 The data is sent in one direction at a time
 Half duplex uses a single path of communication for sending and receiving and is like a one-lane
road, where only one car can move in one direction at a time, while a car at the opposite end of
the lane must wait before driving.
 Similarly, Half duplex-based systems can send or receive in only one direction at a time and must
wait for the completion of in-process communication before using the same channel to transmit in
the opposite direction
 Example of half duplex is a walkie- talkie in which message is sent one at a time and messages
are sent in both the directions.

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FULL DUPLEX Mode

 In full duplex system we can send data in both directions as it is bidirectional.

 Data can be sent in both directions simultaneously.
 We can send as well as we receive the data.
 Example of Full Duplex is a Telephone Network in which there is communication between two
persons by a telephone line, through which both
 Another common example is a computer modem, which may be used to receive and send data at
the same time.

 In full duplex system there can be two lines one for sending the data and the other for receiving
data.

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QUESTION

i. Algorithm
 Is a set of instructions or procedures for solving a program
 It is a finite set of well-defined instructions of accomplishing some tasks

ii. Pseudocode
 Short hand way of describing a computer program rather than the use of a
specific syntax of a computer language

iii. Flow chart

 Pictorial representation of the flow of data

iv. Linker
 Links the object code and separately compiled subroutines such as I/O
routines
 Is a program that combines object modules to form an executable
program?
 Linker or link editor is a computer program that takes one or more object
files generated by a compiler and combines them into a single executable
program.

v. Translator
 translates source code into its equivalent machine code or object code

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QUESTION

a) Clearly show the differences between a surge protector and a surge suppressor.

 A suppressor regulates the voltage and makes the power constant in a case of a spike or surge.
 A protector simply detects the surge and turns the unit off.
 Suppressor is good for things like computers you don't want to keep turning on and off.
 Suppressor suppress surge but protector get its fuse blown on surge.

Surge Protector Surge Suppressor

Surge protectors, are a device used to protect Surge suppressors are devices used to provide
against electrical surges. a constant voltage to any connected electrical
devices.

When a surge is detected, a surge protector If the voltage given to an electrical device is
diverts the surge to the ground, preventing it too high or too low, it could cause damage.
from reaching the connected device. Surge suppressors help prevent this, adjusting
the provided voltage up or down to keep it at
the correct levels.

Surge protectors are normally used with Surge suppressors are not used as often as
expensive electronic devices, such as surge protectors, but can be useful in certain
computers or televisions. Since electric situations. Some households or business may
surges can happen almost anywhere under the receive so called "dirty power," where the
right conditions, surge protectors are usually power fluctuates frequently. Surge suppressors
considered an easy and cheap investment. can be used in such situations to even out the
power supply and help protect electrical
devices.

b) Outline any three (3) occurrences when you use a power supply that does not supply
enough power for the system.

1. System does not boot

2. System randomly shuts down
3. Add in devices do not work properly
4. etc.

c) Name any three (3) computer components that require a power supply voltage of
+12V.
1. Hard disk
2. Optical drive
3. Floppy drive
4. Mainboard or motherboard
5. New age VGA cards
6. Fans,
7. Cooling devices

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QUESTION

i. Current Tracer
 Test the flow of fast rising current pulses
 Senses the magnetic field generated by these pulses and indicates their
presence

ii. Digital Multimeter

 Analogue measuring instrument used to measure voltage, current and
resistance in an electronic circuit

iii. Multichannel Oscilloscope

 Displays AC waveforms
 Used to measure amplitude

iv. Logic Probe

 Logic testing instrument
 Tests the logic state of a node in a digital circuit
 Indicate the presence of a logic 1, 0 or an open circuit

v. Signature analyzer
 Used to record complex data streams in AC waveforms
 Monitors the logic activities of a node in a systems

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QUESTION
i) Boot sector
 First sector on a disk or partition on bootable disk which holds the code called the boot
record that causes the system to move the os files into memory and begin executing them
 A boot sector or boot block is a region of a hard disk that contains machine code to be
loaded into random access memory (RAM) by a computer system's built-in firmware.
The purpose of a boot sector is to allow the boot process of a computer to load the os
program

ii) Bootstrap loader

 Is a program that resides in the computers EPROM, ROM, or other non-volatile memory
that automatically executed by the processor when turning on the computer?
 The bootstrap loader reads the hard drives boot sector to continue the process of loading
the computers operating system.
 Small program that loads the operating system into the computer memory when the system is
booted and also starts the operating system.
 Enables the user to select an operating system to start.

iii) Centronics interface

 A standard interface for connecting printers and other parallel devices
 Standard 36-pin parallel-port connection between a computer and printer. It is being
replaced by the universal serial bus (UBS) or Firewire

Differentiate between Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) and Executed Capabilities Port (ECP)

 EPP/ECP (Enhanced Parallel Port/Enhanced Capability Port) is a standard signaling

method for bi-directional parallel communication between a computer and peripheral
devices that offers the potential for much higher rates of data transfer than the original
parallel signaling methods.
 EPP is for non-printer peripherals. ECP is for printers and scanners.
 EPP/ECP are part of IEEE Standard 1284 , which also specifies support for current
signaling methods (including Centronics , the de facto standard for printer
communication) so that both old and new peripherals can be accommodated.

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QUESTION

a) Define memory mapping

 Refers to the structure of data which usually resides in memory itself that
indicates how memory is laid out
 A technique whereby computer peripherals may be addressed as though they
formed part of the main memory of the computer

b) State four factors that influence air flow in computers

 Chassis design
 Chassis size
 Power supply fan venting
 Location of processor slots

c) Explain the term hot spots as used in areas inside the chassis of a computer

 Refers to the areas inside the chassis which produces or dissipates heat during
processing

d) Suggest 4 ways of avoiding hot spots inside the computer

 Install power supply fan

 Choose a chassis design which allows free circulation of air
 Select a good chassis size

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QUESTION

a) Explain the function of the following

i. Level 1 cache memory

 Internal cache and is integrated into the CPU
 The Level 1 cache, or primary cache, is on the CPU and is used for temporary
storage of instructions and data organized in blocks of 32 bytes.
 Primary cache is the fastest form of storage. Because it’s built in to the chip
with a zero wait-state (delay) interface to the processor’s execution unit, it is
limited in size.
 Level 1 cache is implemented using Static RAM (SRAM)

ii. External cache memory

 Cache memory that is external to the microprocessor. In general, L2 cache
memory, also called the secondary cache, resides on a separate chip from the
microprocessor chip.
 Is a memory that is used to store recently accessed information? The goal of
having the level 2 cache is to reduce data access time in cases when the same
data was already accessed before
 It serves as an intermediate memory between the processor and RAM.

b. Describe the following modes of operation of a CPU

i. Real mode

 CPU can only execute one program at a time e.g. MS DOS

ii. Protected mode

 CPU has access to all of the memory in the computer including

virtual memory.
 Applications are protected from using memory reserved for
another application that is currently working
 In protected mode, programs can access extended memory and
virtual memory. Protected mode also supports multitasking

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iii. Virtual real mode (2)

 CPU allows a real mode application to run within a protected mode OS

 Virtual real mode allows Intel 386 and later processors to contain a real
mode 16-bit environment within protected mode. A good example of
virtual real mode is when a user opens a Windows command line window
Microsoft Windows 98.

iv. Compatibility mode (2)

 Creates an environment of the OS to allow the application to run as if it is in the

intended environment

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QUESTION

a) Evaluate 1101012 – 1010002

First change 101000 to 1’s complement
= 010111
=010111 + 110101
= 1001100
+ 1 to 2’s complement
= 0011012

b) 1101012* 1010002
 110101
*101000
11010100000
+ 110101000
1000010010002

c) 11001012 to 2’s Complement

Found by adding 1 to the LSB of the 1’s complement

0011010 1’s complememt

+1
= 00110112

d) CF816 to binary
110011110002

e) 101112 + 011012
= 1001002

f) 10012 - 01112
= 01102

g) 1101012 to binary
32+16+4+1
= 53

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QUESTION

a) Describe the functions of the following in the implementation of system buses on

I/O

i. Latch
 Latches and flip-flops are the building blocks of sequential circuits.
 latches can be built from gates
 latch does not have a clock signal
 It is a bistable multivibrator i.e. a device with exactly two stable states high and low output
 Has feedback path therefore information can be retained by the devices

ii. Tristate buffer

 A tristate buffer has two inputs: a data input x and a control input c. The control input acts
like a valve.
 A tristate buffer is a device that allows you to control when an output signal makes it to the
bus. When the tristate buffer's control bit is active, the input of the device makes it to the
output. This is when the "valve" is open. When it's not active, the output of the device is Z,
which is high-impedance or, equivalently, nothing. This is when the "valve" is closed, and no
electrical signal is allowed to pass to the output.
 It allows an output port to assume a high impedance state in addition to the 0 and 1 logic
levels, effectively removing the output from the circuit. This allows multiple circuits to share
the same output line or lines

iii. Bi-directional buffer (2)

 A buffer provides a path for voltage or current signals between one circuit and another.
Buffers ensure that the two interconnected circuits don't affect each other so they may
provide amplification or impedance-matching functions.
 A bidirectional buffer allows the signal to travel in either direction so the two sides of the
buffer can each be inputs or outputs. This buffer also requires a direction control signal to
determine which way the signal goes.
 Bidirectional buffers are integrated circuits (IC) that allow data to be sent two ways. The data
is buffered, which means that it is stored temporarily within the IC. This allows devices with
different read and write speeds to communicate, thus making the microprocessor more useful
and versatile
 A bidirectional buffer allows data to be transmitted in two directions, giving it both read and
write capabilities. One device may use the buffer to write data to it, while another might use
the buffer to read what that other device has written. The directionality of the buffer is
controlled using a "Direction" or "DIR" pin.

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QUESTION

Write brief notes on the following display units in terms of physical construction and operation

i. CRT

A CRT is an electronic tube designed to display electrical data

Consists of 4 major components which are:

 Electron gun- used for producing a strain of electrons. The electron gun assembly consists of
an indirectly heated cathode (K), a control grid (G), and an accelerated anode
 Focusing and accelerating anodes- used for producing a narrow and sharply focus beam of
electrons
 Horizontal and deflection plates- used for controlling the path of the beam
 Evacuated glass envelope- has a phosphorescent creen which produces bright spot when
struck by a high velocity electron beam

Working of CRT
 Works by moving an electron beam back and forth across the back of the screen.
 Each time the beam makes a pass across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on the inside of
the glass tube, thereby illuminating the active portions of the screen.
 By drawing many such lines from the top to the bottom of the screen, it creates an entire
screenful of images.

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ii. LCD

Liquid Crystal Display

 Liquid crystal (LC) is an organic substance that has both a liquid form and a crystal
molecular structure. In this liquid, the rod-shaped molecules are normally in a
parallel array, and an electric field can be used to control the molecules
 A polarizer is applied to the front and an analyzer/reflector is applied to the back of
the cell. When randomly polarized light passes through the front polarizer it
becomes linearly polarized. It then passes through the front glass and is rotated by
the liquid crystal molecules and passes through the rear glass
 Utilize two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between
them.
 An electric current passes through the liquid causing the crystals to align so that
light cannot pass through them.
 Each crystal, therefore, is like a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or
blocking the light thereby creating an image on the screen

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iii. Gas Plasma

Flat panel display

 Plasma creates a picture from a gas filled with xenon and neon atoms and millions
of electrically charged atoms and electrons that collide when you turn the power
on.
 When a voltage is applied, the electrodes get charged and cause the ionization of
the gas resulting in plasma. This also includes the collision between the ions and
electrons resulting in the emission of photon light.
 A gas-plasma display works by sandwiching neon gas between two plates.
 The print on one plate contains vertical conductive lines and the other plate has
horizontal lines, the two plates form a grid.
 When electric current is passed through a horizontal and vertical line, the gas at
the intersection glows, creating a point of light, or pixel thereby creating an image.

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QUESTION

Describe the principle operation of an inkjet printer

 Type of printer that works by spraying ionized ink at a sheet of paper.

 Magnetized plates in the ink's path direct the ink onto the paper in the desired shapes.
 Ink-jet printers are capable of producing high quality print approaching that produced by
laser printers
 Operate by propelling tiny droplets of liquid ink onto paper to form characters

There are mainly two technologies that are used to spray the ink by nozzles.

Thermal Bubble

 This technology is also known as bubble jet is used by various manufacturers like Canon and
Hewlett Packard.
 When printer receives commands to print something, the current flows through a set of tiny
resistors and they produce heat.
 This heat in turn vaporizes the ink to create a bubble.
 As the bubble expands, some of the ink moves out of the nozzle and gets deposited over the
paper.
 Then the bubble collapses and due to the vacuum it pulls more ink from ink cartridge.
 There are generally 300 to 600 nozzles in a thermal printer head which can spray the ink
simultaneously.

Piezoelectric

 In the piezoelectric technology, a piezo crystal is situated at the end of the ink reservoir of a
nozzle.
 When printer receives the command to print, an electric charge is applied to the crystal which in
turn starts vibrating and a small amount of ink is pushed out of the nozzle.
 When the vibration stops the nozzle pulls some more ink from the cartridge to replace the ink
sprayed out.
 This technology is patented by Seiko Epson Corporation

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How inkjet nozzles work

Bubble jets

In Canon Bubble Jet printers, it goes a bit like this:

1. Under instructions from your computer, an electronic circuit in the printer figures out which
nozzles have to be fired to print a particular character at a certain point on the page. Hundreds
of nozzles are involved in making a single character and each one is only about a tenth as thick
as a human hair!
2. The circuit activates each of the nozzles by passing an electric current through a small resistor
inside it.
3. When electricity flows through the resistor, it heats up.
4. Heat from the resistor boils the ink inside the nozzle immediately next to it.
5. As the ink boils, it forms into a bubble of ink vapor. The bubble expands enormously and bursts.
6. When the bubble pops, it squirts the ink it contained onto the page in a precisely formed dot.
7. The collapsing bubble creates a partial vacuum in the nozzle that draws in more ink from the ink
tank, ready for printing the next dot.
8. Meanwhile the entire print head (light orange) is moving to the side ready to print the next
character.

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Ink jets

In a piezoelectric inkjet, it's slightly different:

1. An ink tank (black) supplies the ink dispenser (green) through a narrow tube by capillary action.

2. A droplet of ink from the tank sits waiting at the very end of the tube.

3. When the printer circuit (not shown) wants to fire an ink droplet, it energizes two electrical

contacts (red) attached to the piezoelectric crystal.

4. The energized piezoelectric crystal (dark red) flexes outward (toward the right in this picture).

5. It squashes against a membrane (dark blue), pushing that toward the right as well.

6. The membrane pushes against a hole in the ink dispenser (green), increasing the pressure there.

7. The pressure forces the waiting ink droplet from the tube toward the paper.

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QUESTION

a) Describe the following in terms of physical construction and operation

(i) Hard disk

 Holds the operating system and acts as main storage media of a computer
 Uses rugged solid substrates called platters
 Storage is achieved by depositing a thin magnetic film on either side of each disk
 Single hard disk usually consists of several platters.
 Each platter requires two read/write heads, one for each side.
 All the read/write heads are attached to a single access arm so that they cannot move
independently.
 Each platter has the same number of tracks, and a track location that cuts across all
platters is called a cylinder

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HARD DISK - physical construction and operation

 A hard disk uses round, flat disks called platters, coated on both sides with a special

media material designed to store information in the form of magnetic patterns.

 The platters are mounted by cutting a hole in the center and stacking them onto a spindle.

 The platters rotate at high speed, driven by a special spindle motor connected to the

spindle.

 Special electromagnetic read/write devices called heads are mounted onto sliders and

used to either record information onto the disk or read information from it.

 The sliders are mounted onto arms, all of which are mechanically connected into a single

assembly and positioned over the surface of the disk by a device called an actuator.

 A logic board controls the activity of the other components and communicates with the

rest of the PC.

 Each surface of each platter on the disk can hold tens of billions of individual bits of data.

 These are organized into larger "chunks" for convenience, and to allow for easier and

faster access to information.

 Each platter has two heads, one on the top of the platter and one on the bottom, so a hard

disk with three platters (normally) has six surfaces and six total heads.

 Each platter has its information recorded in concentric circles called tracks.

 Each track is further broken down into smaller pieces called sectors, each of which holds

512 bytes of information.

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QUESTION

OPTICAL DISK- Compact Disk (physical construction and operation)

Compact disc

 Are recorded as a single continuous spiral track running from the spindle to the lead out area
 A compact disk is a circular plastic plate that has a special coating on one side of it that is used
to burn data onto it
 Compact is a small, portable, round medium made of molded polymer for electronically
recording, storing, and playing back audio, video, text, and other information in digital form

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QUESTION

Explain RAID system

 Redundant Array of Independent Disks

 Used to increase the performance and reliability of data storage
 Consist of two or more disks working in parallel
 It’s a way of storing the same data in different places i.e. redundantly on multiple disks
 It appears to the OS to be a single logical hard disk. It employs the technique of disk stripping,
which involves partitioning each drive storage space into units.

 To understand RAID, imagine multiple disk drives that are put together and interlinked in an
array to obtain greater performance, capacity and reliability.
 RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Independent Disks - the technique that was
developed by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley during 1987 to
overcome the limitation and deficiency imposed by a single hard disk.
 An array of hard disks known as RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks or some call
it Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disk) are used in enterprise which is normally the main
storage centre for mission-critical data.
 RAID was originally deployed at the time when the individual disk capacity was too small to
hold huge and demanding operational data.
 RAID tackles this issue nicely by daisy-chaining individual disk to form a larger volume
much sought after during that time.
 Additional redundancy to increase failsafe is another consideration.
 Increase in performance for some RAID configuration under specific operational
environment is obviously another factor for selection of RAID.
 RAID can be quite complex considering that different users may be using different methods
to store their data on their RAID server resulting in different kinds of RAID configuration.
 Whatever the configuration, the main consideration still hinges on three critical factors -
Volume size, Failsafe and Performance considerations.
 Common RAID configuration may deploy duplex / mirror, striping (with or without parity)
or a combination of these.
 RAID became popular when the needs of new applications and devices are beyond the capability of
a typical single hard disk. Special hard disks are expensive and RAID thus became an affordable
alternative to large storage system that requires speedy data transfer rates and security.
 RAID is now commonly used on computer server to reliably store large chunks of data. With
the availability of RAID options now integrated into motherboard chipsets and operating
systems, desktop and high-end users are starting to employ this technology to operate the
storage-intensive tasks, such as non-linear video/audio editing and critical real-time
operations.

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QUESTION
i. Repeater
 Used to connect one or more Ethernet cable segments
 Provides signal amplification and regeneration to restore a
good signal level

ii. Router
 Operate at the network layer
 Connects two or more segments that use the same or
different data link layer but the same network protocol

iii. Bridge
 Operate at the data link layer
 Connect two or more network segments that use the same
data link and network protocol

iv. Gateway
 Operate at the network layer
 Connect two or more networks that use the same or
different data link and network protocol

v. Switch
 Sometimes called a multiport bridge
 Combines network segments linked together and has
several ports

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QUESTION

a) Assembler
 Translates mnemonics or assembly language into machine language

b) Editor
 Program that allows the user to enter, edit and store a group of instructions or text
under a filename

c) Compiler
 Program that translates high level language into machine code

d) Debugger
 It’s a program that allows the user to test and debug object file

e) Loader
 Program that takes the hex file generated by the assemble and generate a file in a
binary load and loads it into memory for execution

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QUESTION

a) Function of Unix shell

 Acts as an interface between the user and the kernel
 Serves as a command interpreter providing interactive control of operations

b) Unix shell
 C Shell
 Bourne Shell
 Corn Shell

c) Unix Utilities
 File management (rm, cat,ls)
 User management (passwd)
 Process management (kill,ps)
 Printing management (lp,pr)
 Networking utilities
 Program development tools

d) Roles of an operating system

 Control hardware access
 Manages files and folders
 Manages applications
 Interface between the user and the operating system
 Security
 Error handling

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QUESTION

Communication Protocol

 Is a set of rules governing communication within and between computers in a network

 Communication protocols are formal descriptions of digital message formats and rules.
 They are required to exchange messages in or between computing systems and are
required in telecommunications.
 Communications protocols cover authentication, error detection and correction, and
signaling.
 They can also describe the syntax, semantics, and synchronization of analog and
digital communications.
 Communications protocols are implemented in hardware and software.
 There are thousands of communications protocols that are used everywhere in analog
and digital communications.
 Computer networks cannot exist without them.
 Communications devices have to agree on many physical aspects of the data to be
exchanged before successful transmission can take place.
 Rules defining transmissions are called protocols.

There are many properties of a transmission that a protocol can define.

o Common ones include:

o packet size, transmission speed,
o error correction types,
o handshaking and synchronization techniques,
o address mapping,
o acknowledgement processes,
o flow control,
o packet sequence controls,
o routing, address formatting

Popular protocols include:

o File Transfer Protocol (FTP),

o TCP/IP,
o User Datagram Protocol (UDP),
o Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP),
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o Post Office Protocol (POP3),

o Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP),
o Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

QUESTION

TCP/IP

 TCP/IP, or the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, is a suite of communication

protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet. TCP/IP can also be used as a
communications protocol in a private network (an intranet or an extranet).
 The entire internet protocol suite -- a set of rules and procedures -- is commonly
referred to as TCP/IP, though others are included in the suite.
 TCP/IP specifies how data is exchanged over the internet by providing end-to-end
communications that identify how it should be broken into packets, addressed,
transmitted, routed and received at the destination.
 TCP/IP requires little central management, and it is designed to make networks
reliable, with the ability to recover automatically from the failure of any device on the
network.
 The two main protocols in the internet protocol suite serve specific functions.
 TCP defines how applications can create channels of communication across a
network.
 It also manages how a message is assembled into smaller packets before they are then
transmitted over the internet and reassembled in the right order at the destination
address.
 IP defines how to address and route each packet to make sure it reaches the right
destination.
 Each gateway computer on the network checks this IP address to determine where to
forward the message.

How TCP/IP works

 TCP/IP uses the client/server model of communication in which a user or machine (a

client) is provided a service (like sending a webpage) by another computer (a server)
in the network.
 Collectively, the TCP/IP suite of protocols is classified as stateless, which means each
client request is considered new because it is unrelated to previous requests. Being
stateless frees up network paths so they can be used continuously.
 The transport layer itself, however, is stateful. It transmits a single message, and its
connection remains in place until all the packets in a message have been received and
reassembled at the destination.
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 The TCP/IP model differs slightly from the seven-layer Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) networking model designed after it, which defines how
applications can communicate over a network.

TCP/IP model layers

TCP/IP functionality is divided into four layers, each of which include specific protocols.

1. The application layer provides applications with standardized data exchange. Its
protocols include the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Post
Office Protocol 3 (POP3), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP).

2. The transport layer is responsible for maintaining end-to-end communications across the
network. TCP handles communications between hosts and provides flow control, multiplexing
and reliability. The transport protocols include TCP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), which is
sometimes used instead of TCP for special purposes.

3. The network layer, also called the internet layer, deals with packets and connects
independent networks to transport the packets across network boundaries. The network layer
protocols are the IP and the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), which is used for error
reporting.

4. The physical layer consists of protocols that operate only on a link -- the network
component that interconnects nodes or hosts in the network. The protocols in this layer include
Ethernet for local area networks (LANs) and the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).

Advantages of TCP/IP

 TCP/IP is nonproprietary and, as a result, is not controlled by any single

company. Therefore, the internet protocol suite can be modified easily. It is
compatible with all operating systems, so it can communicate with any other
system. The internet protocol suite is also compatible with all types of computer
hardware and networks.
 TCP/IP is highly scalable and, as a routable protocol, can determine the most
efficient path through the network.
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QUESTION

Reasons for a OSI Layered Model

 Standardization of communication between layers

 Provides an architecture which defines communication tasks
 Implementation of protocol behavior

OSI MODEL LAYERS

1. Physical layer
 Defines hardware specifications
 Transmission modes eg simplex, half duplex
 Physical topology eg star, ring bus
 Data rate i.e the number of bits to be transmitted per second

2. Data link layer

 Access control
 Physical addressing- destination address
 Error control and data framing i.e. encapsulation of messages into frames that are
set sent over the network at the physical layer
 Error control- handles errors that occur at the lower levels of the network

3. Network layer
 Logical addressing-translates source and destination addresses into ones and zeros
that can be understood across all the networks
 Routing- determines which path to take from source to destination
 Datagram encapsulation- places messages into datagrams called packets

4. Transport layer

 Segmentation- packetisation i.e. breaking up the message into packets of data

at the source and reassembling them at the destination

5. Session layer
 Dialog control- allows two systems to enter into a dialog defining whether
communication is half duplex or full duplex

 Synchronization- allows a process to define synchronization check points in

the message

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6. Presentation layer

 Translation- from machine language to source code

 Encryption- for security purposes. Ensures the security of the data as it travels
down the protocol stack

7. Application layer
 Provides an interface between the user and the network
 Allows the user to access the network

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QUESTION

i) Memory address register

 Maps the address in memory

 Keeps the addresses of programs being executed

ii) Status register

 Acts as working area

 Used to perform arithmetic functions
 Is a temporary holding register for data

iii) Program Counter

 Holds the address of the next instruction to be executed

iv) Current instruction register

 Contains the current contents of the instruction being executed

 Contains both the operator and operand of the current instruction

v) Stack pointer

 Is a special register which points to the top of a set of memory locations of

information to be decoded or executed

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QUESTION

(a) With reference to computers define the following terms

i. Hardware (2)
ii. Software (2)
iii. Firmware (2)
(b) what is the purpose of expansion cards (2)
(c) State two expansion slot types (2)

QUESTION
With the aid of a well labeled diagram clearly explain the fetch/execute cycle of the 8085
microprocessor (10)

QUESTION
Describe the functions of the following in implementation of interfacing system buses on I/O
ports
i. Latch (3)
ii. Tristate buffer (3)
iii. Bi-directional buffer (4)

QUESTION
Briefly explain the following terms
i. Compiler (2)
ii. Algorithm (2)
iii. Flow chart (2)
iv. Pseudocode (2)
v. Syntax (2)

QUESTION
With the aid of a well labeled diagram explain the principle operation of a laser printer (10)

QUESTION
Describe the function of the following special purpose registers
i. Accumulator (2)
ii. Program counter (2)
iii. Instruction register (2)_
iv. Stack pointer (2)
v. Status register (2)

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QUESTION

a) Differentiate between CD-R and CD-RW (1)

b) Write brief notes on the following
i. Hard disk (3)
ii. Floppy disk (3)
iii. Compact disk (3)

QUESTION

(a) Briefly describe the following types of displays

i. CRT (3)
ii. LCD (3)
iii. GAS PLASMA (3)
(b) differentiate between serial and parallel transmission (1)

QUESTION

a) Name 4 data types that are used in programming (2)

b) Define the following types of errors
i. Syntax (2)
ii. Semantic (2)
c) Give two advantages of high level language over low level language (2)
d) Define the term structured programming (2)

QUESTION

What are the functions of the following?

i. Antistatic mat (2)
ii. Antistatic wristrap (2)
iii. Casing (2)
iv. Docking station (2)
v. Digital multimeter (2)

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QUESTION

i. Hardware
 Physical., tangible components of a computer
 Examples keyboard, mouse

ii. Software
 Computer programs that control the working of the computer
 Example operating systems, application software

iii. Firmware
 Hardwired software coded into the computer hardware during manufacturing

EXPANSION CARDS

 Increase the functionality of the computer

Examples
 PCI
 PCI-Express
 AGP

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QUESTION

The fetch-decode-execute cycle

 A standard process describes the steps needed for processing to take place. It is called the
Fetch - Decode - Execute cycle or sometimes simply called the Fetch-Execute Cycle.
 First of all, both the data and the program that acts upon that data are loaded into main
memory (RAM) by the operating system. The CPU is now ready to do some work.

1. FETCH

 The first step the CPU carries out is to fetch some data and instructions (program) from
main memory then store them in its own internal temporary memory areas. These
memory areas are called 'registers'.
 This is called the 'fetch' part of the cycle.
 For this to happen, the CPU makes use of a vital hardware path called the 'address bus'.
 The CPU places the address of the next item to be fetched on to the address bus.
 Data from this address then moves from main memory into the CPU by travelling along
another hardware path called the 'data bus'.
 You could imagine that it is a bit like a boat attendant at a lake calling in customers when
their time is up -- "Boat number 3, time to come in!" The 'address' of the boat is 3 and the
'data' is its content. The boat is parked at a pier, which is like the internal register of the
CPU.

2. DECODE

 The next step is for the CPU to make sense of the instruction it has just fetched.
 This process is called 'decode'.
 The CPU is designed to understand a specific set of commands. These are called the
'instruction set' of the CPU. Each make of CPU has a different instruction set.
 The CPU decodes the instruction and prepares various areas within the chip in readiness
of the next step.

3. EXECUTE

 This is the part of the cycle when data processing actually takes place. The instruction is
carried out upon the data (executed). The result of this processing is stored in yet another
register.
 Once the execute stage is complete, the CPU sets itself up to begin another cycle once
more.

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 The microprocessor locates the memory location

 Instruction is fetched from the MBR via the data bus
 Instructions are decoded in the instruction register
 Instruction is executed according to the specified function

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Instruction cycle in 8085 microprocessor

Time required to execute and fetch an entire instruction is called instruction cycle. It consists:

 Fetch cycle – The next instruction is fetched by the address stored in

program counter (PC) and then stored in the instruction register.
 Decode instruction – Decoder interprets the encoded instruction from
instruction register.
 Reading effective address – The address given in instruction is read from
main memory and required data is fetched. The effective address depends
on direct addressing mode or indirect addressing mode.
 Execution cycle – consists memory read (MR), memory write (MW), input
output read (IOR) and input output write (IOW)

The time required by the microprocessor to complete an operation of accessing memory or

input/output devices is called machine cycle. One time period of frequency of microprocessor is
called t-state. A t-state is measured from the falling edge of one clock pulse to the falling edge of
the next clock pulse.

Fetch cycle takes four t-states and execution cycle takes three t-states.

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Timing diagram for fetch cycle or opcode fetch:

Above diagram represents:

 05 – lower bit of address where opcode is stored. Multiplexed address and data bus AD0-AD7
are used.
 20 – higher bit of address where opcode is stored. Multiplexed address and data bus AD8-AD15
are used.
 ALE – Provides signal for multiplexed address and data bus. If signal is high or 1, multiplexed
address and data bus will be used as address bus. To fetch lower bit of address, signal is 1 so
that multiplexed bus can act as address bus. If signal is low or 0, multiplexed bus will be used as
data bus. When lower bit of address is fetched then it will act as data bus as the signal is low.
 RD (low active) – If signal is high or 1, no data is read by microprocessor. If signal is low or 0,
data is read by microprocessor.
 WR (low active) – If signal is high or 1, no data is written by microprocessor. If signal is low or 0,
data is written by microprocessor.
 IO/M (low active) and S1, S0 – If signal is high or 1, operation is performing on input output. If
signal is low or 0, operation is performing on memory.

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QUESTION

i. Latch
 Is a bistable multivibrator- a device with exactly two stable states
 States are high output and low output
 Has got a feedback path which allows information to be retained by the
device
 Can be a memory device

ii. Tristate buffer

 Allows an output port to assume a high impedance state in addition to
the 0 and 1 logic levels effectively removing output from the circuit
 An input controlled switch which has an output that can be
electronically turned ‘’ON’’ or ‘’OFF’’ by means of an external
‘’Control’’ or ‘’Enable’’ signal input

iii. Bi directional Buffer

 Allows the signal to travel in either direction
 The two sides of the buffer each be inputs or outputs
 Requires a direction control signal to determine which way the signal
goes

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QUESTION

i. Compiler
 It’s a program translator
 Translates high level language from source code to machine code or object
code

ii. Algorithm
 Is a set of instructions or procedures for solving a program
 It is a finite set of well-defined instructions of accomplishing some tasks

iii. Flow chart

 Pictorial representation of the flow of data

iv. Pseudocode
 Short hand way of describing a computer program rather than the use of a
specific syntax of a computer language

v. Syntax
 Refers to the structure of a programming language

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QUESTION

Principle operation of a laser printer

1. Cleaning
 When an image has been deposited on the paper and the drum has been separated
any remaining toner must be removed from the drum
 A printer blade is used to scrap all the excess toner

2. Conditioning
 Involves removing the latent image from the drum and conditioning the drum for a
new latent image
3. Writing
 Involves scanning the photo sensitive drum with the laser beam
4. Developing
 The toner is applied to the latent image on the drum

5. Transferring
 The toner attached to the latent image is transferred to the paper
6. Fusing
 Toner is permanently fused on the paper. The printing paper is rolled between a
heated roller and a pressure roller, the loose toner is melted and fused with the fibers
in the paper
 The paper is then moved to the output tray as printed page

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Principle operation of a laser printer

 These print individual pages and work in a similar way to photocopiers.
 A drum is charged to match the image and powdered ink (toner) sticks to the surface.
 The toner is then transferred to the paper and fixed by heat and pressure.
 A type of printer that utilizes a laser beam to produce an image on a drum. The light of the laser
alters the electrical charge on the drum wherever it hits. The drum is then rolled through a
reservoir of toner, which is picked up by the charged portions of the drum. Finally, the toner is
transferred to the paper through a combination of heat and pressure

 The laser printer uses electrostatic charges to (1) create an image on the drum, (2) adhere
toner to the image, (3) transfer the toned image to the paper, and (4) fuse the toner to the
paper. The laser creates the image by "painting" a negative of the page to be printed on
the charged drum. Where light falls, the charge is dissipated, leaving a positive image to
be printed.

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Principle operation of a laser printer

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Principle operation of a laser printer 3

 The CONTROL CIRCUITRY is the part of the printer that talks with the computer and receives
the printing data.
 A Raster Image Processor (RIP) converts the text and images in to a virtual matrix of dots.
 The PHOTOCONDUCTING DRUM which is the key component of the laser printer has a special
coating which receives the positive and negative charge from a CHARGING ROLLER.
 A rapidly switching LASER BEAM scans the charged drum line by line.
o When the beam flashes on, it reverses the charge of tiny spots on the drum, respecting to
the dots that are to be printed black.
o As soon the laser scans a line, a stepper motor moves the drum in order to scan the next
line by the laser.
 A DEVELOPER ROLLER plays the vital role to paste the tonner on the paper. It is coated with
charged tonner particles. As the drum touches the developer roller, the charged tonner particles
cling to the discharged areas of the drum, reproducing your images and text reversely.
 Meanwhile a paper is drawn from the PAPER TRAY with help of a belt. As the paper passes
through a CHARGING WIRE it applies a charge on it opposite to the toner’s charge.
 When the paper meets the DRUM, due to the opposite charge between the paper and toner particles,
the toner particles are transferred to the paper.
 A CLEANING BLADE then cleans the drum and the whole process runs smoothly continuously.
 Finally paper passes through the FUSER which is a heat and presser roller, melts the toner and
fixes on the paper perfectly.

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QUESTION

i. Accumulator
 Acts as working area
 Used for performing arithmetic functions
 It’s a temporary holding register for data

ii. Program Counter

 Holds the address of the next instruction to be executed
 Also called the sequence control register

iii. Current instruction register

 Contains the current contents of the instruction being executed
 Contains both the operator and operand of the current instruction

iv. Stack pointer

 Is a special register which points to the top of a set of memory locations of
information to be decoded or executed

v) Status register
 Shows the status position of the current instruction being executed e.g.
whether it’s a jump statement or there is an interrupt

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QUESTION

a) CD-R AND CD-RW

 CD-R- cannot be re-written once recorded
 CD-RW- can be re-written once recorded

b) Hard disk drive

 Holds the main storage media of a computer
 Uses rugged solid substrates called platters
 Storage is achieved by depositing a thin magnetic film on either side of each
disk
 Single hard disk usually consists of several platters. Each platter requires two
read/write heads, one for each side. All the read/write heads are attached to a
single access arm so that they cannot move independently. Each platter has the
same number of tracks, and a track location that cuts across all platters is called
a cylinder

ii) Floppy disk

 Uses 5 ¼ and 3 ½ inches

 Uses magnetic material applied over a thin flexible substrate of mylar
 Uses random access
 Now obsolete
 Floppy disk, or diskette, is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and
flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with
fabric that removes dust particles.

iii) Compact disk

 Are recorded as a single continuous spiral track running from the spindle to the
lead out area
 A compact disk is a circular plastic plate that has a special coating on one side of
it that is used to burn data onto it
 compact is a small, portable, round medium made of molded polymer for
electronically recording, storing, and playing back audio, video, text, and other
information in digital form

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QUESTION

(a) CRT
 Cathode Ray Tube
 Works by moving an electron beam back and forth across the back of the screen.
 Each time the beam makes a pass across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on the
inside of the glass tube, thereby illuminating the active portions of the screen.
 By drawing many such lines from the top to the bottom of the screen, it creates an entire
screenful of images.

(b) LCD
 Liquid Crystal Display
 Utilize two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them.
 An electric current passes through the liquid causing the crystals to align so that light
cannot pass through them.
 Each crystal, therefore, is like a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or
blocking the light thereby creating an image on the screen

(c) Gas Plasma

 Flat panel display
 A gas-plasma display works by sandwiching neon gas between two plates.
 Each plate is coated with a conductive print.
 The print on one plate contains vertical conductive lines and the other plate has
horizontal lines, the two plates form a grid.
 When electric current is passed through a horizontal and vertical line, the gas at the
intersection glows, creating a point of light, or pixel thereby creating an image.

(d) Serial vs parallel transmission

 Serial transmission- transmits one bit at a time in a stream of line
 Parallel transmission- transmits all bits at once using different channels

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QUESTION
Draw a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) and fully label it.

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QUESTION

a) Data types
 Integer
 Float
 Double
 Character
 Short
 Long integer

b) i. syntax errors
 Refers to grammatical errors such as misspelling e.g. redln instead of readln
 is an error in the syntax of a sequence of characters that is intended to be written
in a particular programming language

ii. Semantic errors

 Use of an incorrect symbolic name in a computer language e.g. assigning a real
number to an integer.

c) Advantages of high level language

 Portable
 Problem oriented
 Easy to understand and code
 Allows for modular programming

d) Structured programming
 Is a top down technique of designing programs and systems
 Complex programs are broken down into smaller programs which are
manageable
 Structured programming is a programming paradigm aimed on improving the
clarity, quality, and development time of a computer program by making
extensive use of subroutines, block structures and for and while loops—in
contrast to using simple tests and jumps such as the goto statement.

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QUESTION

a) Antistatic MAT
 This is where computer components are placed
 A technician will also stand on it during servicing and repairing a computer
 Used to prevent the buildup of Electro- Static Discharge

b) Antistatic Writsrap
 Used to connect the technician to the computer system to make sure that the
technician and the computer components are working on the same potential
 Used to prevent the buildup of Electro- Static Discharge

c) Casing
 Used for the protection and support of internal components of a computer

d) Docking station
 It attaches to AC power and laptop peripherals
 A platform into which you can install a portable computer.
 The docking station typically contains slots for expansion cards, bays for
storage devices, and connectors for peripheral devices, such as printers
and monitors. Once inserted in a docking station, the portable computer
essentially becomes a desktop model computer.

e) Multimeter
 Analogue measuring instrument used to measure voltage, current and
resistance in an electronic circuit
 A digital multimeter (DMM) is a test tool used to measure two or more
electrical values—principally voltage (volts), current (amps) and resistance
(ohms).
 Digital multimeter combine the testing capabilities of single-task meters—the
voltmeter (for measuring volts), ammeter (amps) and ohmmeter (ohms).
 It is a standard diagnostic tool for technicians in the electrical/electronic
industries.

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QUESTION

i. Current Tracer
 Test the flow of fast rising current pulses
 Senses the magnetic field generated by these pulses and indicates their
presence

ii. Digital Multimeter

 Analogue measuring instrument used to measure voltage, current and
resistance in an electronic circuit

iii. Multichannel Oscilloscope

 Displays AC waveforms
 Used to measure amplitude

iv. Logic Probe

 Logic testing instrument
 Tests the logic state of a node in a digital circuit
 Indicate the presence of a logic 1, 0 or an open circuit

v. Signature analyzer
 Used to record complex data streams in AC waveforms
 Monitors the logic activities of a node in a systems

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QUESTION
i. Data Bus
 Bi-directional
 Carries data signals throughout the system

ii. Address Bus

 Uni-directional
 Carries address signals
 Consists of a binary number that identifies a memory address location and
specifies memory storage locations

iii. Control Bus

 Controls and coordinates the activities and functions of the whole systems

b. i) 111110112 to decimal

= 128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 2 + 1

= 251

ii) 11111002 to hex

= 0111 1100

7 C

= 7C16

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QUESTION
Explain the following
i. L1 cache memory
ii. L2 cache memory
b) Describe the following modes of operation of a CPU
i. Real mode
ii. Protected mode
iii. Virtual real mode
iv. Compatibility
i. L1 Cache Memory
o Internal cache and is integrated into the CPU

ii. External Cache Memory

 External which was originally mounted on the motherboard near the
CPU and now is integrated into the CPU

(i) Real Mode

 CPU can only execute one program at a time e.g. MS DOS

(ii) Protected mode

 CPU has access to all of the memory in the computer including virtual
memory
 Applications are protected from using the memory reserved for
another application that is currently running

(iii)Virtual Real Mode

 CPU allows areal mode application to run within a protected mode
operating system

(iv) Compatibility mode

 Creates an environment of the operating system to allow the
application to run as if it is in the intended environment

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QUESTION
DOS command processor is composed of three functional units, name and briefly explain them.

Startup section

 Responsible for initiating the autoexec.bat file and executes it

 Running the config.sys file
 Introduction of the booting process

Resident Section

 Handles critical errors in the OS

 Responsible for loading the transient section of DOS
 Checks the disk drives and other hardware if they are functioning well before
cold booting

Transient Section

 Responsible for handling command interpreter for both internal and external
command used in DOS

b)

RAM ROM
Random Access Memory  Read Only Memory
Temporary memory  Permanent memory
Volatile  Non volatile

COPY X-COPY

 A command that copies all files that  A command that copies all files
are needed to be copied except hidden files and system files

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QUESTION

Cache memory

 Intermediary where instructions are stored for execution after being fetched from the
main memory or hard disk.
 Fast memory providing a link to the CPU

Static RAM

 faster and reliable

 The term static is derived from the fact that it doesn't need to be refreshed like dynamic
RAM.
 SRAM can give access times as low as 10 nanoseconds. In addition, its cycle time is
much shorter than that of DRAM because it does not need to pause between accesses.

Use of parity bit

 Error checking
 Is a bit added to the end of a string of binary code that indicates whether the number of
bits in the string with the value one is even or odd. Parity bits are used as the simplest
form of error detecting code

RAM Packages
1. DIL – Dual Inline Package

An electronic device package with a rectangular housing and two parallel rows of
electrical connecting pins. The package may be through-hole mounted to a printed
circuit board or inserted in a socket.

2. SIP

 Single In Line Package

 has one row of connecting pins

3. SIMM
 Single Inline Memory Module
 single in-line memory module with a 32-bit data path
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 need to be paired when working with 64 bit microprocessors

4. DIMM
 Dual Inline Memory Module
 Provides 64-bit data path
 Has a separate electrical connector on both sides of the module. It stores each
bit of data in a separate capacitor, providing direct access to the motherboard
through the system bus.
 DIMMs with 184 pins are used for DDR SDRAM, while 240-pin DIMMs are
used for DDR2 and DDR3 SDRAM. DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 DIMM modules
are each keyed differently (notches in different locations) so that they cannot
be inserted into the wrong slots. Because of space limitations, laptops use
small outline DIMMs (SODIMMs).

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QUESTION
Describe the following RAM packages
i. DIL.
 Dual In-line Package, a DIP is a chip encased in hard plastic with pins running along the
outside. The picture is an example of a DIP found on a computer motherboard that has been
soldered into place. Below is an illustration of a comparison between a DIP and a SIP not
connected to a circuit board.

 A dual inline package switch (DIP switch) is a set of manual electrical switches designed to hold
configurations and select the interrupt request (IRQ). DIP switches are used in place of jumper
blocks. Most motherboards have several DIP switches or a single bank of DIP switches.
Commonly, DIP switches are used to hold configuration settings.

ii. SIP.
 Short for Single In-line Package, SIP is a computer chip packaging that contains one row of
connection pins, unlike dual in-line packages (DIPs) which contain two rows.
 A single inline package (SIP) is a computer chip package that contains only a single row of
connection pins. This is different from dual inline packages (DIP), which have two rows of
connected pins.
 A single inline package may also be known as a singline inline pin package (SIPP).

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 SIP is not as common as the dual in-line package (DIP); however, SIPs have been used to
package multiple resistors and RAM chips with a common pin.
 By either using surface mounting device process or DIP process, SIPs collectively arrange RAM
chips on a small board.

iii. SIMM.
SIMM stands for Single In-Line Memory Module. With SIMMs, memory chips are soldered onto a
modular printed circuit board (PCB), which inserts into a socket on the system board.

The first SIMMs transferred 8 bits of data at a time. Later, as CPUs began to read data in 32-bit chunks, a
wider SIMM was developed, which could supply 32 bits of data at a time. The easiest way to differentiate
between these two different kinds of SIMMs was by the number of pins, or connectors. The earlier
modules had 30 pins and the later modules had 72 pins. Thus, they became commonly referred to as 30-
pin SIMMs and 72-pin SIMMs.

iv. DIMM.

Dual In-line Memory Modules, or DIMMs, closely resemble SIMMs. Like SIMMs, most DIMMs install
vertically into expansion sockets. The principal difference between the two is that on a SIMM, pins on
opposite sides of the board are “tied together” to form one electrical contact; on a DIMM, opposing pins
remain electrically isolated to form two separate contacts.

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168-pin DIMMs transfer 64 bits of data at a time and are typically used in computer configurations that
support a 64-bit or wider memory bus. Some of the physical differences between 168-pin DIMMs and 72-
pin SIMMs include: the length of module, the number of notches on the module, and the way the module
installs in the socket. Another difference is that many 72-pin SIMMs install at a slight angle, whereas
168-pin DIMMs install straight into the memory socket and remain completely vertical in relation to the
system motherboard. The illustration below compares a 168-pin DIMM to a 72-pin SIMM.

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QUESTION
(a) What do you understand by the term motherboard form factor and give an example
(b) State the main difference between an oscilloscope and digital multimeter
(c) For an ATX power supply, state the voltage levels for the following color codes
(i) Red
(ii) Yellow
(iii) Blue
(iv) Orange
(v) Black
QUESTION
Explain the function of the following components
i. CMOS battery (1)
ii. Disk drive controller (1)
iii. Display adapter card (2)
iv. Expansion slot (2)
v. Motherboard (2)
vi. Power supply unit (2)
QUESTION
(a) The DOS BOIS can be described as IO.sys. explain what is IO.sys (2)
(b) Describe the booting process. Your answer should include the I0.sys, Auto-exec.bat and
the Confg.sys (3)
(c) In Config.sys explain the following syntax
 C:\ Mouse \Mouse.sys (3)
(d) Not ready, Error reading device, Abort, retry, ignore
 Which part or section of DOS prompts such warning messages and what would
have happened for such messages to be displayed (2)
QUESTION
(i) Give a command to copy a file Stephen.txt from Adrive to C drive (2)
(ii) What does the command \ p means in DOS (2)
(iii)What command would you type to rename a file memos.txt to letter.txt (2)
(iv) What are device drivers and their purpose (4)
QUESTION
Define the following terms and give examples where appropriate
(i) GUI and the concept of windows and icons (4)
(ii) File manager (2)
(iii)Control panel (2)
(iv) Windows setup (2)
(v) Print manager (2)
QUESTION
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Discuss the following as used to improve the efficiency of a hard disk in windows
(i) Smart drive utility (2)
(ii) Ram drive utility (2)
(iii)Memory banks (2)
(iv) Scan disk (2)
(v) Disk defragmenter (2)
QUESTION
Convert the following to stated bases
(i) 11111011 to hex (1)
(ii) 99 to hex (1)
(iii)CD to binary (1)
(iv) 768 to binary (1)
(v) 15,125 to binary (2)
Convert the following negative numbers to 2’s complement
i. -81 (2)
ii. -127 (2)
QUESTION
(a) Describe the difference between the following giving examples
i. Hardware and software (2)
ii. System software and application software (2)
iii. Shareware and freeware (2)
(b) explain the following classes of application software
i. Off the shelf (2)
ii. Customized of tailor -made software (2)
QUESTION
(i) Draw a block diagram of a computer architecture (6)
(ii) Describe the components of the CPU giving their main functions (4)

QUESTION
a) Explain what you understand by application package (2)
b) Give four factors you would consider when buying an application package (8)

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QUESTION

a) Motherboard form factor

 Is the dimension of the board and its mounting hole positions as well as the general
layout and placement of key components
 Examples include AT, ATX

b) Oscilloscope
 Displays AC waveforms
 Used to measure amplitude
c) Multimeter
 Analogue measuring instrument used to measure voltage , current and
resistance in an electronic circuit

d) Red- 5v
 Yellow-12v
 Blue- -12v
 Orange- 3.3v
 Black - 0v or ground

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QUESTION

i. CMOS battery
 Complementary Metal-Oxide Semi-conductor battery
 A battery that maintains the time, date, hard disk and other configuration settings in
the CMOS memory. CMOS batteries are small and are attached directly to the
motherboard

.
ii. Disk drive controller
 A chip and associated circuitry that is responsible for controlling a disk drive. There
are different controllers for different interfaces. For example, an IDE interface
requires an IDE controller and a SCSI interface requires a SCSI controller. On
Macintosh computer systems, the disk controller is built into the motherboard.
 Enables the processor or CPU to access, read, write, delete and modify data to and
from the hard disk. .

iii. Display adapter card

 Is an expansion card that allows the computer to send graphical information to a
video display device such as a monitor, TV, or projector?
 Is an integrated circuit card in a computer or a monitor that provides digital-to-
analog conversion so that data can be sent to a computer's display?
 Today almost all displays and video adapters use the Video Graphics Array (VGA).
Which describes how data - essentially red, green, blue data streams - is passed
between the computer and the display.

iv. Expansion slot

 A bus slot or expansion port, or an expansion slot is an opening located inside a
computer on the motherboard or riser board that allows additional boards to be
connected to it.
 An opening in a computer where a circuit board can be inserted to add new
capabilities to the computer. E;g AGP, VESA

v. Motherboard
 The main circuit board of a microcomputer where all the computer components
are connected
 is a printed circuit board that is the foundation of a computer and allows the
CPU, RAM, and all other computer hardware components to function and
communicate with each other.
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vi. Power supply unit

 Supplies power to a computer and converts mains AC to low-voltage regulated
DC power for the internal components of a computer.
 . It also regulates the voltage to eliminate spikes and surges common in most
electrical systems

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QUESTION

a. IO.sys
 Is a section that provides an interface between the computer hardware and the
operating system
 Contains system initialization routines

b. Describe the booting process. Your answer should include the I0.sys, Auto-
exec.bat and the Confg.sys

 When the computer is switched on, the CPU executes the boot strap loader
 It checks the disk directory for the IO.sys and the DOS.sys and loads them
into RAM
 The IO. Sys checks the peripherals attached to the system and prepares them
for use
 The DOS.sys performs initialization
 The DOS checks for the autoexec.bat file on the boot disk and lastly the
config.sys file which configures the system for use

c. In Config.sys explain the following syntax

C: \ Mouse \ Mouse.sys

Location / disk drive Device device driver

d. Not ready, Error reading device, Abort, retry, ignore

Which part or section of DOS prompts such warning messages and what would
have happened for such messages to be displayed

 Resident Section
 When one tries to write to a disk which is not inserted e.g. floppy disk

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QUESTION
i. Give a command to copy a file Stephen.txt from A drive to C drive

 A:\ Copy Stephen.txt C:

ii. What does the command \ p means in DOS

 It’s a command that pauses directories in the command process

iii. What command would you type to rename a file memos.txt to

letter.txt

 Ren memos.txt letter.txt

iv. What are device drivers and their purpose

 Are programs that allow a specific device such as a modem or
printer to communicate with the computer
Purpose
 Provides a link between the device and the system unit
 Control hardware access
 Controls hardware operations

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Question
i. GUI and the concept of windows and icons

 Graphical User Interface is an interface which make use of

windows and icons and pointing devices

 Windows- is an area on the screen through which a particular

software may be view. It can be moved, sized and stacked

 Icon- is a small picture representing an item such as a piece of

software e.g. My Computer

ii. File manager

 Manages system files in the computer
 Set of instructions that controls and allows the user to store and
retrieve files
 Allows for the deletion and creation of new files

iii. Control panel

 Contains applets used to modify the behaviour of a task e.g
network settings or Add/Remove programs

iv. Windows setup

 It’s a program used to install an Operating system and guides you
through the installation process

v. Print manager
 Program that controls the computer to send a printing signal to the
printer
 Used to setup a printer or to view documents being printed or jobs
in queue

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QUESTION

Discuss the following as used to improve the efficiency of a hard disk in windows

i. Smart drive utility (2)

 S.M.A.R.T. - Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology drive monitors the

internal performance of the motors, media, heads, and electronics of the drive
 S.M.A.R.T.- monitor several key performance factors to assess reliability and predict
an impending device failure.
 is a monitoring system for computer hard disk drives to detect and report on various
indicators of reliability, in the hope of anticipating failures.
 When a failure is anticipated by S.M.A.R.T., the user may choose to replace the drive
to avoid unexpected outage and data loss.

ii. Ram drive utility (2)

 A RAM drive (also called a RAM disk) is a block of RAM (primary storage or volatile
memory) that a computer's software is treating as if the memory were a disk drive
(secondary storage). It is sometimes referred to as a "virtual RAM drive" or "software
RAM drive" to distinguish it from a "hardware RAM drive" that uses separate hardware
containing RAM, which is an old type of battery backed solid-state drive

iii. Memory banks (2)

 a memory bank serves as a repository for data, allowing data to be easily entered and
retrieved.
 Memory banks are commonly used for caching data. By storing frequently used
information in memory banks, the data can be accessed quickly and easily. This speeds
up common tasks that are run within the operating system and other programs eg OS
boot system would be stored in the ROM bank

iv. Scan disk (2)

 Scans your hard disk and fixing any errors found and an attempt is made to recover
any information stored on bad sectors

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v. Disk defragmenter (2)

 It’s a process of file updating and rewriting some segments of files to contiguous
sectors of a disk in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of access of
these files

QUESTION
Convert the following to stated bases
i. 11111011 to hex (1)
1111 1011
8+4+2+1 8 +2+1
15 11
F B

F B16

ii. 99 to hex (1)

99 divided by 16
6316

iii. CD to binary (1)

C-1100
D-1101
110011012

iv. 768 to binary (1)

111 110
1111102

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v. 15,125 to binary (2)

2 15
2 7r1
2 3 r1
2 1r1
2 0r1 15 = 1111

0,125 *2 =0
0,25*2=0
0,50*2=1
=001

1111,0012

Convert the following negative numbers to 2’s complement

iii. -81 (2)
-81 is produced by taking the 2’s complement of 81
81 = 1010001
2’s Complement = 0101110
+ 1
0101111

-81 = 11011112

iv. -127 (2)

127 = 11111112
2’s Complement = 0000000
+ 1
0000001
-127 = 10000012

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QUESTION
Hardware Software
 Physical, tangible devices of a  Programs that direct the activities of a
computer computer
 E.g keyboard, mouse, vdu  E.g operating systems, application
software
System software Application software
 Programs that control and support  Programs that specify the information
operations of a computer system processing activities required for the
 E.g operating systems completion of a specific task
 DBMS  E.g spreadsheet
 Word processing
 databases
Shareware Freeware
 it’s a try before buying method of  copyrighted software which the owner
distribution where copyrighted allows to freely use and distribute
software programs are distributed for without paying registration fee
free without payment for a certain  is software that is completely free for
period. anyone to use or pass along to other to
 is proprietary software that is provided use
to users on a limited basis and only for  software which can be downloaded,
a certain limited trial basis used, and copied without restrictions

Explain the following classes of application software

Off the shelf (2)

 software that can be purchased, leased or rented from a software company
that develops programs and sells them to computer users
 its well tried and tested
 continued maintenance through upgrades

Customized or tailor -made software (2)

 software developed from within the company by a team of specialists
 is software that is specially developed for some specific organization or user
 software meets user requirements
 management are in total control of the development process

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QUESTION
i. Draw a block diagram of a computer architecture

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ii. Describe the components of the CPU giving their main functions

Control Unit
Issues commands to computer elements and interpret
stored instructions
Arithmetic and Logic Unit
 Performs arithmetic and logic functions

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QUESTION

a) Application package
 Programs that specify the information processing
activities required for the completion of a specific task
 E.g. spreadsheet
 Word processing
 Databases

b) Factors to consider when buying application package

 Accuracy-must be free from errors
 Flexibility-adapt to changing environment
 Compatibility-compatible with available hardware and software
 Support-continued support from the supplier through upgrades
 Friendliness
 Performance both in response time and run time cost
 Recency

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QUESTION
State the functions of the following troubleshooting components
i. Digital multimeter (2)
ii. Current tracer (2)
iii. Logic probe (2)
iv. Oscilloscope (2)
v. Signature analyzer (2)

i. Digital multi meter [2]

 A digital multimeter (DMM) is a test tool used to measure two or more electrical values—
principally voltage (volts), current (amps) and resistance (ohms).
 Digital multimeter combine the testing capabilities of single-task meters—the voltmeter (for
measuring volts), ammeter (amps) and ohmmeter (ohms).
 It is a standard diagnostic tool for technicians in the electrical/electronic industries.

ii. Current tracer [2]

 Test the flow of fast rising current pulses

 Senses the magnetic field generated by these pulses and indicates their presence
 Detects the magnetic field that surrounds a conductor or trace through current flow.
 A device that can be attached to any accessible point in the circuit to physically trace circuit
wiring current flow
 To work properly, the current tracer must be held vertically above the conductor.
 Current tracing is a way of troubleshooting on electronics
 There are jumpers on electronic boards
 You disconnect it and connect an ammeter to measure the current
 If measuring current is lower or higher than rated value, there is trouble on that part.
 Current tracer is a sensitive instrument, can trace current underground or hidden wall

iii. Logic probe [2]

 Logic probes test for the presence or absence of low-voltage signals that represent digital data.
 A logic probe tester is used for probing and analyzing logic circuits.
 Tests the logic state of a node in a digital circuit
 Indicate the presence of a logic 1, 0 or an open circuit
 The logic probe indicates whether there is a logic state "1" or "0", normally using an LED as
the indicator.

Often the LED on the LOGIC PROBE will use different colors to indicate different states.

 Logic high: If the logic circuit is at a logic or digital high voltage, the logic probe will indicate this
on its interface - typically this will be a colour red.
 Logic low: Again the logic probe will indicate a logic or digital low. The most common colour for
this is green.

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 Pulses: The logic probe is likely to incorporate a pulse detection circuit. When the line is active a
third colour, possibly amber will be indicated. The logic probe may well incorporate circuitry to detect
very short pulses and in this way indicate when the line is active. Sometimes the length of the pulses
may be indicated by the brightness of the LED.
 Line tri-stated: Often it is possible for lines to be tri-stated, i.e. the output device has its output
turned off and no real state is defined. Many logic probes are able to indicate this state by having all
indicators turned off.

iv. Oscilloscope [2]

 Used for measuring analogue waveforms: amplitude, phase values, or edge measurements
such as rise times, etc.
 Shows and calculate the frequency and amplitude of an oscillating signal.
 Shows the voltage and time of a particular signal.
 Helps to troubleshoot any malfunction components of a project by looking at the expected
output after a particular component.
 Shows the content of the AC voltage or DC voltage in a signal.
 Displays AC waveforms
 Used to measure amplitude

v. Signature analyzer [2]

 Used for fault finding digital / logic electronic circuits.

 Able to detect digital waveform patterns
 Used to record complex data streams in AC waveforms
 Monitors the logic activities of a node in a system
 Ideal for field repair and other similar applications where simple analysis of complex
waveforms is required.
 used for checking data on given nodes within a logic system such as a microprocessor board
 In view of the significant increase in complexity of logic circuits the signature analyzer is
little used these days

vi. Logic analyzer [2]

 Debug and verify digital system operation
 Trace and correlate many digital signals simultaneously
 Detect and analyze timing violations and transients on buses
 Trace embedded software execution

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QUESTION
a) List any two (2) mechanisms for charge accumulation. [2]
b) State any Four (4) ways of safeguarding your components against static electricity
[4]
c) In the event that you don’t have the recommended antistatic tools, but you have
been tasked to fix a failure PC. what do you do to protect your components [4]

a) List any two (2) mechanisms for charge accumulation. [2]

Charge accumulation

 Whenever two dissimilar materials come in contact, electrons move from one surface to
the other. As these materials are separated and more electrons remain on one surface
than the other, one material takes on a positive charge and the other a negative charge

 Mechanisms for Charge Accumulation:

 Contact and Frictional

 Double layer
 Induction
 Transport

b) State any Four (4) ways of safeguarding your components against static
electricity [4]
To prevent damage to your sensitive electronic components in your system from Electrostatic
Discharge, you should:

 Antistatic Wrist Strap - Worn to protect your delicate computer components from static
electricity damage. Any static electrical charge that builds up on your body is then
immediately transferred to ground.

Always use an anti-static wrist strap when working on a computer except when working on
monitors: One end is an elastic band that fits around your wrist and which is connected to an
alligator clip by a wire. The clip connects to a metal part of the computer chassis, which
equalizes the voltage between you and the computer, thus avoiding static sparks.

 Antistatic Mat - Antistatic mats are available to place underneath a computer being
repaired; such a mat may have a snap for connecting the antistatic wrist strap. An
antistatic floor mat or ground mat is one of a number of antistatic devices designed to
help eliminate static electricity.
 Antistatic gloves - Another option is to use anti-static gloves when handling delicate
electronic components.

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 Antistatic bags - You should leave your components in their antistatic bags that you
purchased them in until you are ready to use them since, placing them outside of their
bags, make them susceptible to ESD.

c) In the event that you don’t have the recommended antistatic tools, but
you have been tasked to fix a failure PC. what do you do to protect your
components [4]

 Before touching any of the components inside your case, you should ground yourself to
discharge any static buildup.
 Make sure to discharge the static electricity by touching the metal chassis
 Always grasp a metal part of the computer chassis with your bare hand before you touch
anything inside.
 Handle your expansion cards by their edges. Hold sensitive electronic components by
edges to avoid touching any terminals or parts.
 When possible, try to avoid working in carpeted areas. Carpeting greatly increases static
build-up within your body. Do not do any work inside your computer while standing on
carpet.
 Do not work on your computer in cold, dry conditions since this encourages static
electricity. You should try to raise the humidity to between 50 to 60%.
 Do not wear woolen or nylon clothing while working on or repairing your computer.
 Keep your clothing away from drives, boards, memory, etc. Clothing could possibly be
electrically charged, especially when it is dry and cold.
 Leave your PC plugged into an AC outlet with the power switch turned off. This places
ground on the metal case.
 Shut down your computer and turn off the switch on your surge protector leaving the
surge protector plugged in so that it will be grounded.

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QUESTION
List and briefly describe any five (5) factors affecting memory speed
within a computer system. [10]

1. Wait states
2. Memory interleave
3. Page mode
4. Cache
5. Pipe lining
6. Shadow RAM

Wait states

 A wait state is a situation in which the computer processor experiences a delay, mainly when
accessing external memory or a device that is slow in its response.
 Therefore, wait states are considered wasteful in processor performance.
 However, modern-day designs try to either eliminate or minimize wait states.
 These include caches, instruction pre-fetch and pipelines, simultaneous multithreading and branch
prediction.
 While all of these techniques cannot eliminate wait states entirely, they can significantly reduce
the problem when working together.
 Wait states are also used to reduce energy consumption, allowing the processor to slow down and
pause if there is no work for the CPU.

Memory interleave

 The term interleaving refers to a process in which the CPU alternates communication between
two or more memory banks.
 Interleaving technology is typically used in larger systems such as servers and workstations.
Here’s how it works: every time the CPU addresses a memory bank, the bank needs about one
clock cycle to “reset” itself.
 The CPU can save processing time by addressing a second bank while the first bank is resetting.
 Interleaving can also function within the memory chips themselves to improve performance.
 For example, the memory cells inside SDRAM chip are divided into two independent cell banks,
which can be activated simultaneously.
 Interleaving between the two cell banks produces a continuous flow of data. This cuts down the
length of the memory cycle and results in faster transfer rates.

Page mode

 Paging is a memory management scheme by which a computer stores and retrieves data from
secondary storage for use in main memory.
 In this scheme, the operating system retrieves data from secondary storage in same-size blocks
called pages.
 Paging is an important part of virtual memory implementations in modern operating systems,
using secondary storage to let programs exceed the size of available physical memory.

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 Paging is a DRAM memory management method used by computers that allows data to be saved
and obtained from a specified storage space to be used in the main memory.
 Under this method, data is gathered using blocks of the same size (called pages), which allows
for noncontiguous use of the physical address space.

Bursting
 Bursting is another time-saving technology.
 The purpose of bursting is to provide the CPU with additional data from memory based on the
likelihood that it will be needed.
 So, instead of the CPU retrieving information from memory one piece of at a time, it grabs a
block of information from several consecutive addresses in memory.
 This saves time because there’s a statistical likelihood that the next data address the processor
will request will be sequential to the previous one.
 This way, the CPU gets the instructions it needs without having to send an individual request for
each one. Bursting can work with many different types of memory and can function when reading
or writing data.
 Both bursting and pipelining became popular at about the same time that EDO technology
became available. EDO chips that featured these functions were called “Burst EDO” or “Pipeline
Burst EDO” chips.

Cache

 Cache memory is a relatively small amount (normally less than 1MB) of high speed memory that
resides very close to the CPU. Cache memory is designed to supply the CPU with the most
frequently requested data and instructions. Because retrieving data from cache takes a fraction of
the time that it takes to access it from main memory, having cache memory can save a lot of time.
If the information is not in cache, it still has to be retrieved from main memory, but checking
cache memory takes so little time, it’s worth it. This is analogous to checking your refrigerator for
the food you need before running to the store to get it: it’s likely that what you need is there; if
not, it only took a moment to check.
 The concept behind caching is the “80⁄20” rule, which states that of all the programs, information,
and data on your computer, about 20% of it is used about 80% of the time. (This 20% data might
include the code required for sending or deleting email, saving a file onto your hard drive, or
simply recognizing which keys you’ve touched on your keyboard.) Conversely, the remaining
80% of the data in your system gets used about 20% of the time. Cache memory makes sense
because there’s a good chance that the data and instructions the CPU is using now will be needed
again.

Pipe lining

 Pipelining is a computer processing technique where a task is divided into a series of stages with
some of the work completed at each stage. Through the division of a larger task into smaller,
overlapping tasks, pipelining is used to improve performance beyond what is possible with non-
pipelined processing. Once the flow through a pipeline is started, execution rate of the
instructions is high, in spite of the number of stages through which they progress.
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 Pipelining is the process of accumulating and executing computer instructions and tasks from the
processor via a logical pipeline.
 It allows storing, prioritizing, managing and executing tasks and instructions in an orderly
process.
 Pipelining does not decrease the time for individual instruction execution.
 Instead, it increases instruction throughput.
 The throughput of the instruction pipeline is determined by how often an instruction exits the
pipeline
 Pipelining is also known as pipeline processing.
 Pipelining is primarily used to create and organize a pipeline of instructions for a computer
processor to processes in parallel.
 Typically, pipelining is an ongoing process where new tasks are added frequently and completed
tasks are removed. Each of these tasks has different stages or segments and leaves the pipeline
after the completion of the processing at a specified time.
 All of these tasks are executed in parallel and are provided a fair share of processor time based on
their size, complexity and priority.
 Pipelining can include any tasks or instructions that need processing time or power.

Shadow RAM

 A RAM copy of a PC's ROM BIOS.

 In order to improve performance, the BIOS, which is stored in a ROM chip, is copied to and
executed from RAM.
 RAM chips are accessed faster than ROMs.
 Shadow RAM is a copy of Basic Input/output Operating System (BIOS) routines from read-only
memory (ROM) into a special area of random access memory (RAM) so that they can be
accessed more quickly.
 Access in shadow RAM is typically in the 60-100 nanosecond range whereas ROM access is in
the 125-250 ns range.
 In some operating systems such as DOS, certain BIOS routines are not only used during the boot
or startup of the system, but also during normal operation, especially to drive the video display
terminal.
 In Windows and OS/2, however, these routines are not used and the use of shadow RAM is not
necessary. In some systems, the user can turn the use of shadow RAM off or on.

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