Jason Springer
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Hello Jessica,
You did a great job explaining why expansion cards and slots are important and can enhance different computer functions and user experience. A few weeks before this class started I built my own PC so I learned a lot beforehand about the different types of parts that I could add to it and which parts are more important for different uses.Hello Trae,
I liked how you were able to break down the differences between RAM and ROM especially in the closing sentence when you said, “Whereas ROM is mainly used to store fixed system instructions that do not change, RAM is employed for the temporary storage of data that may change while operating the system.”Physical storage is made up of disk drives, RAID storage, optical drives, flash drives, and memory cards. Disk drives have two different types of drives, magnetic drives which have moving parts, and solid-state drives which don’t have moving parts. Solid-state drives have certain advantages including it’s quieter than magnetic drives, faster, and made in smaller form factors. RAID storage is a more complex form of storage made up of multiple magnetic disk drives that have data spread out through each drive compared to having all the data on just one drive to store it faster or more fault-tolerant. The five main types of RAID storage options mentioned in the book are RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10. Optical drives are an older type of storage device that includes CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays which commonly store music or movies. The other forms of physical storage which include flash drives and memory cards are temporary types of storage that are more convenient for mobilizing data or files.
Motherboards contain many different expansion slots including USB or universal serial bus, HDMI or high-definition media input, VGA or video graphic array, RJ45 or Ethernet, SATA or serial AT attachment, and more. The USB expansion slots can be used for peripherals such as keyboards, mice, and headphones as well as for storage like flash drives or charging another device. Another thing to consider when using USB is that three different generations of USB will also have different connectors and are capable of different speeds. Users can also use different expansion slots for video such as HDMI, VGA, and DVI which connect to a monitor or projector to display the screen. SATA expansion slots are also used to connect external hard drives for more passive storage while the onboard NVME M.2 slots are used for quicker storage. Just like USB, SATA also has three different generations which get faster the higher the number.
It is important to understand the differences between ROM and RAM because they have different functions and uses. ROM, or read-only memory, is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices; the data can’t be modified after the device is manufactured. On the other hand, RAM, or random access memory, “is a temporary storage device used by the OS to pass information to the CPU for processing.” Random access memory will only be able to store data as long as the session isn’t closed or the power isn’t cut off. Random access memory features include ECC or error code correction, parity, and buffering. Parity is good because it allows the user to repair lost data on a storage device by setting aside bits of the data in other storage devices. Read-only memory also can’t be written to during normal device operations like random access memory can.
I’ve struggled in battles with satan in addiction to a few things in life but over the past few years, I’ve seen Jesus change my desires and help give me the strength to start to overcome them. One verse that comes to my mind when reading and thinking about this is Hebrews 12:11 which says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Hello Braden,
After reading your discussion post, I liked how you walked through the whole troubleshooting process step by step. One part that could have been included that I learned about was making sure that the power supply is unplugged before messing with it so there’s no live current that could shock or in extreme cases kill anyone who isn’t careful.Hello Trae,
I thought your sources and thoughts were very informative and well-explained. I also liked how you included the speed of the CPU buses when talking about Gigahertz and multi-core processing which I didn’t bring up in my discussion post. Another part of your post that I liked was the example of how the motherboard supplies power to other components and manages the BOIS/UEFI.When troubleshooting a computer’s power supply there are a few different techniques I learned throughout this week’s work and readings, depending on the situation. Before you do anything to the power supply, it is necessary to always make sure that any cords connected to it are unplugged so you don’t have the risk of being electrocuted because of flowing electricity and risking putting yourself in life-threatening danger. I also learned that when working on components of a computer like the power supply, you should also use an ESD strap to prevent any static electricity damage from happening. One of the troubleshooting techniques that I learned about was using a multimeter to test each pin of the ATX connector to figure out if there were any shortages in any pins and if so which ones aren’t working. To do this you have to “bridge” pins 15 which is the ground and 16 which is the PSU ON.
Hello Latoya,
I liked how you mentioned that troubleshooting includes collecting information because if we don’t know about the device or situation then we’re less likely to be able to resolve the customer’s problem. I also agree with your statement about recording the process for the future because most problems can be solved quicker and easier once they’ve already been dealt with in the past.The motherboard is the spine of the whole computer that brings everything together. These motherboards consist of a north and south bridge that connects everything to the CPU and distributes power to the connecting parts. The north bridge is the faster side of the motherboard that connects to the CPU, GPU, and RAM while the south bridge is a slower branch of the north bridge that’s for the additional slots and ports on the motherboard. CPUs on the other hand are the brains of the computer that has an ALU that “performs all the arithmetic and logic operations” and “the control unit which fetches instructions from memory, decodes, and executes them,” with the ALU on standby according to the textbook. I just built my first PC about a month ago (which I’m now using to complete this assignment) so I’ve also learned that it’s also important to make sure that the CPU and motherboard are compatible because they could be designed for other parts. So in conclusion, the CPU runs everything while the motherboard is the connector of all the parts.
Troubleshooting is a valuable concept to both businesses and customers because both will experience some type of infected or defective device that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. The tricky thing with troubleshooting though is that it’s constantly evolving as new technology is released and more people are becoming knowledgeable about how to find their weaknesses. What makes troubleshooting valuable is that even with these new issues arising, you can still find ways to address the problem by following the steps listed in the chapter. These steps of troubleshooting include identifying the problem, establishing a theory of probable cause, testing the theory, establishing a plan of action to resolve the problem, applying the plan of action, and documenting everything that happened for later reference. If a helpdesk technician accidentally skips or fails to go through one of these steps during their troubleshooting process then they could face problems later on because they rushed through it. So troubleshooting is valuable when done right, but it can backfire when someone rushes through the process.
I like this verse because in it we can have comfort in knowing that Jesus will always provide a place to rest when we grow tired. I also have been able to find rest by going to Jesus through His word and praying or meditating over how I can apply what God tells me every day that I spend time with Him. So in conclusion, I have found peace through spending time with Jesus.
