How is Data Written, Stored On, and Erased From Hard Disks?
Inside your hard disk is a stack of one or more optically perfect platters where data is stored magnetically. When the drive is originally formatted, it is laid out in a pattern of concentric circles (cylinders) and wedges (sectors). More ...
The PC (PCMCIA) Card
The PC card, technically called the PCMCIA Card is a form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. It was originally designed for computer memory expansion. More ...
CPU Sockets Roundup
For current and upcoming motherboards, the PGA package is being replaced by the LGA (Land Grid Array) package. With a LGA the pins are on the socket and they make contact with gold-plated copper pads on the processor. More ...
CompTIA Strata Study Guide
Because many jobs in the IT field don't require the in-depth knowledge required for CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ or CompTIA Security+ certification, CompTIA has developed the Strata certification. More ...
What You Need To Know About Server Memory
DDR is Double Data Rate which is what all memory is now. Since DDR came out it's gone through a few generations DDR, DDR2, DDR3 and now DDR4. These different generations of memory have different peak transfer rates. More ...
An Overview of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Fabrication Process
PCBs are fabricated with the use of two types of software. Computer Aided Design (CAD) software is used to design the electronic schematic of the circuit. Then Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software is used to produce the PCB design. More ...
Installing an Optical Drive
Optical drives read (and may write) CDs; DVDs, HD DVDs; and BluRays. Virtually every modern PC contains an optical drive (either internally or externally), used as a media player, for installing new software, or as large capacity storage medium for computers. Installing your optical drives is an easy process that requires a bit of attention to detail. Here?s an easy-to-follow-installation guide. More ...
Understanding Your PC's CPU Clock Speed and Front Side Bus
The CPU or Central Processing Unit is the brains of any computer and the two major manufacturers are Intel and AMD or Advanced Micro Devices. For many years Intel CPUs were found in nearly all PCs. And now the Intel is found in most systems but the newer Athlon class CPU from AMD have taken a large chunk of the CPU market. More ...
Device Driver Basics
In this article, I'm going to reveal in plain English what a driver is, why we need drivers, and exactly where the drivers are hiding. To give you a basic understanding, I'm going to go back, way back, to the early days of computers. More ...
Basic PC Anatomy Inkjet Printers
There are two main inkjet technologies, thermal and piezo-electric. Thermal technology uses silicon wafer heating elements, Epson uses a proprietary piezo electric technology. More ...
Understanding The Speed Of New Pci Express Data Bus
PCIe is intended to be used as a local interconnect only. As it is based on the existing PCI system, cards, and systems can be adapted to PCI Express without any change in software. The higher speeds on PCIe allow it to replace almost all existing buses. More ...
Plug and Play Resource Allocation
Early PCs used a bus called Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). ISA devices cannot share resources, each ISA device must have its own IRQ. In 1993, Microsoft and Intel developed Plug and Play (PnP) to solve this problem. More ...
IEEE-1394 FireWire
IEEE 1394 FireWire is a serial bus designed by Apple Computer as a replacement for legacy interfaces like serial ports, parallel ports, and SCSI. Article updated for IEEE 1394a FireWire 400 and IEEE 1394b FireWire 800. More ...
MPEG4, H.264, MJPEG Compression for DVR Recording - What's the Difference?
The main objective of Video compression is to have the smallest file size possible while still preserving good video and audio quality. MPEG4, H.264, and MJPEG are three DVR CODECs that aim to compress the videos for transferring purposes. Each of these formats have their own strengths and weaknesses. More ...
