Unit 2 P3 & D1

P3: Software Utilities

1. Security

Security software is important as they provide security to your pc and all the data in it. Firewall is software that is already installed on the computer designed to restrict access to the user’s computer network, to maintain security of the computer system. It does this by stopping data from accessing the computer through the network, some data can access the computer, only if the user allows the data to access. Software such as viruses does not get access to the computer at all. Firewall helps the security of the system against outside threats.

Anti-Virus protects a computer system from viruses and spyware. Anti-Virus software constantly runs and scans the computer and hard drive to protect it from viruses and spyware. The anti-virus software is always up to date with the old and new virus and spyware there may be.

The software also protects the user from any website that might be infected and also can get rid of any. Anti-Virus software can improve the speed of a computer system by making sure the computer is kept free of virus and damaging software, having a computer without anti-virus software can cause a lot of problems for the user, as the computer could slow down or even loss of data. An example of antivirus software is AVG and it is free to download.

2. Disk Clean-Up  

Disk Clean-up removes unused files to free up disk space on the user’s hard drive. The disk clean-up allows the users to select files that they no longer need. Removing unused files on a computer can improve the computers speed, as there will no longer be any files saved that are wasting the hard drive space. This improves the computer system speed, as there are no longer files that are unused, wasting the space in the hard drive. An example for clean-up is CCleaner. 

The defragmentation utility is very good it has many functions like a scheduler which allows you to set the utility to automatically run at a certain time and day. It also had the ability to analyse the disk. The analyse function to decides how fragmented the disk is, if the disk is fragmented you just click the defragment disk button and the software will do everything. It can take a long time depending on how fragmented your system is. This improves the computer speed as all the files will be compressed into order. For example the computer will be quicker to find the files, as they will all be in order making it easy for the computer to find.

3. Drive formatting

So that the storage media stored on the computer can be recognised by your computer system so it could be used to store data files. The disk on the drive tells the PC if each sector on the drive is being used, formatting it will change the table of content, so that each entry is available. The data is still stored on the drive however the computer ignores it, allowing you to rewrite another data on it. An example can be GParted, which allows you to create, delete, resize, move, label, copy and paste partitions and also the system files on them without losing data. This is very helpful as it can create more space for your C: drive, and also creates free space for a new operating system.

D1: How these Software Utilities can Improve Computer Performance

Security software such as firewall which is installed on your computers system already improves the performance of your computer system by not allowing others within the network gaining access to your computer. Anti-Virus software improves the computer performance blocking virus such as malware which can access your computer and damage the performance of the computer system. Anti-Virus software also have regular scans where the software scans the computer system to find any virus that are on them computer which it then removes them from the computer system, improving the performance. Some Anti-Virus software also automatically deletes browser history and cookies which are data that are stored on to the computer system, every time you visit a website.

Disk Clean-Up software improve the computer performance by removing unused and damaged files off your hard drive. This improves the performance of the computer as there will not be any unused files wasting the hard drive space. The CCleaner software works similar to Anti-Virus software, where it scans the computer looking for unused and damaged files, where it then deletes them off the hard drive.

Driver formatting tool improves the performance by removing all data that is installed on the hard drive. This improves the computer performance as the hard drive will have free space. However the data is still on the hard drive but the computer ignores them and rewrites other data on top of it. GParted is software which creates free space on the computer so that it improves the performance if the system.

"note you may be asked to expand on some of the points, so try to add more to the assignment. Also remember not to copy word for word, as their are now software to check for plagiarism, when marking the assignment, try to complete the assignment your own way." [I am not encouraging you to copy this piece is here for educational purposes]

Unit 2 P2 & M1

Unit 2

P2: Computer System

The operating system offers many function and services to manage the hardware and software of a computer system. It offers a stable way for the application to deal with the hardware. This makes it easier for the user to interact with the software that is available on the computer. Without the OS on a computer system the users will not be able to run a software program on their computer, which is why the OS is the most important software on a computer system. The OS also makes it easier for users to connect different input and output hardware to the computer. Every operating has device drivers which is a group of files that allow more than one hardware device to connect to the computers operating system. Without device drivers hardware devices will not work as they are not connected to the computers operating system. For example without devices drivers for a computer printer, the printer will not work as it cannot communicate with the operating system.

Firewall is an operating systems security as it prevents other computers that are connects to the same network, to gain access or steal data off of your computer. It only allows authorised programs to access data. You as the user can allow what to receive and what to send out. For example if software data is required on all the computers on the network, you can choose to update or postpone it. The user can also protect their folders by adding a password or providing controlled access, which can limit file access for other users on the computer system. By adding passwords to folders it prevents other users to access it and by providing controlled access it can stop other users from reading, writing, deleting, and renaming or copying documents from the folder. File Management is used by operating system to organise and keep track of files on the computer system. It uses directories to organise files into a tree structure.  

The most popular operating system are:

• Microsoft Windows: Windows is created by a company called Microsoft which released its first OS in 1985 which lacked a huge amount of functionality.  The current Windows OD uses a graphical user interface which allows the user to interact with the computer by using the images/icons. This makes it easier for the user to use the computer as they do not need to type in commands to run.
• Mac OS X: Mac OS X is created by Apple which released their first OS in 1984. The Mac OS created to only run on Mac computers, since 2002 all Mac computers have the OS already installed to it. The Mac OS previously ran on PowerPC-based Macs but since 2006 they have ran on Intel. Same as Windows, Mac OS uses a graphical user interface making it easier for the user to use the computer.
• Linux: Same as Mac OS X, Linux also uses a Unix-based system,  however Linux is a completely open source which allows the user to modify their OS and even create their own from a basic templates from Linux. 

M1: Comparing Windows and Linux

	Microsoft Windows	Linux
Cost	Windows could cost from £70 plus depending on what type of windows the users wants.	Linux is completely free of charge.
Software	Windows has a much more available software programs, utilities and games than Linux. Windows have more because of they have more users than Linux.	Linux has many available software programs, utilities and games.
Software Cost	Windows does have software programs, utilities and games for free however many of the software could cost you from £20 to £200+.	Software programs available on Linux are mainly freeware or open source. However some programs such as Gimp, OpenOffice etc. are sometime available for free or at low cost.
Hardware	Windows have more support for hardware devices, they are almost compatible with every manufactures. Windows are more compatible because they have a larger amount of users.	Linux will still not be support by many hardware devices, however the hardware devices that have driver support they will could work in all versions of Linux.
Security	Microsoft Windows may have made a lot of improvements to the security of their operating system, but they are still very vulnerable to be attacked by viruses.	Linux is much more secure operating system as they hardly get attacked by viruses.
GUI	Windows is a GUI operating system and is very similar to Mac OS, as it uses icons and text to navigate.	Linux is a GUI operating system. As it uses icons and text to navigate around the operating system.
File Management	Windows replaced NTFS and now use Fat32 as it is faster and reliable.	Linux uses ext4 file system type which is slightly faster than Windows NTFS file system type.
User Support	Once the users have purchased the operating system, they can get support by calling up the company for help or visit their website.	Linux users can only get support through the internet, as they have not purchased the operating system so they will have to ask other Linux users for help. E.g. through forums etc.
File System Support	Microsoft support files such as Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, Jfs, ReiserFS, Xfs, Btrfs, FAT, FAT32 and NTFS.	Linux only supports files such as FAT, FAT32, NTFS and eXFAT
Reliability	Microsoft has made many improvements in reliability for the Windows operating system however the reliability is not as good as Linux as they still have many issues.	Many of the Linux operating system versions are very reliable as they can run for months without needing to reboot.
Gaming	Nearly every game is compatible with Windows.	Some games are available on Linux, however some games can only be played through Wine.
'the ability for the user and technicians to customize the system settings and appearance	Microsoft Windows is very user friendly as it is very simple to use. Windows also allows the technicians to customise the operating system to the user needs.	Linux on the other hand is not as user friendly as Windows, as there is not many customisation options for the technician to customise the operating system to suit the user.

"note you may be asked to expand on some of the points, so try to add more to the assignment. Also remember not to copy word for word, as their are now software to check for plagiarism, when marking the assignment, try to complete the assignment your own way." [I am not encouraging you to copy this piece is here for educational purposes]

Unit 2: P1

Unit 2 

P1: Internal Components

Processors

A central processor unit (CPU) is one of the most important components within a computer system, as it processes data, controls the flow of the programs and components, it is placed directly into the CPU socket on the motherboard where it is held by pins which are on the underside of the CPU. It also has a heat sink and fan to stop the CPU getting overheated. Every motherboard has specific type of CPU which is compatible with it, that is why it very important to check if the CPU is compatible with motherboard before you upgrades. Intel core i7 is one of the fastest processor available.

Data Bus

A way data is transferred between one component to another component on the motherboard, or can be between two computer system. This can be data transferring information from the CPU to other components with the computer system. The components are all designed to handle so many bits of data at a time. 32-bits is used by normal data bus, this means that 32bits of data can only travel through a data bus per second. 

  

Control Bus

Organises data that is being sent and also data that is being received from and to all the components in the computer system.

Address Bus

It is a computer bus that transfers data about all the different address location in a memory to make the data usable in the future.

Motherboard

Motherboard is a very important component because it holds some of the crucial components of the computer system, such as the CPU, RAM etc. and it also provides connectors for other peripherals.

Internal Memory: RAM, ROM & Cache

RAM also known as Random-access memory stores temporally data and programs which can be accessed by the CPU. The bigger the RAM means it has more capacity and can process large programs and files. The speed of the memory impacts how much data is processed. The simple instructions for booting and loading the operating system are all stores in the ROM (read only memory).PROM, EPROM and EEPROM are all the types of ROM. E.g. PROM is a device that uses high voltage to destroy or create internal links within the chip. Cache is a very fast memory that is built in a CPU. L1 Cache is memory built into the CPU to help ease computer performance, by accessing frequently used data into L1 cache, this improves process requests faster. L2 and L3 cache has been built into the motherboard, they perform the same function as a L1 cache but are much slower, and however they are faster than RAM

Power supply

The job for this component is to change the power provided from the outlet, into power that can be used to run components within the computer system

Fan and Heat sink or cooling

The heat sink is created to lower the temperature of the CPU. The FAN is also another component to keep the parts of the computer cool. For example it will keep the power supply cool and also stops the CPU from overheating.

BIOS

BIOS is software that is stored on a small memory chip on the motherboard. It instructs the computer on how to perform a number of basic functions such as booting. BIOS is also used to recognise and configure the hardware in a computer system, it also allows the hardware to communicate with the computer system. During the booting up process the configuration of the computer is checked, after all the checks have been complete BIOS then lets the OS take control.

Network Card

Network card is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network. A network card's job is to monitor the traffic passing it through the network. When it recognises a data addressed to its IP address, it will accept the packet and pass it on to the computer system.

Graphics Card

A graphics card is a component which generates a feed of output images which is displayed on to the monitor. Without a graphics card it would be very hard to play game on your computer because the computer will not be able to handle the graphics, causing the game to constantly freeze.

SATA, IDE, EIDE, Master and Slave Drives

The primary IDE controls the hard drive. It also controls the electronic interface between a motherboard data path and the hard drive. The EIDE is an improved IDE cable which can support bigger drivers and faster access. The master drive controls the traffic on for the IDE cable. The master drive maintains the data and then passes it on to the slave drive. The only thing the slave drive does is see data that is passed to it, the slave drive does not need to be there as its only job is to see what is being sent to it.

Cabling

A coaxial cable is a cable that has an inner conductor surrounded by layers of insulating tubes. Twisted pair cabling is type of wiring that contains two individual wires that are twisted around one another. The twisted pair is twisted around one another to avoid crosstalk. USB (Universal Serial Bus) was created to connect computer peripherals such as keyboard, mouse, web cams, speakers etc. are all used to communicate with your computer by USB. Many other devices such as smart phones also use USB cable to connect their smart phone to the computer so the user is able to transfer data to and from their device. Parallel ports have 25-pin connector, which is used to connect printers or other devices that need high bandwidth. Serial Ports have 8-pin connectors which is used to connect peripherals such as mice of modem. Serial port is typically the slowest port there is on a computer system. Latest computers now have replaced serial ports for USB as it faster and more compatible.  

Ports

Ports allow connecting cables to the computer or other devices such as routers or other peripheral devices. There are many different types of ports on a computer system. USB ports were created to send data quickly from the computer to the peripheral. Ethernet ports are created to send and receive data out through the local area network, using the Ethernet cable.

Backup Storage

Backup storage is a storage area which allows users to back data on their computer systems to an hard disk drive, USB pen sticks, CD/DVD or a flash memory. Users can also back up their data to the cloud which doesn't require the users to connect anything to their computer systems. Software application, documents, data anything stored on the computer system can all be backed up.

Hard Drive: is a data storage component which is used to read and write digital data on to it. Inside a hard drive there is a disk, one on top of another, these two disks rapidly rotates, there is also an arm which reads and writes data onto the disk, by moving up to the edge of the disk to the middle of the disk. A SATA 2 hard drive will read or write on an average between 40 megabytes per second to 180 megabytes per second. SSD solid state drivers use flash memory to read at speeds around 150 to 580 megabytes per second, which is for high performance SATA3 drives. The speed in which the hard drive reads the data will depend on the way the files are organised on the disk inside of the hard drive. Files will be scattered all over the hard disk platter, the reading and writing arm will have to move around the disk until it find the files. Information that are on the outer side of the hard disk platter will be quicker to read and write and the information that is inner will take longer, this is because the reading and writing arm starts off going around the outer side of hard disk platter, it then makes its way down to the inner of the hard disk platter. A typical data transfer rate for a hard drive is up to 1,030 megabytes per second.

USB Flash Drive: is a small data storage device that is compatible with any computer system. A USB flash drive reads and writes data in megabytes per second, the reading speed is usually faster than the writing speed, it usually depends on the size of the file you trying to transfer. High performance USB flash drives can read data at 68 megabytes per second and write at 46 megabytes per second, but cannot manage to read and write as fast as smaller data. This depends on the type of USB you get as it can differ in performance. The data transfer rate for a USB flash drive is 3.2GB per second.

CD/DVD: CD have been mainly been used to store data which is capable of containing 700mb of data and has a transfer rate of 11.080 megabytes. However a DVD are designed to store large amount of data, it can store up to 4.7 GB on to one disk  

Flash Memory Card: Is a small storage device which is used to store data such as pictures, audio and video for use on portable devices or remote computing devices. There many capacity sizes for this storage device they can start from 1BG for Micro SD to 32GB SDXC card. The speed for will also depend on the size. For example a 1GB Micro SD as the data will take longer for it to process.

Peripherals (Output & Input Devices)

Output Devices are the peripherals that output data from the computer, monitor, printer and speakers are all out put devices. For example a printer creates a hard copy of a document that the computer has created

Input device is any peripheral that sends data to the computer, without input device the user will not be able to interact with the computer, keyboard, mouse, scanner and web cam are all input devices because they all send date to the computer.

(this task was done on as a leaflet, due to copyright I have not included the images I used for this assignment)
"note you may be asked to expand on some of the points, so try to add more to the assignment. Also remember not to copy word for word, as their are now software to check for plagiarism, when marking the assignment, try to complete the assignment your own way." [I am not encouraging you to copy this piece is here for educational purposes]