This short PC tutorial is intended for inexperienced computer users, so therefore uses a minimum of "Techno-Speak"

PC stands for "Personal Computer".

There are many different computer systems available, which to the new user, seem very confusing. we've all heard the term "user friendly", and most modern computer systems are.

Buy your system from a reputable dealer, with a full service backup if required. all that seems cheap is often a poor quality system, and your frustration with it will soon become apparent - be very careful! Buy what you need for your application - it is pointless buying an "all singing and dancing - "Rolls Royce" system", if all you want to do is a bit of letter writing & internet browsing! if you are a game player, then a fast system, with a fast graphics card is very desirable. If your funds are low, buy a system with the latest motherboard type, and expand the system later.Remember, the faster the Central Crocessor Unit, then generally, the faster the computer is, but a current fast motherboard can support a higher speed cpu at a later date as cpu prices fall.

(The company below is highly recommecnded for supply of quality hardware & software )

(click the logo above to visit "Computers Unlimited" website)

PC computers are of modular construction, (built from several seperate units screwed together), so you need to be able to ask for the system to be built for your needs. The complete PC system (this means the solid components of the system) are: the case (which includes the mains power supply - transformer - 240 volt mains in - converted to the lower voltages needed to run the system), the motherboard, the central processor chip, the video card, the monitor, the floppy disk drive, the hard disk drive, the mouse, the keyboard, the sound card & the printer

Software allows interaction with the hardware. it would not be a lot of use if the user could not communicate with the PC & actually make it do something! early "DOS" operating system software (disk operating system) seems very primitive now when set against powerful current software like "Microsoft Windows"

(Click the logo above to visit Microsoft website)

This is a graphical user interface (gui) & is the most popular computer operating system software in the world. there are other very good operating systems available for pcs, but as a beginner, "Microsoft Windows" is the one you will be using.There are many different versions of this operating system, but "Windows 98" or "Windows xp" are the usual choice for home PC users. once you have an operating system installed on your PC, then other application software ie: word processor programs, graphics programs & almost any other current software can run from within this operating system, also referred to as a "platform".

This is the box that holds all the seperate components of the system. Cases come in all shapes and sizes, to suit specific applications. Towers are vertical, desktops are horizontal. If you intend to add hardware to your system over a period, you should buy a midi tower, because the physical size allows plenty of room for more expansion cards. A mini tower is ok for a basic system, but does not allow for excessive expansion. A desktop unit has as much room as a mini tower and saves space, as the monitor can sit on top of it. If you anticipate large scale add ons, get a maxi tower if you have the room!

I would recommend the midi tower case. As mentioned above, the case also comes complete with the power supply for the internal circuitry.

The motherboard is the main bit! it fits inside the case, it is the heart of the computer itself. there are a variety to choose from, and they are designed to hold different kinds of central processor units ( CPU ) A modern motherboard will be a Pentium "ATX" type. the new generation of "Intel" "Pentium" processors are leading the way to ever increasing speed of operation. motherboard design changes very frequently, and it is difficult to keep up with the pace of technology in this area.

This is the true heart of the system, …. the Microprocessor. this unit handles all the data within the computer. the final speed of your system is mainly down to this very small amazing item, which just sits in a socket on the motherboard, complete with its own cooling fan, and processes all the information coming in and out of the PC.

This allows information to be sent to the monitor so that it can be seen on screen. Often video support is built ont the motherboard, but I prefer the seperate card type. Usually a fast video board of 8 megabytes is more than sufficient for general use, but there are many accelerated video cards available for specialist graphics applications, and they soon get much more expensive!.

This is the TV set part of the system. it is also known as a VDU (Visual Display Unit) Modern monitors are far better than they used to be, so that now, the "picture" quality is of a higher resolution and therefore much "sharper" than ever before. They come in various screen sizes, there has been much controversy about VDU's in recent years, regarding electro magnetic emissions being harmful to health. so current health & safety trends lean towards low radiation types. the latest "TFT" screens are the way it is going, low power consumption, low radiation, with ultra slim flat screens.

These oddly titled items are used for the transfer of information between computers. they are accessible at the front of the computer. they are designed to hold a removable "Floppy Disk", which is basically a disk of magnetic tape (like a cassette) in a square plastic case. the disk drive can read and write information to the disk, which can then be taken out and stored, or transferred to another computer.

This is a very necessary item to have in a computer. a "Hard Disk" drive (HDD) does not have a removable disk like a "Floppy" Disk drive, instead the hard disk is fitted internally, and revolves constantly whenever the computer is switched on. the "Hard" Disk acts as a large capacity storage & retreival system. Information can be written and retrieved at will to the "Hard Drive". Iit is simply a storeroom. Information can be copied between "Hard" and "Ffloppy" disk drives. All of the information from a "Floppy Disk Drive" can be copied to a Hard Disk Drive, but not vice-versa, because the "HDD" is of a much higher capacity than a "Floppy" Drive. a 1.44 megabyte "Floppy Disk" can hold just under one and a half megabytes of information, but a "HDD" can hold many more megabytes of information. Most modern "IDE" (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard disk drives have a very fast information transfer rate and come in a variety of sizes and types. For a standard PC. system, a quality "IDE" (i-dee -ee ) drive should be chosen. a good tip when purchasing the system, is to buy the largest and fastest hard drive (IDE) you can afford. "SCSI" (pronounced "scuzzi") drives are very fast, but also more expensive and sometimes difficult to set up initially! "IDE" type "Hard Disk Drives" are more than fast enough for all normal applications. the rule is: Tthe faster that the CPU & memory can get their information from the hard disk drive, then the faster the PC works.

The CDROM drive (compact disk read only memory) is a "read only" version of a hard disk drive. a CDROM has a storage capacity much higher than a floppy disk. As software develops & data capacity requirements get higher & higher, a CDROM is an essential part of your PC system. "CDRW" Writer/Rewriter drives are also available to allow data to be written to a CDROM disk. DVD drives (Digital Versatile Disks) are popular & are also available as DVD readers or DVD reader/writers. DVD allows for even greater data storage capacity the CDROM.

Referred to as "RAM" (random access memory")

People often confuse hard disk capacity & memory!

For instance, a typical system specification including: "40 gigabyte hard disk drive (HDD) & 256 megabytes of RAM" mean that the PC system has a total storage capacity of 40 megabytes for storing files & programs + a memory capacity (to actually run the programs) of 256 megabytes. when you click the mouse over a program icon to run the program the hard disk drive delivers the required information from the hard disk to the computer's memory chips. It is much faster for the CPU to then process information in "RAM". If you don't have enough "RAM" in your PC, "Microsoft Windows" will use the hard disk drive as "Virtual Memory" & the whole system runs slower, as it takes more time for the program to process it's information.

A "Mouse" is simply a device for pointing at items on the screen. it is a multi-function device, as you can point at an item, click the buttons and make the item do something useful. it is called a "Mouse" as it has a tail (the wire). Most people find them easy to use, but sometimes a little practise is necessary to make the pointer go where you want it to go ! A good way to practise is to use the Windows "Paint" program & try to write your name legibly in "freehand" mode!

The keyboard is the "Alpha-Numeric Interface" very necessary for typing letters and numbers on the computer, also there are extra keys called "function" and "cursor" keys, to allow various things to happen when running programs.

These are built into the motherboards now. There are various specialist cards available for the sole purpose of making music via a sequencer, or digital recording software. These are not to be confused with the PC's internal soundcard, as they have different specialised functions.

There really is a vast choice in Printers these days, between Laser, Inkjet or Dot Matrix. Laser printers are the best & cheapest to run. Ink-jet are a good compromise (they are getting very good - but use a lot of ink which is expensive!) Dot Matrix printers are mostly used in business to create "carbon copies" of invoices, as this type of printers works using pins hitting an ink ribbon & transferring the ink to the paper via pressure, by using this method, enough pressure is applied to allow carbon paper or special coatings to be used so that other sheets of paper underneath get copied also. An added advantage is that they can use "tractor feed" for continuous paper feed (noisy, not as good quality as Lasers or Inkjets, but cheap to run). You may consider a colour printer if graphics are you main application.quality of printer largely depends on your budget!

All the above components, when fitted together, make a very useful IBM (International Business Machines) compatible …… Personal Computer.

A bit of useless information:

In the Stanley Kubrick's film "2001", the ship's onboard computer that malfunctioned was called a "HAL 9000"

"H - A - L" is one letter below "I - B - M"

Arthur C. Clarke who wrote the book "2001 - a Space Odyssey", when interviewed insists that this was a coincidence!