Dell Computer Basics Computer User Manual

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COMPUTER BASICS

Use of computers is dependent upon two things: hardware and software. The computer and all equipment attached to it are called hardware. The instructions that tell it what to do are called software.

A set of instructions that perform a particular task is called a program, software program, or software.

Peripherals are any hardware device connected to a computer, such as a monitor, keyboard, printer, disk drive, tape, scanner, and mouse.

This course will address hardware and peripheral components of the computer and how to use them correctly. The computers in your classrooms will generally have a monitor and computer chassis similar to the ones shown below.

A.

MONITOR

The computer monitor displays the input on a screen very similar to a television monitor. Controls for the monitor are located on the monitor itself. The monitor has an ON/OFF Button/Switch (which powers only the monitor) and an indicator light (green or amber).

A green indicator light denotes that the monitor is on.

An amber light indicates that the computer is in “sleep” mode. Software in newer computers automatically shuts down the monitor when the computer is shut down--the monitor is put in a “sleep” mode and the indicator light turns amber. When the monitor light is amber, if the computer is booted up, the monitor will automatically come on.

No indicator light indicates that the monitor is shut off. If you turn your monitor off with the switch, there will be no indicator light. When you boot up your computer, you will have to turn the monitor on by pressing the ON/OFF switch.

B.

COMPUTER

6 FLOPPY DISK

DRIVE

7 CD ROM

DRIVE

5

DISKETTE

1 2 3 4

DRIVE

ACCESS

INDICATOR

POWER POWER RESET HARD DISK

SWITCH INDICATOR BUTTON DRIVE

ACCESS

INDICATOR

The computer is a machine that processes data according to a set of instructions that are stored internally either temporarily or permanently. The computer has either external or internal peripherals attached to it. The picture below displays two internal devices—the floppy disk drive and CD ROM drive.

1.

POWER SWITCH --

Turns the computer on and off. Whenever the computer is turned off, file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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COMPUTER BASICS Page 2 of 11 always wait at least 60 seconds before turning it back on again.

2.

POWER INDICATOR

-- Located in the center of the power switch. A green light indicates the computer is on.

3.

RESET BUTTON

-- Allows you to reboot (restart) your system without having to power down the entire computer. Rebooting the system in this manner reduces stress on the system components. This button is used

ONLY

when the computer has “frozen” and will not accept any commands.

4.

HARD DISK DRIVE ACCESS INDICATOR --

Turns green when the computer is accessing your hard drive, either retrieving or storing information.

5.

DISKETTE DRIVE INDICATOR

-- Turns green when the computer is accessing your floppy disk drive, either retrieving or storing information. If this light is green, you should NEVER attempt to eject the floppy disk.

6.

FLOPPY DISK DRIVE

-- Storage device that holds, reads and writes to floppy disks, usually called Drive A.

7.

CD-DRIVE

-- Player or reader that reads data from a CD ROM disk.

C.

BACK PANEL AND CABLES

The ports that connect the peripherals to the computer are located on the back panel of the computer.

Newer computers have ports that are color-coded with their appropriate cables. Speaker cables plug into headphone jacks on the back panel and are also color-coded. The back panel may have small icons on the ports showing the correct cables (example --monitor for monitor cable). It is important that all cables be inserted completely and securely in their port (pins screwed in all the way) or the peripheral will not function properly. Once all peripherals have been connected to the computer, it may be useful to label each cable and it's appropriate port. When the computer is stored for the summer it will be very easy to reconnect cables in the fall. Two successful methods used to code cables and ports include colored dots using nail polish (red mouse cable, red dot on mouse port, pink printer cable, pink dot on printer port, etc.) and numbering cables and ports (1 & 1, 2 & 2, etc.).

When attaching or removing cables from the computer it is important to be very careful. The cables are connected with "pins" that can easily be bent or broken. Don't try to remove cables by "wiggling" from side to side. Pull cables directly out to avoid damaging the pins.

The following figure is a diagram of the ports on the back of the computer. Included are pictures of the cable connectors for different peripherals attached to the computer.

3. Parallel Port

1.

Mouse Port

Keyboard Port

5. Video Port

4. Serial

P t

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Mouse Cable & Ports Keyboard Cable & Ports Printer Cable

D.

STORAGE DEVICES

When working on the computer, all work is entered into the computer's memory. In order to store your work for future retrieval, you must “save” your work to a storage device before turning the computer off. When your work is saved it creates a computer “file”. The most common storage devices are hard disks and floppy disks. If you only save your work on the hard disk, you run the risk of losing your data, either through viruses, which attack the hard disk, or to hard disk failure or crashes. It’s very important to back up your important files onto other media, such as floppy disks.

D.

Floppy Disk

-- A removable disk that stores information magnetically. You can use a floppy disk to exchange information between computers, or to make a backup of your files. Also called a diskette. Floppy disks are 3.5 inches in diameter and they are enclosed in a rigid plastic shell.

Their storage capacity is 1.44 MB. To protect your floppy disks, keep them away from heat, drinks, and magnets. Use a felt tip pen to label a disk and write on the label before you attach it to the disk.

Every disk must be formatted with the operating system used by the computer in order to allow storage of files. The operating system is the “language” of the program—the disk must be in the same language as the computer in order to communicate. Examples of operating systems are DOS, Windows, Macintosh System 7, and Windows NT. When you purchase disks, be sure to purchase them for the operating system you are using (IBM/PC Compatible or

Apple/Macintosh). Today, most floppy disks come already formatted. However, it is a good idea to run scandisk on a disk before using as a means of checking the disk for bad sectors. See

Appendix for instructions on how to run scandisk on a floppy. Disks can be reused as long as there are no bad sectors on the disk..

Disks are inserted into the disk drive with the metal part first. file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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COMPUTER BASICS

Write Protect Tab

Page 4 of 11

Every disk comes with a write-protect tab. The tab provides protection against erasing or replacing information on a floppy disk. You can write-protect a 3.5 inch floppy disk by moving the plastic tab up to the write-protected position (open hole). No information can be altered on the disk when it is write-protected

E.

Hard drive

-- The primary device that a computer uses to store information. Most computers come with one or two hard drives, called drive C and drive D, located inside the computer case.

The terms hard drive and hard disk are used interchangeably. Today's hard disks provide fast retrieval and can hold several gigabytes of information as compared to megabytes on floppy disks.

F.

Zip disks

-- Zip disks store 100 - 250 MB of data (depending on the type of drive purchased) and cost about $15 each. A special 3.5" removable disk drive is needed to retrieve the information from the computer and write to the zip disk. An external zip drive can be moved from one computer to another. Due to the large storage capability of zip disks and mobility of the drives, they are gaining popularity as storage and backup mediums. file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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G.

CD ROMS

—Compact disks can store approximately 650-800 MB of data. Most software programs today are shipped on CD ROMs instead of floppy disks. All computers today come with CD-ROM drives that are part of the computer’s multimedia configuration. They are connected to a sound card, which provides the computer with stereo speaker capabilities, allowing for musical CDs to also be played on your computer. These drives are read only and cannot be used for recording data. They only retrieve data that’s pre-recorded on them by the manufacturer.

Like a musical CD, the information is pressed on one side (the side opposite the label). CD’s are inserted into the CD drive with the label side up. Pressing the button opens and closes the drive.

Handling and storage of CD’s are the same as musical CD’s and floppy disks. Avoid putting fingers on the information side. Hold the CD by the edges when handling. Protect CD’s by making sure the data side does not get scratched and by providing proper storage (store them in the case they came in).

H.

Read/Write CD ROMS

-- CD ROM drives that write, rewrite and record data. Two types of CD

ROM disks are used in these drives: CD Recordable (CD R) and CD Read/Write (CD R/W). CD

R/W disks can only be “read” by CD Read/Write drives, while CD R disks can be read by most

CD ROM drives.

I.

Cartridge tapes

—These are magnetic tapes similar to cassette tapes used as a storage and backup device. Backup and retrieval of stored information is slower with tapes because the information is stored sequentially. The computer must search in sequential order to find the desired information, rather than by sectors. The advantage of tape cassettes is that they can be purchased with large storage capacities (1 – 4 GB’s) allowing the entire contents of the hard drive to easily fit on one tape. file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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E.

INPUT DEVICES

1.

Mouse

– The mouse is a pointing device attached to the computer that controls the movement of the cursor on the screen. It allows the user to execute commands using point & click and click & drag techniques. As the user moves the mouse across the pad, the cursor moves across the screen.

The mouse should always be used with a mouse pad to provide a smooth surface for mouse movement and to help keep the mouse from damage. If you "run out of room" on the pad, simply pick up the mouse and move it to the opposite edge and continue movement.

The PC mouse has two buttons (left and right) and newer mice have a scroll wheel between the two. Mouse commands are executed by "clicking". The phrase to "click" means to select (a screen object) by moving the mouse pointer to the object's position and clicking a mouse button by pressing it down and them immediately releasing it. Executing commands require a double click, meaning that you must click a mouse button twice in rapid succession. Shift clicking refers to clicking the mouse button while holding the Shift key down. Drag is also used more generally to refer to any operation in which the mouse button is held down while the mouse is moved. Placing the mouse arrow on an object and holding down the left mouse button while moving it, the object can by moved to a new location by “dragging”. Some newer mice also include a scroll wheel for scrolling through long documents.

2.

Keyboard

-- The computer receives most of its input from the user via the keyboard that is very similar to the typewriter keyboard. The keyboard is connected by a cable to the keyboard port on the back of the computer. There are extra keys on the computer's keyboard that are not found on a normal typewriter. Following is an explanation of the function of these keys. The exact manner in which the keys function depends on the software program.

BACKSPACE KEY-- Deletes the character just to the left of the cursor (or insertion point) and moves the cursor to that position.

DELETE KEY-- Sometimes labeled Del, deletes the character at the current cursor position or to the right of the insertion point, or deletes the selected object, but does not move the cursor.

ARROW KEYS -- four arrow keys for moving the cursor or insertion point right, left, up, or down. Moving the arrow keys does not delete any characters on the screen.

CAPS LOCK KEY -- A toggle key that, when activated, causes all alphabetic characters to be uppercase.

HOME -- moves the cursor to the top left corner of the screen or to the beginning of the file, but it can have other meanings depending on which program is running.

END -- moves the cursor to the end of the line, the end of the page, or the end of the file depending where the cursor is located on the page and on which program is running. file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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ENTER -- Used to enter commands or to move the cursor to the beginning of the next line.

Sometimes labeled Return instead of Enter.

RETURN KEY -- Another name for the Enter key.

ESC -- Short for Escape, this key is used to send special codes to devices and to exit (or escape) from programs and tasks.

FUNCTION KEYS -- Special keys labeled F1 to Fx, x being the number of function keys on the keyboard. These keys have different meanings depending on which program is running.

CTRL KEY -- Short for Control, this key is used in conjunction with other keys to produce control characters. The meaning of each control character depends on which program is running.

ALT KEY -- Short for Alternate, this key is like a second Control key

PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN -- moves the cursor up or down a set number of lines usually one page or screen at a time. Often abbreviated PgUp and PgDn.

NUMERIC KEYPAD -- A separate set of keys on some keyboards that contain the numbers 0 through 9 and a decimal point arranged as on an adding machine. Numeric keypads make it easier to enter large amounts of numeric data. For the keypad to function as numbers, the NUM

LOCK must be on (Num Lock light is green).

INSERT -- Changes between insert mode and overstrike mode in word processing programs. In insert mode, all characters typed are placed at the cursor position (or to the right of the insertion point). With each new insertion, characters to the right of the cursor are pushed to the right of the insertion point to make room for the new characters. If insert mode is turned off, typing then overwrites existing characters instead of inserting the new ones before the old ones. This is often called overwrite mode. Most PC keyboards have an Ins or Insert key that lets you switch back and forth between insert and overwrite modes.

F.

KEYSTROKES TO KNOW

1.

<Enter>--

pressing this key is the same as left clicking the mouse button.

2.

<Ctrl><Esc>--

pressing these two keys simultaneously will bring up the Start menu. Use the arrow keys to navigate the Start menu, especially to shut down.

3.

<Shift><Alt><Spacebar>--

when a window is in the “Restore” mode, it may sometimes shift on the screen so that you cannot locate the buttons on the title bar to close, minimize or maximize the window. Pressing these three keys will open a window, with a choice of “Maximize”.

Arrow down and select Maximize and the window will open to a full screen with the buttons showing.

4.

<Ctrl><Alt><Delete>--

whenever the computer “locks up” and the mouse or keyboard will not work, pressing these three keys simultaneously will usually open the following window: file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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Highlight the program that is causing the problem and choose “End Task”

5.

<Ctrl><Alt><Delete>--

if pressing these keys does not bring up the previous window, then pressing them again will shut down the computer.

.

G.

OVERALL COMPUTER CARE

Taking proper care of the computer is essential in keeping it working properly. The following is a list of

"dos" and "don'ts" for computer care.

1.

Cover the computer when not in use to keep dust away from it. An old sheet is an excellent cover for your computers. Plastic dust covers are not recommended as they retain heat and do not allow for the computer to cool down properly, forming moisture. Moisture can damage the internal components of the computer.

2.

Position the computers away from air-conditioner vents, heater vents and chalkboards.

3.

Keep all food and drinks away from the computer.

4.

Never place foreign objects into the computer or its drives.

5.

Plug all computer components into a surge protector.

6.

Keep all magnets away from the computer or disks. Magnets will erase all data! file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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H.

CARE OF INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS

1.

System Case

-- The system case should be cleaned annually to prevent excessive buildup of dust. The best way to clean the outside of the case is just to wipe it with a damp cloth (don't spray liquids right on the case). The inside can be cleaned either by blasting with compressed air or using a small vacuum with a PC cleaning attachment. Check Positioning: Make sure the case hasn't over time been pushed into a place where it shouldn't be. For example, some desktop machines tend in time to be pushed back to the very back of the desk where they might cause the power supply fan to be blocked by a wall. There should always be air space behind the computer so the fan can cool the computer.

2.

Power Supply Fan

-- The power supply's chief enemy is overheating, and this is usually caused by excessive dust and dirt coating the components and clogging the power supply fan. The power supply fan should be inspected, approximately quarterly, to make sure that it is providing good ventilation and that it is not gummed up with dirt. Either blowing it out with an air duster or using a vacuum cleaner with a small tip attachment can clean it.

3.

Monitor

-- The monitor screen should be cleaned weekly since dust accumulates more quickly on the surface of a monitor than elsewhere because of the static charge generated by many monitors. The best way to clean the screen is just to wipe it with a slightly damp, soft cloth; companies will try to sell you fancy wipes but they are not generally necessary (and some can leave annoying smudges). Once a year, it is a good idea to clean the dust off the outside of the case. Doing this helps keep the monitor looking good and improves cooling. Make sure that the monitor's cooling vents are never blocked off. The monitor should always be turned off if it will not be in use for one or two hours.

4.

Keyboard

--

Keep Food and Drink Away

: The number one enemy of keyboards is not dust, but in fact food and drink. Check the Cable and Connector: Make sure that the keyboard cable is not caught on anything or pinched between desk drawers, etc., to prevent damage. There should be slack in the cable as well; if the keyboard cable is too tight this can damage the cable, connector, or worst of all, the plug on the motherboard where the keyboard connects to it.

5.

Mouse

--

Clean the Mouse Regularly

: It should be cleaned on a monthly basis. This includes cleaning the mouse ball, and also the rollers on the inside of the unit. If the ball becomes dirty then it doesn't roll properly, and the cursor won't move smoothly. Check the Cable and

Connector: Make sure that the mouse cable is not caught on anything on the workplace to prevent damage. There should be slack in the cable as well.

I.

SHUTDOWN

To shut down your computer, click the Start button, click Shut Down, and then click Shut Down The

Computer. It is imperative that you shut down the computer properly. Failure to do so could cause damage or loss of data.

If the computer "freezes", it may be necessary to restart (also known as "reboot") the computer using alternate means. Pressing the "Control" "Alt" and "Delete" keys at the same time is an alternate way of rebooting the computer. A window will appear showing all programs currently open with the one currently in use highlighted. At the bottom of the window will be three tabs. Click on the one that says

“End Task”. If you are lucky, the program will close and you can continue as normal. file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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However, many times, even this will not work. If using "Control" "Alt" and "Delete" will not restart your computer, you need to reboot your computer by pressing the reset button in front of your computer.

J.

MOUSE EXERCISE ACTIVITIES

Becoming proficient with the mouse takes practice. The more you use it the easier it will be to point and click, drag and drop. Windows has some built in help to give you practice using the mouse. This is also an excellent way to teach your students how to use the mouse.

1.

Go to the Start Button and click.

2.

Move the cursor up to Programs.

3.

Another menu appears next to Programs. Arrow up to Accessories.

4.

Another menu appears next to Accessories. Arrow to Games.

5.

Another menu appears with the names of card games (Solitaire, Hearts, and Free cell are some examples. Games may be different dependent upon which version of Windows is on the computer).

6.

Choose any one by placing cursor on game and clicking once. (Clicking on Help and choosing About… will give you the rules of the game you have selected).

3.

4.

5.

2.

1. Click

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K.

RUNNING SCANDISK

Before using, floppy disks should be checked to be sure they contain no bad sectors. Bad sectors can result in data loss. Run scandisk to check a disk for bad sectors.

 

1.

Make sure the write protect tab on the right side of the disk is closed. Insert the disk (metal side first) into the disk drive.

 

2.

 

Place cursor on Start Button, go to Run. Type the word

scandisk

(all one word) in the box and click the <OK> button. The following window will open:

3.

 

Highlight the first icon [3 ½ Floppy (A:)]. Under the “Type of test” section click the radio button next to “Thorough”. Make sure there is a check mark on Automatically fix errors.

Click Start button.

4. This window will open when scandisk is complete. Check the first line--if it found errors, throw the disk away. Check the third line-

-if there is a number, throw the disk away. file://C:\Documents and Settings\wanda\Desktop\handouts\ComputerBasics\default.htm

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