.::My Interests: Computers & Aerospace::.

Computers & Aerospace

Learning:

There are lots of things to learn from computers. Day by day it keeps on increasing. Here our focus is on educational part. Learning from computers consists of mainly two things, Hardware and Software.

Hardware:

Any Physical component

Ex: Nuts and Bolts/Ic's and printed Circuit Boards(PCB's).

Software:

The program that drives the hardware is called software.

BUYING:

Today we have n number of reasons to buy a computer. But very few have the knowledge of selecting right piece with appropriate budget. There is no point in spending too much of amount in it without knowing its actual, purpose of usage. The real value lies in the amount of learning, for productive purposes. Whatever may be the price; there are only three things to decide its performance. They are.

Processor, Motherboard, HDD, CD/DVD ROM & RAM

Very few people pay attention in selecting the above three things at the time of purchase. There is no point in aesthetics alone, but configuration. The following table gives a brief idea about configuration.

Components	Economy PC	Family PC	Premium PC
Processor	AMD/Intel	AMD/Intel	AMD-X2 / Intel
Motherboard	Gigabyte/Asus/Mercury	Asus / MSI	Asus / Intel
RAM	256MB DDR	1GB DDR2	2GB DDR2

Processor:

Processor is the brain of PC (personal computer). In INDIA there are two giants occupying the market (AMD & Intel). Both are performance packed ones. But in terms of pricing, AMD is superior and stable. For the same speed, AMD out performs others. Today the worldˇs only 64bit processor is AMD.

Motherboard:

Motherboard acts as a platform for its components and data flows in its Bus. A good motherboard will have a high Front Side Bus (FSB). Todayˇs motherboards clock FSBs (400, 533, 800 & 1000) MHz. Higher the FSB, faster the data transfer among the components.

RAM:

The speed of computer and execution of programs in less time depends on the capacity and operating frequency of RAM Higher the capacity and frequency saves time.

Capacity:(256,512,1024)MB Working Frequency:(133,200,266,333,400,533,800)MHz

Choosing the correct Operating System (OS) and office suites:

Operating system (os) is mainly responsible for the performance of the computer. Good operating systems such as Linux & MS Windows98 are commonly preferred and they are stable when compared to others. Similarly for Office Suites Open office which is a free version available for download it has many features like PDF file saving etc.,

Vista:

Upgrading a PC:

When we want to upgrade your PC for optimum performance. Then increasing the capacity of RAM or Hard disk drive alone should be the only option. Otherwise, upgrading other components such as Processor or Motherboard will be a cost consuming option. There is no point in increasing the capacity of RAM keeping a slower processor. Using power consuming programs like games and animation softwareˇs require higher amount of RAM and Hard disk. Itˇs always advisable to consult your system vendor before installing any new software, if you have a low configuration computer.

Maintenance:

System maintenance is more important as it will increase the life of PC.

Tips for MS Windows users

Set the Hard Drive as the 1st boot device in BIOS boot preference option
Don't set Screen saver, Desktop background picture & Desktop themes as it reduces performance.
Use Antiglare Screen in the front of Monitor to reduce the eyestrain
Backup all Software's and files regularly.
Use Directx 9.1 and above only.
Use ctrl + Alt + Del to stop the unwanted programs running and the priority.
Remove the startup programs from the startup folder to make the booting process faster.
Don't store movies in to the hard disk. Take a copy in a CD to free more space
Enable the DMA for CD-ROM drive and Hard disk drive by changing settings in Device manager
Use services.msc in RUN command to stop unwanted services in windows xp
After playing games uninstall it.
Disable all system Sounds.
Use Antivirus once in 10 days to scan for viruses (including Boot sector) & Update it regularly.
Use MSupdate, scandisk & defrag to fix minor problems
Use disk defragmenter regularly and disable the antivirus when you are offline.
Format the hard disk once in 6 months.
Delete the contents of c:\windows\Temp & c:\windows\Temporary Internet files folder once you close the Internet Browser to prevent viruses (windows98).
Run registry checker regularly.
Avoid using utility programs, plugins & skins in Media players and in other programs.
For windows98 users download & install the Service pack
To do the above process automatically use ccleaner software which is free to download

The above procedures have to be carried out carefully and periodically.

To delete the startup programs:

Start > Run > type MSCONFIG and press Enter key > in General menu click Selective startup and disable load startup group items or modify the startup menu.

Start > Run > type sysedit & press Enter ,delete the contents of AUTOEXEC.BAT file and CONFIG.SYS file and save it. Refer user guide www.netsquirrel.com/msconfig/ for win2000

Then restart the computer.

Note: The above method will work well for windows98 operating system. Higher versions will slightly change in approach.

For Windows Xp: close all the windows Start > Run > type %temp% & press Enter ,delete all the contents of the folder. similarly

Start > Run > type temp & press Enter ,delete the contents of of the folder. finally empty the recycle bin.

More Windows Tips & Tricks

Sample Desktop PC Configuration: Delhi IT Hub Chennai Peripheral Rates

Intel / AMD64 Processor AMD processor - specifications

Intel / MSI / Asus Motherboard with Bluetooth/WiFi

AGP/PCIe Video Graphics card

512MB DDR2 800 RAM

SATA HDD

SATA DVD-RW Drive Plextor-Beige/ HP lightScribe