Unit 2 Content
Section 1
Understand the
hardware components of computer systems
System unit components
1 Processors and options
2 Motherboard
3 BIOS
4 Power
Supply
5 Fan and heat sink
6 Hard
drive configuration and controllers eg IDE,EIDE, master, slave
7 Ports eg
8
Peripherals eg printer, camera, scanner, plotter
9 Internal memory (
10
Specialised cards eg network, graphic cards
Backing store
11 Types eg disks, pen drives, optical media, flash memory cards
12 Portable
and fixed drives
13 Performance factors eg
data transfer rate, capacity
Data transmission
14 Communication paths eg
buses
15 Modems
16
Processor speed (impact on use, potential for overclocking)
17
18 Impact
of transmission media
Considerations for selection
19 Cost
20 User
requirements eg software to be used, need for
maintenance contract, outputs required, need for integration with other systems
such as home entertainment, processing power, storage capacity
21
Accessibility for disabled users
Section 2
Understand the
software components of computer systems
Operating system software
1 Operating
systems examples eg LINUX, Windows,
2 Command
line and GUI operating systems
3 Operating
system functions and services eg machine and
peripheral management, security, file management
4 Device
drivers
Software utilities
5 Virus protection
6 Firewalls
7 Clean up
tools eg for cookies, internet history,
defragmentation
8 Drive
formatting
Section 3
Be able to undertake
routine computer maintenance
Software maintenance
1 Upgrade software eg virus definition files
2
Installation of patches
3
Scheduling of maintenance tasks
4 Utility
software aimed at users eg defragmentation, clean-up,
system profilers
5 Other
third party utility software eg compression
utilities, spyware removal
Hardware maintenance
6 Cleaning
equipment
7 Install
and configure new peripherals eg printers
8 Install
and configure additional or replacement device eg hard
drive, graphics card, sound card, optical media, network interface card
9 Other
used eg regulatory requirements risks, health and
safety issues
File management
10 Create
folders
11 Back-up
procedures
12 Others eg delete files