help needed please

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hello new to this just starting out in training in fact ive not started college yet ive been reading a few books .

what is bios and cmos i think im about there with bios but not cmos chips
bios is basic input and output cmos initials are the type of chip it is .

also are most breakdowns with computers either software based or hardware faults.

is there software to find out which components are faulty.

any one recomend good magazine i can subscribe to to and a good parts catalouge to find out info on new parts and accessories.

 

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bios is a chip inside the computer it does the following things = loads essential drivers for things like keyboards and video. Bios chips are made of ROM memory which stands for read only memory. yu cannot over write the settings in bios thats were cmos comes in.

Cmos which stands for complementary metal oxide semiconductor is were you can make changes to some parts of the bios settings and also save these changes that you have made. changes that can be made in cmos are things like boot device order, configure ports serial, usb etc cpu setup and power managment.

hope this helps

 

Basically BIOS is the program that starts the computer up and runs it until the operating system takes over, CMOS is where the BIOS stores the date, time, and system configuration details it needs to start the computer.

 

What you need is the A+ All-in-One Exam Guide by Mike Meyers. If the 7th edition isn't out by now, it soon will be.

 

Most breakdowns are probably software related, though there are also plenty of hardware related faults too.

There is software that can test RAM and a plethora of other software that can put a system under stress and give you some idea if problems exist. However, there is no software that can accurately diagnose every possible electronic problem that might affect the computer. For example, failing capacitors on the motherboard, a faulty CPU, a dead power supply. In other words, if the computer won't boot, you cannot run software on it

 

Use the internet.
Cheapest prices and most up-to-date info.

 

thanks alot for reply well apreciated there is alot to learn.

i have a few questions on memory now, bear in mind that ive not even started college yet just trying to get a head start so dont laugh ,but it is complex.

what is the difference and purpose of the various memorys l1 cache l2 cache l3 cache the plug in ram cards that can be changed and cache that comes on plug in adapter cards.

this is where i am with it for right or wrong.

cache memory is used to speed up cpu processing speed by quick access to data,so data must come from hard drive to cache memory via memory contoller hub.
where does the memory that you plug in come into it, does this log larger amounts of ram prior to going to the cache memory to be used by processor and does this all this memory wipe clear after you turn off computer as cmos is the only chip to have battery power to hold memory of bios setting,and bios is flash.

i thinks thats it any help.

 

See BosonMichaal's post and follow his advice mate. It will take you the basics and lead you on to more advanced concepts when it comes to how PC's work and how the different types of RAM relate to each other.

There are also plenty of guides on the basics of how ram works on google. Have a look here :- http://tinyurl.com/ygtmovl

 

Cache numbering like this usually refers to a hierarchical cache design, the numbering relates to speed and locality normally. It does take a small but finite amount of time for electricity to travel so physically closer is better. On the same die is generally best.
Faster ram costs more so a design like this helps reduce cost while giving performance. The faster caches are normally smaller, L1 begin fastest etc.

Many things can be cached to try to reduce latency or up performance.

The main caches we were refering to are for the processor and its an instruction / data cache for programs.

People can design electronic components to do whatever they like, with DMA, cache etc, so there is no one answer.

Hard drives tend to have buffers or cache.

Graphics cards have frame buffers or cache.

Same with NIC's, loads of stuff.

Some RAID controllers can have persistent caches which are battery backed, otherwise yes normally caches are just RAM, and RAM loses its contents pretty quickly after power loss under normal conditions.

As mentioned get a good book, Mike Myers is the practical guide people recommend round here for the A+ exam.

This is the standard college textbook on computer arch, its a bit dry though, and not really good for beginners or advanced people, also I couldn't finish it.

Computer Architecture a Quantitative Approach or Computer Organization and Design

I quite enjoyed this however :- Feynman Lectures on Computation

Not read this but it looks good :- A peek at computer electronics