| Computers today may look very different to | | | | working together. |
| those of 20 years ago. But behind the scenes not | | | | When you first turn on your computer the O/S, |
| much has really changed. Sure, they have shrunk | | | | which usually resides on your Disk Drive, begins |
| a lot in size and they whiz along so much faster | | | | loading instructions into your computer's memory |
| than they ever did. However the basics have | | | | so they can be used when needed. It also checks |
| almost stayed the same and that is what we are | | | | to see if you have a keyboard connected and if it |
| going to look at here in this article. The aim is to | | | | is working. You may notice keyboard lights |
| allow you to identify which bit is causing the | | | | flashing on and off as the PC starts up. The same |
| problem so you know what to look for. | | | | thing happens with the screen, memory, and disk |
| The original modular makeup of a Central | | | | drive. If there is a problem with any one of these |
| Processing Unit (CPU), Display Screen, Input | | | | devices your computer will not start. |
| Device (keyboard/Mouse), and Information | | | | If this happens, turn off the power and |
| Storage Device (Ram Memory/Disk Drive etc), | | | | disconnect any devices except for the keyboard |
| plus the Power Supply has not changed. All these | | | | and screen. Make sure there are no disks in the |
| building blocks are still needed today in various | | | | CD or DVD unit and try starting the computer |
| forms. | | | | again. If it fails to start again, try borrowing a |
| So how does it all work together? On their own, | | | | keyboard from a friend and plug that in and |
| most of these items are quite useless so that is | | | | restart your PC. |
| where the Operating System (O/S) comes into | | | | Once you have the computer running try plugging |
| play. Software like Windows XP, Vista, Windows | | | | the other devices back in one at a time, |
| 7, and Apple Mac Leopard O/S are types of | | | | restarting your PC each time to identify the |
| Operating Systems that gets all these parts | | | | device that prevented it starting in the first place. |