Computer Hardware and Networking

Archive for January, 2010

Usually the laptop hard drive is easier to wear out than desktop’s. To keep the health and prolong its lifespan, you need to do some regular maintenance of your own. The laptop drive’s longevity pretty much depends on your own habit of using a computer. Here are three basic steps you need to carry out regularly to ensure the longevity of your laptop hard drive.

1. Ensure plenty of available space.
It is always a good idea to make sure there is enough free space on the hard drive for saving new large files, you can backup the large file of computer to another medium like CD-R, DVD-R, flash drive, or external drive, because a full hard drive can be wears out much more quickly.

2. Defragment hard drive regularly.
If you have many big files in your computer and they were move frequently, then defragmentation is very important at this point to eliminate the file fragments, it is recommended to do the defragmentation once a week. You can go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Disk Defragmenter to get access to the toolkit, or you can perform fragment analyse first before you decide to defrag a specific drive. The entire process may take more than an hour. If you got a massive drive which exceeds 500G, to get a 3rd-party software like Advanced Defrag, O&O defrag can save you a lot of time.

3. Remove the unnecessary files
Unnecessary files can be easily ignored by PC users, these unwanted files such as cookies which are downloaded without users’ knowledge when you surfing the net.

A computer can be a very intimidating piece of equipment for someone who is unfamiliar with how one works. So many pieces of equipment, so many buttons and very little instruction on which piece of hardware goes where and why.

Luckily, we’ve put together a glossary illustrating the most popular hardware components of a computer - and the purpose of each piece of equipment.

Keyboard - The keyboard is hooked up to the computer and displays all the letters of the alphabet as well as numbers, grammatical characters and a variety of functions. The keyboard is used to convey controls and functions to the computer.

Mouse - A mouse is a hand-operated device that controls the functionality of a cursor on your computer monitor. It generally has two or three buttons which are used to execute functions on your computer screen.

Monitor - Your computer monitor is a device that displays signals on a computer screen. You can use your monitor to watch DVDs, play games, create documents or surf the web.

Printer - A printer is often hooked up to your computer so you can print a hard copy of your document(s).

Modem - A modem is a component of your computer which converts signals produced by one type of device into a form which is compatible with another. Ex: a computer and a telephone.

Webcam - A webcam is a device hooked up to your computer which allows you to visually communicate with others who also have a webcam installed.

Power Supply - A power supply unit (PSU) is a device which supplies the power to your computer to keep it running.

These are just a few of the hardware components associated with computers. You should also research other devices like computer cases, video cards, computer cables and scanners to become familiar with all of the elements of a computer.

When it became the first computer available to the general public, it was rare in each household have more than one unit, let alone a computer network. But as modern technology is cheaper, more affordable and within reach of all, tech-savvy homes are now connecting their laptops and connect to their computers to the home network.

What is home networking?

Home network is simply a method allows a computer to communicate with others. If you have two or more computers at home can have a network share-

· Files and documents

· Internet

· Printers, print servers and scanners

· Stereo, TVs and game systems

· CD burner

To set up a home network, you’ll need a few basic elements, including more than one computer, hardware, and software as a router, either built-in operating system or as a standalone application for co-coordinating the exchange of information. Next, you need”path”for information arising from one computer to another. This is typically provided via WiFi. Two popular types are the wireless home network and Ethernet. In both types, the router does most of the work of governing the operation of the connected devices. By connecting the router to your dial-up, DSL or cable modem, you can also allow multiple computers to share an Internet connection.

The play free games are played on the internet on the site of the game host itself. But the games where you can download free games are options which stay in your computer after you download them for free or after paying for them. The online games can be easily played against or with certain players as the other players can sign in to the same host and then continue the game.

But on the PC there are very limited games which two players can play together and most of them need to take turns. Also the other option to play these games together can be done with the help of LAN. Here two or more computers are connected together and the players can then play against or with each other for the various kinds of games both online and offline.