Datasheet

10 Chapter 1

Hardware
Throughout this chapter, you will need to know about key component categories:
storage devices, motherboards, power supplies, processor/CPUs, memory, display devices,
input devices, adapter cards, ports and cables, and cooling systems. The first of these is
discussed in the section that follows.
FIGURE 1.1 Typical PC components
Power supply
Drive bays
3.5-inch disk drive
Power button
Hard disk drive access indicator
Reset button
Front bezel
Expansion card slot
System board
Storage Devices
Storage media hold the data being accessed, as well as the files the system needs to operate
and data that needs to be saved. The various types of storage differ in terms of capacity,
access time, and the physical type of media being used.
Floppy Drives
Though not something you are likely to find on a newer PC, a floppy disk drive (referred to
by CompTIA as FDD) is a magnetic storage medium that uses a floppy disk made of thin
plastic enclosed in a protective casing. The floppy disk itself (or floppy, as it’s often called)
enables the information to be transported from one computer to another easily. The down-
side of a floppy disk drive is its limited storage capacity. Floppy disks are limited to a maxi-
mum capacity of 2.88MB, but the most common type of floppy that you may find in use
today holds only 1.44MB. Table 1.1 lists the various floppy disks and their capacity. For the
most part, all of these are obsolete, but you must still know them for the exam.
TABLE 1.1 Floppy Disk Capacities
Floppy Drive Size Common Designation Number of Tracks Capacity
3.5˝ Double-sided, double-density 80 720KB
3.5˝ Double-sided, high-density 80 1.44MB
3.5˝ Double-sided, ultra-high-density 80 2.88MB
86504c01.indd 10 7/25/09 6:04:02 PM