Summary (1.4)
At the beginning of this chapter, you were introduced to the contents of a computer and safety guidelines that can prevent electrical fires and injuries while working inside a computer. You also learned about ESD and how it can damage computer equipment if not discharged properly.
Next, you learned about all the components that make up a PC, starting with the case, which houses all the internal components. You learned about the various form factors of cases and power supplies and how they have evolved over time. Next, you learned about the various types of connectors used to power various internal components, such as the motherboard and storage drives. Serial AT Attachment (SATA), Molex, and PCIe were discussed, as were the voltages provided by the connectors.
You also learned about the motherboard, the backbone of the computer, which contains buses, or electrical pathways used to connect electronic components. These components include the CPU, RAM, expansion slots, chipset, and BIOS and UEFI chips.
Different types of storage devices, such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives, were also discussed, along with the different versions of PATA and SATA interfaces that connect them to the motherboard.
The commonly used tools were explained, and the computer disassembly process was demonstrated. At the end of the chapter, you disassembled a computer as part of a hands-on lab.