Computer Basics: IBM/PC

8 Things You Should Know Before You Get Started

1. Your inexperience with a PC is not an indication of your intelligence.
2. You don't have to know a lot about a PC to use one.
3. There are no keys you can press that will destroy the machine or your files.
4. The mouse is tough: you don't need to treat it as if it were fragile.
5. It helps to know how to type, but it's not necessary.
6. Know how to take care of your PC and diskettes, and do it.
7. Learn in your spare time, not just before a deadline.
8. Master the basics before trying the fancy stuff.

What is a PC?

We're using the term PC, which stands for "Personal Computer" as a catch-all for non-Mac computers. Some people call them IBMs, but that's a misnomer, because not all non-Macs are made by IBM. But, since Big Blue set the standard, many people call these machines "IBM clones." PCs have this in common: they all need a program called DOS to get up and running. DOS stands for "Disk Operating System", and it's the main program needed to run all other programs on the machine. So, there are a number of terms you may hear, all referring to the same kind of computer: PC, IBM-PC, IBM-clone, or a DOS-based machine.

How To Get Help

Help Screens
Most programs (a.k.a. "applications") come with built-in Help that contains a list of topics, common errors, and solutions. This is the best way to get help without spending too much time flipping through manuals or asking coworkers. And, unlike your coworkers, the computer doesn't keep track of how many times you ask for help!

Manuals
In the past, some frustrated users have found software manuals to be as intimidating as the computers. Thankfully, manuals are becoming a more accessible tool, even for the beginner. The answers to your questions are in there. The best software manuals are not the ones written by the software manufacturer, (which can be too technical), but the ones written by independent publishers and writers. Next time you go to a book store, flip through some of the software manuals. They'll be easy to use if the style is light, not too technical, and if the topics are well indexed and easy to pinpoint. Nothing is worse than flipping endlessly through a complicated manual looking for something as simple as setting a margin.

Technical Support Phone Numbers
Many software companies provide technical support for their products, and their support phone numbers are listed in their manuals. When you call it's a good idea to find out whether or not you're being charged for the support. Most software companies provide free support for a certain period of time, and start charging you when that time has expired. You will need to know the software's version number, the serial number off the box, and what you were doing when the problem occurred. At the other end is a real human being (!) who is highly experienced in the use of whatever computer and application you are using. Normally, your support contact will try to duplicate your difficulty on her or his own computer in order to suggest a fix.

Inside your computer:

An Overview
When you turn on your computer, many things happen before you actually start working. Electric current flows into the computer's power supply, which feeds the current to other components attached to a flat green circuit board at the base of the computer called the mother board. One of those components is called "the chip" (a.k.a. "the processor" or the "Central Processing Unit", or the "CPU"). This is a silicon chip containing extremely complicated circuits. It operates as the "brains" of the computer, processing all electronic messages, both those coming in from a device such as your keyboard or mouse, and those going out to a device such as your monitor or printer.

When you first turn on your computer, electronic messages are sent to the chip, telling it to wake up and start a program called DOS or Disk Operating System. Where are these electronic messages stored? Some are on the hard drive or on a floppy drive and some are on other silicon chips attached to the mother board. When we say that a program is "stored" on a hard drive or on a silicon chip, that is similar to saying it's recorded on a CD. Information is transferred onto the device, and it remains there until another device attempts to retrieve it or "play" it. So, you can think of the DOS program as a song that the hard drive "plays" for you. The output is directed to your monitor where you see it and interact with it by entering commands from your keyboard. These commands, in the form of electronic messages, are sent to your mother board, processed by the chip, and then carried out.

Now, we also said that some of the electronic messages are stored on other silicon chips. These chips are collectively called Random Access Memory (RAM) or just memory for short. In order to fully understand this concept, imagine that your computer is an office. The hard drive and the floppy drive are two places where you can permanently store programs and documents or "files", so these are the file cabinets. Usually the hard drive is the c: drive and the floppy drive is the a: drive. When your computer tries to retrieve or "play" data from one of these drives, it takes the information out of the file cabinet and sends it to the temporary storage area called memory. That allows the computer to examine the program or document, manipulate it, and send portions of it to your screen. Think of this storage area as a bulletin board on the office wall, and the computer screen as the desk. The memory or bulletin board is limited in size and therefore can hold a only limited number of programs and documents. Generally speaking, the bigger the capacity of the memory or bulletin board, the faster your computer will process data. The computer, by the way, is always swapping data back and forth between the drives, memory, and the screen. If you can imagine a very busy office, the documents are always being transferred from file cabinet to bulletin board to the desk and back again.

Since the c: drive and the a: drive are similar to file cabinets, they can be divided up into sections that resemble folders. First, you can set up your drive to contain the equivalent of hanging folders, called directories. These, in turn, may contain the equivalent of manila folders called sub-directories. For instance, let's say you had a stack of letters from the last 10 years, and you needed to figure out a way to store them on your drive (file cabinet). You could start by setting up two directories: BUSINESS and PERSONAL. The BUSINESS directory may contain two sub-directories called EPA and IBM, and the PERSONAL directory might have two sub-directories for your two friends JOHN and JAMIE.

DOS

The program DOS is discussed at length in the CIT handout "DOS 6.2: Getting Started," and there is no need to go into the details here. However, it is important to know that when you first turn on your PC, the machine starts DOS. This program gets the PC up and running, checks the drives, circuit boards, memory, keyboard and mouse to make sure everything is OK. Then DOS puts the so-called "DOS prompt" up on the screen and waits for further instructions. You'll know the DOS prompt because it always ends with the "greater than" sign (>). When you see it, you can enter a command. These are simple one-word instructions such as date, copy or win. These three commands, by the way, stand for "Tell me the date!", "Copy this file", and "Start the program called Windows!" But most of the time, DOS commands require more than just one word. For example, the copy command above won't work by itself. If you want to copy a program or a document from one drive to another, you would have to tell DOS the name of the program or document, where it's currently saved, and where to re-save it. So, you would have to enter in a complete command such as copy c:\letter.doc a: meaning copy the document called letter.doc, from the c: drive to the a: drive.

Windows

Over the years most people who have been forced to use DOS have become frustrated with such strange and complicated commands. Many of them converted to Macintosh computers, which were easier to use because their system allowed people to use a mouse and point at pictures on their screen rather than entering in arcane commands. For example, if you were using a Macintosh computer, and you wanted to copy a file to the a: drive, you could just point to a picture of the file on your screen and "drag" it across the screen to a picture of the a: drive. That seemed a lot easier to most folks. Therefore, Microsoft Corporation, which created DOS in the first place, decided to make a new program that looked and acted like the Macintosh. The resulting program was Windows. Now many people have programmed their computers to start up DOS and immediately run Windows. That way they don't have to deal with DOS at all. There are no difficult and clumsy commands to type, and instead a pretty screen comes up, allowing users to use their mouse and point to pictures called icons. This is called a graphic interface, and it has become very popular over the past couple of years.

Perspective is Everything

You are the best judge of your own computing needs. There are some computer-savvy people who would have you believe that if you're not doing all your work on a computer, something is wrong with you. Don't buy that for a minute. Computer use is not an all-or-nothing proposition: learn what you need to know now and save the rest for later. Only you can accurately gauge the potential for using your computer in your daily working and living.

People learn at different rates. Just because your co-workers have mastered the fine points of PC applications while you're still having difficulty with the basics doesn't mean they're smarter than you are. Work at your own pace and let the rest of the world take care of itself.
It is perfectly normal to be intimidated or uneasy about computers at first. They are indeed complex devices with enormous potential; still, they're only machines. With continued practice and exposure, you will discover that computers are much less mysterious and scary than you had originally thought they were.
You are smarter than any computer: your brain at rest is far more powerful than the most advanced PC working at its capacity. Computers are incapable of most mental tasks you take for granted, including intuition, independent learning, associative memory, creativity, dedication, emotion and flexibility.
Everyone who uses computers was once a raw beginner--including your instructor.

What's the next step?

Now that your curiosity has been piqued, you'll probably want to begin exploring different PC applications to see what they can do for you. It's best to start with a simple DOS class, and then Windows, and then move on from there into a specific word processing program. CIT recommends that you take DOS: Getting Started if you are interested in learning DOS. It's not that crucial to know DOS, but it might help you if your computer doesn't have Windows. If you would rather jump straight into Windows, take the Windows: Getting Started class first.

Parlez-vous computerese?

Just about every profession has its own special terminology, and computer users are no different. In fact, they generate more confusing jargon than most other fields. Unfortunately, specialized terminology can confuse the non-specialist. Here are several common computer terms that you are likely to run into again and again:
Application/program--a specially-created piece of software intended to do a particular task, such as word-processing, creating graphics, or number-crunching.

CPU--Central Processing Unit. This is the heart of the computer. All input goes into the CPU, where all processing tasks are actually performed. Any output--printed, on screen, or on disk--comes out of the CPU.

Cursor-- a visual indicator on the screen that lets you know where your mouse is positioned. The cursor allows you to insert text where you wish, or to select existing items to be deleted, copied, or modified.

Drive--any part of the computer where disks reside and operate, temporarily or permanently. See floppy disk/diskette and hard disk/hard drive.

File/document--any single item created with an application, whether it be a single chart, a five-page paper, or an entire thesis with graphics and footnotes.

File server--a large computer to which others are connected in order to share information and processing ability. For example, an academic department might have a file server containing student records and course information, to which individual computers in other parts of the same building could connect to access this information. File servers are often part of a network.

Floppy disk/diskette--A portable disk of plastic coated with chromium oxide, on which information is magnetically written, and from which that information can be read, copied, or deleted. The disk is protected by a shell or cover of some kind. "Floppy" is now a misnomer; older 5.25" disks are flexible, while the more common 3.5" disks are not.

Graphic interface--The standard commands under which Macintosh computers operate. Instead of entering commands on the keyboard, the user manipulates icons and windows, usually with a mouse.

Hard disk/hard drive--A fixed permanent storage unit containing a rigid disk (or disks) made from metal; many computers contain built-in hard disks. Hard drives are much more expensive than floppies, and can hold a great deal more information.

Hardware--The physical components of a computer, including cables, the keyboard, the CPU, monitors, etc.

Icons--Pictorial representations of items like hard drives, floppies, applications, etc. By manipulating the icons, you get desired results from the hardware and software they represent.

Initialize/format--Said of disks; the terms are synonymous. Initializing erases all information on a disk (if there is any) and prepares the disk to receive whatever information you wish to save on it.

Input-- Any information you put into the computer, through typing, copying files, or whatever. Output is what you'd expect: any results that emerge from the computer, whether on screen, printed, on disk, etc.

Modem--A device that plugs into a standard telephone jack and allows a computer to transmit and receive information over commercial telephone lines.

Monitor--The screen on which you see your work, whether in color, grayscale, or black-and-white.

Mouse--A small tool that duplicates the movements of your hand on the computer's screen, allowing you to rearrange items, perform actions, select things, etc.

Network--A group of computers spread out over a large area that are connected with each other, whether by telephone lines, fiber-optic cables or some other linkage. Once connected, computers on a network can share files, send large amounts of information very quickly, and enable multiple users to communicate at one time.

Platform--Basically, the type of computer you use; the term refers to the operating software, not to the manufacturer. DOS, Macintosh, NeXT and UNIX are common platforms.

RAM--Random Access Memory, the computer's "short term" memory in which all actions are performed. Also called "active memory," RAM is the memory your computer uses to run applications. The amount of RAM in your computer is fixed, although it can often be increased, and it is one of the two kinds of memory that dealers will use to describe a computer's capabilities. (The other is "storage" memory, or memory devoted to permanently saving information you have created. Disks use storage memory.)

ROM--Read-Only Memory, in which information is saved once and can never be altered. For example, CD-ROM machines read information saved on compact disks--users can read that information, but cannot make changes. Some ROM is built into your computer to help it get started when you turn it on.

Software--Any information a computer uses to perform a task; also, any information saved on a disk.

System--Specific pieces of software that your computer needs to run; for instance, it is the system that converts your keystrokes into letters and displays them on the monitor screen.

Windows--This term can be confusing. It refers to how graphic interface systems display information on the screen, allowing you to view the contents of different disks or files as you would view loose pages on a desk. Windows can be opened and closed like their namesakes, but they can also be stacked, sorted, resized, and moved. Microsoft Corporation also sells an application called "Windows"reg. which allows machines running under DOS to show information in graphic interface format, complete with icons, mouse cursor, etc.