About Hardware

Sound Card

What is 'Decibel - dB'?
What is 'Signal to Noise Ratio - S/N'?
What is 'Total Harmonic Distortion - THD'?
What is 'Frequency Range'?
What is 'DirectSound 3D (DS3D)'?
What is 'EAX (Environmental Audio Extensions)'?
How do I control the audio volume level on my computer?
I have speakers and sound cards installed but why isn't there any sound?
How do I get my sound to work properly?
My sound card doesn't make any sound and it show no conflicts.
I can hear WAV files and games just fine, but CD-audio can't be heard.
I upgraded to Windows 2000 and my sound card doesn't work right.
I have a 4-speaker sound card but can't get any more than 2 speakers working.
There is only sound coming from one speaker.

What is 'Decibel - dB'?

It is a logarithmic unit of sound intensity. Ten times the logarithm of the ratio of the sound intensity to some reference intensity. (Basically, the measurement of how loud a sound is)

What is 'Signal to Noise Ratio - S/N'?

Ratio of the level of the signal to that of the noise, usually in terms of peak values in the case of impulse noise and in terms of root means square (RMS) value in the case of random noise. (The measurement of how 'clean' the sound is.)

What is 'Total Harmonic Distortion - THD'?

A measurement of harmonic distortion given by the ratio of the power of all the harmonics observed at the output of the system which are produced because of it's non linearity.

What is 'Frequency Range'?

Upper and lower effective, or operating frequency limits of a piece of equipment. (How high and how low (in terms of treble and bass) of a sound can be accurately reproduced). As you can see, the technical definitions can be quite confusing. Here are the simple versions in longer form:

What is 'DirectSound 3D (DS3D)'?

DirectSound 3D is the standard from which all the others (except A3D2.0) are derived. It is a basic infrastructure that Microsoft has made available to developers. DS3D is a basic 3D sound algorithm that does the positioning of the sound and that is all. In future versions (beyond DirectX7) of DirectSound3D, there will be options for reverb and other features.

What is 'EAX (Environmental Audio Extensions)'?

This was a standard developed by Creative Labs, which has quickly become a serious contender in the 3D sound algorithm arena. EAX uses "presets" of reverb settings to give an atmosphere to the room or "environment" the game is portraying. In the newer versions of the API, more notably EAX2.0, Creative has introduced obstructions and occlusions. There is support for headphones, two speakers and four speakers

How do I control the audio volume level on my computer?

To raise or lower the volume from your speakers, use the volume control box. Left Click once on the Speaker icon located on the right of your Windows taskbar. When the volume control box appears, drag the volume bar up or down to adjust the audio volume level.
To control the audio volume level for all the devices, use the Master Out window. Left double-click the Speaker icon located on the right of your Windows taskbar. When the Master Out window appears, in the devices area, drag the volume bar up or down to adjust the audio volume level.

I have speakers and sound cards installed but why isn't there any sound?

Audio may have been muted - Click on the Speaker icon located on the right of your Windows taskbar. When the volume control box appears, verify that the Mute option check box is empty.
Volume may be turned down - The volume level may be too low. Left click on the Speaker icon located on the right of your Windows taskbar. When the volume control box appears, drag the volume bar upward.
The speakers are not connected properly - Make sure that the speakers are properly connected to the computer

How do I get my sound to work properly?

Click Start button, Setting, Control Panel.
Double click on System icon, Click on the Device Manager tab at the top, double click on "Other Devices" and remove anything here such as PCI Card, or PCI Audio, or PCI Sound Device that may pertain to the sound.
After removing this, click refresh, click "have disk", and browse the driver location to the location on your driver CD indicated at the back of your user manual. Also make sure that you have plugged speakers into the Line Out jack in the back of your computer, and that these speakers are plugged into a power outlet.

My sound card doesn't make any sound and it show no conflicts.

Check your volume settings. If you have an older sound card, you may have a slider volume adjustment on the back of the card. Check this. Also go to your Volume Settings for Windows and make sure all options are unmuted and that the volume sliders are not set to min. Check your speaker volume as well or try different speakers.

I can hear WAV files and games just fine, but CD-audio can't be heard.

You probably do not have the wire between the sound card and the CD-ROM connected. Open up your PC and make sure a wire is there that leads form the AUDIO OUT on the back of the CD-ROM to the CD-IN on the sound card. Also, make sure you do not have CD-AUDIO muted our turned down in your Vol Settings.

I upgraded to Windows 2000 and my sound card doesn't work right.

Some sound cards are not yet supported by Windows 2000 or are just having drivers released for them. The thing to do is check out the manufacturer web site and look for drivers specifically for Windows 2000.

I have a 4-speaker sound card but can't get any more than 2 speakers working.

First, be sure it is not a speaker problem. If not, then you probably need to go into the settings for your sound card and enable 4-speaker setup.

There is only sound coming from one speaker.

You are probably using a mono plug for stereo speakers. Either that, or the driver may not be loading correctly. On some systems, if your sound card drivers are not loaded in CONFIG.SYS, you will only have left-side sound

USB

Are there any utilities to test my computer's USB capability?
What versions of Windows support the USB?

Are there any utilities to test my computer's USB capability?

The Windows 98 Resource Kit has a simple USB test utility. Install the kit by inserting the Windows 98 CD in your CD ROM drive, wait for the menu to pop-up, click on Browse this CD, double-click tools, double-click "reskit", and double-click setup.exe. Run the kit (Start, Programs, Windows 98 Resource Kit, Tools Management Console). In the console, click the + to the left of the Windows 98 Resource Kit Tools Sampler. Click Tools A to Z, double-click U to Z, and double-click the USB Viewer

What versions of Windows support the USB?

You need Windows 95 versions OSR2, 2.1, or 2.5 or Windows 98 or later for USB. The OSR versions require the USB supplement. You can obtain the supplement and additional information at

CD ROM Drive, DVD ROM Drive, CD RW and Combo Drive

Why is my CD ROM running slow in Windows 95?
How do I position the jumper on the back of the CD ROM?
Why do I hear no sound from CD-Audio?
Why is the CD ROM not recognised?
What's CD-R?
What's CD-RW?
Are CD-R's identical to normal CDs?
Can I create new audio and data CDs?
Can I use it to copy my CDs?
How much data/audio can they hold?
Can I just copy files onto a CD-R like I would to a floppy?
Can I copy DVD's with a CD recorder?
Can I download MP3s from the Internet and make an audio CD?
Will a regular CD-ROM play DVD's?
My computer says D: is not accessible. D: is my CD-ROM drive. I just started having this problem. The D: drive is in Start, Control Panel, System, Device Manager, but there is a yellow quotation mark on the CD controller. How do I fix this problem?
How do I install the CD-ROM drive under the Linux operating system?
How can I add my CD-ROM to an existing Windows NT system?
Is it safe and secure to mount a CD-ROM drive vertically? Will it then be more vulnerable?
How can I install and configure my CD-ROM into my system?
How do I install the CD-ROM drive under the Linux operating system?
How can I add my CD-ROM to an existing Windows NT system?
How can I install and configure my CD-ROM into my system?
How can I configure my CD-ROM to work under OS/2 Warp?
Is it safe and secure to mount a CD-ROM drive vertically? Will it then be more vulnerable?
The CD/DVD-ROM drive cannot read my CD/DVD. What should I do?
I get a lot of errors saying my Device is not ready whenever I try to use a CD.
I have a CD stuck in the drive and it won't open.
The computer BIOS is not detecting my CD drive!
My CD-ROM vibrates a lot and makes a lot of noise.

Why is my CD ROM running slow in Windows 95?

The default CD ROM speed in Windows 95 is Single Speed. To change this setting, click in this order: Start-> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Performance -> File System -> CD ROM and set speed to Quad-Speed or higher, Restart Windows 95 to test speed change.

How do I position the jumper on the back of the CD ROM?

On the rear of the CD ROM drive is a set of 6 pins labeled CSEL, SL and MA. If the CD ROM is attached as a slave to a hard drive, place the jumper across the pins labeled SL. If the CD ROM is attached to a separate controller (or a sound board), place the jumper across MA. If the drive is not recognised, try jumping CSEL in addition to the MA/SL jumper. For this information, one can also see the documentation accompanying the CD ROM, or the sticker on the CD ROM itself

Why do I hear no sound from CD-Audio?

If you have a Creative Labs sound card and there is no sound at all, use the 3-conductor end of the audio cable that comes with the CD ROM drive, and attach it to the 4-conductor audio input on the sound card. You will need to look at the pin-configuration diagrams in the CD ROM Manual and the Sound Card's Manual to determine which of the 4 pins must contact the 3-pin plug.

Why is the CD ROM not recognised?

Incorrect jumper position on CD ROM drive. See jumper settings above.
Incorrect parameters in CONFIG.SYS When the CD ROM drive is installed, a line is added to the CONFIG.SYS file. The line will look similar to this DEVICE = C:\SAMSUNG\SSCDROM.SYS /D: SSCD000 /1F0H,14. Run the setup utility, which comes along with your CD ROM drive to setup the CD ROM properly.
Incorrect jumper settings on Master Drive. If the CD ROM drive is attached to another IDE device as a slave, then the Master drive must have its' jumpers positioned properly to function in a Master / Slave configuration. Contact the drives manufacturer or documentation for proper settings.

What's CD-R?

CD-R is a short name for "CD-Recordable". Recordable CDs are WORM (Write Once, Read Multiple) media that work just like standard CDs. The advantage of CD-R over other types of optical media is that you can use the discs with a standard CD player. The disadvantage is that you can't reuse a CD-R disc.

What's CD-RW?

A related technology called CD-Rewritable (CD-RW) allows you to erase discs even after they have been written to, and reuse them, but the CD-RW media doesn't work in all players. CD-Rewritable drives are able to write both CD-R and CD-RW discs.

Are CD-R's identical to normal CDs?

The CDs you buy in a store are pressed (written) from a mold. CD-Rs are burned (or recorded) with a laser. They may look different (often green, gold, or blue instead of silver), they're less tolerant of extreme temperatures and sunlight, and they're more susceptible to physical damage. Whether CD-R's or pressed (ordinary) CDs last longer is difficult to. While they're not physically identical, they work just the same. Some CD players and CD ROM drives aren't as good at reading CD-R and CD-RW discs as they are at reading pressed (ordinary) CDs, but by and large they work just fine. By the way, you can't record on pressed discs, so you might as well throw out all those shareware or free software CD ROMs that have become obsolete. Buying a bunch of old CDs in the hopes of writing new stuff onto them is a bad idea. You have to buy blank CD-R or CD-RW media.

Can I create new audio and data CDs?

Yes. You can create CD ROMs from data on your hard drive, and you can create new audio CDs from anything you can record into a WAV or AIFF sound file. The CD ROMs you produce will play in ordinary CD ROM drives, and the audio CDs you create will work in your home or car CD player, as well as a CD ROM drive. Writing to CD-R's and CD-RW's requires a special drive. You can't write CDs with an ordinary CD ROM drive.

Can I use it to copy my CDs?

Yes, both audio and data CDs can be duplicated. You can even create audio CDs that are compilations of other audio CDs (perhaps a personal "best of" disc). Bear in mind that there are copyright laws for CDs, and violating those laws may attract fines or lawsuits by the owners of the copyrighted works.

How much data/audio can they hold?

Recordable CDs can hold about 74 minutes of audio; or about 650MB of data. Some CD-R blanks can hold 80 minutes of audio, or about 700MB of data

Can I just copy files onto a CD-R like I would to a floppy?

Yes and no. The process can be a bit more complex than that, and requires special software that (usually) comes bundled with the drive. With "packet writing" software, and a recorder that supports it, you can treat a CD-R or CD-RW disc like a floppy. Generally speaking, you can only write to each part of the disc once, so deleting files doesn't gain any space. There are other limitations as well

Can I copy DVD's with a CD recorder?

No, CD and DVD are very different formats, so you can't write DVD's with your CD recorder.

Can I download MP3s from the Internet and make an audio CD?
Yes. You can download MP3s, write them to a CD, and play it in anything that handles audio CDs. In fact, many of the popular CD recording programs will decode the MP3s for you. It's also possible to take songs from a CD and convert them to MP3s for use in MP3 player software.

Will a regular CD-ROM play DVD's?

No. You will need a DVD drive. But, they are not expensive. You can get a regular DVD drive for not too much more than a CD-drive. the, just use a software DVD player to play DVD's. It is fine quality and it saves the expense of buying a DVD kit that has a MPEG decoder card.

My computer says D: is not accessible. D: is my CD-ROM drive. I just started having this problem. The D: drive is in Start, Control Panel, System, Device Manager, but there is a yellow quotation mark on the CD controller. How do I fix this problem?

You may have a bad CR-ROM drive. I am assuming you have an IDE CD-ROM and hard disk... First, check and be sure the cables are fully plugged-in--push on them. If the CD-ROM is connected to its own flat cable, which plugs into the motherboard secondary IDE interface (which is the way it should be installed), the cable should be plugged into the motherboard with the red stripe towards pin 1 and into the drive with the red stripe towards the power connector. If the CD-ROM is on the same cable as your hard disk it should be jumpered as a slave and the hard disk jumpered as a master (and with a slave present, if there is such a setting). Be sure the CMOS Setup does not have the drive for which the CD-ROM is configured disabled.
Try removing the driver in the System Manager and restarting Windows. If it's an old drive, press the F8 key just as windows starts to boot to get the Startup Menu; choose Command Prompt Only; type edit autoexec.bat; find the line that starts with "rem - By Windows Setup - " (in front of the line with the MSCEDX command); move your cursor to the C (the start of C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX...) following the dash after "...Setup -"; press the Enter key to put "rem - By Windows Setup - " on a separate line so "C:\WINDOWS: starts on the next line; hold the Alt key and press F to get the File menu; choose exit; Save and Exit; reboot. If that doesn't fix it you probably have a bad CD-ROM.

How do I install the CD-ROM drive under the Linux operating system?

The Linux operating system comes standard with an ATAPI driver. The CD-ROM must be connected to the same cable as the hard drive utilizing the primary IDE channel. Make sure that the hard drive is jumpered as MASTER, and that the CD-ROM is jumpered as SLAVE. Please refer to your hard drive manufacturer for jumper settings for your hard drive. For the CD-ROM drive, you will find the jumper settings printed on the label on the back of the drive and in the user's manual.

How can I add my CD-ROM to an existing Windows NT system?

Start the Windows NT Setup Program from the Main Program Group. Select OPTIONS and click ADD/REMOVE SCSI ADAPTERS. Click ADD and select IDE CD-ROM and click install.

Is it safe and secure to mount a CD-ROM drive vertically? Will it then be more vulnerable?

A-Open 32- or higher-speed CD-ROM drives can be mounted either horizontally or vertically, but the drive must be fixed securely any time when powered on. That is to say, tilting or moving the drive while the PC system is running, the shock may lead the disc inside to impact against internal components, leaving scratches on the disc. Considering the high-rev rotation, which is even faster than the engine in your car, a little shock or vibration could lead to a deep scratch.

How can I install and configure my CD-ROM into my system?

The CD-ROM can be attached to the same cable as the hard drive. Make sure that the hard drive is jumpered as MASTER, and that the CD-ROM is jumpered as SLAVE. Please refer to your hard drive manufacturer for jumper settings for your hard drive. However, it is best to configure the CD-ROM to use the secondary IDE channel for independent operation and setting the CD-ROM jumper to MASTER. For the CD-ROM drive, you will find the jumper settings printed on the label on the back of the drive and in the user's manual.

How do I install the CD-ROM drive under the Linux operating system?

How can I add my CD-ROM to an existing Windows NT system?

To configure the CD-ROM under OS/2 Warp, it needs to be connected to the same cable as the hard drive utilizing the primary IDE channel. Make sure that the hard drive is jumpered as MASTER and the CD-ROM is jumpered as SLAVE. Then install OS/2 Warp. During the installation, the CD-ROM will be recognised and configured by OS/2 Warp. Once the software installation has completed, the CD-ROM can be moved to the secondary IDE channel and jumpered as MASTER.

How can I install and configure my CD-ROM into my system?

How can I configure my CD-ROM to work under OS/2 Warp?

Is it safe and secure to mount a CD-ROM drive vertically? Will it then be more vulnerable?

Start the Windows NT Setup Program from the Main Program Group. Select OPTIONS and click ADD/REMOVE SCSI ADAPTERS. Click ADD and select IDE CD-ROM and click install.

The CD/DVD-ROM drive cannot read my CD/DVD. What should I do?

This is probably caused by your CD/DVD not being properly seated in the CD/DVD-ROM drive. Eject the CD/DVD and then put it back, making sure that it is properly seated in the drive, then reload.
Your computer cannot recognise the CD/DVD-ROM drive.Turn off the computer, wait at least '30 seconds, and then turn the computer back on.
The CD/DVD has been inserted upside down. Remove the CD/DVD, turn it over, and then reload. (The label on the CD/DVD should be facing up.)
The CD/DVD is dirty. Clean the CD/DVD with a CD/DVD cleaning kit (available in computer stores).
The CD/DVD is defective. Try another CD/DVD. If it operates well, the CD/DVD is defected.

I get a lot of errors saying my Device is not ready whenever I try to use a CD.

Well, there are a few things that could be happening. The first thing is to make sure the CD is recognized by the drive and in there correctly. For example, some drives have a hard time recognizing CD-RW or CD-R disks. If you use a different type of CD, like an extended capacity disk or a multi-session one from a CD-R, you may have troubles. The first thing would be to eject the disk and then put it back. Sometimes this handles problems. Also, if you have one of those unlabeled CDs, make sure it is not in there upside down. If needed, try a different CD and see if it still happens. If this is not the problem, and you have double-checked the configuration (cables, master/slave setting), then it may be a drive problem. In this case, you can test on another machine or try another drive. A CD-ROM repair can be done, but it is probably cheaper to just buy a new one.

I have a CD stuck in the drive and it won't open.

Make sure you have power to the drive. If you do and it still wont open, then more than likely the drawer mechanism is broken. Some drives have a small little button one the front of the drive. Using a pinhead or something, you can depress this and open the drive door.

The computer BIOS is not detecting my CD drive!

This is not a big deal. Some BIOS just cannot see CD-ROM. But, since CD operation is dictated purely by drivers and not by the BIOS, it really does not matter whether it sees it or not. Do not worry about it.

My CD-ROM vibrates a lot and makes a lot of noise.

A small amount of this is normal. But, if the vibration is excessive, ensure it is securely fastened to the case. A loose installation could cause the vibrations to transfer into the case structure and really make a racket. Otherwise, it is usually a sing of a badly designed drive. It is more often seen in high-speed drives. You could return the drive and get another.

Memory(RAM)

What is 'Memory'?
How many types of memory are there?
What is 'Granularity'?
What is 'Latency'?

What is 'Memory'?

The smallest physical unit of memory is the bit, which is essentially an electrical component that is in one of two possible states (usually represented as 0 and 1). Eight of these bits together make a byte, which allows 256 possible combinations (2^8) and is the smallest addressable unit of memory. Each of these combinations represents a single data character or instruction.

How many types of memory are there?

The memory types used in the PC are broadly categorised as either Read Only Memory (ROM) or Random Access Memory (RAM. As the name implies, ROM cannot be updated 'on the fly' but can be read at any time. ROM memory also retains the data even when there is no power applied. On the other hand, RAM can be written to at any time, making it very useful as a temporary storage medium (called system memory) for the operating system and running applications. Unfortunately, RAM does not retain the data when the power is lost so the data must be written to long-term storage (i.e., the hard disk) if it is to be saved. For this reason, RAM is sometimes called 'volatile storage'. RAM memories are further divided into Static RAM (SRAM) and Dynamic RAM (DRAM).
DRAM is relatively slow compared to SRAM because of how it is made. SRAM is composed of logic transistors, with the data being stored in flip-flops. Therefore changing the 'state' of the memory cell and reading the cell are very fast operations. DRAM, on the other hand, uses capacitors to hold the data, which must be recharged (refreshed) fairly frequently due to 'bleed off' and after every read operation because the capacitor is discharged when it transfers its data. Refresh operations require clock cycles, which may interfere with other operations. While SRAM is up to 10 times faster than DRAM, it is also much more expensive - in fact, up to 10 times as expensive

What is 'Granularity'?

Granularity is the minimum memory expansion increment in a system. This must be kept small enough so initial costs can be kept low, but must be large enough to allow for a reasonable amount of expansion. Memory prices being extremely low, this has become a very minor consideration. In fact, today it is not uncommon for a home PC to have 64MB or more installed.

What is 'Latency'?

Latency is a measure of the number of clock cycles it takes for data to be received after the first request. This can be very critical in applications that require a lot of random memory accesses