In this chapter:
Your PC is really a collection of small pieces of hardware (plus a few big ones), strung together with cables and wires. Here's what all those pieces do...
You don't need to know every little detail about your PC, like who made the floppy disk drive. You don't need to know who made your car's spark plugs, either, as long as it has a full set. But you should know whether your car has an automatic or manual transmission. And if you know some basic facts about your PC, you'll have a lot easier time when you need to talk with other people about your hardware. Here are some fast facts about common types of hardware:
| When they say... | They really mean... | What Windows uses it for... |
| CPU | The central processing unit, found on a teensy silicon chip inside your computer. Today's most popular chips are the Pentium and the 486; you can't run Windows NT on older chips like the 386, 286, or 8088. | This is your PC's brain--the boss that tells all the other pieces what to do every time you press a key or move a mouse. If your CPU is too slow, you'll get to see the Windows hourglass all the time. |
| RAM (pronounce it like the sheep) | Random-access memory, short term storage area for data. Anything that's stored here will vanishñpoof!ñas soon as you turn the power off, unless you save it on a hard floppy disk. | Windows carves out a chunk of RAM for everything you do--no matter how big or small. Try to do too much at once and Windows will tell you it's time to add more RAM or close some windows. |
| Hard disk | Long-term storage, where your computer can remember things, even after you turn the power off. All your files, folders, and programs are stored here, the same way TV programs are stored on videotape. | When you double-click on an icon, Windows has to find the icons data on your drive, then cop it into RAM so you can work with it. Even the fastest hard disk is slow compared to the rest of your PC. |
| Monitor (also called display, or screen, or sometimes CRT) | The part of your PC that looks like a display, screen or TV screen. Under a powerful magnifying glass, you can see that the picture is actually made up of thousands of tiny red, green, and blue dots, called pixels | This is the place where you see your work Without a monitor, Windows would be useless. A bigger monitor lets you see more at once; a sharper monitor is easier on your eyes. |
| Video Adapter | The hardware that actually puts the things you do on screen. If you have 20/20 vision and the right monitor, you can use video cards to shrink windows and icons so you get more things at once. | Hey, drawing all those boxes and buttons is hard work. Plain old video cards are called VGA; fancy video cards are called Super VGA. Really expensive video cards get slick brand names. |
Microsoft will gladly tell you that Windows NT requires a minimum hardware configuration, and it also has a recommended configuration. If your PC doesn't measure up to the minimum standards, you can't run Windows NT at all. If it falls short of the recommended level, it will run, but it might be painfully slow. Does Windows work OK for you? Then you shouldn't need to worry about it!
Plain English, please!Because there are so many choices between different components, PCs are almost like snowflakes--no two are exactly alike. Configuration is the catch-all word that refers to the unique combination of parts in your PC.
If your PC had an engine, the CPU chip and memory would be it. To run Windows NT, you'll need at least a 486 chip and 12M of RAM. But most people will need more computer muscle than that to get their work done.
How do you know how much CPU and memory you have? Watch your PC's screen when you first turn it on; most computers introduce the CPU and inventory memory here. The only trick is converting kilobytes (K) into megabytes (M), and vice versa. There are roughly a thousand kilobytes in one megabyte, so if your PC counts to 12288K when you start it up, you really have 12M. That's the bare minimum you need for Windows NT--16M is better.
Q&A: My PC is getting really slow. What could be wrong?
You might be running low on memory. When Windows runs out of RAM, it first tries to use the hard disk to simulate extra memory. Windows takes the chunk of RAM your first program is using and swaps it from memory onto the hard disk (which is about a thousand times slower than RAM). That frees up a chunk of RAM for your second program to use, but when you switch back to the first program, Windows has to swap both chunks of data. Add another program, and pretty soon Windows is spending all its time swapping data onto your hard drive and back again instead of running programs. The result is a lot of noise from your hard disk, and a PC that's running in super-slo-mo.
It's a clever fake, but anyone who's ever seen an Elvis impersonator knows there's nothing like the real thing. If your system slows to a crawl too often, you need more memory.
TIP: CPU speed is measured in megahertz, which stands for one million cycles-per-second. (Each cycle is one little two-step for your CPU; it's not a very complicated move, but since some CPUs can do 200 million of these hokey-pokeys every second, it looks like it's dancing up a storm.) The more megahertz you have, the more muscles your PC can flex: In Windows terms, 20 is slower than a bottle of Heinz ketchup; 200 is faster than a Roger Clemens fastball. If your CPU clocks in at 66MHz or more, you can run Windows NT just fine.
To run Windows, you need a color monitor and a video card. Windows can usually recognize your video card and set things up so it works properly. Like TVs, monitor screens are measured diagonally. And they're never, ever as big as they claim to be.
CAUTION: There's one place where I draw the line when it comes to saving money on hardware. I won't settle for a crummy monitor, and you shouldn't, either. We're talking about your eyes, for heaven's sake. You're not likely to go blind from using an undersized monitor with a blurry image, but you'll probably go home with a headache every day. If you have to cut corners with a slower PC, that's one thing. But make sure your monitor isn't going to hurt your eyes.
Hard drives are measured in megabytes, unless you have more than one thousand or them, which equals a gigabyte (pronounce it GIG-uh-bite). To run Windows and one additional program, you'll need at least a 200M hard drive, and that won't leave a lot of room for your work. Depending on the kind of software you use and the type of data files you create, you may need 500M or more to hold it all.
How much room is left on your hard disk? Look in Chapter 5 for step-by-step instructions on how to find out.
TIP: If you think you've run out of disk space, you might be surprised: You can use Windows NT's built-in disk-compression features to pack nearly twice as much data into the same space. For more details, see Chapter 5.
Some older PCs only have one drive, designed to use 5.25-inch disks (you can spot these because they're big and soft--you can literally bend them in half). These days, most computers use the smaller 3.5-inch disks, and Windows NT won't even recognize the old variety. It's almost impossible to find new software on the larger disks, and the smaller ones are more reliable and durable anyway.
It may seem obvious, but to run Windows you have to have a mouse and a keyboard.
Unless you spill a Diet Coke on your keyboard there's no real reason to replace it, although these days there are all sorts of wacky keyboard designs to choose from. Most of them look like they survived a 7.1 earthquake, with the keyboard split into two pieces. The theory is that you'll be less likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome if you hold your hands sideways while you type. I have a hard enough time making my two fingers hit the keys when I can see them, so I'll stick with the traditional design, thank you very much.
Plain English, please!And, now that I've made my opinion clear, let me add a brief note about the Microsoft Natural Keyboard. My editor insists that switching to this keyboard helped her get off of the therapist's schedule and back to work, with a tremendous decrease in pain in her wrists from tendonitis.
As for mice (which is the plural of mouse, although some people say mouses and a few wackos say meeses, as in "I hate those meeses to pieces"), you have two basic choices. The dull, conventional mouse that comes with most PCs looks like a bar of soap with a long wire dangling out the back. If you don't like sliding the mouse around on your desktop, with or without a mouse pad, try a trackball. Unlike the bar-of-soap mouse, which has a roller on the bottom, the trackball has a roller in the top; the whole thing stays in one place while you twiddle the roller with your thumb.
Trackballs are most popular on notebook PCs, where a long dangling cord is likely to get under the wheels of the drink cart as the flight attendant rolls by. Some notebooks have bizarre mouse substitutes that look like pencil erasers or little pads. Not to worry--the point is still to move the pointer on the screen. As long as there's a left and right button, you're in business.
Printers help you dazzle other people with your brilliant ideas, even if you can't convince them to come around and look over your shoulder at whatever's on your screen. We'll cover printers and how to use 'em with Windows in Chapter 15. Plenty of info there.
Modems let you hook your PC to a telephone line and do all sorts of cool things--send e-mail, find files on your PC at the office without leaving your living room, and cruise up and down the Information Superhighway. We'll talk about modems later in this chapter.
Network adapters connect your PC to other PCs so that all the computers on the network can share files, folders, printers, and so on. Setting up a network is best left to experts, but using them with Windows is really pretty easy. For the details, see Chapter 20.
If you're the one using it, a multimedia PC is a powerful tool for adding lifelike sound and video clips to presentations and important documents. If the guy in the next cubicle is using it, though, multimedia is a big waste of money, and if I hear that stupid Homer Simpson sound clip one more time, I'll rip those speakers out of the back of his PC.
Ahem. Multimedia is controversial. For most people, it's unnecessary but fun. Typical multimedia PCs include a CD-ROM player, a sound card, a pair of speakers, and perhaps a microphone. We'll cover multimedia in more detail in Chapters 17 and 18.
Maybe the most important parts of your PC aren't parts of your PC at all. If you use a computer regularly, you owe it to yourself (and your body) to pay attention to the way you sit in front of your computer.
The human body wasn't designed to handle the stress of nonstop typing. When you twist your body up like a pretzel and pound on a keyboard for hours at a time, the results can be painful, and you can even permanently damage your back, neck, or wrists if you don't use your PC properly.
The most infamous disorder attributed to the stress of computing is called carpal tunnel syndrome, a specific kind of repetitive stress injury--the symptoms include debilitating pain in the wrists and, in severe cases, permanent nerve damage. How do you avoid this and other unpleasant PC problems? Ask an expert in ergonomics--the science of designing human-friendly working environments.
Among other things, an ergonomic expert will tell you the following:
A modem (pronounce it moe-dem) is a specialized piece of hardware that converts data from digital form--bits and bytes on your hard disk or your computer's memory--into analog form, that high-pitched warbling sound you hear when two modems meet. What sounds like horrible screeching is actually the very precise language that two modems use to transfer information back and forth.
With the right software, you can use your modem to exchange just about any form of information. Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, the communications part may work in the background, shuffling data into and out of your computer while you work on something else. Or it may run as a terminal program--a sort of all-purpose communications window in which you type commands to tell the computer on the other end of the connection what you want to do.
Plain English, please!Why are they called modems? The mo is short for modulate (pronounce it mahd-juh-late), which is the process of converting the digital data on your PC into analog sound patterns that can travel over a telephone wire. The dem, as you might have guessed, is short for demodulate (same as before, but add dee on the front), which is the process of reassembling the sounds into bits at the other end of the line. Put it together and you get mo(dulator)-dem(odulator), an extremely formal term for the nearly magical devices that convert data between digital and analog forms.
Windows NT doesn't recognize every modem ever made, but sometimes it feels that way. As part of its installation process, Windows can "talk" directly with your modem, ask it to identify itself using information stored on a chip inside the modem, and then automatically install the right software driver and communication settings for any of several hundred types of modems.
Before you can install a new modem, you'll need to log on as an administrator. If you don't, you'll see a dialog box like the one in Figure B.1. You may need to enlist your system administrator's help to get the new modem installed. Fortunately, the whole process usually takes just a few minutes.
Fig. B.1
Installing a new modem doesn't take long--as long as you have the help of a system administrator.
When you add a new modem to your computer, the best strategy is to let Windows figure out on its own what brand it is. Most of the time, Windows will get it right, and most of the time, the process won't take long. To let Windows take a stab at it, follow these steps:
The Install New Modem Wizard (shown in Fig. B.2) pops up. Follow the instructions, and you should be done within a few clicks.
Fig. B.2
The Install New Modem Wizard walks you through the process of introducing a new modem to Windows.
TIP: Should you use an internal modem that sits inside your PC? Or are you better off with an external modem, which plugs into the back of your PC and sits on your desktop? The internal species cost less and save space. External modems are easier to turn off when you run into troubles, and they give you a (sometimes) useful set of blinking lights and LED displays to watch as you connect. Personally, I prefer external modems, but you can't go wrong with either choice.
After you've successfully set up the hardware part of your modem, it's sometimes necessary to configure the software side so that other modems can understand your modem when it starts squalling. Click the Connection tab of the Properties dialog box for the modem you're using (see Fig. B.3) to see which options are available.
Q&A: What should you do with that button labeled Advanced?
Ignore it. Most of the options there will thoroughly scramble your attempts to communicate with the outside world. Don't mess with these settings unless a modem expert tells you to. And even then, tread carefully.
I once mobilized an entire technical support department to diagnose a serious communication problem. It turned out that I, um, well... OK, I had forgotten to connect the modem to my phone line. (The tech support guy had a good sense of humor, fortunately.) I learned that day to always check the obvious. Before you ask for help, ask yourself these questions:
Oh, and this advice applies to more than just modems. Try running through an equivalent
checklist any time you have a problem with your PC or printer. Unless, of course,
you like having a tech support expert tell you to turn on the power before you call
next time.
FIG. B.3
Here's where you adjust the fine points of your online connection.
In communications, just as in real estate, location is everything. Does the phone at your office work the same as the one at home? Probably not. And what about hotels? If you're in the office, you might need to dial 9 to get an outside line. At some hotels, you dial 8 to access long distance lines. At home, you just dial the number. Windows lets you define and save different locations as part of your communication profile. When you move from one location to another, just let Windows know, and it will handle the dialing details flawlessly.
Once you've got the modem properly configured and all the settings just so, it's time to connect to the outside world. You may have a communications program that automatically hooks up to an online service. (If you use America Online or CompuServe, for example, the software these companies provide does everything for you.) But you can also use a terminal program to control the remote computer directly. This procedure is always more difficult, because you actually have to type commands at a prompt. But for some systems, it's the only option for getting connected.
To switch locations, double-click on the Modems icon in Control Panel, then click the button labeled Dialing Properties. You'll see a dialog box much like this one. Set up the location as desired. Then click OK to save your changes, Cancel to back out without saving.
TIP: You might choose to set up several locations on a single computer, even if you never leave your desk. This trick can be useful if you want to dial some calls direct and charge others to a telephone calling card or an alternate long-distance carrier. Just set up a new "location" for each billing option, give it a descriptive name like "MCI Calling Card," and enter the appropriate details.
TIP: What's the difference between Dial-Up Networking and HyperTerminal? Although both use a modem and a phone line to con- nect your computer with the outside world, their goals are different. Use HyperTerminal to call another computer and access its menus--as you might with a telephone banking service. Use Dial-Up Networking and your modem to connect to your company's network or the Internet over a telephone line.
HyperTerminal is the Windows NT and Windows 95 replacement for the old Terminal program that came with older versions of Windows. To use HyperTerminal, you create and save a connection document that contains all the settings for the number you want to call. Later, you just double-click on the icon for your connection to dial up again. Here's how it works.
To open the HyperTerminal folder, click on the Start button and follow the cascading menus from Programs to Accessories, then open the Hyper- Terminal folder. See the icon labeled Hypertrm? Double-click here to start a new document with all the information you need to connect to another computer.
The process couldn't be simpler. Give your connection a name, pick an icon from the list that the setup wizard offers, and click OK. You'll see a dialog box like the one in Figure B.4. Fill in the blanks and click OK.
Fig. B.4
Setting up a HyperTerminal connection is simple: Enter an area code and a phone number, and tell Windows which modem you expect to use.
You're finished. HyperTerminal assumes you're ready to dial right now and pops up the dialog box shown in Figure B.5. Pick a new location if you need to, then click the Dial button to establish your connection.
Fig. B.5
Use a HyperTerminal connection to dial into another computer or an online service. You can tell Windows to use a different location so you don't have to worry about dialing the right numbers first.
There isn't enough space here to cover all the things you can do with HyperTerminal. For that, you should check out the online help files. But here's a sample of some things worth trying:
TIP: If the typeface that HyperTerminal uses is too small to see comfortably, or too large to fit properly in your window, change it! Choose View, Font to pick a different typeface and size. Don't expect too many choices, though: HyperTerminal will only use a handful of fixed-size fonts that make sense in a terminal window
Thanks to one last Windows accessory, you can actually use your modem as a sort of personal assistant to place phone calls for you. (Of course, this only works if your phone and modem are properly hooked together. Make sure there's a phone line running from your wall jack to the line jack of your modem, and another wire running between your telephone and the phone jack on your modem.) Here's how.
Look in the Accessories folder for the Phone Dialer icon (if it's not there, you may have to install it using your original Windows NT CD-ROM). Click to pop up a window like the one in Figure B.6.
Fig. B.6
The Windows Phone Dialer uses your modem to place phone calls. Once you hear the ringing phone, it's OK to pick up the line and prepare to start talking.
To dial a number, click in the box at the top left and enter your number. You can also click on the keypad buttons to enter the phone number. If you use a program like Schedule+ (included with Microsoft Office) or the Windows Messaging Inbox, you can click a button in your phone book to automatically start up the Phone Dialer and punch in the numbers.
When you hear the phone ringing, pick up the receiver and prepare to start talking.
To program one of the Speed dial buttons at right, just click on the button and fill in the dialog box shown in Figure B.7. Add a name and telephone number, then click one of the Save options. Now you can dial that number simply by clicking the Speed dial button.
Q&A: I programmed a speed dial button, but I got it wrong. How do I start over?
Choose Edit, Speed Dial, then click the button you want to change.
Fig. B.7
Always calling the same numbers? Add the number for your best friend or your best customer to one of these speed dial buttons.
Murphy has a special book of "Murphy's laws" reserved just for modems and communications issues. It's a thick book, too. The best starting place for fixing modem problems is the Windows online help system. Search for Troubleshooting: and find the page shown in Figure B.8. Virtually all the tough modem problems are explained well here, with helpful step-by-step instructions.
Fig. B.8
Use the Windows online help to track down trouble with your modem.
If you were sending nothing but one-line messages to the people on your electronic mailing list, you probably wouldn't care how fast your modem is. But when you start sending around complicated messages with attached files, you soon discover that time really is money. If you can send twice as many bits across the wire every minute, you can send the same file in half the time.
Modem speeds are a moving target, but today the fastest conventional (analog) modems transmit data at a maximum speed of 28,800 bits per second, or bps. The previous generation of modems, many of them still in use today, oper- ate at half that speed, or 14,400 bps. (Just say "twenty-eight-eight" or "fourteen-four" if you want to impress other people as a computer expert.) Still older models work at 9,600 bps.
For some jobs, such as transferring e-mail or accessing a text-based bulletin board system, a modem that runs at 14,400 bps is sufficient. If you intend to browse the World Wide Web or transmit other large graphics and sound files, you'll want a 28,800 bps modem.
Want to go faster than that? Sorry, no can do-- at least not with this technology.
You'll have to switch to a different telephone standard called ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network). Windows NT works well with ISDN adapters, but that's a topic for
another book. For now, just stick with POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service).
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