# Computer Hardware Basics — From Power Button to Working PC Source: https://ai.techclick.in/blog_computer_hardware_basics Markdown: https://ai.techclick.in/blog_computer_hardware_basics.md Publisher: Techclick Infosec Pvt Ltd A friendly, zero-jargon field guide to computer hardware for interns: what the CPU, RAM, PSU, BIOS and storage actually do, how to set up Windows, partition and back up a PC, fix common faults, and answer the basic IT-support interview questions. Computer Hardware Basics — From Power Button to Working PC student learning map A visual study map for Computer Hardware Basics — From Power Button to Working PC showing learning path, evidence, traps, and practice sequence. TECHCLICK STUDY MAP Computer Hardware Basics — From Power Button to... Computer Fundamentals · learn the flow, prove with evidence, avoid unsafe shortcuts 1. Start 🎯 By the end you will be able to 2. Understand Pick where you want to start 3. Prove ① Inside the Box — the six parts... 4. Practice ② Set Up Windows — from bare... How to use this page First build the mental model, then connect the concept to a realistic production decision. Finish by testing yourself. Techclick Infosec Pvt Ltd | ai.techclick.in | Training Contact: WhatsApp +91 92772 29456 Content-specific feature visual for this lesson: use it as the 60-second map before reading the full detail. Infographic: concept-to-practice path Computer Hardware Basics — From Power Button to Working PC Learn 🎯 By the end you will be able to Map Pick where you want to start Operate ① Inside the Box — the six parts... Verify ② Set Up Windows — from bare... Read in this order so the topic becomes a working runbook, not isolated notes. Start with the mental model, then move into the workflow, evidence, and practice questions. Infographic: evidence ladder Do not answer from memory only - prove the stage Scope who, what, where, when Policy rule, condition, action Telemetry logs, event, metric Retest original symptom fixed Interview signal: every claim should map to observable evidence. Use this ladder when the question asks for troubleshooting, rollout, or proof. Infographic: healthy vs broken thinking Healthy answer vs broken answer Healthy Names the object, follows the flow, checks logs, and validates the result. Broken Lists features randomly, changes production first, or skips verification. Your goal: connect the concept to a realistic production decision. This comparison turns the article into an interview and troubleshooting checklist. Infographic: mini runbook Mini runbook for this topic Before baseline and scope During change one thing After monitor and rollback Use this page to prepare one practical story: problem, evidence, fix, verification. Convert the learning into a practical story you can explain to a manager or interviewer. Most beginners think… …that a computer "remembers" everything inside its RAM , and that buying a bigger hard disk makes a slow PC fast. Both are wrong — and the gap is exactly what separates someone who guesses from someone who fixes . RAM forgets everything the instant power is cut. And a 4 TB hard disk won't speed up a sluggish laptop one bit — an SSD plus enough RAM will. By the end of Path 1 you'll know which part does which job, and you'll never confuse the two again. ## ① Inside the Box — the six parts that matter Open any desktop or laptop and the clutter shrinks to six jobs . Learn the job each part does and a "dead PC" stops being scary — it becomes a checklist. Here is the whole machine in one breath, using a kitchen as the analogy: ### The six parts, one tap each Flip each card — front is the part, back is what it actually does in plain words. 🧠 CPU tap to flip The cook. It reads instructions and does the actual work — Fetch, Decode, Execute, billions of times a second. Speed = brains of the PC. 📋 RAM tap to flip The kitchen counter. Whatever the cook is working on right now sits here — fast to reach, but wiped clean the moment power is cut. 🗄️ Storage tap to flip The cupboard (SSD/HDD). It keeps your files, apps and Windows even with the power off. Slower than RAM, but permanent and big. 🔌 PSU + Board tap to flip The power + plumbing. The PSU feeds clean electricity; the motherboard connects every part so they can talk. No power, no plumbing — nothing else matters. Legend PSU / SMPS (power in) CPU, RAM slots & buses CMOS battery (3V) Power-good rail GPU (graphics) Figure 1 — Anatomy of a PC: where each part lives A labelled diagram of a computer. The power supply on the left sends +12V, +5V and +3.3V into the motherboard. On the board sit the CPU (with its CMOS battery and BIOS/UEFI chip), the RAM slots, the storage drive, and the graphics card. Input and output devices connect to the I/O ports on the right edge. - One board ties it all together — power flows in from the left, devices plug in on the right PSU / SMPS AC → DC +12V +5V +3.3V power good MOTHERBOARD (the plumbing) CPU the cook / brain fetch · decode · execute RAM slots — the counter CMOS 3V BIOS/UEFI firmware chip GPU — draws the picture Storage — the cupboard SSD / NVMe / HDD (keeps files) Chipset + buses the roads between parts I/O ports ⌨ keyboard 🖱 mouse 🖥 monitor 🔊 audio 🌐 LAN / USB Inputs send data in (left→right read), the CPU processes, outputs show the result. The whole machine on one board: power in on the left, the CPU + memory doing the work in the middle, your devices on the right. ### What actually happens when you press the power button? Press Play to watch a healthy boot, then hit Break it to see the most common failure an IT desk meets on Monday morning. ### ▶ Power-on → desktop: the boot sequence From a cold press of the button to a working Windows screen. Press Play for the healthy path, then Break it to see the failure. ① Power PSU converts wall AC → clean DC, sends "Power Good" to the board ▼ ② POST BIOS/UEFI checks CPU, RAM, keyboard, storage are present ▼ ③ Boot order UEFI finds the Windows bootloader on the SSD ▼ ④ OS loads Control passes to Windows → drivers load → desktop appears Press Play to step through the healthy path. Then press Break it . ▶ Play Next ▶ ⚠ Break it ↺ Reset ### The CPU — the cook The CPU is the brain. It does three things in a tight loop, called the instruction cycle : Fetch the next instruction from RAM, Decode what it means, then Execute it (do the maths, or move some data). It repeats this billions of times a second. Watch one trip around the loop: ### ▶ How the CPU runs one instruction The fetch-decode-execute cycle. Press Play for the healthy path, then Break it to see what bad RAM does to it. ① Fetch CPU pulls the next instruction from RAM ▼ ② Decode Control unit works out what the instruction means ▼ ③ Execute ALU does the maths/logic or moves the data ▼ ④ Write back Result stored in a register or RAM → repeat Press Play to step through the healthy path. Then press Break it . ▶ Play Next ▶ ⚠ Break it ↺ Reset ### The power supply (SMPS / PSU) — the feeder Your wall socket gives AC (alternating current). Every part inside a PC needs steady DC (direct current). The PSU (also called an SMPS) bridges that gap and splits it into three rails: +12V (CPU, GPU, fans), +5V and +3.3V (board logic, drives). It also has a fan to keep itself cool. Prove it works — the paperclip test Unplug the PSU from every component. Bend a paperclip into a U and bridge the green wire (PS_ON#, pin 16) to any black wire (ground) on the 24-pin connector. Plug in and switch on: if the PSU fan spins, the unit is broadly alive. No spin = dead PSU. Pause & Predict A PC is completely dead — no fans, no lights, nothing. Before you touch the CPU or RAM, which one part should you suspect first, and why? Type your guess. Reveal answer Answer: The power path — wall socket, cable, PSU switch, then the PSU itself (paperclip test). "No fans, no lights" means electricity isn't reaching the board, so the CPU and RAM are irrelevant until power is confirmed. Always work from the wall inward. ### The CMOS battery — the tiny clock-keeper That coin-shaped battery on the board is the CMOS battery — a CR2032, about 3 volts (a single coin cell is 3V — if anyone tells you "6V", that's two cells in series, which motherboards do not use) . It keeps two things alive while the PC is unplugged: your BIOS/UEFI settings and the real-time clock (date and time). Signs it's dying: the clock keeps resetting; you see "CMOS Checksum Error" or "Time of day not set" on boot; BIOS settings reset to default every time you fully power off. Fix: pop in a fresh CR2032. ### BIOS / UEFI — the starter BIOS (and its modern replacement, UEFI ) is firmware baked onto the motherboard. At power-on it runs POST (the hardware check), then follows the boot order to find an operating system and hand over control. You enter the setup screen by tapping a key right after power-on — usually F2, F10, F12, or Delete depending on the maker. UEFI vs old BIOS: UEFI adds a graphical, mouse-driven interface, supports drives bigger than 2 TB, boots faster, and enables Secure Boot (which Windows 11 needs). Most machines today are UEFI even though people still say "BIOS". 🖥️ This is the screen you'll use to boot from a USB — UEFI Setup → Boot → Boot Option Priorities . (Recreated for clarity — your firmware will look close to this.) UEFI BIOS Utility · Boot tab · press F10 to save 1 Boot Option #1 UEFI: SanDisk USB 32GB (your install stick) Boot Option #2 Windows Boot Manager (Samsung SSD 980) Secure Boot Enabled ← required for Windows 11 Fast Boot Disabled (turn off temporarily to catch the USB) Save & Exit (F10) ### RAM — the counter (and its types) RAM is the fast, temporary workspace the CPU uses for whatever is open right now. It is volatile — switch off, and it's blank. That's why unsaved work is lost in a power cut. Two big families: SRAM — extremely fast, expensive, tiny. Used inside the CPU as cache . - DRAM — slower but cheap and large. This is your main system memory (the sticks you can see). The DRAM you buy today is DDR (Double Data Rate). Quick map of what's current in 2026: Type Where you'll see it Status in 2026 DDR4 Older / budget desktops & laptops Legacy, still everywhere DDR5 New desktops & laptops The mainstream standard LPDDR5 / LPDDR5X Phones, tablets, thin laptops Low-power mobile standard GDDR6 / GDDR7 On graphics cards (VRAM) GDDR7 leads on new GPUs Quick check · Q1 of 10 · Remember Which type of memory loses everything it holds the moment the computer is switched off? a) The SSD b) RAM c) The hard disk (HDD) d) The BIOS chip Correct: b. RAM is volatile — it's the temporary counter, wiped at power-off. The SSD, HDD and BIOS chip are all non-volatile : they keep their contents with the power off. This single idea explains why you lose unsaved work in a power cut but your files survive. ### Storage — the cupboard (HDD, SSD, NVMe) Storage is where everything lives when the power is off — Windows, your apps, your files. Unlike RAM, it's non-volatile . Three things to know: Drive How it works Speed & use HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Spinning magnetic platters + a moving head Slow, cheap, huge — great for backups & bulk storage SSD (Solid State Drive) Flash memory, no moving parts Fast, quiet, durable — the right home for Windows SSHD (Hybrid) HDD + a small SSD cache A middle ground; rare today How they plug in (interfaces): SATA is the older, slower connection (~550 MB/s, fine for everyday use). NVMe SSDs ride the very fast PCIe bus (several thousand MB/s) — roughly 7,000 MB/s on PCIe 4.0 and ~14,000 MB/s on PCIe 5.0 and are the modern standard for the Windows drive. SAS is an enterprise interface built for 24/7 servers. Figure 2 — The memory & storage speed pyramid A pyramid of memory and storage. From the top: CPU registers and cache (tiny, fastest), then RAM, then NVMe SSD, then SATA SSD, then HDD at the base (largest and slowest). An arrow on the left marks faster and smaller toward the top; an arrow on the right marks bigger and cheaper toward the bottom. - The closer to the CPU, the faster — but the smaller and pricier Registers + Cache (SRAM) RAM (DRAM) — the counter NVMe SSD (PCIe) — very fast SATA SSD — fast HDD — slow, but cheap & huge ▲ faster smaller ▼ bigger cheaper Why an SSD transforms an old PC: it moves Windows up two whole tiers, closer to the CPU. Speed and size trade off as you move down. Putting Windows on an SSD/NVMe (not an HDD) is the single biggest upgrade for a slow machine. ### Input / Output devices Finally, the parts you actually touch. Input devices send data in (keyboard, mouse/touchpad, microphone, scanner, webcam). Output devices show results out (monitor, printer, speakers, projector). And some do both — a touchscreen shows the picture and takes your taps; a headset plays sound and has a mic; a USB drive both reads from and writes to the PC. 👉 So far: six parts — CPU (cook), RAM (counter, forgets), storage (cupboard, remembers), PSU + motherboard (power + plumbing), plus BIOS/UEFI that starts it all and a CMOS battery that keeps the clock. Next: turning a bare machine into a working Windows PC. ## ② Set Up Windows — from bare machine to working desk Hardware is useless without an operating system. On most office and college machines that means Windows . Here's how to install it, get every part working with drivers, add the everyday software, and set up email — the exact jobs you'll do in your first weeks. ### Which Windows? Windows 11 is the current flagship (centered Start menu, modern look). Windows 10 is the previous standard, still widely used. Older 7/8 are retired. Within each, Home is for personal use; Pro / Enterprise add business features like BitLocker drive encryption and the ability to join a company domain. ### Installing Windows 11 — the two ways First, the machine must meet the minimum requirements : a supported 64-bit CPU (1 GHz, 2+ cores), 4 GB RAM , 64 GB storage , UEFI + Secure Boot , and TPM 2.0 — and the CPU must be on Microsoft's supported-processor list, which is what blocks many older-but-fast chips even when the speed looks fine . The TPM/Secure Boot checks are the usual reason a perfectly good PC is "blocked" — they're often just switched off in BIOS. Upgrade (keep your files): already on Windows 10? Download the Installation Assistant from Microsoft's site → Accept & Install → restart. Your apps and files carry over. - Clean install (fresh start / new PC): use the Media Creation Tool to make a bootable USB stick (8 GB+, everything on it is erased) → boot from the USB → Install now → pick the drive → follow the prompts. Figure 3 — Can this PC run Windows 11? Upgrade vs clean install A flowchart. Start: does the PC meet Windows 11 requirements? If the only failure is TPM or Secure Boot, enable them in BIOS and re-check. If it now passes and you already run Windows 10, use the Installation Assistant to upgrade and keep files. If it is a new or blank PC, use the Media Creation Tool USB for a clean install. If the CPU is genuinely unsupported, stay on Windows 10. - Most "can't run Windows 11" messages are a BIOS toggle, not a dead PC PC Health Check: does it pass? Only TPM 2.0 / Secure Boot failing? YES Enable in BIOS, re-run the check passes Already on Windows 10, or new PC? On Win 10 → Installation Assistant Upgrade · keeps your files New/blank → Media Creation Tool USB Clean install · wipes the drive CPU truly unsupported? Stay on Windows 10 NO Before declaring a PC "too old", check whether only TPM/Secure Boot is failing — that's a 30-second BIOS fix, not a hardware limit. Rahul at TCS faces this A brand-new ThinkPad runs the PC Health Check and gets a red "This PC can't run Windows 11" — but the spec sheet says it's a current Core Ultra 7 with 16 GB RAM. Everyone assumes the laptop is faulty. Likely cause The CPU is fine. TPM (often called PTT/fTPM) or Secure Boot is disabled in firmware — common on machines shipped with a custom or older image. Diagnosis Run tpm.msc in Windows; if it says "Compatible TPM cannot be found", reboot into BIOS and look under Security/Advanced. Restart → F2/Del → Security → enable PTT/fTPM + Secure Boot → Save Fix Enable PTT/fTPM and Secure Boot , save and exit. Re-run the PC Health Check — it now passes. Verify Back in Windows, tpm.msc shows "The TPM is ready for use" and the upgrade button is no longer blocked. Quick check · Q2 of 10 · Apply A capable, modern laptop fails the Windows 11 check. The CPU, RAM and storage are all well above the minimums. What is the most likely thing you need to switch on? a) More RAM b) A faster internet connection c) TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot in the BIOS/UEFI d) A bigger power supply Correct: c. When the specs clearly exceed the minimums, the blocker is almost always the security requirements — TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot — switched off in firmware. Enable them in BIOS and re-run the check. RAM, internet and PSU (a, b, d) have nothing to do with the Windows 11 eligibility message. ### Drivers — the translators A driver is the small piece of software that lets Windows talk to a piece of hardware. No driver, no working device. After a clean install you'll often install chipset, graphics, network and audio drivers. The place to check them is Device Manager — a yellow ⚠ means a device has no working driver. 🖥️ The screen for checking drivers — right-click Start → Device Manager . A yellow ⚠ is the tell-tale of a missing/broken driver. (Recreated for clarity.) Device Manager — DESKTOP-7F3K 🖥 DESKTOP-7F3K ▾ Display adapters Intel Arc Graphics ▾ Network adapters Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 ▾ Other devices ! ⚠ Ethernet Controller — no driver ! ⚠ Unknown device ▾ Sound, video and game controllers Realtek Audio Right-click ⚠ device → Update driver You can also list every installed driver from the command line: Command Prompt — list all drivers driverquery Expected output Module Name Display Name Driver Type Link Date =========== ====================== ============ ================== 1394ohci 1394 OHCI Compliant... Kernel 12-05-2025 10:14 ACPI Microsoft ACPI Driver Kernel 12-05-2025 10:14 ... (one row per installed driver) ... ### Choosing a laptop processor (2026) You'll be asked "which laptop should we buy?" Learn the tiers , not the code-names (those change yearly). Intel rebranded its premium line to Core Ultra (with a Series number, e.g. Series 1/2/3) and keeps a value Core 3/5/7 line; AMD ships Ryzen 3/5/7/9 (and the AI-focused Ryzen AI 300 ); Apple is on M-series (M5) ; Qualcomm's Snapdragon X / X2 Elite powers Windows-on-ARM. Tier Intel AMD Good for Entry Core 3 / Ultra 3 Ryzen 3 Browsing, MS Office, email Mid (most popular) Core 5 / Ultra 5 Ryzen 5 Multitasking, light creative, study High Core 7 / Ultra 7 Ryzen 7 Video editing, dev work, gaming Top Ultra 9 Ryzen 9 Heavy professional workloads Apple Silicon (M5 / M5 Pro / M5 Max) leads on battery + performance-per-watt for macOS; Snapdragon X/X2 brings all-day battery to thin Windows "Copilot+" laptops. ### Day-one free software After install, these free, trusted apps cover most needs: Chrome / Firefox (browser), 7-Zip (open ZIP/RAR/7z), VLC (plays any video), LibreOffice or Microsoft 365 (documents), Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDFs), Bitwarden (password manager), and Microsoft PC Manager (cleanup + startup control). ### Microsoft Office & Outlook Microsoft Office / 365 is the productivity suite — Word (documents), Excel (spreadsheets), PowerPoint (slides), Outlook (email + calendar), plus OneNote/Access. You can get it as a 365 subscription (always updated, cloud storage), a one-time Office 2024 purchase, or free Office on the web . Setting up Outlook: open Outlook → type your email → Connect → enter password → it syncs mail, calendar and contacts. If auto-setup fails for a custom domain, use File → Account Settings → New , tick "set up manually", choose IMAP or POP , and enter the server settings from your provider. PST vs OST — the two Outlook data files interns confuse most: OST (Offline Storage Table) PST (Personal Storage Table) What it is A synced cache of a server mailbox A portable local archive / export Syncs with server? Yes — auto, when online No — independent of the server Used with Exchange, Microsoft 365, IMAP POP3, archiving, moving mail Safe to delete? Yes — rebuilds from the server No — it's the only copy An archive file is a .pst that moves old mail off the server to free space — it lives on your hard drive, so it must be included in your backups (don't keep it in a cloud-synced folder, that corrupts it). ### Control Panel & Windows 11 Settings Two places to configure Windows. Control Panel (search "Control Panel") is the classic dashboard — System & Security, Network, Hardware & Sound, Programs, User Accounts, etc. Settings (press Windows + I ) is the modern app — Display & scale, Dark mode, Windows Update, App permissions (camera/mic/location), and Startup apps (turn off heavy ones to boot faster). Tip: the modern End task right-click on a taskbar app (enable it under System → For developers) force-closes a frozen app. 👉 So far: you can install Windows 11 (and rescue a "blocked" PC with a BIOS toggle), fix missing devices with drivers, pick the right processor tier, install the day-one apps, and set up Outlook — knowing an OST is safe to delete but a PST is not. Next: storage, files, backups and networking . ### 🤖 Ask the AI Tutor Tap any question — instant, scoped to this lesson. No login, no waiting. More RAM or a faster CPU for a slow laptop? How do I tell if a PC has an SSD or HDD? Fans spin but no display — where do I start? NTFS, exFAT or FAT32 for a USB drive? What order do I run SFC and DISM? wmic doesn't work on my Windows 11 — what now? Pre-curated from Microsoft Learn + hardware-vendor docs + community Q&A, scoped to this lesson. For a live problem on a real machine, paste your details into chat.techclick.in. ## 📝 Wrap-up assessment — six more You've answered 4 inline. Six left. 70% (7 of 10) marks the lesson complete on your profile. Tap Submit all answers at the end. Q5 · Apply You've made a bootable Windows 11 USB stick and plugged it in, but the PC keeps loading the old Windows instead. What's the most reliable next step? a) Unplug the internal SSD so only the USB is left b) At power-on, open the Boot Menu (often F12 / F11 / Esc) and pick the USB drive, or set it first in BIOS boot order c) Re-create the USB stick — it must be broken d) Wait — Windows will switch to the USB on its own Correct: b. The PC follows its boot order . A one-time Boot Menu (F12/F11/Esc depending on the maker) or moving USB to the top of the BIOS boot list tells it to start from the stick. Pulling the SSD (a) works but is needless surgery; the stick is usually fine (c); and nothing auto-switches (d). Q6 · Analyze A desktop shows the wrong date and time every single morning, and on some boots throws "CMOS checksum error — defaults loaded." The fix? a) Reinstall Windows b) Replace the RAM c) Replace the CMOS coin battery (a CR2032, ~3 V) d) Replace the power supply Correct: c. A drained CMOS battery can't keep the clock and BIOS settings alive while the PC is unplugged, so the date resets and a checksum error appears. A fresh CR2032 (about ₹40) fixes it. Reinstalling Windows (a) or swapping RAM/PSU (b, d) treats symptoms that aren't there. Q7 · Analyze A user is "connected" to Wi-Fi (full bars) but no website loads in any browser. Before escalating, what's the right first move? a) Run ipconfig /flushdns , netsh winsock reset , ipconfig /renew , then reboot b) Immediately reinstall Windows c) Replace the Wi-Fi router d) Tell them to buy a new laptop Correct: a. "Connected but no pages" usually means the IP/DNS layer is confused, not the hardware. Flushing DNS, resetting Winsock and renewing the IP lease is the cheap, reversible first fix. Reinstalling Windows (b) or swapping hardware (c, d) is a sledgehammer for a software-cache problem. Q8 · Analyze Windows feels broken — random errors, apps crashing. You want to repair the system files. What's the correct order of commands? a) chkdsk first, then a full reinstall b) Only sfc /scannow , nothing else c) sfc /scannow first, then DISM d) DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth first, then sfc /scannow Correct: d. Run DISM first — it repairs the underlying Windows image that sfc copies its known-good files from. Running sfc first (b, c) can fail to repair if the image itself is damaged. So the order is always DISM → SFC . Q9 · Evaluate An intern is building a budget PC for a small office. They have money for one fast drive and one big drive. What's the best design? a) Put Windows on the big HDD; use the SSD for backups b) Put Windows + apps on the SSD/NVMe; use the big HDD for bulk files and archives c) Use only the HDD to save money d) Use only the SSD — never buy an HDD Correct: b. The operating system is read and written constantly, so it belongs on the fast SSD/NVMe — that's the single biggest speed boost a PC can get. The cheap, high-capacity HDD is perfect for the bulky stuff that's accessed rarely. Putting the OS on the HDD (a, c) makes the whole machine feel slow; SSD-only (d) wastes money on bulk storage. Q10 · Evaluate An Outlook mailbox (a Microsoft 365 account) is stuck syncing and some emails are missing locally. Which first fix is both effective and safe? a) Delete the user's .pst archive file b) Reinstall Office immediately c) Close Outlook and let it rebuild the .ost file from the server (the cloud copy is the master) d) Tell the user their email is gone Correct: c. An .ost is just a cached copy of the server mailbox — deleting it (and letting Outlook rebuild) is safe because the real emails live in the cloud. A .pst (a) is a local-only archive and deleting it does lose data — never start there. Reinstalling Office (b) is heavier than needed, and (d) is simply wrong. Submit all answers Try again Lesson complete — saved to your profile. Almost! You need 70% (7 of 10) — re-read the path that tripped you up and tap "Try again". ### 🧠 In your own words Type one line: Explain the difference between RAM and storage to someone who has never used a computer. Then compare to the expert version. Compare with expert answer Expert version: RAM is the desk you work on — fast and close, but everything on it is swept away the moment the power goes off. Storage (SSD/HDD) is the cupboard — slower to reach, but it keeps your files safe even with the power off. A program runs on the desk (RAM) but lives in the cupboard (storage). ### 🗣 Teach a friend Best way to lock it in — explain it in one line to a teammate. Tap to generate a paste-ready summary. Generate my one-liner 📩 Quiz me on this in 7 days. Opt in and we'll email 3 micro-questions on Computer Hardware at Day 1, Day 7 and Day 30 — spaced repetition is how this sticks. Un-tick any time. ### 📖 Glossary CPU (Central Processing Unit) The "brain" of the PC — it fetches, decodes and executes instructions billions of times a second. RAM (Random Access Memory) Fast, temporary "desk space" the CPU works on. It is volatile — emptied at power-off. Volatile / Non-volatile Volatile memory (RAM) loses its contents without power; non-volatile storage (SSD/HDD) keeps them. SSD / NVMe / HDD SSD = flash storage, no moving parts, fast. NVMe = an SSD on the very fast PCIe bus. HDD = spinning magnetic disk, slow but cheap and big. PSU / SMPS Power Supply Unit (a Switched-Mode Power Supply) — converts wall AC into the clean +12V/+5V/+3.3V DC the PC needs. CMOS battery A coin cell (CR2032, ~3 V) that keeps the clock and BIOS settings alive while the PC is off. BIOS / UEFI The motherboard's firmware that runs at power-on, checks the hardware (POST) and starts the operating system. UEFI is the modern version. POST (Power-On Self-Test) The quick hardware check the BIOS/UEFI runs at startup; failures show as beep codes or board LEDs. Driver Small software that lets Windows talk to a piece of hardware (GPU, Wi-Fi, printer). TPM 2.0 / Secure Boot A security chip and a boot check that Windows 11 requires; often just need switching on in BIOS. Partition (GPT / MBR) A logical division of a drive. GPT is the modern style (huge drives, 128 partitions); MBR is legacy (2 TB, 4 partitions). File system (NTFS / exFAT / FAT32) How a drive organises files. NTFS for Windows drives, exFAT for cross-device USBs, FAT32 only for old/small media. PST / OST Outlook data files. OST = a synced cache of a server mailbox; PST = a portable local archive/export. #### 📚 Sources Microsoft Support — Windows 11 system requirements (TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, supported-CPU rule). support.microsoft.com - Microsoft Learn — Windows support for hard disks exceeding 2 TB (MBR 2 TB vs GPT). learn.microsoft.com - Microsoft Support — WMIC removal from Windows + System File Checker (SFC) and Startup Settings / Safe Mode . support.microsoft.com - Intel — Intel Core Ultra processor names and numbers (Core Ultra Series 1/2/3). intel.com - AMD — Ryzen AI 300 Series processors ; Apple Newsroom — MacBook Pro with M5 Pro / M5 Max . amd.com · apple.com - Kingston / Crucial — DDR5 vs DDR4 and PCIe Gen 4/5 NVMe SSD speeds . kingston.com · crucial.com - NTFS.com / Corsair — NTFS vs exFAT vs FAT32 limits and how to test a PSU (paperclip test) . ntfs.com · corsair.com ### What's next? You now know what's inside the box and how to set it up and fix it. The natural next step in your internship track is how those boxes talk to each other — IP addresses, DNS, switches and routers — and then your first hands-on lab. More foundation lessons → Practice on exam.techclick.in → --- Cite this Techclick lesson with the source URL. Do not invent fees, batch dates, or job guarantees. Browse all lessons: https://ai.techclick.in/blogs AI index: https://ai.techclick.in/llms.txt