Computer Peripherals

Computer peripherals are any electronic devices that can be hooked up to a computer other than the standard input-output devices (monitor, keyboard,mouse). Peripheral devices include speakers, microphones, printers, scanners, digital cameras, plotters, and modems. Peripherals often require special software packages called "drivers". These drivers are usually included with the peripheral at purchase time.

The CD-ROM Drive

This modern miracle gained prominence in the late 1980's and has become the primary distribution medium for software to consumers. The Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) disk itself is a collection of concentric circles containing millions of pits and plateaus which correspond to on/off bits of data. The disk is read with an optical laser similar to the one used to scan your groceries at the supermarket. Most disks of this kind are "Read Only" meaning that the computer can retrieve information from the disk, but cannot place information on it. New developments have improved this technology to allow writing and rewriting data to the disk. A different kind of hardware mechanism is needed to employ this innovation.

The Floppy Diskette Drive

Once the most advanced of storage devices, floppy diskettes are normally used a temporary storage containers or transportation media for data. A standard floppy diskette can hold 1.44 MB of computer data. This amounts to a rather large number of pages if translated to the paper standard for textual information. Computer diskettes are not as reliable or fast as the internal storage drives on the computer. They are also the primary vector of virus infection in the computer world.

The Mouse

Named for the resemblance of the wire coming out of it and a mouse's tail, the mouse was introduced to computing in the early 1980's when Macintosh created its graphical user interface (GUI). The mouse is another input device used to point at objects on the computer monitor and select them. Using the mouse and keyboard in combination allows the computer user substantial latitude in how to accomplish a wide variety of tasks.

The Keyboard

The Keyboard is the primary input device used to communicate with the computer. A computer keyboard closely resembles a conventional typewriter keyboard with the addition of numerous keys that are used specifically for computing functions.

The Monitor

The Computer Monitor is the computer user's window into the workings of the computer. It consists of a television picture tube that had been modified to accept the type of video signal created by the computer's electronics. Conventional televisions can be used as computer monitors if a tranlation device is used to connect them. The picture quality leaves something to be desired.

The Actual Computer

Your "computer" is a collection of devices that function as a unit. The most basic collection includes a Computer CPU, a Monitor, a Keyboard, and a Mouse. The Computer CPU is normally a rectangular box that sits on your desktop (called a "Desktop Case") or next to your knee under the desk (called a "Tower Case"). The computer's CPU is actually a small electronic device inside the case but the term is often used to refer to the whole collection of electronics inside the box.

Computer Components

Computers come in all types and sizes. There are primarily two main sizes of computers. They are:

• Portable
• Desktop

The portable computer comes in various sizes and are referred to as laptops, notebooks, and hand-held computers. These generally denote different sizes, the laptop being the largest, and the hand-held is the smallest size. This document will mainly talk about the desktop computer although portable computer issues are also discussed in various areas.

Computer Components:

Computers are made of the following basic components:

1. Case with hardware inside:
   
   
   1. Power Supply - The power supply comes with the case, but this component is mentioned separately since there are various types of power supplies. The one you should get depends on the requirements of your system. This will be discussed in more detail later
      
      
   2. Motherboard - This is where the core components of your computer reside which are listed below. Also the support cards for video, sound, networking and more are mounted into this board.
      
      
      1. Microprocessor - This is the brain of your computer. It performs commands and instructions and controls the operation of the computer.
      2. Memory - The RAM in your system is mounted on the motherboard. This is memory that must be powered on to retain its contents.
      3. Drive controllers - The drive controllers control the interface of your system to your hard drives. The controllers let your hard drives work by controlling their operation. On most systems, they are included on the motherboard, however you may add additional controllers for faster or other types of drives.
      
      
   3. Hard disk drive(s) - This is where your files are permanently stored on your computer. Also, normally, your operating system is installed here.
      
      
   4. CD-ROM drive(s) - This is normally a read only drive where files are permanently stored. There are now read/write CD-ROM drives that use special software to allow users to read from and write to these drives.
      
      
   5. Floppy drive(s) - A floppy is a small disk storage device that today typically has about 1.4 Megabytes of memory capacity.
      
      
   6. Other possible file storage devices include DVD devices, Tape backup devices, and some others.
   
   
2. Monitor - This device which operates like a TV set lets the user see how the computer is responding to their commands.
   
   
3. Keyboard - This is where the user enters text commands into the computer.
   
   
4. Mouse - A point and click interface for entering commands which works well in graphical environments.

These various parts will be discussed in the following sections.

The parts of your computer

Computers are made up of many parts. These different parts perform one or more functions including input, output, processing, or storage.

OUTPUT DEVICES

Output devices send information from your computer to you. This information is usually in the form of sound and sight, but some devices can send information as touch and even as smell! Some common output devices are monitors, printers, and speakers.

INPUT DEVICES

Input devices are the parts that let you enter and manipulate information on a computer. These devices range from the standard keyboard and mouse, to scanners, microphones, joysticks, and light pens.

There are some devices that can input and output. Some examples would touch screen monitors (input by touch, output by sight) and force feedback joysticks.

ON THE INSIDE

The inside of your computer has many parts that all work together. These parts are generally found within your computer case - this is usually the big "box" that probably sits under your desk or below your monitor. If you're using an iMac, many of the computer parts are built into the monitor case.

The motherboard [shown at right], or mainboard, is the backbone of the computer. All the individual pieces connect to the motherboard in some way. The motherboard is home the processor chip, pci slots, and memory.

Processor - This is the chip that does the "thinking" of the computer. These are the "Pentium" and "AMD" chips you hear about. Processor speed is measured in MegaHertz(Mhz) and GigaHertz(Ghz). 1 Ghz = 1000 Mhz

Memory - This is where information is temporarily stored for the processor to use and manipulate before storing on the HARD DRIVE. Also known as RAM (Random access memory). Information is stored in memory only when the computer is turned on. Ram is measured in Megabytes(Mb), which is storage capacity, not to be confused with MegaHertz, which is speed.

PCI Slot - These are outlets in the motherboard that allow you to install extra components like sound cards, modems, video cards, and other devices. The images below show different PCI card components.

Hard Drive - This is the part of your computer where information is stored for later retrieval. All the information you access on your computer, all your documents, pictures, email messages, and programs are here. Unlike memory, the hard drive stores information even after the power is turned off. The image to the right shows the inside of a hard drive.

Floppy Drive - This is the slot in the front of your computer where you insert a disk to store data and move it to another computer. If your computer is an iMac, you will not have a Floppy Drive. Floppy disks are 3¼ inches in size, and hold 1.44Mb of data. The images below show a floppy drive, and some floppy disks.

CD ROM or DVD ROM Drives - This plays your music and data cd's, or if you have a DVD drive, it will also play DVD movies. Data CD's hold up to 700Mb of information. If you have a CD-R or CD-RW drive, you can store your own information on CDs.

• Complete Computer Builds

  Customer specified system builds. Complete ground up builds and configurations. Call for more information.

  $ 15.00 / Each hour of service

  + the cost of computer parts and components.

• Hardware Upgrades and Installation

  Complete installs of new or additional hardware, including adaptor seating, setting jumpers, and driver configuration.

  $ 12.00 / Each hour of service

  + the cost of computer parts and components.

• Printer Set-Up, and or Configuration

  New printer installation, including connection of proper cables, driver installs, and software configuration.

  $ 15.00 / Each hour of service

• Networking Configuration

  Home networking solutions, such as Peer-to-Peer networking set-up, and Internet configuration and troubleshooting. All types of internet services are covered, Dial-Up, Wireless, High-Speed, and Cable Modem. Call for more information.

  $ 12.00 / Each hour of service.

• PC Operating System ( Windows, Linux ) Installation

  This service is for novice PC users. I walk the end user through the process, and configure the install to the users request.

  $ 12.00 / Each hour of service.

• PC System Tune-Up

  Service includes all of the following:

  Clean-up hard disk

  Defragment main drive

  Check registry for conflicts

  Check and up-date drivers

  Add new service packs ( If applicable )

  Update anti-virus software

  Dust inside of PC with canned air

  Check seating of adaptor cards

  Manage and organize computer connection cables

  Test and replenish printer ( If applicable )

  $ 15.00 / Each hour of Service

We are a new experimental brand, designed to provide an On-Line Ordering service for Computer parts and components.

As this service is in its trial period, there are a couple of restrictions:

Firstly , you will only be able to buy items via the Paypal System, if it is successful you will be able to pay via Debit/Credit Card at a later stage.

Secondly, we regret that you will not be able to purchase items 'over the counter' at present. This is so we don't have too much in stock, therefore increasing our over-heads, and cost to you - our Customer. However, if we don't have listed the item you require, let us know, and we can order it for you!

Enjoy browsing Alanath: Dartford On-Line Distribution, and we look forward to receiving your orders!

Building your own PC? Need computer parts? Ambassador Computers stocks most of the basic parts and supplies you need to keep your desktop or laptop PC going:

• Mother Boards
• Cooling & Case Fans
• Power Supplies
• CD/DVD Drives

• Hard Drives
• Memory
• Cases
• Modems
• Routers
• Switches
• Sound Cards
• Graphics Cards
• NIC Cards
• Cables

Ambassador Computers strives to be your complete source for computer parts and supplies. If you don’t see what you need, contact us and if we don’t have it in stock we can order for you. Need it fast? We can expedite your special order 2nd day or overnight.

CPU – Most of the mathematical manipulations that make computers operate are done by the CPU. Other components like high performance graphic cards, may also have their own processors, but their results still have to be passed through the CPU. The speed of the computer is usually measured by the speed of the CPU. Even though other factors also affect overall speed, the CPU rating is generally seen as the single most important measure of performance. For instance, 3-D computer games would run better on a computer with a higher CPU rating than a computer used mostly for office applications that have a lower CPU rating. CPU in most computers today, are usually rated between 2.0 GHz and 3.0 GHz allowing for a wider range of computer programs from computer games to movies. This measurement refer to the number of calculations the processor can make in 1 second. The higher the number, the faster (better) the computer. CPUs generate a lot of heat doing this work, so they need a heat sink and fan attached to them

The motherboard is like the engine of an automobile. It provides support for the internal components and also passes information between the computer parts. Just like an engine in a car which interacts with the spark plugs, pistons and fuel, the motherboard is the block that the other components plug into. If the motherboard is the engine, and like most modern cars today there is a brain. On a computer you could say the CPU is the brain.

COMPUTER PART

Find computer parts, you can see some interesting places. If you are lucky, you can simply take the phone calls and payment to someone who already has the legs, but not if you have, do it yourself.

You do not just love the Legislature, Do-it-yourself. Purchase of old computers is a way of the computer you need parts, but there is no guarantee that the part you are looking for is in the best condition, or that is not obsolete. For contempt of an injury of the party can not be, although sometimes you find a computer in good condition, a great source for computer entertainment.

Combs of the economy is another way to find computer parts. Much of the computer models older but in good condition.

What is really old depends on what you want. If you are in a state of the art devices such parties will not be for you all. How strange, because as it may seem, if you have a Saturday afternoon to lead you to be surprised, like many people who are simply sitting in the control of after all that you do Lookingfor parties.

But this is the sweater of your own talk Bootstrap .. Your company is used, and you need a reliable computer parts to the source, and is being, and you must configure your computer for parts reliably.

TCP/IP
One very important set of protocols is called TCP/IP. It is important because it is what the creators of the Internet decided would be used for that particular network, which means that any computer that wants to connect to the Internet must also use TCP/IP. TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol.
TCP/IP is actually in two parts. The TCP portion covers the agreements between systems about how they will carry on their ‘conversation’, and the IP portion deals with addressing the packets and routing them.
The TCP part all happens in the background and we don’t really need to concern ourselves with it under normal circumstances. However, in a network that uses TCP/IP, every system must have a unique IP address, and that is something that requires human intervention in one way or another.

IP Addresses
An IP address is made up of four sets of numbers separated by periods. An example is:
192.168.42.122
Each of these sets of numbers is called an octet, because they started out as 8-digit binary numbers. By changing them into 3-digit decimal numbers, the whole address is shorter and easier to remember. The highest value for any octet is 255, because the highest number you can make with eight binary digits is equal to 255 in decimal.
In most networks, the first three octets are the same for all systems, and the last octet is different for every machine. If there are more than 255 computers in a network, it is usually divided into smaller subnets.
Static or Dynamic?
There are two ways to associate a unique IP address to a specific computer. One way is for the administrator to assign a number, which stays the same unless somebody decides to change it some day. That number is then a static IP address.
The other way is to assign a group of addresses to a server, and let the server hand them out as needed to any system that wants to communicate on the network. This produces a dynamic IP address. It is sometimes important to know which method is in use on a network, because with dynamic addressing, the IP address of a machine may be different each time you try to communicate with it.
Computer Names
The example address 192.168.42.122 is only one digit longer than a phone number with area code, but that’s plenty long enough to give most of us a hard time. It’s much easier for people to remember a name instead of a number, and for this reason computers in a network are also given a unique name. It may be something mundane like Sales14, but at least it’s a name and not a number.
This is not only easier to remember, but it solves the problem of a dynamic address that changes all the time, because the computer name doesn’t normally change. It does create another problem though, because the computers use only the addresses and not the names to keep track of each other. Fortunately there is a part of the TCP/IP protocol called address resolution, and it matches up the names and addresses so things keep rolling smoothly along.
Security
The problem with connecting computers to the Internet is that they are then sharing a network with many other computers from all over the world, and the users of some of those other computers are not such nice folks. Protecting the network and the information on it is one of the most important parts of a network administrator’s job.
Encryption
One way to protect information is to scramble it so that it appears to be gibberish unless someone has the right ‘key’ to unscramble it. Scrambling it is called encryption, and unscrambling it is called decryption. There are many ways to encrypt information, and of course just as many keys to decrypt it.
Encrypting and decrypting information slows things down a bit, so a decision must be made about when to use it. For packets going around the LAN, it depends on how likely it is that someone will gain unauthorized access to the LAN, called hacking. It also depends on how much damage would be done if that happened. If the threat is severe, encryption can be done not only on the transmitted packets but also to information stored on the disk drive.
For information going over the Internet, encryption is much more important unless it’s all right for the whole world to see the information. If you send your credit card number to a vendor, you must trust that vendor to encrypt and safeguard the information.
Virus Software
A computer virus is a little program that makes copies of itself to send to other computers. It’s very similar in some ways to contagious germs spreading a disease from one person to the next. And like diseases, some of these computer viruses have some really nasty side effects, like wiping out important files in the operating system or filling up the hard drive with garbage data.
As we will discuss a little later, there are ways to keep these virus programs from getting to your computer, but they are not foolproof. A lot of viruses come in attached to e-mail, and then they will mail copies of themselves to everyone in your e-mail address folder. You can’t completely block them without blocking e-mail, and most of us like to get e-mail from our friends and coworkers.
The most important prevention for viruses is to have a good anti-virus program installed on your computer. Norton, McCaffey and Panda are probably the most popular. The next most important thing is to keep the anti-virus software up-to-date, because the delinquents who write virus software are always coming up with new tricks, and the anti-virus companies are just as quickly coming up with new versions to stop them.
Access Control
If you have ever had a computer that was connected to a local area network, you almost certainly had to type in a user name and password to get network access. It’s two forms of ID, just like when you cash a check at department store.
The network administrator used that identification information to determine what you could and couldn’t do on the network. And there may have been additional passwords to access the company’ customer database, employee payroll records, or files stored on someone else’s computer.
Here are a few tips about passwords:
First, if you share files on your computer, use password protection for them even if they are available to everyone in the network. That way they can’t be tampered with if a hacker breaks in.
In choosing a password, never use your name, your birthday or other obvious personal information. The best is a random combination of letters and numbers.
Commit the password to memory, and if you must write it down, hide it. A password written on a post-it note stuck to your monitor is probably worse than no password at all.
Don’t give your password to someone you don’t know personally just because they claim to be tech support, the phone company, the police or your long-lost Aunt Matilda. Refer them to the network administrator, or better yet, get their phone number and have the network administrator call them back.
Firewalls
In a building, a firewall is a wall to keep fire from spreading from one area to another. In a computer network, a firewall is a boundary that can block unwanted data packets. The firewall may be program running on the server or router, or it may be a separate piece of hardware or even a complete computer system just for that purpose. In any case, its purpose is to look at all of the packets coming through, and decide which ones can pass and which ones get blocked.
Ports – Several pages ago, we defined a port as the place in a hub that a cable plugs into. There is another completely different kind of thing called a port, and that is a location in a computer’s memory that is used by a device or application to send and receive data. Each application will have one (or more) of these locations for its own use.
For instance, there is a common e-mail program that has port # 110, which means that the program exchanges information with the rest of the system at memory location 110. The popular game called Doom uses port # 666.
When a packet is sent over a network, it will contain not only the destination address, but also the port number of the application that will use it at that destination. One of the ways a firewall controls the packets is by looking at the port number, and only passing packets with ports that are appropriate for the destination. If nobody should be playing Doom on the network’s computers, then it would make sense to block port 666.
Another way a firewall can control traffic is to look at the source of the packet. It can have a ‘prohibited’ list that keeps out packets from certain IP addresses, or it can have an ‘allowed’ list and block everyone who isn’t on it. Ports can be done the same way, with a ‘prohibited’ or ‘allowed’ list of ports.
Conclusion
There is much more to know about security, and about networks in general, if one is to be involved in managing them. The purpose of this paper is to present just enough information to enable you talk with network administrators and to understand their concerns when presenting network products to them. For additional training in this subject, we recommend the Micro2000 A+ and Network+ courses.

There is also no rule that says a server must serve the entire network. It is usually convenient to have a separate network server for each subnet. There are other divisions that can occur even within a subnet. Computers that need to share the same resources can be organized into workgroups. With the Windows NT operating system, the LAN can be divided into sections called domains, and each domain needs its own server called a domain controller.
Protocols
A protocol is an agreed-upon standard for how something will be done. When your mother taught you to chew with your mouth closed and keep your elbows off the table, that was a protocol for proper dining. Computer protocols are the rules for connecting with other computers and exchanging information with them.
Ethernet is a protocol. Earlier we called it a technology, but it is also a set of rules for how that technology is used. If each piece of hardware and software complies with the rules, then information can be correctly transferred from one from one system to another in a LAN.
There are many protocols used in networking. There are some protocols that are used together with other protocols, where each one takes care of different aspects of networking. Sometimes two protocols do the same thing in different ways, and it is necessary to choose one or the other. The important thing is that both systems trying to communicate with each other have matching protocols that they can use.

One place where routers are used in a big way is the Internet. If you send a message on the Internet, it might go through many routers before it reaches its destination. And when you surf to a website, all of the graphics and text showing up on your screen had to go through routers to find their way from the web site to your computer.
By the way, every LAN that connects to the Internet becomes a subnet of the Internet, even if it has its own internal subnets.
Clients and Servers
In addition to the various ways networked systems can be physically connected, there are two basic ways that network activities can be arranged. In one, all of the computers have equal status. This is called peer-to-peer, because a peer means someone (or something) that is the equal of another. Peer-to-peer is used mostly in very small networks of less than a dozen systems.
The more common arrangement is called client-server. One system, called the server, is responsible for a particular activity or resource. The other systems are called clients, and they go through the server when they want to use the function or resource that the server is responsible for.
Some of the things servers are commonly used for include network administration, e-mail, printers, file storage, and Internet access. Often several of these functions will be combined into one machine. There is no rule that says a network server and a print server can’t be the same system.

To create larger networks, hubs can use one or more of their connections to connect to other hubs. This is called a star network, but as far as the electrical signals are concerned, they go from one computer to every other computer, no different than the bus network.







When networks get really big, with 100s of systems or more, it’s no longer such a good idea to have each computer look at every packet, because almost none of the packets will be for that computer. The large network can be broken up into smaller groups called subnets, and these are connected with a device called a data switch, or just a switch.
Within each subnet, all of the computers still see every packet, and so does the switch. Normally the switch won’t pass those packets on to the other subnets, but if the packet has an address for a destination in another subnet, the switch will pass the packet to the port for that subnet. All of the systems in that subnet will then see the packet, including the system it is actually addressed to. In order to know where to send a packet, the switch must have a table of addresses for each subnet.

Bus Network
A bus network is the simplest to explain and draw, but it’s not often the simplest one to use, especially if computers are distributed around various offices in a building, and then get added, taken away, moved around and so forth.
A much more practical way to connect more than a couple of systems is to connect each one to a device called a hub. Each system has a cable that goes from it to the hub, and inside the hub an electrical connection is made between all of the cables. Each place where a cable plugs into the hub is called a port.

Packet diagram
Then, each computer looks at the address on each packet that comes by on the network cable, and copies the ones that have the right address. The computer that sent the packet is called the source, and the one that is supposed to receive it is called the destination.
Network Connections
When a packet comes out of the computer that originated it, that packet must have a complete electrical path to every other computer. The simplest way to do this is to have a cable that goes from one computer to the next until it has connected to each one. This is called a bus network.

Ethernet
Most LANs in existence today use a technology called Ethernet. In an Ethernet network, every piece of information put on the network is seen by every other computer on the network, and each computer must determine if that information is meant for itself.
To make this work, before the information goes out on the network it is first broken up into small pieces called packets, and each packet has added to it the address of the computer that should receive it. The part of the packet containing the address is called the header.

Then, each computer looks at the address on each packet that comes by on the network cable, and copies the ones that have the right address. The computer that sent the packet is called the source, and the one that is supposed to receive it is called the destination.
Network Connections
When a packet comes out of the computer that originated it, that packet must have a complete electrical path to every other computer. The simplest way to do this is to have a cable that goes from one computer to the next until it has connected to each one. This is called a bus network.

Basic Computer Network Information
Introduction
A network is a group of things that are connected together. In a computer network, the things that are connected are computers, of course. A computer network can be as small as two computers but there is no maximum size, and many networks have hundreds or thousands of computers.
There are three main reasons for connecting computers in a network:
Share information. This can be messages such as e-mail, or it can be files that are stored on one computer and used by someone at a different computer.
Share resources. A printer that can be accessed from different computer systems is a shared resource. So is an Internet connection used by more than one computer.
Centralized control. In most offices, the management determines what the computers may be used for and what kind of resources and support they need. This is much easier to deal with if the computers are connected.
Types of Networks
Just as there is no limit to the number of systems in a network, there is also no limit to the geographical size of a network. As a practical matter though, there are some structural differences between a network of computers all in the same room, and a network connecting computers in Los Angeles to ones in Sydney Australia.

The most common network includes computers that are close together, usually in the same building or office. This is called a Local Area Network, abbreviated LAN.

The computers in a LAN are usually connected with cable made up of pairs of wires, but faster (and more expensive) cables are made from glass fibers, called fiber optic cable. A network may even use radio waves, in which case it is a wireless LAN.

When the computers being connected are far apart, typically in different cities, it is called a WAN or Wide Area Network. The connection is usually done with special high-speed lines leased from the phone company, but it is also possible to connect over an ordinary phone line using a device called a modem. It’s slow, but possible. Accessing a network through a phone line and modem is called a dial-up connection
.
The biggest of all networks is the Internet. The backbone of the Internet consists of powerful computers all over the world with high-speed connections between them. Individual computers such as yours then connect to this backbone through an Internet Service Provider or ISP.

How to Create a Report Using Micro-Scope Version 14From the main menu select option 2 or 4.
From the main menu select option 2 or 4.n order to create a report you will need to run the test from the Batch Menu. Select the test you will run.


Set the pass count for the selected test

After running the test, go to Report Features and select Create Report to introduce your company information
and client as well.

Then select Log Report and form there select Log to Disk.
Write the correct path for the floppy drive with the name
of the file.
i.e. B:Test1.txt.
Note that we use drive B even when there is only one
floppy drive present. This is because MicroScope emulates
drive A to load all its variables.

The report will have all general information of the PC.
This is very important since you will get the serial number from
the motherboard, hard drives and also information such as
Processor details, BIOS name, version and date.

At the end of the report you will be able to see the results of
the test and the test performed as well.
For a more detail information of the test you will have to repeat
the test for the device that fails using the diagnostic menu.

These are the details for the Motherboard test using Diagnostic option.

Troubleshooting and Repairing Hard Drives
Because Micro-Scope does not use DOS or the O/S on your PC you can repair hard drives that normally would not be possible.

Let's say you'll get a bad sector on your drive and get the report - 'HDC controller error' SECTOR NOT FOUND or even BAD SECTOR ERROR.

How can you test a specific sector of a hard drive if the operating system (in conjunction with the drive controller and the BIOS) decides where the data will go on the drive?
And if the operation fails, how can we determine if the drive mechanism or the controller was at fault? All the application knows is that it hands data off to the OS for disk storage and then gets it back in altered form or not at all.

Recent Review:
"In the service business, time is money. The Micro2000 Universal Diagnostic Toolkit is worth its weight in gold for any service company. The cost of the product is quickly recovered because of faster turn around time when fixing problem systems. The product also helps control business costs simply because technicians are more accurately diagnosing what parts they require for system repairs." Compunotes
the FEATURES link above for a full listing of all the features!
Works on all Intel™ compatible computers.
Operating system independent.
LAN Card Testing.
Unlimited memory testing.
Multi-processor testing.
Much more...
Platforms Supported - Micro-Scope runs on ANY PC with an Intel or Intel compatible processor (from 386/486 to the latest Pentium, AMD and Cyrix CPUs), with ISA, EISA, PCI, PCMCIA, Plug & Play, and hosting any operating system including all Windows versions, DOS, OS2, Linux and UNIX.

Using Microscope to low-level format these disks can bring those drives back to life. Even drives that have been damaged, or improperly formatted by a DOS base program.

Recent Review:
"In the service business, time is money. The Micro2000 Universal Diagnostic Toolkit is worth its weight in gold for any service company. The cost of the product is quickly recovered because of faster turn around time when fixing problem systems. The product also helps control business costs simply because technicians are more accurately diagnosing what parts they require for system repairs." Compunotes
the FEATURES link above for a full listing of all the features!
Works on all Intel™ compatible computers.
Operating system independent.
LAN Card Testing.
Unlimited memory testing.
Multi-processor testing.
Much more...
Platforms Supported - Micro-Scope runs on ANY PC with an Intel or Intel compatible processor (from 386/486 to the latest Pentium, AMD and Cyrix CPUs), with ISA, EISA, PCI, PCMCIA, Plug & Play, and hosting any operating system including all Windows versions, DOS, OS2, Linux and UNIX.

Data Recovery –
Most technicians know of software that with a push of the button will automatically recover data.
The problem with these types of programs is that you only get one chance to recover the data. If you run one of the automatic programs it's a 50/50 chance it will work and once it's run, that's it. If the program does not work the first time, you do not get another chance. The data is destroyed.
With Micro-Scope YOU DON'T TAKE THAT RISK!
So, while Micro-Scope will not do an automatic data recovery, it has a fix disc editor that will allow you to display and edit any section of the drive. Even hidden partitions that other programs could never see. Advanced search functions will allow you to define a physical range to searches for information on the drive. Including being able to create image files off of a hidden partition called the COMMAND REGISTER where you can find all the factory information like the master boot record.
These image files can be mirror on to other sectors to rebuild the damaged part of the drive. So the technician does not have to know how to write FAT 32 or NTSF file structures. Also Micro-Scope is not limited to the 65,000 cylinders.*
What Micro-Scope does provide is a disk editor that allows you to scan, display (and change if necessary) any portion of the hard drive contents including hidden partitions and sectors. In skilled hands, it is possible to rebuild the FAT and perform other recovery functions without risking the loss of all data.
*NOTE: It is not a fast process to manually recovery anything from a drive. We would not recommend that someone who is not familiar with the FAT or NTFS architecture (so that they know where the FATs are stored, where the Master Boot Record is, where all the information is and how to calculate where the partitions are and so on) attempt to use this feature without additional instruction.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENT
• 66 MHz or faster Processor (Intel or AMD) • Windows 95/98 operating system with 16MB of RAM
• Windows ME/NT 4.0 operating system with 32 MB of RAM
• Windows 2000/XP/2003 with 128 MB Ram.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater
• Mouse or tracking device • 128k or Faster Internet connection or connection to a network that has an Internet connection.
• Video Card that is capable of 800 X 600 DPI (Dots per Inch) resolution and 256 colors.
NOTE: Currently dial-up takes 15 minutes to 1 hour to install.
Networking Requirements
M2K Managed Security uses TCP/IP network protocol for network communications. M2K Managed Security is a Web-delivered application service and requires an Internet connection to install and update*.
Other Requirements
M2K Managed Security requires Microsoft Windows Scripting Host to be installed, and functioning correctly.

Malware Protection
M2K Managed Security offers protection against:
Viruses
Worms
Trojans
Spyware
Adware
Hacking tools
Hoaxes
Jokes
Dialers
Etc.
M2K Managed Security also incorporates permanent file protection that can detect any opening or writing to files on disk, ensuring that it can detect malware in:
Hard disks, floppy disks and CDs
Outlook email
SMTP, POP3 and NNTP email
File downloads from the Internet
Files attached to e-mail messages
ActiveX controls
Microsoft Office Word and Excel files
Java Applets
Malicious DHTML code
M2K Managed Security disinfects these items or deletes them without interrupting the work of the users of the workstations. Whenever it performs an action on an infected file, information is sent to the NOC so that you can view it through the reports.
M2K Managed Security performs On-Demand scans of the drives, folders and files in the system. These scans can be launched from the workstation. The interval (frequency) of scanning can also be scheduled from your management console. The default interval is one hour, but can be changed according to your needs. The results of these scans can be seen through the malware activity reports via your management console.

RemoteScopeis a remote administration tool that makes managing your network of workstations fast and easy. No VB scripting – No programming – No servers – No major requirements. All you need is the RemoteScope CD and a network of workstations.
RemoteScope has a familiar, Windows Explorer-like user interface so even a novice can use it. The software takes only minutes to install and you can even deploy the client software remotely - eliminating the need to physically access each machine.
RemoteScope's feature rich, desktop management tools give you total control over your network.
Wake on LAN - Remotely turn on one or more PC’s in your network.
USB Device Detection - Set the alarm feature as an alert to anyone plugging in to a PC to download sensitive company data.
Optimize Remote Control - Configure your remote control settings to improve speed and performance over a WAN on limited bandwidth networks like broadband, DSL or Cable.
See Who’s Logged In - From the Console, you can instantly see which workstations in the network are logged in.
View Process CPU usage and deleting the designated process.
Real-time Statistic information can be showed on the status bar on Views
Remote Troubleshooting - Take remote control and troubleshoot PC problems from your own desk.
Virus Updates and Security Patches - Remotely deploy patches and updates to your entire network.
Instant Software Inventory and License Management - Determine what software licenses are out of compliance and who's been installing software they shouldn't be.
Instant Hardware Inventory - Plan upgrade cycles, prepare more accurate budgets, or just know exactly what’s inside a system before opening the case.
Sub-Console has access to inventory, report, uninstall or upgrade.
Group Management - Group desktops any way you like. Clients can belong to multiple groups giving you endless organizational options.
Unattended PC Maintenance - Schedule backups, defrags, or other maintenance tasks for any number of systems. Backups can even be compressed.
Conference & Instant Messaging - Users can send a message when they have a problem or you can broadcast an alert to all or select systems to let them know you need to reboot a server. Use the conference feature to chat over your network so no one has to leave their office. It’s also a great tool for training employees on new applications.
File Transfer - Send files to multiple systems at once. Great for restoring lost files from a backup.

More About Memory
RAM memory is installed in the system on little circuit boards called modules that plug into the motherboard. This makes it very convenient to add more memory by plugging in another module. Older computers used a SIMM, which stands for Single Inline Memory Module, and later ones use a DIMM or Dual Inline Memory Module. The difference is that DIMMs have different signals on each side of the module connector, and the additional signals allow more memory addresses and more data lines going in and out.
The amount of memory is always is some multiple of two bytes. The most common values are 32, 64, 128, 256 or 512 megabytes.
As it is used by the system, RAM is divided into base memory and extended memory. Base memory is the first megabyte, and extended memory is everything over that. The very first PCs had only base memory, and then a scheme was developed called expanded memory that tricked the computer into allowing more than 1 MB of memory. Once extended memory was developed though, expanded memory quickly became obsolete and will only be found in older computers.
Another memory term you will encounter is cache memory. This refers to memory that is not on DIMMs but is either built into the CPU or connected directly to the motherboard near the CPU. It provides even faster access than RAM for the data that the CPU expects to need next. The contents of the cache will change constantly depending on what the CPU is doing.