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vi table of contents introduction xii part 4 data storage 146 chapter 10 how a computer s long-term memory works chapter 11 how disk drives save information chapter 12 how little things make drives faster and bigger 154 part 1 boot-up process chapter 1 getting to know the hardware chapter 2 how circuits juggle data chapter 3 how a pc comes alive chapter 4 how an operating system controls hardware 2 10 166 20 176 30 chapter 13 how pcs use light to remember data 184 36 part 5 input/output devices 194 chapter 14 how data gets into your pc chapter 15 how scanners capture words and images chapter 16 how computers use power chapter 17 how serial ports triumph chapter 18 how a computer display works chapter 19 how digital photography works 202 part 2 how microchips are the pc s brain 46 chapter 5 how transistors manipulate data chapter 6 how a microprocessor works 52 212 62 220 part 3 how software works 80 chapter 7 how programming languages work chapter 8 how windows works chapter 9 how software applications do your work 94 228 242 252 104 118[close]
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table of contents vii part 6 games and multimedia chapter 20 how multimedia sound works chapter 21 how multimedia video works chapter 22 how game hardware puts you in the action chapter 23 how games create 3d worlds 260 266 278 chapter 30 how the world wide web works chapter 31 how internet security fights off pc invaders 366 378 part 8 how printers vvork 398 chapter 32 how black-and-white printing works 404 chapter 33 how color printing works index 414 426 286 296 par 7 how the internet vvorks 306 chapter 24 how local area networks work chapter 25 how pcs connect to the internet chapter 26 how the internet moves data chapter 27 how we reach each other through the net chapter 28 how wireless sets pcs free chapter 29 how the net provides video and audio on demand 314 324 332 338 350 360[close]
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viii about the author about the author ron white is the former executive editor of pc computing magazine where he developed the popular how it works illustration to explain the new technologies that were emerging in computing at a prodigious rate he is also the author of the best-selling how digital photography works and books on software mp3 and digital cameras his writing and photography have appeared in some of the leading magazines in the nation he can be reached at ron@ronwhite.com about the illustrator timothy edward downs is the national award-winning illustrator of how computers work and how digital photography works tim has been involved in all facets of graphic design in his illustrious career from illustrator to creative director tim has led teams of artists and designers in advertising agencies marketing communications firms and consumer magazines to better tell their stories through illustration photography typography and design our job doesn t start when the writer hits save in order to effectively communicate the tone or the concept of the piece we need to know and understand the story from the original brainstorm all the way through final execution reminds tim examples of tim s design illustration and photographic work can be seen at http www.timothyedwarddowns.com.[close]
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acknowledgments ix acknowledgments the changes in pcs have been so rapid so extensive and so complex i could never have learned the tricks behind the new technologies without the help of many knowledgeable people who were not only generous with that knowledge but were patient enough to explain it to me until the mental led lit up my first acknowledgment must be to the late jim seymour who was a columnist in pc magazine and infoworld and who was the editor-in-chief of pc computing when it was launched in 1988 jim died unexpectedly and left a void in the universe for knowledge friendship and serenity the longer i spend in a world without jim the more keenly i feel the loss jim and his wife nora who was editor of the pcc and a woman of great warmth charm and smarts gave me my first chance at a national magazine and what a chance it was i had the privilege of launching how it works feature in pc computing in 1989 but over the years many people have worked on the series and several chapters are based on the research and explanations they ve done deep thanks go to margaret ficklen herb brody brett l glass marty jerome raymond jones matthew lake jack nimersheim randy ross stephen sagman jan smith dylan tweney doug van kirk mark l van name bill catchings christine grech wendin and kenan woods lowe a huge debt to mike edelhart who a dozen years ago was editor-in-chief of guided me in the launch of pc computing and who convinced a dubious publisher to take a chance on a kind of computer book that had never been done before to preston gralla who how it works and who jumped in when i needed help to write several of the spreads thanks for a friendship and too many acts of kindness to list i m also grateful to the dozens of people in the pc industry who ve shared their knowledge schematics and white papers to infuse how computers work with detail and accuracy i m particularly grateful to chris thornton of clipmate karen thomas at olympus joe vanderwater bryan langerdoff dan francisco tami casey john hyde bill kircos susan shaw and seth walker at intel russell sanchez and adam kahn of microsoft jim bartlett ellen reid smith tim kearns and desire russell at ibm barrett anderson and todd hollinshead at id software marcie pedrazzi of adaptec eileen algaze at rockwell aj rodgers jennifer jones and susan bierma at tektronix ben yoder and lisa santa anna at epson dewey hou at techsmith corporation ray soneira author of son era technologies displaymate kathryn brandberry and doyle nicholas at thrustmaster dani johnston at microtek lab lisa tillman of the benjamin group dvorah samansky at iomega brandon talaich at sandisk chris walker with pioneer usa carrie royce at cirque corporation andy marken at marken communications and tracy laidlaw at beyond words if there are any mistakes in this book i can t lay the blame on them thanks to editors now and over the course of nine editions rick kughen stephanie mccomb tonya simpson nick goetz angelina ward sarah robbins juliet langley cindy hudson melinda levine lysa lewallen renee wilmeth and leah kirkpatrick for pulling everything together a big debt of gratitude goes to que associate publisher greg wiegand for this support for so many years thanks to[close]
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x acknowledgments mark reddin and john rizzo for tech editing and john for researching several chapters i m deeply grateful for the editing of this edition by todd brakke who is the type of intelligent dedicated editor every writer wants and thanks to my wife sue for her constant encouragement spirit-raising and humor while waiting for me to pop out of writing mode i learned long ago that a writer s skill depends largely on how well the writer can steal from others in addition to just about every book in the que pc innards how it works series other books were invaluable for details on understanding i/o subsystems by w david schwaderer and andrew w wilson jr inside the ibm pc by peter norton the pc configuration handbook by john woram marshall brain s howstuffworks.com the winn rosch hardware bible by winn l rosch and scott mueller s upgrading and repairing pcs also helpful was the way things work by david macaulay not only for its informa tive explanations of computers but for its inspiring examples of how to combine text and art into clear explanations finally this book would not be what it is without the art work of timothy edward downs invariably he transformed my neanderthal sketches into clear informative illustrations but also managed to make them into wonderful works of art tim has created a new visual way to communicate technology and i m proud one of its first appearances was in this book.[close]
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we want to hear from youi xi we want to hear from you as the reader of this book you are our most important critic and commentator we value your opinion and want to know what we re doing right what we could do better what areas you d like to see us publish in and any other words of wisdom you re willing to pass our way as an associate publisher for que publishing i welcome your comments you can email or write me directly to let me know what you did or didn t like about this book-as well as what we can do to make our books better please note that i cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book we do have a user services group however where i will forward specific technical questions related to the book when you write please be sure to include this book s title and author as well as your name email address and phone number i will carefully review your comments and share them with the author and editors who worked on the book email mail feedback@quepublishing.com greg wiegand associate publisher que publishing 800 east 96th street indianapolis in 46240 usa reader services visit our website and register this book at www.quepublishing.com/register for convenient access to any updates downloads or errata that might be available for this book.[close]
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xii introduction introduction any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic -arthur c clarke ii sorcerers have their magic wands-powerful potentially dangerous tools with lives of their own witches have their familiars-creatures disguised as household beasts that could if they choose wreak the witches havoc mystics have their golems-beings built of wood and tin brought to life to do their masters bidding we have our personal computers pcs too are powerful creations that often seem to have a life of their own usually they respond to a wave of a mouse or a spoken incantation by performing tasks we couldn t imagine doing ourselves without some sort of preternatural help but even as computers successfully carry out our commands it s often difficult to quell the feeling that there s some wizardry at work here and then there are the times when our pcs like malevolent spirits rebel and open the gates of chaos onto our neatly ordered columns of numbers our carefully wrought sentences and our beautifully crafted graphics when that happens we re often convinced that we are indeed playing with power not entirely under our control we become sorcerers apprentices whose every attempt to right things leads to deeper trouble whether our personal computers are faithful servants or imps most of us soon realize there s much more going on inside those silent boxes than we really understand pcs are secretive open their tightly sealed cases and you re confronted with poker-faced components few give any clues as to what they re about most of them consist of sphinx-like microchips that offer no more information about themselves than some obscure code printed on their impenetrable surfaces the maze of circuit tracings etched on the boards is fascinating but meaningless hieroglyphics some crucial parts such as the hard drive and power supply are sealed with printed omens about the dangers of peeking inside-omens that put to shame the warnings on a pharaoh s tomb this book is based on two ideas one is that the magic we understand is safer and more powerful than the magic we don t this is not a hands-on how-to book don t look for any instructions for taking a screwdriver to this part or the other but perhaps your knowing more about what s going on inside all those stoic components makes them a little less formidable when something does go awry the second idea behind this book is that knowledge in itself is a worthwhile and enjoyable goal this book is written to respond to your random musings about the goings-on inside that box you sit in front of several hours a day if this book puts your questions to rest-or raises new ones-it will have done its job at the same time however i m trusting that knowing the secrets behind the magician s legerdemain won t spoil the show this is a real danger mystery is often as compelling as knowledge i d hate to think that anything you read in this book takes away that sense of wonder you have when you manage to make your pc do some grand new trick i hope that instead this book makes you a more confident sorcerer.[close]
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before you begin xiii before you begin this book has been written with a certain type of personal computer in mind-the wintel a pc most often built around an intel processor and running microsoft windows many of the specifics in these explanations apply only to that class of computer and those components in more general terms the explanations also apply to macintosh computers unix workstations and even minicomputers and mainframes but i ve made no attempt to devise universal explanations of how computers work to do so would of necessity detract from the understanding that comes from inspecting specific components even so there is so much variety even within the intel/microsoft world of pcs that at times i ve had to limit my explanations to particular instances or stretch the boundaries of a particular situation to make an explanation as generic as possible if you spot anything that doesn t seem quite right in this book i hope that my liberties with the particulars is the only cause ron white san antonio texas[close]
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30,000 b.c paleolithic peoples in central europe record numbers by notching tallies on animal bones ivory and stane 2600 b.c the chinese introduce the abacus it was used in china for calculating the census as recently as a.d 1982 260 b.c the maya develop a sophisticated base-20 system af mathematics that includes zero 1500 mechanical calculator invented by leonarda da vinci 1621 william oughtred invents the slide rule which does not become absolete for nearly 350 years 1670 gottfried leibniz impraves upan pascaline by adding multiplication division and square roat capabilities 13400 b.c egyptians develop a symbol for the number 10 simplifying the representation of large numbers 1300 b.c euclid s elements summarizes all the mathematical knowledge of the greeks it is used for the next 2,000 years 11614 john napier describes the nature of logarithms he also builds napier s bones the forerunner to the slide rule 11642 blaise pascal invents pascaline the first mechanical calculator it was hand turned and could only add and subtrael 11679 leibniz introduces binary arithmetic.[close]
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