Question

QUESTION TWO a. Briefly explain how SATA is different from IDE in terms of speed? [4 MARKS] b. Immediately after the POST is performed information relating to the computer is listed on the screen; including your drives. As a technician if you don't see some drivers listed; what will be your next line of action in addressing the problem. [2 MARKS) c. As a technician mention three (3) areas of concerns that determines the amount of RAM you can install on the motherboard. [4MARKS] TOTAL: [10 MARKS] 3

Answer 1

Ans A:-

First off all i would like to mention that IDE and PATA are basically same terms that have two different names.So I will use the word PATA instead of IDE(Integrated Drive Electronics).

Okay,so both SATA and PATA are used to connect to storage devices of a system like optical drives and hard drives.In today`s date we use SATA and it is very important to know that PATA is now outdated and is now obselete.PATA was used in hard drives basically 11-13 years back but in now a days each and every computer and laptop uses SATA.

SATA stands for  Serial Advanced Technology Attachment while PATA stands for Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment.

So now coming over to main differences between the two:-

• SATA has more storage capacity while PATA has less storage capacity.
• SATA is used in today`s computers while PATA has been outdated almost a decade ago.
• PATA`s male/female connector or we can say cable was so thick and bulky which caused high temperature problem as thick cable resist air flow while SATA`s male/female connector or cable is not very thick and bulky and it allows good air flow and it helps to maintain the normal temperature.
• PATA does not support hot plugging while SATA support hot plugging
• Now coming over to very important point and the point that is asked in question i.e speed.Yes,ofcourse SATA`s speed is very fast as compared to PATA.The speed that we used to get in last version of PATA i.e PATA 4.0 was 1066Mbps while the speed that we get in latest version of SATA i.e SATA 3.0 is 6Gbps i.e much more faster than PATA.

Now you might ask the reason for faster transmission in SATA than PATA.Well the answer is that SATA uses serial transmission while PATA uses parallel transmission.In parallel transmission if we try to increase the frequency than the chances of latency and data corruption increases(if the transmission is asynchronous).So in case of corrupted data,the data has to be retransmitted which increases the time.While serial transmission does not face any such problems of data corruption(if it faces than upto less extent).

Ans B:-

Okay so POST stands for Power-On Self-Test.It is a diagnostic tool that is run by computer to determine whether the computer`s RAM,hard drives and other hardwares are working properly.

If the neccessary hardware is detected then computer boots in OS otherwise it does not boot in OS and displays an error message.

Now,according to question as a technician after performing POST if i don`t see some drivers listed,my next line of actions will be:-

• First of all i will note down(on a notebook)all the drivers that are missing in the computer.
• Secondly I will check which company`s motherboard is used by computer whether Intel,AMD etc.
• Now I will put CD of specific motherboard`s driver and install all the missing drivers.
• After installing missing drivers I will also update the older versions of drivers.
• After doing all this,I will restart the computer and I am sure POST will not anymore show missing drivers and the computer will boot into operating system.

Ans C:-

Factors that determine the amount of RAM that can be installed on motherboard are:-

• So,the first and foremost factor is CPU bits.If a computer is running on a 32 bit processor or we can say 32 bit OS than the maximum amount of RAM that can be installed is 4 GB while computers running on 64 bit processor can support more than 64 GB ram.
• Second factor that determines the amount of RAM that can be installed on motherboard is OS i.e operating system.Different versions of operating systems has different maximum RAM installing capacities.
• Another factor is processors.Processors also have maximum RAM installation limits that is clearly specified by manufacturer.For example Intel i7 4790k processor can use at most 32gb of RAM.

Thankyou....... :-)