Week 4 - Motherboards, Power Supplies, & Data Storage

     This week, we learned about Motherboards, Power supplies, and mass storage technologies. 
    It was very interesting to learn that we cannot see all the traces on a motherboard, as the printed circuit boards are 4 or more layers thick. At 305 x 244mm, the ATX form factor is the most commonly used motherboard form factor today. We previously touched on chipsets, and the ROM chip provides part of the BIOS for the chipset. The general knowledge of working with computers and installing drivers was a refresher for me. If you have not used a computer before, I recommend unplugging your device whenever you are not using it. Keeping device drivers up to date is important. This week, we presented the hardware installation wizard, which is pretty straightforward.
    The next topic touched on was power supplies. The one thing I did learn in this chapter is that it is not a good idea to replace the fuse in a power supply if you hear a pop. This indicates an internal issue with the power supply, assuming you are not attempting to plug it into an outlet that is too powerful or has electrical issues.
    Finally, we visit the realm of network data storage. This consists of multiple options based on network needs. These options are listed as RAID levels, and each has a best-case use scenario. These RAID levels include RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, and hybrid RAID 10. There are other RAID levels, but these are the most common. I believe RAID 6 and RAID 10 are the most secure and useful for storing data, but it is still important to back up all data using the rule of 3.
    We will touch on more useful information as we progress through the intriguing world of computers.