Summary
This chapter has identified a variety of PC components and subsystems. The PC hardware core components that were described in detail included the CPU chip, ROM, RAM, chip sets and buses, power supply, serial and parallel I/O ports, floppy disk controller and drive, fixed disk controller and drive, CD-ROM drive, display adapter and monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
We also briefly examined the various PC operating systems, including DOS; Windows 3.x; Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me; Windows NT; and Windows 2000.
Software components that were covered included the common PC OS types, including DOS and the Windows family, their features, and key file components.
The final section covered the booting process for the DOS and Windows OSs, which perform similar boot functions, and Windows NT, which has a distinct boot process. This section discussed the role of key file components in booting these two types of systems.