Learn about hardware in a computer course

Go to any busy computer trade center in Jakarta or in other major town in Indonesia, and you will be surprised to see how quickly the so-called "technicians" can put together a PC from off-the-shelf component parts.

Even if their boss receives an order for a dozen PCs that have to be assembled and delivered to the customer in two days, complete with the pirated operating system and software programs, they will meet the challenge. Even when the PCs have to be tested and burned in before delivery, they will still say "Sure, we can do that." Not infrequently, their workplace is a tiny area on the floor right next to the store entrance.

And, you may be even more shocked to know that the majority of these "technicians" do not have any formal education in computer hardware. All they have received is just on-the-job training, and their tutors may be people who also learned the trade just by doing it. And, it is also amazing to see how much technical knowledge they have. Because they are in this business every day, they know which graphics cards will not work with which motherboards, for example. Mind you, they never read PC Magazine or PC World, nor do they surf the Internet for such information.

A PC is made up of a number of modular components. You will need the basic components -- the processor, motherboard, memory modules, graphics card, hard disk, keyboard and monitor -- to get it running. Then you can add accessories such as a sound card, an internal modem, an Ethernet card, a CD-ROM drive and so on. The good thing is that most of the circuitries in every hardware component have some mechanism to handle assembly errors, so putting the wrong cable in the wrong place does not necessarily end up in wasted computer parts. However, good and reliable components do not necessarily make a great PC if they are not put together in the proper way.

Forget about missing screws, which is a common problem in PCs made in Glodok due to carelessness and the pressure to assemble as many PCs as possible per day. Sometimes they use a screw of the wrong size, and use force to tighten it. Almost always this will result in damage to the casing, but who cares? This is the Glodok version of a PC assembly line.

Obviously, it is not the best way to build a PC. There are steps that you have to follow. For example, before you touch any of the components and take them out of their special plastic wraps, you must touch the metal part in the rear of any PC to discharge any static electricity that may ruin the sensitive electronics.

If you are serious about learning to assemble your own PC in the proper way, several computer training institutions in town have begun offering courses in hardware. States Information Technology in Kebayoran, for example, has included a hardware course in the menu of computer courses that they offer.

You do not have to buy your own components, as these are already provided by them for learning purposes. They will show you all the components that are required to build a PC -- the processor, the memory, the motherboard, etc. They will also tell you the difference between SDRAM and RDRAM, for example, so you know which one to buy for your next PC. And they will guide you as you insert the memory modules into their slots.

Once the components are put together, they will teach you how to set up the BIOS. This is an important step that people in Glodok or Mangga Dua usually neglect. The right BIOS setting, which basically tells the system how to handle all the input and output in and out of the components, will determine the overall performance of the PC.

In the course, you will also be taught to partition the hard disk, install the operating system and find the right driver for hardware components such as the modem, the mouse and the sound card. The instructor at States Information Technology will even teach you how to overclock your processor, i.e., to run your processor faster than its designated speed. If you encounter problems in the process, so much the better. You will also learn how to troubleshoot your PC.

If you have no interest in learning to build your own PC, definitely a course in computer hardware and the proper way of assembling a PC will be very useful to your children. Ask anyone who has at least once built his own PC, and he will definitely tell you how much fun he had. -- Zatni Arbi