what is software and hardware in the computer ?

Answer 1

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Answer 2

There several levels:

First let's define "in" the computer. Things on the outside of the computer "box" (tower, desktop, or notebook) are generally called peripherals or external devices: monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, etc. All of those are things you can touch and handle, and are thus hardware.

Inside your computer ther are more pieces of hardware -- floppy disk drives, CD & DVD drives (ROM (read-only) or RW (read-write)), hard disks, motherboard (the main inside circuit-board), CPU chip (main brain), network card, power supply, memory chips, etc.

Also inside there is a piece of base information: firmware, It is very basic information stored on a chip. The chipo is hardware. Unless the information is hard-wired in the chip, the firmware is software.

Software is basically any information used on the computer that is not strictly data. It is not tangible. You cannot pick up and hold software. You can only hold the disk or tape that holds the software. Besides firmware, there is systems software (Windows, Mac-OS, etc), networking software (if you are connected to a network), and application software (Microsoft Word, NHL 2006, Word Munchers, Halo 2). The system software runs the computer and sets the environment so that you can run whatever application software you want to run.

One more thing. A lot of people will say, "My computer is running out of memory", when in fact they are running of storage space on their hard disk. Memory = the "space" available on the memory chips for processing information. It is very fast, but it is volitile, which means, once you turn off the computer, all information is lost from memory -- but NOT from your hard disk drive (we hope). Typically, a computer will set up a "swap file" when the operating system (e.g. Windows) is installed. This is a limited area of the hard drive that is set aside for writing information out from memory when it gets full. (It's much more complex than that, but you get the basic idea.) Because it is small and it is reserved, it can be accessed more quickly that most of the rest of the hard drive.

So, when talking about the hard drive, use the term "storage". When talking about what is stored on the memory chips when the computer is running, use the term "memory".

One other thing....if you get the message "Resources Low", that generally indicates that memory is being used almost to the limit. The best move at that point is to save whatever work needs to be saved, shut down the computer (completely, not just choosing "Restart"), and restarting your computer. This will clear memory, and start you out fresh again.

I hope that helps!

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Answer 3

Hardware is the stuff that makes the computer even when it's off. Software is programs that we use to do things.

Answer 4

Software are programs you use in the computer
Hardware are "hard" objects(that's how I remember) that you use outside the brain of the computer like the cd rom drive. Check out these sites to find clearer explanations for this:

Answer 5

Hardware is the computer itself...the actual PC
Software refers to the programs that make the computer run
Also, there is an operating system (windows) that keep all the software organized, available and running properly.

Answer 6

The hardware is the actual parts of the computer. The moitor, the mouse, the CPU. The software is the programing your computer needs to run... windows, microsoft word, games...etc...

Answer 7

Software - Programs (Downloadable or on CD)

Hardware - Keyboard, Monitor, Mouse etc

Answer 8

Software is written coded commands that tell a computer what tasks to perform. For example, Word, PhotoShop, Picture Easy, and PhotoDeluxe are software programs.


Hardware is the physical, tangible component of a computer. Such as computer equipment, digitizer, modem and sewing machine.

Answer 9

Hardware is something you can actually see and touch in a computer...software is programs and stuff.

Answer 10

Software are the programs (MS Word, games, etc.) that you can run on the computer and hardware is anything that you can physically touch (monitor, keyboard, etc.).

Answer 11

software is programs, hardware is all the devices inside the computer