When you're trying to solve a problem with a computer or any piece of technology for that matter, the first thing you should try to do is determine if the problem is with the hardware or with the software.
How you make that determination depends on the problem you're experiencing, but it often involves ruling out one or the other via testing.
Regardless of how you get to that answer, there is often much confusion when it comes to hardware vs. software. It gets even more confusing when firmware is brought into the mix.
Jan 04, 2016 Hardware vs Software. What’s the difference between hardware and software? There are two key differences of both and that’s their usage and appearance. Usage for both is related but not the same. Hardware may determine how fast your computer system works through advanced material and circuitry designs, but it won’t function without software.
Define Hardware And Software
Here's more on how each of these 'wares' differs, something you need to know if you plan on doing even the simplest of troubleshooting on any of your myriad of tech devices:
Hardware Is Physical: It's 'Real,' Sometimes Breaks, and Eventually Wears Out
Hardware is 'real stuff' that you can see with your eyes and touch with your fingers.
Unfortunately, being a physical item, you can also sometimes smell it as it dies a fiery death, or hear as it physically decays in its last motions.
Since hardware is part of the 'real' world, it all eventually wears out. Being a physical thing, it's also possible to break it, drown it, overheat it, and otherwise expose it to the elements.
Here are some examples of hardware:
While a smartphone is a piece of hardware, it also contains software and firmware (more on those below). Hardware devices are also comprised of other hardware devices; a tablet or computer, for example, contain individual components like a motherboard, a processor, memory sticks, and more.
While it's not always this easy, using one of your five senses (except taste.. please don't taste any part of your computer system) is often your best way to tell if the hardware is the cause of a problem. Is it smoking? Is it cracked? Is it missing a piece? If so, the hardware is probably the source of the problem.
As sensitive as we've made hardware out to be in what you've just read, one great thing about hardware is that it can usually be easily swapped out. The software you lose may be irreplaceable, but most hardware is 'dumb' — the replacement often being as valuable as the original.
See this list of computer hardware devices for more on some of the common parts of a computer system and what they're used for.
Software Is Virtual: It Can Be Copied, Changed, and Destroyed
Software is everything about your computer that isn't hardware.
Here are some examples of software:
Since software is information and not a physical thing, there are few barriers to it existing. For example, one physical hard drive might take two pounds of materials to create, meaning 3,000 hard drives would take 6,000 lbs of materials. One software program, on the other hand, can be duplicated 3,000 or 300,000 times, over as many devices, but be taking up essentially no more physical resources.
Software exists to interact with you, the hardware you're using, and with hardware that exists elsewhere. For example, a photo sharing software program on your PC or phone works with you and your hardware to take a photo and then communicates with servers and other devices on the internet to show that photo on your friend's devices.
Software is also extremely flexible, allowing it to be continuously updated and modified. While you certainly wouldn't expect your wireless router to 'grow' another antenna or your smartphone to get a bigger screen as it charged on your nightstand, expect your software to regularly gain features and grow in size as its updated.
Another great thing about software is its potential to last indefinitely. So long as the software is copied to newer hardware before the current device fails, the information itself could exist as long as the universe does. Equally amazing is that software can be destroyed. If there are no copies, and the software is deleted, it's gone forever. You can't run to the store and pick up a replacement for information that never existed anywhere else.
How to Safely Download & Install Software
Troubleshooting a software problem is usually more complex than working through a hardware one. Hardware issues are often times straightforward — something is broken or not and may need to be replaced. The steps required to solve a software problem depend on what information you're given about the issue, what other software is running, what hardware that software is running on, etc.
Most software issues start with an error message or another indication. It's here that you should start your troubleshooting process. Search for the error or symptom online and find a good troubleshooting guide that will work you through the problem.
Firmware Is Virtual: It's Software Specifically Designed for a Piece of Hardware
While not as common a term as 'hardware' or 'software,' 'firmware' is everywhere — on your smartphone, your PC's motherboard, even your TV remote control.
Firmware is just a special kind of software that serves a very narrow purpose for a piece of hardware. While you might install and uninstall software on your computer or smartphone on a regular basis, you might only rarely, if ever, update the firmware on a device and you'd probably only do so if asked to by the manufacturer, probably to fix a problem.
What About Wetware?
Wetware refers to life — you, me, dogs, cats, cows, trees — and is usually only used in reference to the technology related 'wares' we've been talking about, like hardware and software.
This term wetware is still used most often in science fiction but it's becoming an increasingly popular phrase, especially as human-machine interface technology progresses.
Computer hardware is any physical device used in or with your machine, whereas software is a collection of code installed onto your computer's hard drive. For example, the computer monitor you are using to read this text and the mouse you are using to navigate this web page are computer hardware. The Internet browser that allowed you to visit this page and the operating system that the browser is running on are considered software.
Further information and examples
All software utilizes at least one hardware device to operate. For example, a video game, which is software, uses the computer processor (CPU), memory (RAM), hard drive, and video card to run. Word processing software uses the computer processor, memory, and hard drive to create and save documents.
Hardware is what makes a computer work. A CPU processes information and that information can be stored in RAM or on a hard drive. A sound card can provide sound to speakers, and a video card can provide an image to a monitor. Each of these are examples of hardware components.
Can a computer run without software?
In most situations, yes, a computer can run without software being installed. However, if an operating system or interpreter is not found, it either generates an error or doesn't output any information. A computer needs to have at least some type of operating system that allows both the user and software to interact with the computer hardware.
Best mount and blade games. Installing programs onto the computer in addition to an operating system gives the computer additional capabilities. For example, a word processor is not required, but it allows you to create documents and letters.
Can a computer run without hardware?
Most computers require at least a display,hard drive, keyboard, memory, motherboard, processor, power supply, and video card to function properly.
Three Hardware And Software Differences PdfNote
A computer like a thin client and server could be set up to run without a display, keyboard, or hard drive.
If any of these devices are missing or malfunctioning, an error is encountered, or the computer will not start. Adding hardware such as a disc drive (e.g., CD-ROM or DVD), modem, mouse, network card, printer, sound card, or speakers are not required, but give the computer additional functionality.
Tip
Hardware that is not required by the computer is referred to as a peripheral.
Relationship Between Hardware And SoftwareAdditional information
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