To turn on the computer, press the power button on the front of the CPU. The power button has this symbol. Depress the button and the computer will begin to boot up. The term boot up refers to the loading of the operating system and other basic software. The procedure also determines what peripheral devices are connected to the computer.
Other Equipment
The monitor must also be powered along with any other peripheral devices (such as a printer or scanner), other than the keyboard and mouse. The keyboard and mouse receive power from the CPU.
Lights on the Front
Green lights indicate that the power is on and the equipment is running.
Orange lights indicate that the equipment is in a low-power or sleep mode. The equipment is still on but not running.
Note: Computers should be plugged into a surge protector (suppressor) or UPS (uninterruptible power supply). A surge protector protects the computer from power surges that can occur in electrical lines. An UPS has a battery that will maintain power for a period of time in the event of a power outage. This enables the user to shut the computer down properly before the discontinuation of power from the source.