7. Network cards

A network card is needed if the computer does not have a built-in network chip on its motherboard. But almost all modern computers now come with a built-in chip so there is little need for a separate card to be installed.

There may be no room for a network socket on the device, for example tablet computers are simply too thin - in which case you can expect a Wi-Fi connection to be available.

The picture above shows a network socket that connects to an internal network chip in the laptop. Notice the tiny green LED on the right of the socket. This flickers off and on as data flows, which confirms that the network connection is fine. There is an orange LED on the left that lights if there is no network connection and yet a network cable is connected to it.