What is the difference between internal and external components?
Internal components are devices that are either built-in to the motherboard of the computer, added in on an expansion card, or a device attached to the motherboard by way of ribbon cables. External devices are added to the computer system by plugging them into one of the ports on the back of the computer. Sound cards are always internal devices and scanners are always external devices, while modems and CD-ROM drives can be either internal or external. Modems are sometimes easier to use if they are external because you can physically turn them off to reset them.
