Start preparing for CompTIA A+ certification as you learn PC basics and troubleshoot in a real world PC environment.Time to roll up those sleeves and dive inside the personal computer. The Basic CompTIA A+ Certification Prep course teaches you about the hardware common to virtually every personal computer, including microprocessors, RAM, power supplies, motherboards, UEFI/BIOS, the system setup utility, the expansion bus, and input/output devices. You will learn how things work, how to configure everything, and how to troubleshoot in real-world environments. This course gives you the knowledge to base the rest of your CompTIA A+ certification studies for the 220-901 and 220-902 exams.
Requirements:
Hardware Requirements:
- This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.
- It's also recommended that you have a PC that you can take apart and put back together again. Because of the dangers of electro-static discharge (to the machine, not the student), you are not required to tear apart your own primary computer. This is, however, a class that trains you to be a hardware technician - having a machine to play with greatly helps your learning.
Software Requirements:
- PC: Windows 8 or later.
- Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
- Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
- Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.
Other:
- Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.
Start preparing for CompTIA A+ certification as you learn PC basics and troubleshoot in a real world PC environment.The Art of the Tech
The first lesson introduces the course and the CompTIA A+ certification. Get familiar with the how the components of a personal computer work together and how tech professional interact with clients. Finish with a tried-and-true troubleshooting methodology that applies to all tech situations.
The Visible Computer
Take a tour of the PC, starting with the exterior connectors. This lesson goes into details of the interior devices as well. The goal is to understand proper tech terminology and standard computer components.
Maintenance and Safety Precautions
Dive into the important safety techniques that every good tech absolutely needs to know. These techniques range from cleaning a computer to dispose of old parts safely.
Central Processing Units
Explore the importance of central processing units, the core processing component in every PC. You will learn the variations in technology, practical information and practice installing and troubleshooting CPUs.
RAM
Dig into the details of a foundational computer component — RAM. You will learn about the different varieties of RAM and proper techniques for installing it. Then, wrap up the lesson by troubleshooting RAM and memory problems.
BIOS/UEFI
This lesson focuses on the BIOS or UEFI, essential programming that makes computers function. You will learn about the special tools used for storing configuration options for BIOS and UEFI.
Motherboards and Cases
This lesson is all about motherboards, the bedrock of every PC. Understand form factors, types of expansion slots, and installation steps for expansion cards. This lesson also covers upgrading, installing, and troubleshooting motherboards.
Powering the PC
This lesson focuses on power supplies and the basics of powering a PC. You will learn about how electricity gets from your wall outlet into your PC, along with how to test that electricity. The goal is to understand power supply standards, how to install one inside your PC, and how to troubleshoot power supply problems.
Input Devices
Get to know the devices that enable you to input data into your computer. This lesson explores standard input devices (like keyboards and mice) and multimedia devices (like digital cameras and webcams). You will also learn about connecting those devices to computer using connectors like USB and FireWire.
Hard Drive Technologies
Dig into hard drive technologies, including traditional hard disk drives and modern solid-state drives. In this lesson, you will learn the fundamentals of protecting data with RAID technology. The goal is to understand how to install hard drives and how to troubleshoot bad drives.
Implementing Hard Drives
This lesson will teach you how to prepare a hard drive for use by an operating system. You will also learn about maintaining your data using several included Windows utilities and partitioning and formatting a hard drive.
Removable Media
To wrap up the course, you will learn about the various forms of removable media. This final lesson teaches you about older formats like tape drives, flash media like USB thumb drives and memory cards, and about optical media like DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and external drives.