Publication Details

Basic A+ Certification Prep
Price: $99.00
Business Focus: Certification Prep
Instructor: ScottJernigan
Course Code: ac1
Delivery Method: Instructor-led Online Course
Frequently Asked Questions
     
Course Overview:
Time to roll up those sleeves and dive inside the personal computer! The Basic A+ Certification Prep course teaches you about the hardware common to virtually every personal computer - including microprocessors, RAM, power supplies, motherboards, BIOS, CMOS, the expansion bus, floppy drives, and hard drives. You'll learn how things work, how to configure everything, and how to troubleshoot in real world environments. This class gives you the knowledge upon which you'll base the rest of your A+ Certification studies and helps you take that first step to becoming an excellent PC hardware technician. So what are you waiting for?!?

Note: This course covers CompTIA's requirements for the 2003 release of the A+ exams.
Instructor Biography:
With a Master of Arts degree in Medieval History, Scott Jernigan feels as much at home in the musty archives of London as he does in the warm glow of a computer monitor. Scott teaches A+ Certification and PC hardware classes around the country, including several stints at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, Lucent Technologies in Baltimore, MD, and the United Nations in New York City. Scott has also edited numerous computer books, including the best-selling All in One A+ Certification Exam Guide and the Network+ Certification Exam Guide from McGraw-Hill. Practicing what he teaches, Scott is an A+ and Network+ Certified Technician.
Course Syllabus:
Lesson 1 Syllabus Introduction, the Visible PC
Lesson 2 Syllabus Microprocessor Components and Functions
Lesson 2 Objective Get an overview of how PCs work, an introduction to the various hardware components, and a primer on opening the computer case safely.
Lesson 3 Syllabus Recent (post-386) Microprocessor Features
Lesson 3 Objective Learn the basics about the component that's often called the brain of the computer: the central processing unit.
Lesson 4 Syllabus Power Supplies and Electricity
Lesson 4 Objective Discover the more recent developments in CPU technology, and the differences among modern processors.
Lesson 5 Syllabus RAM Fundamentals
Lesson 5 Objective Learn how the PC receives, handles, and distributes electrical power, and how to avoid and correct power and heat problems.
Lesson 6 Syllabus Modern RAM
Lesson 6 Objective Find out how RAM—random access memory, the hardware that computers use as their short-term memory—works, how early PCs used it, and how to handle and install older RAM modules.
Lesson 7 Syllabus Motherboards and BIOS: System Hardware
Lesson 7 Objective Follow the evolution of RAM technologies through the latest advances, learn how to handle and install modern RAM modules, and discover strategies for troubleshooting RAM problems.
Lesson 8 Syllabus Motherboards and BIOS: Drivers and the Boot Process
Lesson 8 Objective Learn the basics about motherboards: what they contain and do, the main types that you'll encounter, and how to select and install a motherboard for your system.
Lesson 9 Syllabus Expansion Bus Essentials
Lesson 9 Objective Explore the CMOS setup program, which holds basic system settings, and the boot process that occurs when you start the computer.
Lesson 10 Syllabus Expansion Bus Developments
Lesson 10 Objective Find out how the main components of the PC communicate with other devices such as sound cards, modems, printers, and removable drives.
Lesson 11 Syllabus Mass Storage 101: Floppy Drive and Hard Drive Technologies
Lesson 11 Objective Discover the technologies that modern PCs use to communicate with their peripherals and other components.
Lesson 12 Syllabus Partitioning, Formatting, and Troubleshooting Hard Drives
Lesson 12 Objective Learn all about floppy disk drives, as well as the physical and logical structure of hard drives.