A+ Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram 220-221, Exam Cram 220-222)

by Jones, James G.; Landes, Craig; Tittel, Ed

• ISBN13: 9780789728678
• ISBN10: 0789728672
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-11-21
• Publisher: Pearson IT Certification

Summary

The "A+ Exam Cram2" is a study skill enhancement and tutorial, designed to focus on exactly what students need to get A+ certified, with coverage of exams 220-221 and 220-222. It details all the new exam objectives and items in the following areas: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT version 4.0, and Linux - baseline information.

Author Biography

James G. Jones

With more than 30 years in the information technology profession and communications industry, Jim Jones has held positions from Technician to Senior Vice President of a Fortune 500 multinational corporation. Jim has a B.S. in Education and an MBA from Michigan State University, and is also Microsoft MCSE certified, Novell CNE certified, and Cisco CCNA & CCDA certified. Additionally, Jim holds certificates in A+, network cabling, fiber optics, and microwave transmission, to name a few. Jim is the President of JGJ & Associates, a consulting firm providing executive seminars pertaining to technology, sales, and marketing, to some of the world's largest IT corporations including (among others): IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett Packard, Compaq, and Siemens. Jim has been deeply involved with the A+ program since its inception.

Craig Landes

Craig Landes has more than 18 years experience in Information Technology, and has held numerous positions from database programming to Management Information Systems in the field of health care. Craig is A+ certified, and has worked with some of today's largest consulting firms, developing technical and educational programs for clients and employees at all levels. Currently, Craig is the president of Triax Corporation, a consulting business providing freelance technical writing, help systems, and educational materials development.

Table of Contents

1. A+ Certification Tests.

Are You Certifiable? The A+ Certification Exams. The Exam Site. How to Prepare for an Exam. The Test Site. Adaptive Testing. Test Layout and Design. Questions and Linguistics. Question-Handling Strategies. Mastering the Inner Game. Multiple Response Questions. Need to Know More?

2. Motherboards.

System Boards: A Brief History. The ATX Form Factor. Summary—Form Factors. Expansion Bus Architecture. Slots and Sockets. North Bridge and South Bridge. Summary—Buses and Slot. PC Card (PCMCIA). Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

3. Memory.

Conceptual Overview. Read-Only Memory (ROM). Memory—an Analogy. Memory Buses. Cache Memory. Memory Pages. Summary—Memory. Types of RAM. Packaging Modules. Summary—Memory Modules. Memory Diagnostics—Parity. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

4. Processors.

Central Processing Unit (CPU). Processor Families. Pentium Processors. AMD Processors. Summary—Processors. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

5. Basic Electronics and Peripherals: Input Devices.

Basic Electricity. Electronic Components. Interrupt Requests (IRQs). Direct Memory Access (DMA). IRQs, DMA, and I/O Ports. Ports and IRQs. Summary—IRQs, DMAs, and Electricity. Keyboards. Mice and Trackballs. Modems. Scanners. Summary—Input Devices. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

6. Peripherals: Storage Devices.

Floppy Disks. Floppy Drive Components. Floppy Drive Configuration. Controllers. Fixed Disks/Hard Drives. Hard Drive Controllers. IDE Drives. The PCI Specification. Summary—Disk Drives. Hard Drive Configuration. Removable Media and Drives. Flash Memory. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

7. Peripherals: Output Devices.

Transient vs. Final Output. Video Displays. Standard VGA. SVGA and UVGA. Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP). Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs). Summary—Monitors. Printers. Dot Matrix. Printer Problems. Fonts. Laser Printers. Paper Feed Process. Summary—Printers. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

8. Networking.

Chaining Devices. SCSI Interface. Universal Serial Bus (USB). Plug 'n' Play (PnP). IEEE 1394. Summary—Bus Transfers. Networking Overview. Ethernet (IEEE 802.3). Token Ring (IEEE 802.5). Bridges and Routers. Summary—Network Overview. The Internet. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

9. Cables and Connectors.

Basic I/O Interfaces. Parallel (LPT) Ports: 8 Bits Across. Serial (COM) Ports: 1 Bit After Another. Summary—Standard Cables. Network Cables and Connectors. Summary—Network Cables. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

10. DOS.

Why Read This Part? Operating Systems. DOS. The Command Interpreter. COMMAND.COM. The Environment. The Path. DOS Commands. The DIR Command: File Searches. Summary—DOS. Logical Formatting and Partitions: FDISK. Primary and Extended Partitions. FORMAT.COM. File Systems. File Management. DEFRAG.EXE. File Names. Summary—Disk Management. Operating Systems vs. Shells. Batch Files. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

11. Booting, Windows 3.11, and Memory.

Booting and System Files. The CONFIG.SYS File. MSDOS.SYS. Summary—The Boot Process. Beep Codes. The Bootable Disk. Windows. Starting 16-Bit Windows. WIN.COM. Windows 3.x Core Files. Initialization (.INI) Files. PROGMAN.INI. Summary—Windows 3.x. Memory. Virtual Memory. HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE. Virtual Device Drivers (VxDs). Summary—Windows Memory. An Example CONFIG.SYS File. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

12. Windows 95, 98, and Me.

A Word of Caution. Windows 95 Introduced Changes. Windows Versions. The Registry. Components of the Registry. REGEDIT.EXE. Summary—Windows Registry. Installing Windows 95, 98, and Me. Installation Phases. Installation Log Files. Starting Windows 9x. Start Sequence. Final Steps to Loading Windows 9x. Loading Device Drivers. Summary—Start Sequence. Windows and DOS. Useful Additional Components. Startup Menu and Safe Mode. The Installable File System (IFS) Manager. Reports and Utilities. Windows 98. Utilities. Windows Me. Summary—Windows 98. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

13. Windows NT, Windows 2000, and XP.

Windows Versions. NT Architecture. NT Workstation and NT Server. The NT Registry. NT Networking. The Security Reference Monitor. Accounts and Profiles. Starting Windows NT. NT File System (NTFS). NT Disk Administration. Troubleshooting Tools. NT Error Messages. Summary—Windows NT. Windows 2000. Active Directory. Windows 2000 Diagnostics and Troubleshooting. Windows XP. Summary—Windows 2000. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

14. Troubleshooting.

Startup Function Keys. Startup Problems. The Device Manager. Windows 9x Safe Mode. Windows 2000 Safe Mode. Selective Startup (MSCONFIG.EXE). System Information. System File Checker. Diagnostics Utilities. Registry Checker (Scanregw.exe). Windows 2000 Recovery Console. System Maintenance. Boot Problems. Hardware Problems. Connectivity Problems. Viruses. Summary—Troubleshooting. Practice Questions. Need to Know More?

15. Sample Test.

The Questions. Picking the Right Answer. Confusing Questions. The Exam Framework. Begin the Exam.

16. Answer Key.
Appendix A. What's on the CD-ROM.

PrepLogic Practice Tests, Preview Edition. Exclusive Electronic Version of Text. Easy Access to Online Pointers and References.

Appendix B. Using the PrepLogic Practice Tests, Preview Edition Software.

Exam Simulation. Question Quality. Interface Design. Effective Learning Environment. Software Requirements. Installing PrepLogic Practice Tests, Preview Edition. Removing PrepLogic Practice Tests, Preview Edition from Your Computer. Using PrepLogic Practice Tests, Preview Edition. Starting a Practice Test Mode Session. Starting a Flash Review Mode Session. Standard PrepLogic Practice Tests, Preview Edition Options. Time Remaining. Your Examination Score Report. Review Your Exam. Get More Exams. Contacting PrepLogic. Customer Service. Product Suggestions and Comments. License Agreement.

Acronym Glossary.
Index.