A+ Guide to Hardware : Managing, Maintaining, and Troubleshooting

by Andrews,Jean

• ISBN13: 9780619217624
• ISBN10: 0619217626
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-12
• Publisher: Cengage Learning

Summary

Written by best-selling author and instructor Jean Andrews, this edition maps fully to the 2006 A+ Exams. This full-color guide is designed to be the most complete, step-by-step book available for learning the fundamentals of supporting and troubleshooting computer hardware. Video clips are available on the accompanying CD so readers can watch the author bring concepts and technical topics to life via live demonstrations.

Table of Contents

CompTIA A+ Essential 2006 Examination Objectives	p. vii
CompTIA A+ 220-602 2006 Examination Objectives	p. xix
CompTIA A+ 220-603 2006 Examination Objectives	p. xxvii
CompTIA A+ 220-604 2006 Examination Objectives	p. xxxiv
Introduction	p. xxxix
Hardware Needs Software to Work	p. 1
Hardware Needs Software to Work	p. 2
PC Hardware Components	p. 3
Hardware Used for Input and Output	p. 4
Hardware Inside the Computer Case	p. 7
The Motherboard	p. 8
The Processor and the Chipset	p. 10
Storage Devices	p. 11
Motherboard Components Used for Communication Among Devices	p. 18
Interface (Expansion) Cards	p. 23
The Electrical System	p. 24
Instructions Stored on the Motherboard and Other Boards	p. 26
PC Repair Fundamentals	p. 35
PC Support Technician Tools	p. 36
Recovery CDs	p. 37
Loop-back Plugs	p. 38
Cleaning Pads and Solutions	p. 38
Post Diagnostic Cards	p. 40
Personal Computer Preventive Maintenance	p. 40
When a PC Is Your Permanent Responsibility	p. 41
Creating a Preventive Maintenance Plan	p. 45
Dealing with Dust	p. 47
Preparing a Computer for Shipping	p. 48
Disposing of Used Equipment	p. 49
How to Work Inside a Computer Case	p. 49
Static Electricity	p. 50
Steps to Take apart a Computer	p. 54
Steps to Put a Computer Back Together	p. 64
Understanding the Boot Process	p. 66
Booting a Computer	p. 66
Choosing Between a Hard Boot and a Soft Boot	p. 66
The Startup BIOS Controls the Beginning of the Boot	p. 67
Changing the Boot Sequence	p. 71
How to Troubleshoot a PC Problem	p. 72
Steps to Solving a PC Problem	p. 73
Troubleshooting a Failed Boot	p. 78
My Computer Won't Boot	p. 78
Troubleshooting Major Subsystems Used for Booting	p. 79
Form Factors and Power Supplies	p. 89
Computer Case, Motherboard, and Power Supply Form Factors	p. 90
Types of Form Factors	p. 91
Types of Cases	p. 98
Measures and Properties of Electricity	p. 101
AC and DC	p. 101
Hot, Neutral, and Ground	p. 102
Some Common Electronic Components	p. 104
Protecting Your Computer System	p. 106
Static Electricity	p. 107
EMI (Electromagnetic Interference)	p. 107
Surge Protection and Battery Backup	p. 107
Surge Suppressors	p. 108
Energy Star Systems (The Green Star)	p. 111
Power-Management Methods and Features	p. 112
Energy Star Monitors	p. 114
Troubleshooting the Electrical System	p. 115
Problems with External Power	p. 115
Problems with Loose Internal Connections	p. 116
Problems That Come and Go	p. 116
Problems with an Inadequate Power Supply	p. 117
Problems with the Power Supply, Boards, or Drives	p. 117
Problems with the Power Supply Fan	p. 117
Power Problems with the Motherboard	p. 118
Problems with Overheating	p. 118
Replacing the Power Supply	p. 121
Processors and Chipsets	p. 129
Processors	p. 130
How a Processor Works	p. 131
The Intel Processors	p. 138
AMD Processors	p. 142
VIA and Cyrix Processors	p. 144
Processor Sockets and Slots	p. 148
The Chipset	p. 150
Heat Sinks and Cooling Fans	p. 153
Installing a Processor	p. 157
Voltage to the Processor	p. 157
CPU Voltage Regulator	p. 158
Installing a Pentium II in Slot 1	p. 159
Installing a Pentium 4 in Socket 478	p. 162
Installing a Pentium 4 in Socket 775	p. 164
Chapter 5	p. 175
Selecting a Motherboard	p. 176
Configuring and Supporting a Motherboard	p. 181
Buses and Expansion Slots	p. 181
Hardware Configuration	p. 188
Flashing ROM BIOS	p. 199
Motherboard Drivers	p. 202
Replacing a Motherboard	p. 202
Preparing the Motherboard to Go into the Case	p. 204
Installing the Motherboard in the Case	p. 205
Completing the Installation	p. 210
Troubleshooting the Motherboard and Processor	p. 210
Problems with Installations	p. 211
Problems with the Motherboard and Processor	p. 212
Upgrading Memory	p. 221
RAM Technologies	p. 222
SIMM Technologies	p. 225
DIMM Technologies	p. 225
RIMM Technologies	p. 227
Error Checking and Parity	p. 228
CAS Latency and RAS Latency	p. 229
Tin or Gold Leads	p. 230
Memory Speeds	p. 230
How to Upgrade Memory	p. 231
How Much and What Kind of Memory to Buy	p. 231
Installing Memory	p. 241
Troubleshooting Memory	p. 243
Upgrade Problems	p. 243
Recurring Problems	p. 244
Hard Drives	p. 249
Learning from Floppy Drives	p. 250
How Floppy Drives Work	p. 250
How to Install a Floppy Drive	p. 255
How Hard Drives Work	p. 257
Tracks and Sectors on the Drive	p. 259
Low-Level Formatting	p. 260
Calculating Drive Capacity on Older Drives	p. 261
Drive Capacity for Today's Drives	p. 262
Hard Drive Interface Standards	p. 262
The ATA Interface Standards	p. 262
SCSI Technology	p. 272
Other Interface Standards	p. 274
Selecting and Installing a Hard Drive	p. 276
How to Select a Hard Drive	p. 276
Installations Using Legacy BIOS	p. 277
Steps to Install a Parallel ATA Hard Drive	p. 278
Serial ATA Hard Drive Installations	p. 291
Installing a Hard Drive in a Wide Bay	p. 293
Troubleshooting Hard Drives	p. 294
Problems with Hard Drive Installations	p. 294
How to Approach a Hard Drive Problem After the Installation	p. 295
Hard Drive Hardware Problems	p. 297
Troubleshooting Floppy Drives and Disks	p. 303
Installing and Supporting I/O Devices	p. 309
Basic Principles to Support I/O Devices	p. 310
Working with Keyboards	p. 311
How Keyboard Keys Work	p. 312
Keyboard Connectors	p. 312
Installing Keyboards	p. 314
Cleaning the Keyboard	p. 314
The Mouse and Other Pointing Devices	p. 314
Mouse Technologies	p. 315
Cleaning a Mouse	p. 317
Touch Screens	p. 317
Other Pointing Devices	p. 318
Specialty Input Devices	p. 318
Barcode Readers	p. 318
Fingerprint Readers and Other Biometric Devices	p. 319
Monitors, Projectors, and Video Cards	p. 322
Monitors	p. 322
Using a Projector	p. 330
Video Cards	p. 331
Using Ports and Expansion Slots for Add-On Devices	p. 341
Using Serial Ports	p. 342
Infrared Transceivers	p. 346
Using Parallel Ports	p. 347
Using USB Ports	p. 349
Using IEEE 1394 Ports	p. 355
Installing and Supporting Expansion Cards	p. 358
Troubleshooting I/O Devices	p. 366
Troubleshooting Keyboards	p. 367
Troubleshooting a Touch Screen	p. 368
Troubleshooting a Mouse or touchpad	p. 368
Troubleshooting Monitors and Video Cards	p. 369
Multimedia Devices and Mass Storage	p. 381
Multimedia on a PC	p. 382
CPU Technologies for Multimedia	p. 382
Sound Cards and Onboard Sound	p. 382
Digital Cameras and Flash Memory Devices	p. 393
Web Cameras and Microphones	p. 396
MP3 Players	p. 398
MIDI Devices	p. 401
TV Tuner and Video Capture Cards	p. 402
Optical Storage Technology	p. 406
Using CDs	p. 406
Using DVDs	p. 414
Caring for Optical Drives and Discs	p. 417
Hardware Used for Backups and Fault Tolerance	p. 419
Tape Drives	p. 420
Removable Drives	p. 425
Fault Tolerance, Dynamic Volumes, and Raid	p. 428
Troubleshooting Multimedia Devices	p. 432
Problems with CD, CD-RW, DVD, or DVD-RW Installation	p. 432
Problems When Burning a CD	p. 432
Troubleshooting Sound Problems	p. 433
Troubleshooting Tape Drives	p. 435
PCs on a Network	p. 443
Physical Network Architectures	p. 444
Sizes of Networks	p. 444
Networking Technologies	p. 444
Additional Terms Used in Networking	p. 447
Introducing Ethernet	p. 448
Wireless Networks	p. 457
Telephone Networks	p. 461
Token Ring and FDDI	p. 464
Windows on a Network	p. 466
Four Suites of Protocols	p. 466
Addressing on a Network	p. 468
Installing a NIC and Connecting to a Network	p. 471
Installing a NIC Using Windows 2000/XP	p. 472
Installing a NIC Using Windows 9x/Me	p. 478
Installing a Wireless Adapter in a Notebook	p. 481
How to Set Up Your Own Wireless Network	p. 492
Security on a Wireless LAN	p. 492
Choosing a Wireless Access Point	p. 493
Configure and Test Your Wireless Network	p. 494
Troubleshooting a Network Connection	p. 497
Notebooks, Tablet PCs, and PDAs	p. 507
Supporting Notebooks	p. 508
Tips for Buying a Notebook	p. 508
Special Considerations When Servicing Notebooks	p. 509
Caring for Notebooks	p. 517
Connecting Peripheral Devices to Notebooks	p. 527
Replacing and Upgrading Internal Parts	p. 539
Three Approaches to Dealing with a Broken Internal Device	p. 539
Upgrading Memory	p. 542
Replacing a Hard Drive	p. 546
Replacing the LCD Panel	p. 549
Replacing a Mini PCI Card	p. 556
Other Field Replaceable Units for Notebooks	p. 557
Troubleshooting Notebooks	p. 558
Problems with the Power System	p. 558
Problems with Video	p. 560
A Notebook Gets Wet	p. 562
The Notebook Is Dropped	p. 562
Protecting and Retrieving Data	p. 562
More Errors and What to Do About Them	p. 563
Online Resources for Troubleshooting Notebooks	p. 565
Surveying Tablet PCs	p. 565
Surveying PDAs	p. 568
Battery Life on a PDA	p. 569
Applications on a PDA	p. 570
Connecting a PDA to a PC	p. 570
PDA Manufacturers and Operating Systems	p. 571
Supporting Printers and Scanners	p. 577
How Printers and Scanners Work	p. 578
Laser Printers	p. 578
Inkjet Printers	p. 583
Dot Matrix Printers	p. 585
Thermal Printers and Solid Ink Printers	p. 585
Introducing Scanners	p. 587
Installing and Sharing a Printer	p. 590
Installing a Local Printer	p. 590
Sharing a Printer with Others in a Workgroup	p. 594
Maintaining Printers and Scanners	p. 601
Printer Languages	p. 601
Using Windows to Manage Printers	p. 602
Routine Printer Maintenance	p. 606
Supporting Scanners	p. 613
Troubleshooting Printers and Scanners	p. 617
Printer Does Not Print	p. 618
Problems with Laser Printers	p. 623
Problems with Inkjet Printers	p. 625
Problems with Dot Matrix Printers	p. 627
Troubleshooting Scanners	p. 627
How an OS Uses System Resources	p. 635
Interrupt Request Number (IRQ)	p. 636
Memory Addresses	p. 640
I/O Addresses	p. 641
DMA Channels	p. 642
Electricity and Multimeters	p. 643
Electricity: A Basic Introduction	p. 644
Voltage	p. 645
Amps	p. 646
Ohms	p. 647
Wattage	p. 647
Measuring the Voltage of a Power Supply	p. 648
Using a Multimeter	p. 648
How to Measure the Voltage of a Power Supply	p. 650
Practicing Measuring the Output of Your Power Supply	p. 655
Appendix C	p. 657
All About SCSI	p. 658
Signaling Methods Used on SCSI Cables	p. 658
Connectors Used with SCSI Cables	p. 660
Termination	p. 662
SCSI-1, SCSI-2, and SCSI-3	p. 663
Using ISA Expansion Slots	p. 664
Using Legacy Drivers	p. 667
Disassembling a Notebook	p. 669
Disassembling an Older ThinkPad	p. 670
Disassembling a Newer Dell Notebook	p. 674
CompTIA A+ Acronyms	p. 679
Glossary	p. 687
Index	p. 717
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