NOS-ITC8205 - Basic CompTIA A+ Certification Prep

Course Description

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dive inside your personal computer! The CompTIA A+ Certification Prep 1: Hardware course is the first of three CompTIA courses you will need to take to successfully prepare for your A+ certification. It teaches you about the hardware common to nearly every personal computer, including microprocessors, RAM, power supplies, motherboards, UEFI/BIOS, the system setup utility, the expansion bus, and input/output devices.

Throughout our CompTIA A+ prep course, you will learn techniques every tech masters for building and troubleshooting all sorts of computers, plus get the inside scoop on how techs work within the enterprise. This computer hardware course also gives you the base knowledge needed to continue your CompTIA A+ certification studies for the 220-1101 and 220-1102 exams.

Course Outline

Lesson 01 - The Art of the Tech

• In Lesson 1, we'll introduce you to the course and to the CompTIA A+ certification, and then move right into essential information for every tech. You'll get the scoop on how the many components of the personal computer work together. We'll discuss how professional techs behave and interact with clients. And we'll finish with a tried-and-true troubleshooting methodology that will apply to all tech situations.

Lesson 02 - Desktop PC Basics

• In Lesson 2, we'll take a tour of a desktop PC, starting with the exterior connectors. We'll go into details of the interior devices as well. Our goal is to begin teaching proper tech terminology and familiarize you with standard computer components. You'll also learn about some common computer roles, so you can better understand why desktop PCs are used in both homes and businesses.

Lesson 03 - Laptop PC Basics

• This lesson looks at the ways laptops differ from desktops. You'll learn about laptop hardware, including a variety of support devices such as docking stations and port replicators. You'll find out how to manage laptop power and battery life and how to protect, maintain, and troubleshoot laptops.

Lesson 04 - Maintenance and Safety Precautions

• In this lesson we dive into the important safety techniques that every good tech absolutely needs to know. These range from how to clean a computer to methods to avoid tech-induced damage to how to dispose of old parts safely.

Lesson 05 - Central Processing Units and RAM

• In this lesson, we'll deliver the goods on central processing units, the core processing component in every PC. We'll explain variations in technology and then give practical information and advice on installing and troubleshooting CPUs. Plus, we'll dig into the details of one of the foundations of the computer: RAM. With RAM, the CPU can make magic happen. Without it? Literally nothing can happen. You'll learn about the different varieties of RAM and proper techniques for installing it. Then, we'll wrap up the lesson with troubleshooting RAM and memory problems.

Lesson 06 - Motherboards and Cases

• In this lesson, we'll teach you about the essential programming that makes computers function, what's called the BIOS or UEFI. Plus, you'll learn about the special tools we use for storing configuration options for BIOS and UEFI. It's awesome stuff! We'll also teach you all about motherboards, the bedrock of every PC. You'll learn form factors, types of expansion slots, and installation steps for expansion cards. In this lesson, we'll also cover upgrading, installing, and troubleshooting motherboards.

Lesson 07 - Powering the PC

• Today, we'll introduce you to power supplies and the basics of powering a PC. You'll learn about how electricity gets from your wall outlet into your PC, along with how to test that electricity. We'll teach you about the many power supply standards and how to install one inside your PC. Finally, we'll discuss how to troubleshoot a power supply with problems.

Lesson 08 - Input Devices

• In this lesson, you'll learn about devices that enable you to input data into your computer. We'll discuss standard input devices (like keyboards and mice) and multimedia devices (like digital cameras and webcams). We'll also teach you about connecting those devices to your computers using connectors like USB and Thunderbolt.

Lesson 09 - Storage Technologies

• Today, we'll dig into storage technologies, including traditional hard disk drives and modern solid-state drives. You'll also learn how to install storage devices of several interface types, including SATA and M.2. We'll also explain the fundamentals of troubleshooting storage devices.

Lesson 10 - Working with Storage Devices

• In Lesson 10, you'll learn how to prepare a storage device such as a hard disk drive or solid-state drive for use by an operating system. We'll teach you about partitioning and formatting. We'll also cover maintaining your data using several included Windows utilities.

Lesson 11 - Removable Media and RAID

• In this lesson, you'll explore various forms of mass storage that you can take with you, such as USB flash media, memory cards, optical drives, and external drives. You'll also discover how RAID arrays improve storage performance and/or reliability.

Lesson 12 - Operational Procedures

• As we wrap up the course, you'll learn about all the other stuff that goes into making IT work, such as documentation, change management, ticketing systems, and disaster prevention and recovery.

Notes

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online. There are twelve lessons in the course, and two lessons are released each week on Wednesdays and Fridays. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.