A+ Certification

Introduction

If you have bought or are considering buying this book, you probably fit one of the following categories:

l You know how valuable A+ Certification is to a professional personal computer (PC) technician's career and advancement. l You're wondering just what A+ Certification is all about. l You think that reading this book may be a fun, entertaining way to learn about computer hardware

maintenance and repair.

l You love all … For Dummies books and wait impatiently for each new one to come out. l You're a big fan of mine and can't wait to read all of my new books.

Well, if you fit any of the first four scenarios, this is the book for you! However, I'm not certified in the appropriate medical areas to help you if you are in the last category!

If you're already aware of the A+ Certified Computer Technician program and are just looking for an excellent study aid, you can skip the next few sections of this introduction because your search is over. However, if you don't have the foggiest idea of what A+ Certification is, how it can benefit you, or how to prepare for it, read on!

Why Use This Book?

With over 20 years and layer upon layer of microcomputer hardware and software technology to study, even the most knowledgeable technician needs help getting ready for the A+ exams. This book is intended to shorten your preparation time for the A+ exams.

This book is a no-nonsense reference and study guide for the A+ Core Hardware exam (test #220-201) and the OS (Operating Systems) Technologies exam (test #220-202). It focuses on the areas likely to be on the exam, plus it provides background information to help you understand some of the more complex concepts and technologies. The concepts, processes, and applications on the exams are presented in this book in step-by-step lists, tables, and figures without long explanations. The focus is on preparing you for the A+ exams, not on my obviously extensive and impressive knowledge of computer technology (nor on my modesty, I might add). This book will not provide you with an in-depth background on PC hardware and software. It will, however, prepare you to take the A+ Core Hardware and OS Technologies exams. In developing this book, I made two assumptions:

l You have knowledge of electronics, computers, software, networking, troubleshooting procedures, and customer relations, and need a study guide for the exams. l You have limited knowledge of electronics, computer hardware, and the processes used to repair,
maintain, and upgrade PCs and could use a little refresher on the basics along with a review and
study guide for the exams. If my assumptions in either case suit your needs, then this book is for you.

How This Book Is Organized

This book is organized so that you can study a specific area without wading through stuff you may already know. I recommend that you skim the whole book at least once, noting the points raised at the icons. Each part and chapter of the book is independent, and can be studied in any order, which should be helpful for your last-minute-cram before the exam. The following sections tell you what I include between the covers of this book.

Part I: First, Some Fundamentals

Part I begins with an overview of what to study for the A+ exam and other general information about taking the exam. It also presents background information on the concepts of electricity, electronics, and numbering systems. And finally, Part I covers the tools used in computer maintenance with an emphasis on electrostatic discharge protection and prevention.

Part II: Keeping the Smoke in the Box

Part II takes you down into the wonderful, incredible world of the motherboard and other electronic field replaceable modules (FRMs) found inside the case. This section is chock-full of information about the motherboard, memory, bus structures, power supply, disk drives, and other components found inside the case. Also covered in this part are the processes used to install, remove, troubleshoot, optimize, and upgrade these components.
Part III: Getting Data In, Out, and All About

You need to know about interfacing input, output, printers, and serial, parallel, USB, and FireWire connections, plus networking and data communications for the A+ Core Hardware exam.
Part IV: Putting the Hard in Hardware

Part IV has everything you need to know about the tools and best practices to use for repairing, maintaining, and configuring PC hardware. Read about disassembling and reassembling the PC, performing preventive maintenance, and the processes used to troubleshoot problems on the PC.

Part V: The Softer Side of Systems

This part of the book is focused on the A+ OS Technologies exam. The coverage includes installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and the comparative features of the various Windows operating systems (MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows 2000 Server).

Part VI: The Part of Tens
This section provides additional motivation and study guides to help get you ready for the test, with advice about making sure that you're ready to take the test. This part also includes a list of ten great Web sites that offer study aids and practice tests.

Studying Chapters

A+ Certification For Dummies , 2nd Edition offers a self-paced method of preparing for the exam. You don't have to guess what to study; every chapter that covers exam objectives guides you with preview questions, detailed coverage, and review questions. This step-by-step structure identifies what you need to study, gives you all the facts, and rechecks what you know. The structure is as follows

l First page: Each chapter starts with a preview of what's to come, including exam objectives and study subjects. Not sure that you know all about the objectives and the subjects in a chapter? Keep going.

l Quick Assessment questions: At the beginning of each chapter is a brief self-assessment test that helps you gauge your knowledge of the topics that chapter covers. Take this test to determine which areas you already understand as well as to determine which areas you need to focus on.

l Labs: Labs are included throughout the book to step you through some of the processes you need to know for the exam, such as installation or configuration of a particular component.

l Prep Tests: The Prep Tests at the end of each chapter gauges your understanding of the chapter's content. These Prep Test questions are structured in the same manner as those you may see onyour exam, so be sure to try your hand at these sample questions.
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