Installing Hardware
This website will be about Insatlling Hardware course
called South Thames college Merton campus in Wandsworth London UK
South Thames College provides facilities for over 21,000 students over four London-based campuses in Wandsworth, Merton, Tooting and Roehampton. Across these campuses, their facilities include a sports hall, performance theatre, hair and beauty salons, CAD offices, electronics labs and workshops for engineering, motorcycle maintenance and musical instrument making.
Aim and purpose
The aim of this unit is to introduce learners to the process of software installation to enable them to install and
test software.
Unit introduction
Installing software is a typical part of the day-to-day work of an IT support technician. For example, installing
a new applications software package, upgrading an existing item of software to the latest version or loading
software to support a new peripheral such as a printer.
Installation of software is not often a complicated task. Software manufacturers have worked hard to make the
installation of their products as easy as possible but there are still important procedures that the professional IT
technician needs to be aware of. For example, before the software is installed the suitability of the computer
hardware needs to be checked and the licensing rules of the software should also be reviewed to ensure they
are not being broken.
The software itself can be loaded onto the computer using a number of methods, including by CD or DVD.
Many software products can be downloaded over the internet and installed without physical media, or now
in the case of many mobile devices, downloaded and installed by a synchronisation application such as iTunes.
This technique may involve additional tasks such as unzipping files or making a backup of the downloaded
software. Downloading software from the internet may have potentially damaging repercussions so should be
carried out with care.
Having installed the software, learners will need to confirm that the installation has been successful and the
software works as it should, including user testing.
Once the software is installed there are a number of tasks that should be carried out; the software will
probably need to be registered, so that the manufacturer can supply additional information, updates and
support; the software medium itself must be stored correctly along with any additional supporting information,
such as license keys and instructions; log or work sheets should be completed.
On completion of this unit learners should be able to complete a software installation or upgrade, including
preparing for the installation, installing the software and completing the required tasks following the installation.
