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CompTIA A+ Core Hardware Service Technician
EXAM CODE-220-221
Objectives
Installation, Configuration and Upgrading =30%
Diagnosing and Troubleshooting=30%
Preventative Maintenance=5%
Motherboard/Processors/Memory=15%
Printers=10%
Basic Networking=10%
Domain 1.0 Installation, Configuration, and Upgrading
This domain requires the knowledge and skills to identify, install, configure,
and upgrade microcomputer
modules and peripherals, following established basic procedures for system
assembly and disassembly of
field replaceable modules. Elements included are listed below with each test
objective.
1.1 Identify basic terms, concepts, and functions of system modules,
including how each module should work during normal operation and during the
boot process.
Examples of concepts and modules are:
- System board
- Power supply
- Processor /CPU
- Memory
- Storage devices
- Monitor
- Modem
- Firmware
- BIOS
- CMOS
- LCD (portable systems)
- Ports
- PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
1.2 Identify basic procedures for adding and removing field replaceable
modules for both desktop and portable systems.
Examples of modules:
- System board
- Storage device
- Power supply
- Processor /CPU
- Memory
- Input devices
- Hard drive
- Keyboard
- Video board
- Mouse
- Network Interface Card (NIC)
Portable system components
AC adapter
Digital Camera
DC controller
LCD panel
PC Card
Pointing Devices
1.3 Identify available IRQs, DMAs, and I/O addresses and procedures for
device installation and configuration.
Content may include the following:
- Standard IRQ settings
- Modems
- Floppy drive controllers
- Hard drive controllers
- USB ports
- Infrared ports
- Hexidecimal/Addresses
1.4 Identify common peripheral ports, associated cabling, and their
connectors.
Content may include the following:
- Cable types
- Cable orientation
- Serial versus parallel
- Pin connections
Examples of types of connectors:
- DB-9
- DB-25
- RJ-11
- RJ-45
- BNC
- PS2/MINI-DIN
- USB
- IEEE 1394
1.5 Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring IDE/EIDE
devices.
Content may include the following:
- Master/Slave
- Devices per channel
- Primary/Secondary
1.6 Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring SCSI devices.
Content may include the following:
- Address/Termination conflicts
- Cabling
- Types (example: regular, wide, ultra-wide)
- Internal versus external
- Expansion slots, EISA, ISA, PCI
- Jumper block settings (binary equivalents)
1.7 Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring peripheral
devices.
Content may include the following:
- Monitor/Video Card
- Modem
- USB peripherals and hubs
- IEEE 1284
- IEEE 1394
- External storage
Portables
Docking stations
PC cards
Port replicators
Infrared devices
1.8 Identify hardware methods of upgrading system performance, procedures for
replacing basic subsystem components, unique components and when to use them.
Content may include the following:
- Memory
- Hard Drives
- CPU
- Upgrading BIOS
- When to upgrade BIOS
Portable Systems
Battery
Hard Drive
Types I, II, III cards
Memory
Domain 2.0 Diagnosing and Troubleshooting
This domain requires the ability to apply knowledge relating to diagnosing and
troubleshooting common module problems and system malfunctions. This includes
knowledge of the symptoms relating to common problems.
Content Limits
2.1 Identify common symptoms and problems associated with each module and how
to troubleshoot and isolate the problems.
Content may include the following:
- Processor/Memory symptoms
- Mouse
- Floppy drive
- Parallel ports
- Hard Drives
- CD-ROM
- DVD
- Sound Card/Audio
- Monitor/Video
- Motherboards
- Modems
- BIOS
- USB
- NIC
- CMOS
- Power supply
- Slot covers
- POST audible/visual error codes
- Troubleshooting tools, e.g., multimeter
- Large LBA, LBA
- Cables
- Keyboard
- Peripherals
2.2 Identify basic troubleshooting procedures and how to elicit problem
symptoms from customers.
Content may include the following:
- Troubleshooting/isolation/problem determination procedures
- Determine whether hardware or software problem
- Gather information from user regarding, e.g.,
- Customer Environment
- Symptoms/Error Codes
- Situation when the problem occurred
Domain 3.0 Preventive Maintenance
This domain requires the knowledge of safety and preventive maintenance. With
regard to safety, it includes the potential hazards to personnel and equipment
when working with lasers, high voltage equipment, ESD, and items that require
special disposal procedures that comply with environmental guidelines. With
regard to preventive maintenance, this includes knowledge of preventive
maintenance products, procedures, environmental hazards, and precautions when
working on microcomputer systems.
Content Limits
3.1 Identify the purpose of various types of preventive maintenance products
and procedures and when to use them.
Content may include the following:
- Liquid cleaning compounds
- Types of materials to clean contacts and connections
- Non-static vacuums (chasis, power supplies, fans)
3.2 Identify issues, procedures and devices for protection within the
computing environment, including people, hardware and the surrounding workspace.
Content may include the following:
- UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) and suppressors
- Determining the signs of power issues
- Proper methods of storage of components for future use
- Potential hazards and proper safety procedures relating Lasers
- High-voltage equipment
- Power supply
- CRT
Special disposal procedures that comply with environmental guidelines.
Batteries
CRTs
Toner kits/cartridges
Chemical solvents and cans
MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)
ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) precautions and procedures
What ESD can do, how it may be apparent, or hidden
Common ESD protection devices
Situations that could present a danger or hazard
Domain 4.0 Motherboard/Processors/Memory
This domain requires knowledge of specific terminology, facts, ways and means of
dealing with classifications, categories and principles of motherboards,
processors, and memory in microcomputer systems.
Content Limits
4.1 Distinguish between the popular CPU chips in terms of their basic
characteristics.
Content may include the following:
- Popular CPU chips (Intel, AMD, Cyrix)
- Characteristics
- Physical size
- Voltage
- Speeds
- On board cache or not
- Sockets
- SEC (Single Edge Contact)
4.2 Identify the categories of RAM (Random Access Memory) terminology, their
locations, and physical characteristics.
Content may include the following:
- Terminology:
- EDO RAM (Extended Data Output RAM)
- DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)
- SRAM (Static RAM)
- RIMM (Rambus Inline Memory Module 184 Pin)
- VRAM (Video RAM)
- SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM)
- WRAM (Windows Accelerator Card RAM)
- Locations and physical characteristics:
- Memory bank
- Memory chips (8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit)
- SIMMS (Single In-line Memory Module)
- DIMMS (Dual In-line Memory Module)
- Parity chips versus non-parity chips
4.3 Identify the most popular type of motherboards, their components, and
their architecture (bus structures and power supplies).
Content may include the following:
- Types of motherboards:
- AT (Full and Baby)
- ATX
- Components:
- Communication ports
- SIMM and DIMM
- Processor sockets
- External cache memory (Level 2)
- Bus Architecture
- ISA
- PCI
- AGP
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- VESA local bus (VL-Bus)
- Basic compatibility guidelines
- IDE (ATA, ATAPI, ULTRA-DMA, EIDE)
- SCSI (Wide, Fast, Ultra, LVD(Low Voltage Differential))
4.4 Identify the purpose of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor),
what it contains and how to change its basic parameters.
Example Basic CMOS Settings:
- Printer parallel port-Uni., bi-directional, disable/enable, ECP, EPP
- COM/serial port-memory address, interrupt request, disable
- Floppy drive-enable/disable drive or boot, speed, density
- Hard drive-size and drive type
- Memory-parity, non-parity
- Boot sequence
- Date/Time
- Passwords
- Plug & Play BIOS
Domain 5.0 Printers
This domain requires knowledge of basic types of printers, basic concepts, and
printer components, how they work, how they print onto a page, paper path, care
and service techniques, and common problems.
Content Limits
5.1 Identify basic concepts, printer operations and printer components.
Content may include the following:
- Paper feeder mechanisms
- Types of Printers
- Laser
- Inkjet
- Dot Matrix
Types of printer connections and configurations
- Parallel
- Network
- USB
- Infrared
- Serial
5.2 Identify care and service techniques and common problems with primary
printer types.
Content may include the following:
- Feed and output
- Errors (printed or displayed)
- Paper jam
- Print quality
- Safety precautions
- Preventive maintenance
Domain 6.0 Basic Networking
This domain requires knowledge of basic network concepts and terminology,
ability to determine whether a computer is networked, knowledge of procedures
for swapping and configuring network interface cards, and knowledge of the
ramifications of repairs when a computer is networked. The scope of this topic
is specific to hardware issues on the desktop and connecting it to a network.
Content Limits
6.1 Identify basic networking concepts, including how a network works and the
ramifications of repairs on the network.
Content may include the following:
- Installing and configuring network cards
- Network access
- Full-duplex, half-duplex
- Cabling-Twisted Pair, Coaxial, Fiber Optic, RS-232
- Ways to network a PC
- Physical Network topographies
- Increasing bandwidth
- Loss of data
- Network slowdown
- Infrared
- Hardware protocols.