CompTIA A+

Step 1 of the troubleshooting process

Identify the problem

Step 2 of the troubleshooting process

Establish a theory of probable cause

Step 3 of the Troubleshooting Process

Test your Theory to Determine the Cause of the Problem

*If the theory is not confirmed, re-establish a new theory

Step 4 of the Troubleshooting Process

Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution.

Step 5 of the Troubleshooting Process

Verify full system functionality

Step 6 of the Troubleshooting Process

Document findings, actions, and outcomes

SPDIF Connector

An optical connector that allows high quality audio to a surround sound system

DB 25 Connector

A D-shaped sub miniature pin that goes into the back of a computer and has two thumb screws on the side

USB 1.1

Known as full speed and runs at 12 megabits per second

USB 2.0

Known as high speed and runs at 480 megabits per second

USB 3.0

Known as super speed and is at least 5 gigabits per second

USB 3.1 Gen One

Runs at 5 gigabits per second

USB 3.1 Gen Two

Runs at 10 gigabits per second

USB 3.2 Gen 2x2

Runs at 20 gigabits per second

USB 4

The most modern version of USB and can run at 40 gigabits per second

True or False A USB 4 and a USB 3.2 gen 2x2 must have a shorter cable because that is going to give the best performance

True

DVI-A

A DVI (Digital Visual Interface) video port that only transmits analog data.

DVI-D

A DVI (Digital Visual Interface) video port that works only with digital monitors.

DVI-I

A DVI (Digital Visual Interface) video port that supports both analog and digital monitors.

thunderbolt

A display interface that is used for data transfer

VGA

The graphic standard that used a 15-pin standard analog video interface port that would connect to the computer

Thunderbolt version 3

data transfer rate of 40 Gb/s and uses a USB Type-C connector

Thunderbolt version 1

10 Gbps and uses DisplayPort

Thunderbolt version 2

20 Gbps and uses DisplayPort

SATA Cable

The standard cables that are the main method of connecting a storage device to a motherboard inside of a desktop computer

SATA version 1

SATA version 1 can support speeds of up to 1.5 gigabits per second,

SATA Version 2

can support speeds of up 3 gigabits per second

SATA version 3

can support speeds of up to 6 gigabits per second

external SATA (eSATA)

A SATA cable on the outside of the case

PATA

The old IDE connectors with the exact same cables and connectors and standards but renamed for branding ▪ Parallel devices have each cable support up to two devices and they both can communicate at the same time

Molex Power Connector

A 4-pin connector that would attach from the power supply directly to a device

SCIS

A legacy parallel bus connector that allows multiple devices to be Daisy chained together ▪ A narrow SCIS can support up to 7 devices, but a wide SCIS can support up to 15 devices

x86

Can support a maximum of 4 gigabytes of Ram

X64

An extension of the X86 instruction set to be able to support 64-bit operations

Fact about 32 bit and 64 bit

32 bit systems can only run 32 bit programs, but 64 bit processors can run 64 bit programs and 32 bit programs because they are fully backwards compatible

ZIF

Zero Insertion Force The ability to insert the CPU without pressing down and applying pressure to it

LGA socket

A form factor that positions all the pins to be able to connect the CPU processor into the socket

PGA (form factor)

The processor has the pins and the socket have holes which allows the holes to align when installing the processor

The two main types of CPU sockets are LGA, which is made by

LGA, which is made by Intel, and we have PGA, which has made by AMD.

PCI

32-bit expansion card ● PCI 32-bit cards support only a maximum bus speed of 33 MHz or 133 MBps

PCI-X

64-bit expansion card (133 MHz)

PCI-X 2.0

(Legacy) Supports speeds of 266 MHz and 533 MHz

Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)

Used for video graphics cards ● AGP 1x ● AGP 2x ● AGP 4x ● AGP 8x

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe)

A connector slot which utilizes a switch to prioritize and routes data creating a faster, more reliable transmission. Most commonly used for video cards. These slots are typically white.

All PCIe slots provide

25 watts of power

PCIe x16 card slot provides

up to 75 watts of power

PCIe x1

Modems, Networking cards, Wireless cards, Audio cards

PCIe x16

Graphics and video cards Gaming systems

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

A specialized processor designed to accelerate graphics rendering

120V AC (Low Line Power)

US-based power supply

230V AC (High Line Power)

Europe and Asia power supply

Amperage to Wattage

A x V ▪ I x V

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Used to load applications and files into a non-persistent and fast storage area

Cache

High-speed memory

dual data rate (DDR) memory

▪ Most common type of memory ● PC133 o 133 MHz

Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

Oldest type of memory that requires frequent refreshing ● DRAM storage cell is dynamic

Inverters

convert DC to AC

When will you see a inverter

With devices that have CCFl you will have inverters

frame buffering

A portion of RAM containing a bitmap that drives a video display. It is a memory buffer containing a complete frame of data.

Three types of GPU's

Nivida, Intel, AMD/ATI

DVI-D (Single Link) connector

DVI-I connecter dvi-D difference

DVI-D will have a single dash on the right. -I will have a cross

4:3 aspect ratio

the aspect ratio of a television that is 4 units wide by 3 units high

SVGA

800x600 - Analog format

SXGA

(Super eXtended Graphics Array) Pixel Dimensions: 1280 x 1024. Aspect Ratio: 5:4 (1.25)

UXGA

1600 x 1200 (4:3)

16:10 aspect ratio

The display pixel dimension ratio used by productivity applications

WSXGA

Video display mode of 1440 × 900

WUXGA

1920x1200

720p

HD 1280 x 720 with Progressive scanning - Cheaper.

QHD

2560x1440(also wqhd)

1080p

HD 1920 x 1080 - Progressive scanning (where each line on the screen is redrawn in order) - Full HD.

3840x2160

4k (CLassic 4k)

5120x2880

5k

riser card

A card that plugs into a motherboard and allows for expansion cards to be mounted parallel to the motherboard. Expansion cards are plugged into slots on the riser card.

All graphic cards have a 16 lane PCIe slots or two or PCIe power connectors True or false

True

Lumens

a measurement of the brightness of light

throw distance

Projection distance; useful to know based on the layout and size of the room

intermittent projector shutdown

A common safety precaution for a projector when it has been used for a long period of time and needs to cool. If this occurs when the projector has only been powered a short period of time, check the filter.

DLP

Uses tiny mirrors to create the projected image

APU

Include a cpu and gpu on the same chip

Maximum size of bytes for a packet

1500

ifconfig command

A command used to display and modify the TCP/IP configuration information for a network interface.(linux)

UTP has a maximum transmission distance of ____

100 meters

fiber-optic cable

A cable that transmits data at close to the speed of light along glass or plastic fibers.

Multimode Fiber

A type of fiber optic cable that carries multiple light signals on a single strand.

Single Mode Fiber

Long-range communication, Up to 100 km

Cat 5

100 Mbps

Cat 5e

1 Gbps

Cat 6

1 Gbps up to 100m

10 Gbps up to 55m

Cat 6a

Supports 10-Gbps networks at 100-meter segments

Direct Burial Cable

A type of cable that has extra insulation, cover, and waterproofing added so it can be used underground without any additional protection.

link light

Solid light to establish you have a link

activity light

Located on the network port. This light will flash when data is actively transmitted across the cable.

Class C addresses have how many host

254

Class B addressing

65,534

Class A addressing

millions of hosts

RAID 0

no redundancy