A+ core 1 section 2

troubleshooting methodology steps

1. identify problem

2. establish a theory

3. test theory

4. establish an action plan

5. verify full system functionality

6. document findings

front pannel of pc case has:

removable media drives, power switch, LEDS

rear pannel of pc has:

psu (power supply unit) sockets & fans

ESD (electrostatic discharge)

damages chips

EMI

(electromagnetic interference)

byte

8 bits

ESD

electrostatic discharge

USB 2 (A)

flat rectangular, for host & peripheral devices, USB symbol facing up

USB 2 (B)

square, leveled top, for large devices like printers

USB 2 (B Mini)

for digital cameras, unused now

USB 2 (B Micro)

flat, small devices like phones, tablets

Max length for lowspeed

3m

max length for highspeed + fullspeed

5m

storing data is in

bytes

data transfer is in

bits

USB Type A

only insert 1 way, (desktops & laptops) most common one

USB type B

older larger devices

USB B standard

large devices

USB B mini

older phones

USB B micro

super thin, for wearables

USB B (3.0)

micro connectors, used for portable storage devices

USB C

reversible cable, thin oval

USB 1.0

max speed= 1.0 mb/sec (lowspeed)

USB 1.1

Fullspeed, 12 mbs

USB 2.0

“hi-speed” 480 Mbps

USB 3.0 (gen1)

“Superspeed USB” atleast 5Gbps

USB (gen 3)

superspeed USB 10 Gbps

USB 3 gen 3

superspeed USB 20 Gbps

USB 4

40 Gbps

USB 1.0 length

3m (9ft)

USB 1.1 / 2.0 length

5m (15 ft)

USB 3.0 / USB 4 length

3m (9ft)

HDMI low res

1080p

HDMI highres

4k & 8k

HDCP (high digital content protection)

makes sure you cant see things ur not allowed to

connector type A

regular, fullsized

connector type c

mini

connector type D

micro

HDMI CAT 1

1080p (lowres)basic video quality

HDMI cat 2

4k/8k (highres)

HDMI premium highspeed

up to 18Gbps

HDMI ultra highspeed

up to 48 Gbps

display port is same as

hdmi

displayport is up to

80 Gbps

full size and mini DP (display port)

one way insertion

digital visual interface (DVI-A)

analog only

digital visual interface (DVI-D)

digital only

DVI-I

both analog and digital

video graphics array (VGA)

15 pin (analog) D shaped connector

thunderbolt

display interface & data transfer

thunderbolt ver 1 & 2

use physical connector that looks like mini DP & both are compatible

thunderbolt 3 & 4

uses same port as USB-C

thunderbolt 3 & 4 length limit

max ½ meter to get to 40Gbps

thunderbolt 4 max res

8k.

thunderbolt 4 allows for

diasy chaining

usb-c supports resolutions of

4k and 8k

thunderbolt 1 and 2 use what type connector

display port

thunderbolt 3 and 4 use what type of connector

usb-c

thunderbolt 4 can go up to

40GBPS with a ½ m cable

lightning cables are

reverable, apple only, goes into iphone on one side and usb c on other side

SATA is standard method of

connecting storage devices to motherboard

SATA 7 pin

only transfers data

SATA 15 pin

only provides power

SATA REV 1

1500 Mbps or 1.5 Gbps

SATA REV 2

3000 Mbps or 3 Gbps

SATA REV 3

6000 Mbps or 6 GBPS

eSATA

external sata

small computer systems interface (SCSI)

old parallel bus connector that allowed for devices to be daisy chained

narrow scsi

up to 7 devices to be daisy chained

wide scsi

up to 15 devices to be daisy chained

high density cable for SCSI devices

68 pins

MOLEX connector for SCSI devices

gives power for device

single connector attachment SCA for scsi devices

80 pin connector provided both power and data

USB 1.0

1.5 Mbps (low speed) & 12 Mbps (full) ((type a & b )

USB 1.1

same as 1.0 but better

USB 2.0

480 Mbps (high) introduced mini a/b and micro a/b

USB 3.0

5 Gbps introduced superspeed and new connectors like micro b

USB 3.1

10 Gbps introduced superspeed + and versatile ttype c connector

USB 3.2

GEN 1 (5 Gbps), GEN 2 (10 GBPS), GEN 2×2( 20 Gbps) using type a b and c

USB 4

40 Gbps , unified w thunderbolt 3 , using type c connector

(SAS) serial attatched scsi

extra good data transfer used in enterprise for connecting storage devices to servers and workstations, up to 24 Gbps

temporary data

cache or ram

temporary storage

non persistent/ volatile

permanent storage devices

hard disk drive

solid state drive

USB flash drive

tape backup drive

floppy disk

temporary/ volatile storage uses

GHz

nonvolatile / perm storage uses

MHz

form factor

size, shape, and layout of a device

what to do to see if sluggish performance is due to hardware bottleneck?

diagnostic tests

when using a projector you get a “no signal detected” error. whats the cause

a loose HDMI cable

thermal problems can also cause

loose connectors, for components to move around, cracks widening

if a peripheral device isnt working check

the port and cable ends

if the motherboard shows physical damage, _____ is essential to confirm th eproblem

diagnostic software

whats the order to diagnose performance issues

check for

1. overheating

2. misconfiguration (if issues arise after alterations), check compatibility issues

3. verify problem - use diagnostic tests to compare against known baselines

4. rule out issues

when does a bottleneck occur

1 underperforming component slows down the entire system

incorrect date and time can cause what issues

disrupt network authentication and make scheduled tasks unreliable

if time in the system is incorrect it could be

failing RTC battery

modern systems use what to sync time with network clocks

NTP , network time protocol

if no image is displayed on the monitor:

make sure that its set to HDMI

If the display is powered on and the input source is not the issue, check the

cable and connectors between the video card and monitor

To rule out cable problems, use the

"known good" technique by substituting with another cable.