Table of Contents

Professor Messer's CompTIA A+ Study Guide

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Soft Skills

The Troubleshooting Process

CPUs

CPU Pins and Sockets

Memory

Form Factors

Types of Memory

Motherboards

The motherboard is the central hub for all communications inside the computer. Most of the system subsystems reside on the motherboard. The subsystems are all interconnected via buses. External devices connect to the motherboard via ports and internal devices connect via expansion slots. Data and other information is transmitted along the various buses on the motherboard in a synchronized manner.<br />

Motherboard Form Factors

Motherboard Interfaces

Motherboard Chipsets

I/O Ports and cables

Expansion slots and I/O buses

PC Card Slots

Storage

RAID

Miscellaneous

Interrupt Requests (IRQs)

Displays

Screen resolutions

Liquid Crystal Displays

Networking

Ethernet

Wireless 802.11

DHCP

Well-Known Port Numbers for Common Protocols

Printers

Types of Printers

The Printing Process on a Laser Printer

Operating Systems

Installation Requirements for Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista