CompTIA A+ (220-801)

Hardware 40%
BIOS/CMOS/POST
Boot Order
1. BIOS
2. Bootstrap
3. POST
4. CMOS
5. MBR (Master Boot Record)
a. stored in Hard Disk
6. OS (Operating System)
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
1st Program activated during boot
Set of instructions
Stored in EEPROM chip on motherboard (used to be ROM)
Flashing BIOS (updating)
Run a software designed to re-write
Components of BIOS
Low level BIOS code
POST
CMOS Setup Program
Boot order
Clock Speed
Memory installed
Hard disk size
BIOS Monitoring Capabilities
Enable/Disable devices
Set the date and time
Clock Speeds
Enable/Disable Virtualization Technology
Virtualization is a CPU feature; not hardware
Go to CMOS Settings
o Enable VT (Virtualization Technology)
Enable/Disable BIOS security
Supervisor passwords
Admin Password

prevents user from rearranging boot order

TPM (Trusted Platform Module)
provides a cryptographic hardware platform for securely storing data
lo-jack - locates where laptop is if its connected to internet
fan speeds
intrusion detection
voltage
bus speed

BIOS Chassis Intrusion

alerts when the computer is booted that the cover has been opened
POST (Power On Self-Test)
1. CPU
2. BIOS
3. BIOS Memory
4. Memory (RAM)
5. I/O Bus or I/O Controller
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide semiconductor)
Provides BIOS with info about the computer
Stores info such as hardware settings (time, clock, hardware inventory etc.)
Stored in RAM
CMOS Battery prevents data loss
o If batter is low = slow clock
o If batter is dead = checksum error during boot
UEFI

a replacement for BIOS

CPU-independent
Flexible pre-OS environment
Offers greater security

Note:
EEPROM = Electronically Erasable Programmable Data
Firmware Programs on ROM
Software Programs on RAM

 Motherboard - Form Factor

Motherboard skeleton of computer
Connects everything together
Form Factor Design of the Motherboard
ATX (Advanced Technology Extended)
Replaced AT + Baby AT
1. ATX (most popular)
12 x 9.6 inches (rectangle)
7 expansion slots
Full tower
2. Mini-ATX
11.2 x 8.2 inches
7 expansion slots
Full tower
3. Micro-ATX
9.6 x 9.6 inches (square)
4 expansion slots
Mini Tower
lowered cost of system by reducing number of expansion slots, smaller case
size, and reducing power supply requirement
4. Flex ATX
9.0 x 7.5 inches
4 expansion slots
Mini tower
ITX (no fan, low heat, low power requirements)
1. Mini-ITX
6.7 x 6.7 inches
2. Nano-ITX
4.7 x 4.7 inches
3. Pico-ITX
3.8 x 2.8 inches
4. Mobile ITX
2.9 x 2.9 inches
BTX was supposed to be successor of ATX but didnt due to incompatibility with newer
chipsets and processors
Better cooling efficiency ; better airflow; quiet

 Motherboard Chipset
Chipset determines what CPUs a system can use and the number/type of expansion slots it can
hold
MCH (Memory Controller Hub)
Northbridge
Used for high speed memory components (example: PCIe, AGP etc.)
ICH (I/O) Controller Hub)
Southbridge
Used for mass storage (example: PCI, CMOS, USB etc.)
Jumper group of 2 to 3 pins on motherboard or card
Used for configuration of settings
Jumper Block fits across 2 jumper pins to enable/disable feature
Can be used to reset/clear CMOS passwords
BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death)
STOP Error
Causes reboots
Chip creep socketed chips loosening out of socket due to heat/cooling

Motherboard Expansion Slots

Expansion Bus - does not run in sync with system clock
Local Bus - runs in sync with system clock
1. PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect
Network/ Sound/ Video/ SCSI cards
32-bit also 64-bit
33 MHz
132 MBps
uses 8-pin connector
2. PCI-X (PCI Extended)
Faster version of PCI; compatible with PCI cards
64-bit
133 MHz
PCI-X 2.0
266 MHz & 533 MHz
3. AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)
Video Cards
32-bit
66 MHz
2X = 133 MHz
4X = 266 MHz

4.

5.
6.

7.

8X = 533 MHz
has 2 interfaces
PCIe (PCI Express)
Replaced PCI & PCI-X & AGP; not backwards compatible
X1 & X4 = replaced PCI slot
X8 & X16 = replaced AGP and PCI-X
Usually black colored
Transfers data in lanes; one lane = X1
32 Gbps
can use 6 or 8 pin connector
AMR (Audio/Modem Riser)
Modem/ Sound connector
CNR (Communication Network Riser
Replaced AMR
Modem/ Network/ Sound
Mini PCI
Used for laptops; lies flat
Used for Bluetooth & Wi-Fi

Motherboard CPU and CPU Sockets

CPU (Central Processing Unit)
brain of computer
CPU speed - number of cycles per second; measured in Hertz
60 Celsius = CPU operating temperature
Hyper threading (HT Technology)
Allows a single processor to act like multiple processors
Increased performance by 15% to 30%
to work, OS must support SMP (Symmetric Multiprocessing)
Multi Core
processor with two or more cores
If its a quad core or more, the software must support it for it to work faster
Dual-Core
Requires TLP (Thread-Level Parallelism) to work
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
Overclocking
running processor and other components faster
Can be enabled for Processors & System Bus
Throttling
protects from heat damage by slowing the clock rate
VRM (Voltage Regulator Module)
module used to regulate the voltage fed to the CPU
MMX (Multimedia Extensions (MMX)
instructions called microcode, to support sound video and graphics multimeida functions

 Cache
Memory dedicated to the CPU
L1 - memory chip on the processor
L2 - memory chip on the motherboard
265 KB
Intel sockets have pins that go into CPU
LGA - Land Grid Array
AMD CPUs have pins that go into socket
PGA - Pin Grid Array
Intel Sockets
LGA 775
CPUs: Pentium 4, Celeron, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Core 2 Quad, Xeon
LGA 1366
LGA 1156
LGA 1155
CPUs: Core i3/i5/i7, Pentium, Celeron and Xeon
AMD Sockets
940 = 940 pins
AM2 = 940 pins
AM2+ = 940 pins
AM3 = 941 pins
AM3+ = 942 pins
FM1 = 950 pins
F = 1 = 1207 pins

Cooling
Heat Sink
Absorb and transfer heat to its surroundings (Passive Cooling)
Thermal Paste
Cooling Fins
special type of heat sink that uses fins to increase the surface area that transfers heat
Cooling fans
circulates air (Active Cooling)
Water Cooling
small pipes that carry water around the CPU to grab the heat. The water is
Peltier Cooling
device that gets colder when voltage is applied

 Displays
CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)
Display screen coated with phosphor
electron gun shoots electrons at the phosphor, causing it to glow
Refresh Rate - speed that gun paints image across the screen
LCD/LED
1. LCD creates an image
2. Backlight illuminates the image
3. Inverters send power to the backlight
Native Resolution
Fixed resolution that cant go higher
QXGA (Quad Extended Graphics Array) Max Resolution: 2048 X 1536

Refresh Rate - how quickly/often the screen can change images completely
Standard: 60 - 120 Hz
Projector
Lumens - used to measure brightness of projector
Throw - image size at certain distance

Hard Disk
SCSI controller
8-bit bus: ID ranges from 0 - 7
Device with lower ID number has lowest priority
First boot device should be set to SCSI ID 0
Controller is ID 7
Hard Drive speeds:
5,400 rpm
7,200 rpm
10,000 rpm
15,000 rpm
Platter
Hard drives usually have multiple disks. Each disk is known as a platter
Spindle
Revolves the Platter

Display Connectors

 SATA

Serial ATA
smaller, faster than old parallel version
SATA revision 1.0
1.5 Gbps
150 MBps
SATA revision 2.0
3 Gbps
300 MBps
SATA revision 3.0
6 Gbps
600 MBps

eSATA
external connectivity
up to 6.6 feet
PATA
Parallel ATA
Originally called ATA
IDE
8.3 MBps
EIDE
faster than IDE; concept of other devices
16.6 MBps
S-Video
4, 7 or 9 pins
VGA
3 rows, DB-15 connector

RAM

When program is opened in Windows, it is copied from Hard Drive to memory

At least one memory slot must have a module for system to function
Parity - error-detection method
ECC
DMA (Direct Memory Access)
Transfers data directly from hard drive to memory
So it doesnt interrupt CPU cycle (to slow it down)

SIMM - (Single Inline Memory Module)

one row of contact
no longer in use
72-pins
32-bit

 DIMM - (Dual Inline Memory Module)

two rows of contacts
168-pins
RIMM - (Rambus DIMM)
184-pins
heat spreader - metal jacket to dissipate excess heat
SODIMM - (Small Outline DIMM)
used in laptops
144-pins
MicroDIMM - (MicroDIMM)
used in laptops
DRAM (Dynamic Access Memory)
Dynamic - memory is recharged (electrically) to prevent data loss
SRAM (Static RAM)
used for cache
fast speed: 533 MHz
example: PC200, PC300 etc.
RDRAM
Developed by Rambus
aka RIMM
has to be used in pairs
unused slots require CRIMM (Continuity RIMM)
300 or 800 MHz
184-pins
(PC600, PC700, PC800, PC1066, PC1200)
SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM)
Synchronous - runs in sync with the system clock
168-pins
2 notches
speeds of (PC66, PC100, PC133)
DDR SDRAM
184 - pins
1 notch
(PC1600, PC2100, PC2700 and PC3200)
DDR2 SDRAM
240-pins
1 notch
DDR3 SDRAM
requires 30% less power than DDR2
240 pins

1 notch
12,800 MB/s
800 MHz
(PC3-12800)
data transfer rate of DDR3 from the name DDR3-1600, simply multiply the 1600
by 8 (bytes) and solve for megabytes
To figure out the data transfer rate of DDR3 by the consumer name PC3-12800,
just look at the number within the name and add MB/s to the end.

Optical Drives
Blu-Ray drives can play
Blu-Ray
CD-ROM
DVD
HD DVD drives can play
CD-ROM
DVD
CD-ROM
can only play CD-ROM
CD

Storage: 700 MB
Speed: 1X = 150 KB/s
DVD
Storage: 4.7 GB
Speed: 1X = 1.32 MB/s
uses red laser
DL-DVD
Storage: 9.4 GB
Blu-Ray
Storage: 25 GB
Speed: 1X = 4.5 MB/s
uses blue laser; better focus
holds five time more data than DVD
holds up to 9 hours of HD video
holds up to 23 hours of SD video
Tape
Storage: 800 GB
Floppy
Storage: 1.4 MB
Components: Read/write heads; stepper motor; circuit board

USB

127 devices can be daisy chained

 1 USB port can daisy chain 5 Hubs

4 pins
USB 1.1
12 Mbps
Cable length: 3 meters
Cable length: 5 meters
USB 2.0 (most common)
480 Mbps
Cable length: 5 meters
USB 3.0
5 Gbps
10 times faster than USB 2.0
USB Connectors
Type A
Type B
Mini-A
Mini-B

FireWire
IEEE 1394a
FireWire400
400 Mbps
cable length: 4.5 meters
IEEE 1394b
FireWire800
800 Mbps
Can daisy-chain up to 63 devices

RAID
RAID 0

RAID 1

RAID 2

RAID 3

Total Drives: 2
Striping - total of two hard drives; data is striped
striping means the set of data is splitted, and a piece is stored in each drive
Total Drives: 2
Mirror - duplicates the original disk to each drive
Total Drives: at least 3
Data is striped with parity

 Total Disks: At least 3

One Disk is used only for parity
Remaining disks are striped
RAID 4
Same as RAID 3 but uses block-level striping instead of byte-level striping
RAID 5
Total Disks: At least 3
All disks appear as one disk
Parity is across all disks
All disks are striped
RAID 10
Total Disks: At least 4
mirrored stripe sets

Power Supply
Plugging in 20-pin power supply into a 24-pin connector on motherboard:
Leave pins 11, 12, 23 and 24 unconnected
These pins are for higher voltages
Voltage output by power supply unit in a PC
+3.3 volts
used by Chipsets, DIMM, PCI/AGP cards, Pentium processor
+5.0 volts
+12.0 volts
Power Connectors
Molex
4 pins

Motherboard Connectors

PCI = 8-pin connector

PCIe = 6 or 8-pin connector
Floppy Drive = 4-pin connector
ATA Hard Drive = 4-pin
SATA Hard Drive = 15-pin
12 Mbps
Cable length: 3 meters
USB 2.0 (most common)

Config Computers

CAD/CAM Workstation - Powerful processor, high-end video, maximum RAM

Home Server - RAID array, Gigabit NIC
Home Theater PC - Surround-sound audio, TV tuner, HDMI output
Virtualization Workstation - Maximum RAM and CPU

Networking 27%
Network Cables & Connectors
Twisted Pair (unused LAN)
used for 10BaseT
STP (Shielded Twisted Pair)
Foil around each pair
less susceptible to interference
UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair)
Susceptible to interference (fluorescent light)
4 pairs of twisted wires, 8 wires total
Categories (max Length: 100 meters; 328 feet)
CAT1 Standard telephone cable
CAT3 10 Mbps
CAT4 16 Mbps
CAT5 100 Mbps
o used with RJ-45 connectors
CAT5e 1 Gbps
CAT6 10 Gbps (55 meters)
CAT6e 10 Gbps (100 meters)
Plenum - area above suspended ceiling
fire resistant cable
Coax Cable
Single core of copper
Used for Cable Modems, Cable TV and Modem-based internet connections
RG-49
Thinnet / 10Base2
Carries 10 Mbps of Ethernet data
Max length: 185 meters
50 ohm impedance
RG-6
Thicknet / 10Base5
10 Mbps
50-MHz or higher
Max length: 500 meters
75 ohm impedance

RG-6/U
used for cable TV
75 ohms of impedance
Max length: 300 meters

Connectors:
F-type (most common)
BNC (older) screw by spinning on
75 oh impedance
Note:
Baseband (Base) - only one signal at a time is sent onto the network medium
Broadband - multiplexes the signals to allow multiple signals on the medium

Fiber-Optic Cable:
Shoots pulses of light
Multi-Mode (majority)
10 Gbps
500 - 600 meters
uses LED (light emitting diodes) to send light signal
multiple sets of data at a time
Single-Mode
10 Gbps or 1 Tbps
uses Laser to send light signal

3000 meters - 40 km
one set of data at a time
Connectors
SC - Subscriber Connector (square)
used for singlemode
snap in
ST - Straight Tip (round connector)
used for multimode
twist to latch
LC - (square)
used for singlemode and multimode
POTS (Plain-old telephone service)
has two twisted pairs of copper wire, total of 4 wires
used for telephone landlines

Network Topologies
Ring, Star, Mesh, Hybrid

(TCP/IP) - IPv4

Installed by default on Windows; Mac OS X; Linux

TCP/IP is a collection of protocols
Every IP address is unique for each computer on the network
3 Major TCP Address settings
IP Address
Subnet Mask (Network/Host)
Default Gateway

IPv4

32-bit number
example: 131.112.199 (4 groups, separated by dots)
IP Classes
Class A: 1.0.0.0 - 126.255.255.255
255.0.0.0
Class B: 128.0.0.0- 191.255.255.255
255.255.0.0
Class C: 192.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255
255.255.255.0

Default Gateway - required to connect two computers that are not on the same network

Public, Private, APIPA

Public - anything thats not Private or APIPA
Private (ranges)
10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255
APIPA
assigned when a valid IP is not received by DHCP
169.254.0.1 - 169.255.254.0
By default, built into Microsoft Windows
Disable in Registry
used for troubleshooting

Loopback address is 127.0.0.1

used for testing

(TCP/IP) - IPv6
128-bit

example: 2001:cdba:0000:0000:0000:0000:3257:9652(8groups,separatedbycolons)
Someoftheheaderfieldshavebeendropped
lessrigidlengthlimitsandabilitytointroducenewoptions
Packetswillindicateparticulartraffictype
Supportwillbeprovidedfordataintegrityandconfidentiality
LoopbackAddress::1

(TCP/IP) Static vs Dynamic

Static
IP manually assigned
can only be changed manually
usually used for servers, routers, printers
Dynamic
IP automatically assigned by DHCP
DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
Valid for 3 days (limited time, then gets a new IP)

Protocols TCP & UDP

Port Number - specified service on a computer
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
offers guaranteed delivery service
needs verification of received data or else it will re-send
UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
faster and better delivery
not guaranteed that it is received
used mostly with live streaming videos; VoIP calls
Faster than TCP

Network Ports

20/21 = FTP (File Transfer Port)

23 = Telnet
25 = SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - outgoing mail
53 = DNS (Domain Name System) - converts names from words to IP addresses
80 = HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
110 = POP3 (Post Office Protocol) - incoming email
143 = IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol) - Incoming email
443 = HTTPS (HTTP over SSL)
3389 = RDP (Remote Control Desktop)

 Basic Protocols
DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol)
Protocol: UDP
Port: 67, 68
Function: Provides IP addresses
DNS (Domain Name System)
Protocol: UDP
Port: 53
Function: converts names from words to IP addresses & IP addresses to names
LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)
Protocol: TCP
Port: 389
Function: Used to access directory information over IP addresses
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)
Protocol: UDP
Port: 161
Function Used to monitor networks
SMB (Server Message Blocks)
Protocol: TCP
Port: 445
Function: Provides access to files, printers etc. on a network
CIFS
SSH (Secure Shell)
Function: provides secure network
SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol)

Port Forwarding/ Triggering

Forwarding
sends incoming data/requests to a specific computer or device based on the port
number included in the request
The port must always be open and accept incoming traffic
Triggering
port forwarding that switches on and off
enabled only when internal machine initiates communication to a specific port

IEEE Standards
802.11a
Frequency: 5 GHz

 54 Mbps
Range: 20-45 meters
802.11b
Frequency: 2.4 GHz
11 Mbps
Range: 45 - 120 meters
uses WEP for security
802.11g
Frequency: 2.4 GHz
54 Mbps
Range: 30 -100 meters
compatible with 802.11a and 802.11b
802.11n
Frequency: 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz
600 Mbps
Range: 100 - 200 meters
MIMO - device can use multiple antennas
Compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g

Encryption
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
64-bit key
WPA (WiFi Protected Access
128-bit key
WPA 2
256-bit key (best encryption)

Encryption Protocol
TKIP
AES
replaced TKIP
used in WPA2
best encryption

Wireless Connections
Infrared
Line-of-Sight

 requires unobstructed view

RF (Radio Frequency)
802.11
Bluetooth

Networking Collisions
CSMA/CD (Ethernet)
Packets of data sent without checking network
if collision occurs, it will re-send
CSMA/CA (Wireless)
check for clear network first and then sends data

Network Types
WAN (Wide Area Network)
Group of one or more LANs
LAN (Local Area Network)
WLAN (Wireless LAN)
data transmission mode: half-duplex
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
PAN (Personal Area Network)
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Protects communications sent through a public network
provides secure connections between endpoints such as routers, clients or servers by
using tunneling to encrypt data
Ad Hoc
network without connecting device such as hubs or switches or WAPs
clients communicate directly with each other

Internet Connection Types

Cable
Fiber
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network
Connects multiple telephone devices to a single phone line
2 types;
PRI
BRI
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
replaced ISDN
Bandwidth: 300 Kbps

requires telephone line

2 types
ASDL (Asynchronous DSL)
enables faster downloads/uploads
SDSL (Synchronous DSL)
DUN (Dial-Up Network)
Satellite
WiMAX
Wireless Internet in 4G rang
10 Mbps
Line of Sight
Cellular (mobile hotspot)
GSM (Global System Mobile Communications)
3G - 56 Mbps
4G - 100 Mbps
Verizon & Sprint
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
T-Mobile & AT&T
Client - computer with wireless network interface card (NIC)
NIC card uses RJ-45
Gateway - Translates data from one format to another
Server - computer on network that provides other computers access to resources such as disk
drives
Bluetooth
Frequency: 2.4 GHz to 2.485 GHz
Classes:
Class 1: 100 meters/ 300 feet
Class 2: 10 meters/ 33 feet
Class 3: 1 meter/ 3 feet
Bluetooth 1.0
100 meters
Bluetooth 2.0
Distance: 10 meters
3 Mbps
Bluetooth 3.0
1 meter
24 Mbps

Network Devices
Hub - provides connectivity between devices
Switch - connecting device

 Router connects one LAN network to another; connects to outside network

Connects networks using the same protocol
Gateway hardware and/or software
connects networks that use different protocols
WAP (Wireless Access Point)
device where wireless signals are received/managed
PoE - (Power over Ethernet)
Bridge - connects two Lans, or splits a single LAN
Modem - converts digital signals to analog signals
dial up modem uses RJ-11
NAS (Network-attached Storage)
storage attached to the network
Firewall - controls/restricts and manages incoming/outgoing network (and phone numbers to IP)
VoIP phones - Converts analog signals to digital signals
Internet Appliance
Repeater - increase usable length of cable
NAT (Network Address Translation)
allows a network of computers to appear to the Internet as a single entity

WPS
Wi-Fi Protected Setup
enables easy secure setup of small home networks
erases the setup of complicated config setting of wireless routers
comes installed on some routers and i enabled by default
vulnerable to brute-force attacks

Tools

Crimper - puts together RJ-45 connector to UTP cable

Multimeter - Measures voltage, current and resistance
Toner Probe - trace wires
Cable Tester - tests cable to see if it can make a connection
Loopback plug - to make loopback test; RJ-45; check signal
Punchdown Tool - aka krone; insert wire into connector
TDR (Time-Domain Reflectometer) - used to measure the length of the cable on the time
required for an energy pulse to travel down the cable and return to the TDR

Standard Clients
Thick Client - 4Gb of RAM
has all components you would have on a regular workstation

 Thin Client - limited amount of storage on hard drive

small hard drive
files stored on network, not much on hard drive
has network connection
has browser
applications are stored on the server
2GB of RAM usually

Laptops 11%

Laptop Basics
To find capacity of the batter of a laptop
Wattage = Output Voltage x Output Amp
Desktop Replacement
Provides the capabilities and performance of a desktop
large and heavier than standard laptops
Sub Notebook
aka ultraportable
designed with an emphasis on portability
smaller display; no optical media drive
Netbook
extremely small, lightweight and energy efficient
Designed specifically for wireless communication and internet access

Laptops use LCD screens

Three Main Standard Resolutions
WXGA 1280 X 800
HD 1366 X 768
WSXGA+ 1680 X 1050
WUXGA 1920 X 1200

Battery
Li-Ion - Lithium - ion
provides highest energy density while maintaining the lowest self-discharge rate. will
retain power r the longest
NiCD - Nickel Cadmium
provides moderate energy density and self disraghe rate - shortest life

 NiHM - Nickel Metal-hydride

provides highest energy density but high discharge rate
Lead Acid battery has moderate energy density and self-discharge

Expansion Options
Five Main Expansion Options on Laptops
ExpressCard Basics
An interface allows peripheral devices to be connected to a laptop
Formally known as NEWCARD
ExpressCard is a standard specifying the design of slots in a computer and the cards that
can be inserted
ExpressCard Form Factors
/35
/54
Express Card /34
34 mm wide
26-pin
Express Card /54
54 mm wide
26 - pin
PCMCIA
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
original name for PC Card (replaced by ExpressCard
three form factors called Types
Type 1
o 3.3 mm thick; 16 bit; RAM, Flash memoy
o 68 pins
o type 1 slot can only hold one Type 1 card
Type 2
o 5.0 mm thick; 16 or 32 bit; Modems, Network cards, TV tuner
cards, scsi controllers
o 68 pins
o hold one type 2 card or one type 1, or 2 type 3
Type 3
o 10.5 mm thick; 16 or 32 bit; Hard disk drive cards
o 68 pins
o one type 4 card or any comvination of two type 1 or 2 cards

SODIMM
Small Outline Dual Inline Interface
Half size of regular DIMM
pins: 72, 100, 200, 204

Flash Memory
USB thumb drive

Laptop Batteries
Ni-CD; Ni-MH; Lithium

Keyboard Features
may not have dedicated numeric keypad
function key functionalities

Docking Options
Port replicator - replicates ports on laptop
maintains connections to physical devices
Docking Station
does what port replicator does
replicates the ports on a laptops
also contains slots for interface cards, hard disks

Inverter
provides backlight to the display
Diffuser
takes the points of light and uniformly spreads them around over the entire area of the
display
Backlight
Wi-Fi antenna

Printers 11%

Printer Basics

Duplex Printing - printing on both sides of the paper

Duplex Assemblies - flips paper over, allowing printing on both sides
Bi-directional printing - printing from right-to-left and left-to-right
Print Resolution - dots per inch (dbi)
Printer Speed - Pages per minute (ppm)

Two main types of paper feeds

Continuous
one long sheet with lines to tear it into single sheets
feeder holes along the edges
Friction - single sheets of standard paper fed through the prinrter using pressure rollers

Laser Printers
Primary Corona - if there is no charge to it, all the toner would be applied to the entire drum
surface, resulting in a black page
Lazer - write on the drum
Used in businesses
Duplex Assembly - flips paper over front to back
Consumable - toner cartridges are replaceable/ recycle
Speed: 10-100 pages per minute; depending on model
Lowest cost per page
Quality: 600 DPI (Dots Per Inch)/1,200 DPI/ 2,400 DPI
Speed: ppm (Pages Per Minute)
Imaging drum
fuser assembly
transfer belt
transfer roller
pickup rollers
separate pads
duplexing assembly

EP (Electrophotographic Process)
Processing
image processing engine receives the page, font, text and graphics from printer
driver
creates page image, then stores it in memory (RAM)
if there is not enough memory for page image, it is a page error

Charging
conditioning
cylinder-shaped imaging drum receives negative charge - 600Vdc from
conditioning roller (old printers use corona wire)
corona wire - powered by power supply
full surface of drum is charged - it keeps charge only in darkness
Exposing
writing
mirror moves laser beam across surface of drum
Records image on drum by reducing charge to -100Vdc
(LED printer activates LED array to record image instead)
Developing
Toner is applied to drum by the developer
Toner has charge of -600Vdc
Attracted to -100Vdc areas/ repelling from the others because they have same
charge
Transferring
While sheet goes in printer, it receives a charge of +600Vdc by corona wire or
roller
Positive charge attracts toner from negative drum
As paper moves, charge is cancelled by static eliminator strip, so it doesnt stick
Fusing
Fuser rollers pull sheet and heat toner onto paper at 350F
Cleaning
Leftover charge is removed by discharge lamp, turns to 0 Volts
Rubber blade removes excess toner on drum for reuse

Colored Laser Printing

4 Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Imaging drum is separate from toner
waste toner sent to waste toner container
transfer belt instead of imaging drum

Inkjet Printers

for small offices or home office (SOHO)

Connects through USB
uses ink cartridges filled with liquid ink for printing
separate cartridge for each color
aka CMYK device - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Failed InkJets are often throwaway to replace, not repair

 Never turn off from Surge Protector - prevents printer from self-capping in cartridges
major cause for printer failures
problems with lines on paper is always because of the printhead
Paper pulled by rollers
High-Speed Mode- print head reverses direction at end of paper
Calibration - adjustments, printhead alignment

Thermal Inkjets
Bubble Inkjets
Heat is used to form bubble - thermal bubble
Bubble bursts onto paper
HP and Canon make most Thermal InkJets
Piezoelectric Inkjets
sprays colors from the cartridges onto the paper
printhead ejects small dots of color onto paper
ink sprayed on paper is stored in four separate cartridges
monochrome printing - using black ink only
can print wide variety of media
applies current to the ink
Epson makes most of these

Thermal Printers

mostly used in stores for receipt

Thermal Head - generates heat, prints into paper
Platen - Rubber roller, feeds paper
Spring - applies pressure to print head
Circuit Board - moves the print head
Direct Thermal - heat-sensitized paper
Thermal Transfer - glossy photograph paper

Direct Thermal Printing

Use heating element
Burns dots onto the surface of the special heat-sensitive paper - branding
early fax machines used this method
uses special paper
Thermal Wax Transfer
heated print head moves over a colored wax ribbon
it melts the wax unto the underlying paper to create image, without touching it
doesnt use special paper

 Impact Printers
Force ink on paper
similar to typewriter
Daisy-Wheel - has wheel with pedals, each pedal has a letter
strikes against ribbon
can do duplicate, triplicate or higher forms
Carbon backing
Dot-Matrix
line printer
9, 18, 24 pins (NLQ)
Maintenance routine:
Replace the paper
Replace print head
Replace ribbon
Clean print head
Vacuum paper and debris from printer

Print Device Sharing

Wired
USB
Parallel
Serial
Ethernet
Wireless
Bluetooth
802.11x
Infrared (IR)
Printer Sharing

Maintenance

Follow proper printer cleaning instructions

keep the paper path clean
clean the corona wire
vacuum up spilled toner
replace rollers as needed

Printers Driver Types

 PPD
PCL (Printer Command Language)
UPD (Universal Print Driver)
supports several types of printers
proprietary
Raster/bitmap
raster - area of the image being printed
bitmap - dot matrix representation of an image
Plotter/vector
plotter Driver must be compatible with the operating system
Drivers can be checked within Printer Properties
Drivers are available from three courses
installation discs
downloaded from the manufacturers website
Third party

Operational Procedures 11%

Six-Step Troubleshooting Process

Identify the problem

Establish a theory of probable cause
test the theory to determine cause
Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution
verify full system functionality and if applicable implement preventative measures
document findings, actions and outcomes
ESD is most likely in cool, dry air
ESD is the cause of two objects that have dissimilar electric potential