CompTIA A+ 220-901 Certification Prep Course

Explore BIOS and the extensible firmware interface on motherboards, and learn how to configure firmware settings for diagnostics.

Explore BIOS and UEFI configuration tools, learn how to flash the BIOS with firmware upgrades, identify BIOS components, review possible BIOS changes, and use built-in diagnostics to monitor system health.

Learn to use the extensible firmware interface to replace the bios, enabling security, faster startup, and 64-bit driver support, then update firmware via a flash drive with secure boot disabled.

Explore bios component information, including ram detection, bios setup, hard drive geometry, dma support, and boot options for optical drives.

Discover BIOS configurations, including boot sequence management, device options, and virtualization settings, along with security features such as passwords, drive encryption, secure boot, and TPM protection.

Explore built-in diagnostics and the power-on self-test (POST) that verify hardware during boot, and use beep codes or a POS card to diagnose memory or other hardware issues.

Explore bios-based monitoring of system health, including temperature alerts at 88 degrees, fan speeds for CPQ, system, and power fans, intrusion detection, and memory voltage readings.

Discover how to access UEFI settings on a Windows 8.1 PC via advanced startup. Learn to navigate to UEFI firmware settings and restart into the firmware interface.

Examine the motherboard and its resident components, and understand how the motherboard serves as the communication path linking all components.

Examine motherboard components, their sizes, and how inner circuits connect all devices. Identify expansion slots, memory sockets, chipsets, the CMOS battery, and power, fan, and front panel connectors.

Describe ATX form factor, expansion slots on the edge, and the power connector; compare micro ATX, mini ATX, and ITX variants (mini, nano, pico) with dollar cards and riser cards.

Explore motherboard expansion slots, including PCI, PCI-X, and the shift to PCI Express; compare 32-bit and 64-bit slots and their speeds, and review mini PCI and mini PCI Express cards.

Explore how RAM slots accept SIMMs and DIMMs, including single inline memory modules and dual inline memory modules, with notes on one- vs two-sided components and laptop variants.

Explore cpu sockets and slots, including pga with pins on the cpu and lga with pins in the socket, plus secc cartridge and slots one, two, and a for manufacturers.

Learn how chipsets, the controller chips of the motherboard, route traffic between buses via northbridge and southbridge and hub chipsets, linking cpu, ram, front side bus, and pci express.

Identify the CMOS battery as the small circular power source for BIOS/UEFI memory that preserves settings and time, and replace it easily when the BIOS loses time.

Learn how the power supply feeds the motherboard and devices, focusing on the ATX 20-pin connector and the secondary 12-pin (dual six-pin) power connector used on motherboards.

Learn how fan connectors provide power to system fans, distinguishing 3-pin and 4-pin molex options, front-end motherboard connections, and how PWM on the 4-pin enables variable speed control.

Identify the front panel connectors on the motherboard, including usb and audio connections, and understand how power supplies energize the front panel components and drive activity lights.

Explore motherboard components, including PCI and AGP expansion slots, memory DIMMs, the CMOS battery, BIOS, and power connections, and see how cables and fans support the system.

Explore memory types and features that devices use for processing, and learn how they fit into motherboard slots.

Explore various RAM types and features, including single-sided and double-sided memory. Learn how to pair compatible RAM with motherboard slots and understand buffered versus unbuffered RAM.

Explore RAM types, including DDR and DDR3, which read and write on both clock edges, with DDR3 at three times the rate of DDR2, and synchronous DRAM matching system bus.

This lecture covers ram form factors such as dimm and sodimm, parity and ECC error checking, and single, dual, and triple channel configurations with interleaving to reduce latency.

Explore the differences between single-sided and double-sided RAM, and learn about registered memory and how a register on the RAM chip communicates with the memory controller.

Explore how adding ram with faster memory to a device with slower memory makes the system run at the slowest speed, and why memory types must not be mixed.

Explore ram concepts with a demonstration of sim and dimm modules, explain how notches and lever locks prevent incorrect installation, and show how pin patterns determine compatible slots.

Explore how expansion cards add new functionality by plugging into motherboard slots, review common types, and explain how these cards operate.

Discover how expansion cards add functionality to a computer by plugging into motherboard slots. Explore sound, video, and network cards and other types that enhance device capabilities.

Explore how internal and external sound cards install in motherboard slots, manage resources like IRQs and DMA channels, and resolve conflicts with diagnostic utilities.

Learn how video cards communicate with the operating system, meet minimum RAM and feature requirements, and fit into AGP, PCI, or PCIe slots while supporting 3-D imaging and multiple monitors.

Network cards enable devices to connect to Ethernet, fiber, Token Ring, or wireless networks via PCI or PCIe slots, auto negotiate duplex and auto MDIX, choosing straight-through or crossover cables.

Compare serial and parallel cards: parallel sends eight bits at once via eight wires, while serial transmits bits one at a time on a wire, offering fewer pins and cheaper.

Usb cards allow hot-plug expansion and support up to 127 devices with usb 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0 speeds. Firewire and Thunderbolt cards provide dedicated ports and high-speed audio/video transfer.

Explore how storage cards connect to motherboards and servers, featuring serial attached SCSI, parallel ATA, PCIe, fiber channel, and the move from parallel to serial interfaces for solid-state drives.

Explore modem cards and wireless or cellular cards that enable dial-up and internet connectivity, including RJ-11 connections, PCI or PCIe card slots, and USB external modems.

Explore specialty expansion cards like TV tuner cards and video capture cards, convert analog video to digital, and use PCIe, PCI, or express card connections with riser cards increasing slots.

Explore expansion cards, including video, sound, network (combo), modem, and firewire cards, and examine their slots and connectors such as 15-pin, RJ-45, and RJ-11.

Learn how computers store information, distinguish RAM from long-term storage, and survey common storage devices and media you will install and configure.

Install and configure storage devices and media, examining magnetic and solid-state drives, optical drives, hot-swappable components, raid redundancy, tape drives, and media capacity.

Explore how optical drives use lasers to read and write data on cd, dvd, and blu-ray media, and compare capacities from 650–700 MB cd-rom to 25 GB blu-ray.

Explore magnetic hard drives, including disks, platters, and magnetic heads, and learn how cylinders, tracks, and sectors organize data, plus how rpm affects latency.

Discover hot-swappable drives that you can add without powering down, including USB, firewire, serial 88, and ethernet connections.

Explore solid-state drives, nonvolatile memory with no moving parts, offering fast access and shock resistance, with forms like flash drives, compact flash type 1 and 2, and sd cards.

Explore hybrid drives that combine solid-state and mechanical storage, including dual-drive and solid-state hybrid configurations, with flash memory data placement and the cheaper embedded multimedia controller (eMMC).

Explore raid types such as raid 0, raid 1, and raid 5, and how a redundant array of independent disks uses striping, parity, and mirroring for fault tolerance and faster access.

discover tape drives as a backup storage option using magnetic tape, with setups and connections like scsi, fiber channel, usb, or firewire, and learn their sequential access drawback.

Explore the differences between parallel and serial hard drives, including desktop and laptop forms, their Molex power and data connectors, jumpers for master/slave, and rpm characteristics.

Explore the central processing unit, the brains of the computer, which handles arithmetic and transfers data between components, and examine the types of CDs found inside a computer.

Explore installing various CPUs and applying effective cooling methods, learn about CPU sockets, architectures, and how cooling prevents damaging temperatures in computer systems.

Identify socket types and form factors—PGA, LGA, and single edge contact cartridges—and memorize processor compatibility for the CompTIA A+ 220-901 exam.

Explore CPU speeds, comparing external and internal speeds, the multiplier and overclocking, multi-core processing, L1 and L2 caches, hyper-threading, virtualization, BIOS enablement, 32-bit and 64-bit architectures, and integrated graphics processors.

Discover cpu cooling methods: heat sinks with high surface area (active and passive), thermal paste, and liquid cooling with water circulation for high-heat gaming PCs.

Demonstrate cpu types and pin patterns, show heat sink placement on the cpu with thermal grease, and compare passive and active heat sinks with fan cooling.

Explore PC connection interfaces, their characteristics and purposes, and compare internal and external interconnections to show how they differ and perform.

Explore pc connection interfaces and connector types, from physical connections to wireless options, and learn their characteristics and how to recognize them for the CompTIA A+ 220-901 exam.

Explore usb evolution, including usb 1.0/2.0/3.0 speeds, backward compatibility, and type a/b, mini, and micro connectors. Compare firewire 400/800 lengths and the serial 7-wire connection for drives.

Explain serial connectors db-9, db-15, and db-25 and their rates from 1,200 to 115,200 bps, and outline parallel db-25 to centronics with bidirectional capability and length limits.

Explore VGA, HDMI, and DVI connectors, including the HD 15 pin legacy VGA. Learn how cable length affects resolution, up to 16 feet.

Identify audio connectors and RJ types, including RJ-11 for telephone/modem and RJ-45 for network, with up to 100 meters per category. Explain Thunderbolt connectors and expansion cards for non-Apple devices.

Explore how wireless connections are built into devices and enable technologies like Bluetooth, infrared, radio frequency, wireless LAN, and near field communications (NFC).

Compare analog and digital connections such as VGA and HDMI, and explain how digital rights management and speed and distance characteristics affect connector choices.

Review a chart of wireless technologies, noting speeds, frequencies, and ranges for exam prep, including Bluetooth 3 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and infrared up to 5 meters.

Explore drive cables, including the parallel ata data cable with a red edge stripe and master booting, plus power, vga, and centronics printer connectors, and compare parallel and serial transmission.

Demonstrates common cables and connectors, including RJ11 telephone/modem setups and RJ45 ethernet with unshielded twisted pair. Explain 568A and 568B wiring and straight through versus crossover cable concepts.

Install power supplies and route cables to power the motherboard and its components, focusing on how the cables connect to the motherboard and deliver power.

Explore how power supplies deliver motherboard and device power. Examine connector types, voltages, and specifications.

Calculate total wattage by multiplying voltage by current to power the motherboard and devices, and identify connectors such as serial ATA, Molex, 4/8-pin 12V, PCIe 6/8-pin, and ATX 20/24-pin.

Learn how wattage, rail design, connectors, and size impact selecting a power supply that meets motherboard and device power needs, fits the case, and supports ATX or micro ATX boards.

Showcase a power supply outside the case and explain the cables, including the 24-pin motherboard connector and Molex four-pin plugs, plus the fan, wall plug, and voltage switch.

Learn how to choose components for a custom PC configuration by examining different computer types and the resources each type requires.

Select the components for a PC to meet customer needs across graphics, CAD, audio/video editing, virtualization, gaming, and home theater; compare thick and thin clients and plan a home server.

Choose graphics or cad workstations with multicore processors supporting sse2 SIMD, a high-end graphics card with at least 128 mb ram, and a minimum 4 gb system ram.

Design an audio/video editing workstation with a video capture capable card, fast multi-drive storage for os, audio, and video, and dual monitors.

Set up a virtualization workstation as the host to run multiple guest virtual machines with virtualization software, memory for the VMs plus host OS, and use quad-core CPU for performance.

discover why gaming pcs demand powerful resources, including multi-core processors, high-end graphics, and sound cards with onboard memory and PCI Express slots; cooling must handle excess heat.

Configure a home theater PC to control surround sound systems, supporting 2.1, 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 with hdmi output. If recording TV content, add a TV tuner and capture card.

Compare thick and thin clients: thick clients run desktop applications locally, while thin clients rely on a server and display output. Note the operating system minimum requirements for both.

Configure a home server pc for streaming, file sharing, and print services, with memory, disk space, a gigabit network card, and raid for performance and fault tolerance.