TOTAL: CompTIA A+ Certification (220-1002).

We use computers to get work done via programs called applications. Another program, called the operating system, supports the applications, hardware, and storage devices inside our computers.

All operating systems provide security through user accounts. User accounts define what a person can or cannot do on a system. Every operating system also has some form of Superuser that has complete control over all other users on that system.

Why is Microsoft Windows so dominant on desktop systems? Features such as domains and active directory are so popular that even macOS and Linux systems have built-in tools to access Microsoft Windows networks.

Microsoft Windows has gone through many versions over the years. The CompTIA A+ expects you to not only know the different versions but also the different editions that Microsoft offers.

macOS is the equivalent of Windows on Apple computers. Although it’s a completely different operating system, macOS and Windows actually have a lot in common.

The free and popular Linux OS is taking over the world, though it’s still rare on desktops. Linux’s customization via distributions is perfect for IoT devices, routers, servers and even desktops.

Demands for PCs to run larger programs (and more programs) is always growing. The move from 32-bit to 64-bit processing continues to create challenges for technicians and it’s critical that we understand the differences and effects of choosing one or the other.

Running out of memory is something we try to avoid. All operating systems use virtual memory, a part of your mass storage set aside to act as (very slow) memory in case your real memory runs out.

Electrical power from our grid is imperfect. Sometimes it provides too little or too much power. We use tools such as surge suppressors and uninterruptible power supplies to protect our PCs.

NOTE:
Book Chapter 5 & 6 are covered in the 1001 CompTIA A+ video course

We organize physical storage into logical subdivisions called partitions. Partitions serve several critical functions beyond just storing our data. Specialized partitions support virtual memory, boot, and recovery functions.

Book Chapter 8 is covered in the 1001 CompTIA A+ video course

Master Boot Record partitioning is the oldest way to partition mass storage. All operating systems still support MBR, so it’s important for techs to recognize its limitations.

GUID Partition Table partitioning is the more modern partitioning used by all operating systems today. It’s important for a tech to understand the benefits of GPT as well as how to use it.

A file system organizes data stored on mass storage devices. A tech should have a good understanding of multiple file systems, why they are used and how to troubleshoot them.

There are many file systems available for different systems, purposes, and type of storage. It’s important to know the difference between files systems such as NTFS, ext3, FAT, and HPFS+.

File systems are created through the processes called formatting. There’s a number of different ways to format mass storage and a good tech know how to do this for the most common file systems.

Dynamics disks are unique to the Windows operating system. Make sure you understand why Microsoft uses dynamic disk and how to configure spanning, striping, etc.

Microsoft’s Storage Spaces feature provides a superb tool to configure many different RAID configurations on any Windows system. A good tech knows which types of RAID it supports and how to set them up.

Securing mass storage is a critical aspect of system security. Make sure you know the many ways a system’s mass storage can be encrypted.

A PC can only boot from a bootable drive. A mass storage device with a working OS installed on it is one kind of bootable drive. But what if there’s no OS installed, or the installation is broken? No problem! Just pop in a bootable device such as the OS installation media, or a bootable diagnostic toolkit. If you don’t have one, you can make your own with a spare optical disc or thumb drive, an ISO image file of the bootable media, and a program to burn the ISO file to your media.

Book Chapter 10 is covered in the 1001 CompTIA A+ video course

There’s more than one way to install Windows and a good tech understands all of them. Additionally, it’s important to perform a few pre-installation tasks to make sure your system will work with your desired version of Windows.

The job isn’t done the second the Windows installer finishes. There are several steps that must take place after the Windows operating system is installed to get the system up to speed and ready to work.

All Windows installations can be divided into “clean” and “upgrade” installations. Additionally, there are many versions of Windows created over the years – can an older version of Windows upgrade to a newer version?

The Registry is the primary repository for everything about your Windows system. The Registry is rarely accessed directly, but when necessary we use the REGEDIT utility to do so.

Every program running on a system manifests as a process. Each process has a numeric process identifier. Processes are broken down into services which run in the background and applications that run using visible windows.

The typical Windows system runs over a hundred services or more. It’s important for a tech to understand how to inspect running services as well as start and stop them as needed. Traditionally this is done with the Services application, but modern versions of Task Manager also provide an interface to manage services.

Windows has many tools to help techs. It’s important for good techs to understand where to find these tools and what they do to help techs maintain a Windows system.

The Task Manager that came with Windows 7 has important features that allow techs to inspect the status of processes. These processes are divided into services and applications. Additionally, Windows 7 Task Manager has solid basic tools to determine the overall performance of your system’s resources (RAM, CPU, Disk and Networking).

The Windows 10 Task Manager is greatly enhanced compared to the Windows 7 Task Manager. This newer Task Manager adds deep support for diagnosing performance issues for a Windows system.

MSINFO32 is your go-to utility for a quick overview of the hardware and software configuration for a Windows system. MSCONFIG enables techs to selectivity control how Windows starts.

Performance Monitor gives techs the tools they need to closely track almost every aspect of a Windows system. The trick to Performance Monitor is to run a baseline on a new system to “lock in” the expected performance.

Event Viewer, as the name implies, logs events on a Windows system. Event Viewer logs hundreds of different event types by default but a tech can easily add specific event tracking by editing the Audit Policy in the Local Security Policy app.

The CompTIA A+ objectives list two Control Panel tools used exclusively for applications. The Open Database Connectedly (ODBC) app gives programmers the ability to locate shared databases. The Component Object Model (COM+) gives applications the ability to connect to other COM+ compliant applications.

The Microsoft NT File System (NTFS) enables fine control of multiple users accessing resources on a single computer. To do this, every person accessing a single computer must have their own user account. Windows also has groups which combine users with common resource needs.

Every version of Windows has some utility to create, maintain and remove users and groups from a system. Older Windows versions use the Local Users and Groups application while Windows 10 uses the User Accounts utility.

NTFS permissions are powerful and a bit complicated to those unfamiliar with them. You can apply permissions for files or folders to user accounts (although it is considered better to apply them to groups and add user accounts to those groups).

While macOS and Linux lack NTFS’s fine control of resources, they do still have permissions, and a good tech should understand how they work. Additionally, there are specific tools used to control permissions.

Techs use File Explorer to access and manipulate files and folders on their local machines and on networks. File Explorer by default works well but a good tech should know about many features, some not too obvious, to improve control of how File Explorer works.

The process of sharing resources using NTFS makes more sense with examples. Certain features (especially Allow/Deny and Inheritance) make more sense when you see the process in action.

NTFS permissions control files and folders, but there are plenty of other resources that need control. Security Policies control factors like logon attempts, printer access and password length/complexity