Reviewing for the A+ Examination

[er0k]

This tutorial is a quick one that will help refresh your memory on some of the questions that could be on the A+ exam. I will give five questions and answers over a variety of subjects. It is part one of some (no number specified) tut's that I will be writing regarding the A+ examination. Note that these are simply study tips from me, and help from my A+ book. This tut should be utilized by people serious about getting the A+ certification, along with interested bystander's all the same. Now, this is an original tutorial by me, the quotes are just evidence. I am writing this to teach, as a teacher would use a textbook.
I will begin with a brief explanation of the A+ certification, then move on to some good ol q's and a's with guides along with the answers. The q's and a's came from various points througout my a+ certification book. I will give the page number for each one next to the beginning of the question. The book is entitled "Test Yourself, A+ Certification Questions and Answers Review, Third Edition" By Syngress and Osbourne. Mainly the explantions etc will come from me. I will only take the answers and questions from the book, along with the scenarios for the question/answer. Also, the pages will be in this format beginning with Page <> and ending with </()> everything else is my input. May i also add that the book is NOT copyrighted, and states thus:

"This publication may be used in assisting students in order to prepare for the exam."

Meaning that it is of course a textbook, and is used for learning. I, in this situation, am the teacher of this book, and you who are learning from this are the student. Just figured i would let you all know that so i didnt get mixed up in a copyright problem.

The A+ Cert

Now, the A+ certification is not only core hardware, but also a great emphasis is put upon software. Basic OPerating system fundamentals to advanced, along with basic networking ect. The A+ certification is not a difficult one to achieve, nothing like the mcse, in my opinion. But again, as most of you that will use this will know all this crap about it already. So lets begin.

We will begin with Identifying, Adding, and Removing System Components.

Page 8.
There are certain types of procedures for adding, replacing, and removing components in a computer. The most common mistakes made by techies are also the most common questions that you should expect in your exam. FOr example you might be asked to select the correct method for removing an adapter. WHen making connections, you must not forget that the red strip on any ribbon cable identifies its pin I and that it must be aligned to pin I on the disk drive. It is also important to not that the primary hard drive is always connected to the end connector on the ribbon cable. Kinda like it, the power supply connectors, usually the P8 and P9 cables must be connected with their black wires, facing each other.</page 8.>

Now, lets test your knowledge.

I will give off some situations, and you will see if you can answer the questions, then i will move on to giving the answers and explaining them.

Page 8 continued .
The power supply of your computer was blown last week and you have purchased a new compatible supply. Here is what you have to accomplish: (REQUIRED RESULTS)Mount the power supply in the computer and make sure all the connections are in, to the motherboard, floppy drive, hard disk drive, cd drive </page 8.>yada yada.

Page 9.
Proposed Solutions

1.The power supply must be tested before mounting in the computer case.
2.The motherboard must be tested before connecting power to the disk drives to ensure there is no "critical" failure.

A solution to this problem would be to:
Mount the new power supply unit in the computer case and tighten all screws. Connect the "usually" two motherboard supply connectors, again, making sure the black wires are facing each other. When you do this, connect the power connectors to the hard disks and floppy drive ect. Close the computer case and switch on the power supply.

What results does the proposed solution produce?

A. The proposed solution produces the required result and both of the optional results.

B. The proposed solution produces the required results, but none of the optionals.

C. THe propsed solution produces the required result and only one of the optional results.

D. The proposed solution does not produce the required results. </page 9.>

Ok now that you have pondered your answer, lets see what it is.

Page 17
The answer = B. The proposed solution produces the requried result but none of the optional results. the requred result is produced because of the power supply is mounted and all connections are made as suggested in the proposed solution. Considering that the powers supply was the only problem in the system, the system should work after the replacement is complete. The first iptional result is not produced because there is no suggestion in the proposed solution as to how the power supply unit should be tested. Although a new power supply should be working, it is always better to check the DC output using a multimeter. The second optional result is not produced because all the power connectors for disk drives are being connected without first testing the motherboard. It is a common practice to test the motherboard alone by connecting the power supply. This is typically done by listening for a beep generated by the system during the power-on selft-test(POST). This ensures that there is no critical fault in the motherboard.</page 17>

I also will add some <non situation> questions and explanations to better prepare you for the a+ examination.

Page 9.
Which of the statements correctly describes the actions you must perform while taking out a Pentium II processor?

a. release the lever of the socket and pull out the processor carefully.

b. push the retaining clips on each side, and the processor will become free in the slot.

c. push the retaining clips outwards on each side and pull the processor safely from the socket.

d. release the lever of the socket and use the chip puller to take out the processor.</page 9>

Page 18 The answer - C. Push the retaining clips outward on each side and pull the processor safely out of the socket. Pentium II processors use vertical single edge contact (SEC) sockets. the correct method to take out a pentium II processor is to first locate the retaining clips on each side of the processor and push them outside simultaneously. The procecssor can then be pulled out of the socket safely. If there is a locking tab to secure the processor in its place, it must be removed before pushing out the retaining clips.</page 18>

Now we will move along to the Network section of the A+ exam with 2 questions and answers.

Page 209.
You are using windows 98 computers at home and want to network them so that you can share files and a common printer connected to one of the computers. You have purchased two network adapters, and you have just completed installing the network adapters and drivers on both computers and connecting the two computers using a crossover UTP cable. Where should you start configuring your network?

a. from the my computer icon on the desktop

b. from the network applet in the control panel.

c. from the device manager in system properties.

d. from the network neighborhood icon on the desktop.</page 209>

Page 221 Answer = B. Networking on windows 98 computers is configured from the network applet in Control Panel. In the network configuration dialog box, you can add or remove network protocols, enable file and print sharing, and add or remove network services. This is the centralized location to manage networking on Windows 9x computers.</page 221>

Page 210-211

You and your friend have just joined a small company and have been given two new windows 98 computers. You are working jointly on a training project and you want to share one of the folders related to the project with your colleague. When you open the properties dialog box of the folder in windows explorer, you find that the Sharing tab does not exist. You check the Network Properties in the control panel, but the sharing tabe does not exist there either. You check your friends computer and find the same problem there. When you try to connect to the shared folders on other older computers, you dont have any problems. What could be the reason?

A. Networking software is not properly installed.

B. File and Print Sharing have not been enabled.

C. THere is a problem with the network drivers.

D. An incorrect network protocol is being used. </210-211>

Page 222 Answer - B. The reason that you dont see the sharing tab on the properties dialog box of the folder is that file and print sharing is not enabled on both of the computers. SInce the computers are new, it is possible that the technician who installed windows 98 did not enable this feature. Unless File Sharing is enabled, you will not be able to share the folders on your computers. It is important to note that you need not select both the file and the printer sharing checkboxes if you want to share only files. TO enable file sharing only, open the NEtwork Properties in control panel and click the file and print sharing tab. Click the "I want to give others access to my files" check box and click OK. WHen the computer restarts after this, sharing tab will be added in network properties and in the folder properties in windows explorer.</page 222>

Now for the last question of my first a+ tutorial, i will give Operating System Functions and the Windows family a try.

Page 145.

A friend has sought your advice on the basic differences between windows 98 and windows 2000 operating systems. WHich of the following statements incorrectly describes the feature similarities of these two operating systems? choose all correct answers.

a. Both Windows 2k and windows 98 support plug and play.
b. Both windows 2000 and Windows 98 have strong support for multimedia applications.

c. both windows 2000 and windows 98 support preemptive multitasking for running multiple applications.

d. Both windows 2000 and windows 98 support multiprocessing.

e. both windows 2000 and windows 98 have a similar user interface.</page 145>

Page 158 Answer(s) C&D. Both Windows 2000 and Windows 98 support preemptive multitasking for running multiple applications, and both windows 2000 and windows 98 support multiprocessing. These two statements are incorrect because Windows 98 support cooperative multitasking, and windows 2000 supports preemptive multitasking. Multiprocessing the ability to support more that one microprocessor on a computer, is supported ONLY in windows 2000 professional, which supports up to 2 microprocessors, or windows 2000 server, which supports up to 4 microprocessors. Windows 98 does not support more than one processor.

Thankyou for reading my tut, any suggestions or comments are welcome. There will very possibly be additions to this.. Depends of course, on the outcome of the readers.

[ac1dsp3ctrum]

Thanks a bunch.... Like I said in AIM, I was looking for a A+ certification manual, But this si good.... Hope theres more to come....
/me goes to barnes and noble.com

[THE RADICAL]

Thats really nicely laid out and all, nice job. My Dad just got his A+ certification and he got a huge payraise after that. Also I'm looking at the manuel he brought home and reading through it and it has some cool things in it. Anyways I'm just curious about computer stuff thats why I'm reading this, sooo. It looks nice, good job!

[ammo]

Good tut! I don't have an A+ cert but at least now I know what the exam is like if I want to do it!

Wasn't the PII connector named "slot 1" though?

Ammo

[xmaddness]

Great Tutorial. I just finished my A+ OS class, and I'm half way done with the Hardware portion. Great info.
x

[Syber]

Very nice tutorial, er0k. Keep up the good work.

[comJo]

Should have hit the test before January when they dropped win95 and other legacy coverage and moved emphasis to 2000. It was a lot easier. Other than this, don't fret about it if you have basic computer hardware knowledge and mostly hardware component identification skills.

Heh, pretty soon you'll be pushing for my friend and I's record of assembling a completely disassembled computer, including jumpers and led connections, and installing an os on an empty harddrive, in 22 minutes and thirty seconds (TSA State Convention, 2001, Kentucky).

:0 Just had to brag. my bad.

OverandOut.
comrade

[zepherin]

I can't believe classes for this run a thousand bucks.