A+® Core Hardware Exam
A+ Core Hardware Service Technician
Examination Objectives
Introduction
For A+ Certification, the examinee must pass both this examination and the A+ Operating System Technologies examination. The Core Hardware examination measures essential
competencies for a microcomputer hardware service technician with six months of on-the-job experience. The examinee must demonstrate basic knowledge of installing, configuring,
upgrading, troubleshooting, and repairing microcomputer systems at the standard defined by this test specification.
The skills and knowledge measured by this examination are derived from an industry-wide and
worldwide job task analysis which was validated through a survey of almost 2,000 A+ certified professionals. The results of the survey are used in weighting the domains and ensuring that the
weighting is representative of the relative importance of that content to the job requirements of a service technician with six months on-the-job experience. The intent is to certify individuals in a
body of knowledge that is identified and accepted as the baseline or foundation of any entry-level PC technician.
The exam is in adaptive format, therefore, will be presented with 20-30 questions. You will have 30
minutes to complete the exam. Please be aware that a score determination could be made before the maximum number of questions is presented. Once a score determination is made, the exam will shut off.
The exam is translated in the following languages: Japanese, French, Spanish and German.
NOTE: This examination blueprint for the A+ Core Hardware examination includes the weighting,
test objectives, and example content. Example topics and concepts are included to clarify the test objectives and should not be construed as a comprehensive listing of all the content of this examination.
The table below lists the domains measured by this examination and the extent to which they are represented in the examination.
A+ Certification Core Module:
Domain 1.0 Installation, Configuration, and Upgrading
This domain requires the knowledge and skills to identify, install, configure, and upgrade
microcomputer modules and peripherals, following established basic procedures for system assembly and disassembly of field replaceable modules. Elements include ability to identify and
configure IRQ's, DMA's, I/O addresses, and set switches and jumpers.
1.1 - Identify basic terms, concepts, and functions of system modules, including how each module should work during normal operation:
System board - Power supply - Processor/CPU - Memory - Storage devices - Monitor - Modem - Input devices - Output devices - BIOS CMOS
1.2 - Identify basic procedures for adding and removing field replaceable modules:
System board - Power supply - Processor/CPU - Memory - Storage devices - Monitor - Modem - Input devices - Output devices. Portable system components covering Digital Cameras, Pointing
Devices, PC Cards and DC Controllers.
1.3 - Identify available IRQs, DMA's, and I/0 addresses and procedures for configuring them for
device installation, including identifying switch and jumper settings:
Standard IRQ settings - Differences between jumpers and switches - Locating and setting
switches/jumpers - Modems Sound Cards - Network Cards, Hexidecimal/Addresses,USB Ports and Infrared Ports..
1.4 - Identify common peripheral ports, associated cabling, and their connectors:
Cable types - Cable orientation - Cable and connector location - internal/external - Serial versus parallel - Pin connections - Cable handling/routing - Examples of types of connectors. DB9 -
DB25 - RJ11 - RJ14 - RJ45 - PS2/MINI-DIN, BNC, USB and IEEE 1394..
1.5 - Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring IDE/EIDE devices:
Master/slave - Devices per channel, Primary/Secondary..
1.6 - Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring SCSI devices:
Address/Termination conflicts Cabling Types (example: regular, wide, ultra-wide) - Power supply Internal versus external - Switch and jumper settings and Expansion Slots
1.7 - Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring peripheral devices:
Monitor/Video Card - Modem - Storage devices - Associated drivers, USB peripherals,IEEE1284, IEEE 1394, Portable-Docking Stations, PC Crads, Port Replicators and Infrared Devices..
1.8 - Identifying Hardware Methods of Upgrading system performance and procedures for replacing basic subsystems components:
Memory, Hard Drives, CPU, Upgrading BIOS, when to upgrade, battery, Types I, II, and III Cards.
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Domain 2.0 Diagnosing and Troubleshooting
This domain requires the ability to apply knowledge relating to diagnosing and troubleshooting
common module problems and system malfunctions. This includes knowledge of the symptoms relating to common problems.
2.1 - Identify common symptoms & problems associated with each module and how to troubleshoot and isolate the problems:
Processor/Memory symptoms - Keyboards/Mouse/Track Ball/Pen/Microphones/Touch Pad - Floppy drive failures - Parallel Ports/scanners/tape drives - Hard Drives - Sound Card/Audio
Monitor/Video - Modems - BIOS - Power supply - Device drivers - POST - Audio/visual error codes-DVD-USB-NIC-CMOS-Cables-LArge LBA and troubleshooting tools.
2.2 - Identify basic troubleshooting procedures and good practices for eliciting problem symptoms from customers
Troubleshooting determination procedures - Determine whether hardware or software problem - Gather information from user regarding, e.g., Customer Environment - Symptoms/Error Codes -
Situation when the problem occurred.
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Domain 3.0 Safety and Preventive Maintenance
This domain requires the knowledge of safety and preventive maintenance. With regard to safety,
it includes the potential hazards to personnel and equipment when working with lasers, high voltage equipment, ESD and items that require special disposal procedures that comply with
environmental guidelines. With regard to preventive maintenance, this includes knowledge of preventive maintenance products, procedures, environmental hazards, and precautions when working on microcomputer systems.
3.1 - Identify the purpose of various types of preventive maintenance products and procedures, and when to use/perform them:
Liquid cleaning compounds - Types of materials to clean contacts and connections - Types of tools used for cleaning floppy drives: Head cleaning disk - Manufacturer guidelines - Observations:
identify wear and tear to determine need for maintenance - Vacuum out systems, power supplies, fans - Industry standards, normal use versus heavy use or environmental considerations.
3.2 - Identify procedures and devices for protecting against environmental hazards:
UPS (uninterruptible power supply), suppressors, noise filters, and plug strips - Determining the signs of power issues - Proper methods of storage of components for future use. Potential
Hazards and proper safety procedures related to Lasers. Special disposal procedures that may apply with Environmental guidelines. Electric Static Discharge precautions and procedures.
3.3 - Identify the potential hazards and proper safety procedures relating to lasers and high voltage equipment:
Lasers ran cause blindness - High voltage equipment can cause electrocution, e.g., Power supply - CRT.
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Domain 4.0 Motherboard/Processors/Memory
This domain requires knowledge of specific terminology, facts, ways and means of dealing with
classifications categories and principles of motherboards, processors, and memory in microcomputer systems.
4.1 - Distinguish between the popular CPU chips in terms of their basic characteristics:
Popular CPU chips:
Intel, AMD and Cyrix
Characteristics:
Physical size - Voltage - Speeds - Heat sink and cooling fan requirements - On board cache or not - Sockets - Number of pins. SEC
4.2 - Identify the categories of RAM (Random Access Memory) terminology, their locations, and physical characteristics:
Terminology:
EDO RAM (Extended Data Output RAM) - DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) - SRAM (Static RAM) -VRAM (Video RAM) - WRAM (Windows Accelerator Card RAM), RIMM,
Locations and physical characteristics:
Memory bank - Memory chips (8, 16, and 32 bit) - SIMMS (Single In-line Memory Module) - DIMMS (Dual In- line Memory Module) Parity chips versus non-parity chips.
4.3 - Identify the most popular type of motherboards, their components, and their architecture (e.g., bus structures and power supplies):
Types of motherboards:
-AT (Full and Baby) - ATX
Components:
Communication ports - CMOS, SIMM AND DIMM Processor Sockets - External Cache Memory
(Level 2) - ROM - Bus Architecture - ISA - EISA - PCI -USB- VESA local bus (VL-BUS) - PC Card (PCMCIA) Basic compatibility guidelines.
4.4 - Identify the purpose of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor), what it contains and how to change Its basic parameters:
Example Basic CMOS Settings:
Printer parallel port - Uni/bi-directional, disable/enable, ECP, EPP com/serial port - memory
address, interrupt request, disable hard drive - size and drive type - floppy drive enable/disable drive or boot, speed, density - boot sequence - memory parity, non-parity - network interface card
- date/time - passwords.
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Domain 5.0 Printers
This domain requires knowledge of basic types of printers, basic concepts, printer components,
how they work, how they print onto a page, paper path, care and service techniques, and common problems.
5.1 - Identify basic concepts, printer operations, printer components, and field replaceable units in primary printer types.
Types of Printers:
Laser - Ink jet - Dot Matrix - Paper feeder mechanisms - Common Field Replaceable Units (FRUs) for printers include:
Primary Power Supply Boards or Assemblies - High Voltage Power Supplies System (or Main
Logic) Boards - Sub Logic Boards - Motors (main drive, paper feed, transport, etc.) - Fusers - Rollers - Sensors Switches - Cables - Printheads/laser devices - ROM SIMMs - EPROMs -
Operator Panels - Gear Packs-USB-Infared.
5.2 - Identify care and service techniques and common problems with primary printer types:
Feed and output - Paper jam, Print quality.
5.3 - Identify the types of printer connections and configurations:
Parallel - Serial - Network
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Domain 6.0 Basic Networking
This domain requires knowledge of basic network concepts and terminology, ability to determine
whether a computer is networked, knowledge of procedures for swapping and configuring network interface cards, and knowledge of the ramifications of repairs when a computer is networked.
6.1 - Identify basic networking concepts, including how a network works:
Network access, Protocol Network Interface Cards - Cabling - Twisted Pair, Coaxial, Fiber Optic - Ways to network a PC.
6.2 - Identify procedures for swapping and configuring network interface cards.
6.3 - Identify ramifications of repairs on the network:
Reduced bandwidth - Loss of data Network slowdown
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