PC Technician Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to CompTIA A+ Skills

411 Pages·2006·9.57 MB·English

by  James Pyles

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PC Technician
Street Smarts
A Real World Guide to
CompTIA A+® Skills
James Pyles
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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84588ffirs.fm Page i Tuesday, October 24, 2006 2:18 PM
PC Technician
Street Smarts
A Real World Guide to
CompTIA A+® Skills
James Pyles
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Acquisitions Editor: Jeff Kellum
Development Editor: Toni Zuccarini Ackley
Technical Editor: Neil Hester
Production Editor: Martine Dardignac
Copy Editor: Judy Flynn
Production Manager: Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher: Joseph B. Wikert
Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde
Book Designers: Judy Fung and Bill Gibson
Compositor: Laurie Stewart, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreader: Ian Golder
Indexer: Ted Laux
Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico
Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed
Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-08458-8
ISBN-10: 0-470-08458-8
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To my children, Michael, David, and Jamie. Michael has shown me how to be calm
in the face of most circumstances (although I've yet to become that relaxed). David
has sometimes faced hardships while growing up and has shown me how to never
give up. Jamie's curiosity and courage have taken her halfway around the world
and she's shown me that dreams really do come true. Thanks, kids. I love you all.
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Acknowledgments
No one writes a book alone. While my name may be on the cover as the author, a small army
of people has actually been responsible for reviewing every word and image that appears in
this book. Before I ever heard of the “Street Smarts” series, people were working behind the
scenes to find an author for PC Technician Street Smarts (and fortunately they picked me). A
special thanks goes out to everyone who has been involved in this book and has supported me
in this endeavor.
My agent at Waterside Productions, Carole McClendon; my good friend Kim Lindros at
Gracie Editorial; and Ed Tittel all suggested to Sybex that I’d be a good choice to write this
book. What’s amazing about this is that they each made their suggestions to Sybex indepen-
dently of one another. Thanks for having faith in me, everyone.
Jeff Kellum was the first person at Sybex (Wiley, really) who talked to me about the “Street
Smarts” series. As acquisitions editor, he stayed engaged as long as I needed him and then
handed off the ball to the rest of the team. He’s been very easy to work with and to talk to.
Thanks, Jeff.
Kudos to development editor Toni Zuccarini-Ackley for being able to see all of the details
in my writing that needed fixing. Toni’s been very kind and patient and has been very good
to work with. She also gets most of the credit for making me sound intelligent as a writer.
Thanks, Toni. Thanks also to Neil Hester, who as technical editor kept me on the straight and
narrow, and to Judy Flynn and Martine Dardignac, who doubtless spent long hours going
over the pages of this book and making very wise suggestions.
My “thank yous” wouldn’t be complete without crediting the gang at CertForums.co.uk,
Linux-Tutorial.info, and Tech-Unity.com for letting me bend their collective (virtual)
ears while writing this book and who’ve always been supportive of me as a writer.
Finally, thanks to my wife, Lin, who graciously let me spend incalculable hours in my lair
writing this book, and to my parents, Jim and Barbara Pyles, who were very understanding as
I grew up exploring my creativity and curiosity . . . even when I melted crayons on my bed
sheets when I was nine.
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction xix
Phase 1 Installing Hardware and Software 1
Phase 2 Maintaining and Documenting Computer Systems 117
Phase 3 Networking Computer Systems 197
Phase 4 Troubleshooting and Restoring Computer Systems 261
Index 345
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Contents
Introduction xix
Phase 1 Installing Hardware and Software 1
Task 1.1: Installing RAM 2
Scenario 2
Scope of Task 3
Procedure 3
Criteria for Completion 7
Task 1.2: Installing a PCI Card 7
Scenario 8
Scope of Task 8
Procedure 8
Criteria for Completion 11
Task 1.3: Installing a CPU 11
Scenario 11
Scope of Task 12
Procedure 12
Criteria for Completion 15
Task 1.4: Installing a Power Supply 15
Scenario 16
Scope of Task 16
Procedure 17
Criteria for Completion 18
Task 1.5: Installing a Hard Drive 18
Scenario 19
Scope of Task 19
Procedure 20
Criteria for Completion 22
Task 1.6: Installing a Floppy Drive 22
Scenario 22
Scope of Task 22
Procedure 23
Criteria for Completion 25
Task 1.7: Installing a SCSI Drive 25
Scenario 25
Scope of Task 26
Procedure 26
Criteria for Completion 28
Task 1.8: Installing a CD Drive 28
Scenario 29
Scope of Task 29