CompTIA A+ Certification:
220-604, 2nd Edition

Topic-Level Outline

                         Days:  2

         Prerequisites:  CompTIA A+ Certification: Essentials, 2nd Edition or equivalent experience

                         Unit 1 :  Power systems

                               Topic A: 0  Power supplies

                               A-1:                               Identifying your computer’s power supply

                               A-2:                               Installing a new power supply

                               Topic B: 0  Power supply troubleshooting

                         B-1:                         Troubleshooting power supply problems

                         Unit 2 :  CPUs and motherboards

                               Topic A: 0  CPU and motherboard installation

                               A-1:                               Updating your PC’s BIOS settings

                               A-2:                               Updating the BIOS in your PC (optional)

                               A-3:                               Replacing a system fan

                               A-4:                               Replacing a CPU (optional)

                               A-5:                               Replacing a motherboard (optional)

                               Topic B: 0  Motherboard troubleshooting

                         B-1:                         Replacing the CMOS battery

                         B-2:                         Troubleshooting BIOS and POST problems

                         B-3:                         Troubleshooting motherboard and CPU problems

                         Unit 3 :  Memory systems

                               Topic A: 0  RAM installation

                               A-1:                               Adding memory to a desktop computer

                               A-2:                               Adding memory to a notebook computer

                               A-3:                               Adding memory to a handheld computer

                               A-4:                               Monitoring memory usage

                               A-5:                               Changing the size of the Windows page file

                               Topic B: 0  Memory troubleshooting

                         B-1:                         Testing memory with Memtest86

                         B-2:                         Troubleshooting memory

                         Unit 4 :  Expansion cards

                               Topic A: 0  Host system interaction

                               A-1:                               Examining running processes

                               A-2:                               Examining system resources

                               A-3:                               Identifying the typical usage of system resources

                               A-4:                               Identifying the system resources in use with Device Manager

                               Topic B: 0  Expansion card installation

                               B-1:                               Installing a video adapter card

                               B-2:                               Installing a sound card

                               B-3:                               Installing an internal modem

                               B-4:                               Testing your modem

                               Topic C: 0  Laptop expansion device installation

                               C-1:                               Using PC Cards

                               C-2:                               Installing an internal expansion card

                               Topic D: 0  Legacy device installation

                               D-1:                               Installing a non-PnP device

                               D-2:                               Overriding Plug and Play settings

                               Topic E: 0  Expansion card troubleshooting

                         E-1:                         Searching for and installing updated drivers

                         E-2:                         Troubleshooting expansion card problems

                         Unit 5 :  Internal data storage devices

                               Topic A: 0  Hard drives

                               A-1:                               Physically installing a hard drive

                               A-2:                               Partitioning and formatting a hard drive

                               A-3:                               Changing the file system

                               A-4:                               Converting to a dynamic disk

                               Topic B: 0  Optical drives

                               B-1:                               Installing an optical drive

                               B-2:                               Using an optical drive

                               Topic C: 0  Floppy drives

                               C-1:                               Installing a floppy drive

                               C-2:                               Creating a Windows XP boot disk

                               Topic D: 0  Storage device troubleshooting

                         D-1:                         Running defrag.exe

                         D-2:                         Running chkdsk.exe

                         D-3:                         Using Disk Cleanup

                         D-4:                         Troubleshooting data storage devices

                         Unit 6 :  Printers and scanners

                               Topic A: 0  Printing technologies

                               A-1:                               Examining the dot-matrix printing process

                               A-2:                               Examining how inkjet printers work

                               A-3:                               Examining how laser printers work

                               A-4:                               Identifying other printer technologies

                               Topic B: 0  Printers

                               B-1:                               Examining the Windows printing process

                               B-2:                               Installing a printer

                               B-3:                               Installing printer add-ons and upgrades

                               B-4:                               Performing printer maintenance

                               B-5:                               Optimizing printing

                               B-6:                               Troubleshooting printer problems

                               Topic C: 0  Scanners

                         C-1:                         Connecting a scanner

                         C-2:                         Troubleshooting scanner problems

                         C-3:                         Optimizing a scanner

                         Unit 7 :  Portable computers and devices

                               Topic A: 0  Component replacement

                               A-1:                               Adding and removing hot-swappable components

                               A-2:                               Replacing an internal component in a notebook

                               A-3:                               Adding peripherals

                               A-4:                               Troubleshooting portable computer problems

                               Topic B: 0  Portable computer power sources

                         B-1:                         Identifying power problems

                         Unit 8 :  Network connections

                               Topic A: 0  LAN connections

                               A-1:                               Installing a NIC

                               A-2:                               Viewing installed network protocols

                               A-3:                               Configuring an IP address and subnet mask

                               A-4:                               Configuring additional TCP/IP properties

                               Topic B: 0  Wireless communication connections

                         B-1:                         Comparing wireless networking standards

                         B-2:                         Configuring a wireless access point (instructor demo)

                         B-3:                         Configuring a wireless client (instructor demo)

                         Unit 9 :  Security

                               Topic A: 0  Local security

                               A-1:                               Creating local users and groups

                               A-2:                               Configuring file access restrictions

                               A-3:                               Configuring file access restrictions

                               A-4:                               Encrypting a file

                               A-5:                               Testing encryption

                               A-6:                               Encrypting a folder

                               A-7:                               Encrypting with cipher

                               A-8:                               Using local security policies to set password restrictions

                               Topic B: 0  Security hardware

                               B-1:                               Installing a fingerprint reader

                               B-2:                               Installing a card reader

                               B-3:                               Installing the IdentiPHI Basic software

                               B-4:                               Configuring IdentiPHI Basic to accept smart cards

                               B-5:                               Enrolling a smart card with IdentiPHI Basic

                               B-6:                               Using a smart card

                               B-7:                               Uninstalling the smart card reader and software

                               Topic C: 0  The human aspects of security

                       C-1:                       Implementing physical access restrictions

                       C-2:                       Creating a corporate security policy

                       C-3:                       Managing social engineering attacks

                       Unit 10 :  Maintaining the PC environment

                               Topic A: 0  Safety and hazards

                               A-1:                               Creating a safe work area

                               Topic B: 0  Troubleshooting and maintaining PCs

               B-1:               Identifying documentation and information resources

               B-2:               Identifying common toolkit components

               B-3:               Performing preventative maintenance tasks

               B-4:               Cleaning computer equipment

               Appendix A :  Certification exam objectives map

                               Topic A: 0  Comprehensive exam objectives

               Appendix B :  CompTIA A+ acronyms

                               Topic A: 0  Acronyms list