PC Repair Course
Textbook:
All-In-One A+ Certification Exam Guide: 4th Edition by Michael Meyers.
Make sure you have the 4th edition. If shopping online, I'd recommend www.bookpool.com.
Recurring Assignments:
Prepare two article summaries each week based on articles at one of the following sites (note: the articles must be related to computer hardware or operating systems):
Textbook Reading Schedule
You are expected to read one chapter a week from the textbook. Reading assignments should be completed by Tuesday of each week. You should expect a test (written, oral, or computer-based) on Thursday of each week. Since class time will be spent on discussions and lab exercises, don't count on reading in class. Note, too, that some assignments are rather lengthy reading (up to 130 pages), so you may want to read ahead.
| Ch. | Pages | Topic | Possible Labs |
| 1 | 25-70 | Tour of the Computer |
- Take apart a computer
- Put it back together
- Physically add stuff (RAM, expansion cards, etc.) to a PC
|
| 2 | 71-154 |
CPU (Microprocessor) |
|
| 3 | 155-194 | RAM |
|
| 4 | 195-250 | Motherboard / BIOS |
- Pull a motherboard out of a computer
- Put it back in
|
| 5 | 251-316 | Expansion Bus |
- Add a legacy card and software to system
- Add a PNP card to system
- Fix an I/O or IRQ conflict
|
| 6 | 317-354 |
Power Supplies |
- Use a multitester to test the power coming from a system
- Replace a power supply
|
| 7 | 355-380 |
Floppies |
- Add a second floppy drive to a system
- Configure a single floppy drive to be the B: drive
- Set a floppy cabled as B: to show up as A: in Windows
- Set CMOS so computer does not include the floppy in boot sequence
|
| 8 | 381-469 |
Hard Disk Drives |
- Open a hard disk drive (because you can)
- Partition a hard drive using fdisk
- Format a hard drive
- Copy a hard drive
- Test a hard drive for errors
- Add a partition to an existing system (using FIPS)
- Make a Hard Drive dual-boot (Linux / Win98)
|
| 9 | 471-528 |
DOS |
- Practice using DOS commands
- Create a batch file
|
| 10 | 529-657 |
Windows 9x |
- System management projects
- Edit registry for fun
|
| 11 | 659-746 |
Windows 2000 |
- Create local users and groups
- Set restrictions on local directories and files
- Create an MMC
- Set security restrictions on local PC
|
| 12 | 747-786 | DOS Memory Management |
- Figure out DOS memory management
|
| 13 | 789-819 | SCSI |
|
| 14 | 821-853 | CD-ROM |
- Add a CD-ROM to a PC
- Remove a CD-ROM from a CD with no power
- Fix a CD-ROM with an off-track tray
|
| 15 | 855-883 | Sound |
- Add a sound card to a PC
- Use sound card to record and play back sound
|
| 16 | 885-946 | Video |
- Replace video card on a PC
- Fix a computer with bad video settings
|
| 17 | 947-975 | Modems |
|
| 18 | 977-1003 | Laptops |
- Take apart a laptop
- Replace HDD and RAM on a laptop
|
| 19 | 1005-1039 | Printers |
- Install a printer
- Clean a printer
- Take a printer apart (because we can)
|
| 20 | 1041-1109 |
Networks |
- Create a peer-to-peer network with file shares
- Create a client/server network based on TCP/IP
|
Restricted access | 
