5
injury that may occur to yourself or to others. Cautions alert you when an act
may damage your computer and incur minor injury to yourself. Losing all of
your data is the most common act to be cautious of. Dangers alert you of possible
serious or fatal injury to yourself or others. For example, you may encounter some
dangerous voltages, especially when dealing with monitors. Most of those repairs
should be left to special technicians.
Each chapter concludes with a summary of some of the key information
you should take from the chapter, a large number of questions, a list of useful
Web sites, and laboratory activities for you to try. Each chapter has two sets of
questions. The first set of questions tests your general comprehension of the
material in the chapter. The second set of questions mimics the style of the
CompTIA A+ Certification exams. The questions asked here are on topics that the
exams commonly probe.
Hands-on experience is the only way to become proficient in PC repair, so be
sure to attempt the activities at the end of each chapter. If you can complete the
activities in this text and in the accompanying laboratory manual, you should
have no problem passing the A+ Certification exams. Each chapter concludes
with a complete Lab Activity. Be sure to work through each of these activities.
Suggested Laboratory Activities are also included. These activities are loosely
structured proceedings that you can attempt on your own or if you have free
time in class.
Never forget, the world of PCs changes rapidly. Consequently, PC repair and
the CompTIA A+ Certification exams must change with it. Each chapter includes
a list of Web sites where you can find the latest information on the topics covered.
Be sure to check the CompTIA Web site (www.comptia.org) frequently for the
latest information on what subjects are being added to the exams and what
subjects are being dropped. Also, check the author’s Web site (www.RMRoberts.com)
for text updates, interesting links, and bonus laboratory material.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following people who helped make this textbook
possible by supplying information, details, photographs, artwork, and software.
Adam Forbes, Crucial Technology
Al Platt, US Postal Service
Beverly A. Summers, Fluke Corporation
Brian Burke, NVIDIA Corporation
Chris Keller, PC-Doctor, Inc.
David Goss, American Microsystems LTD
David Leong, Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
Erkki Lepre, F-Secure Corporation
Gabriel Rouchon, Swiftech Inc.
George Alfs, Intel Corporation
Heather Jardim, Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
Howard Burnside, Electronics Instructor, Retired
Jacqueline Romulo, Belkin International, Inc.
Jason Cambria, NeoWorx, Inc.
Jeremy VanWagnen, TechSmith Corporation
Jim Spare, Canesta, Inc.