Glen E. Clarke is an independent trainer and consultant. He writes books and leads courses on numerous certifications. Ed Tetz is a field support professional for a major IT firm and the author of guides to MCSE and other certifications. Timothy Warner is an IT professional, technical trainer, and author with MCSE, MCT, A+, and Network+ certifications.
Introduction 1 Pre-Assessment 9 Book 1: Setting the A Groundwork 17 CHAPTER 1: The 2015 A+ Exams 19 CHAPTER 2: A+ Soft Skills 27 CHAPTER 3: Protecting Yourself and Your PC 45 CHAPTER 4: An Overview of System Components 61 Book 2: Inside the Box 79 CHAPTER 1: Knowing Your Motherboard 81 CHAPTER 2: Picking Your Processor 125 CHAPTER 3: What to Remember about Memory 165 CHAPTER 4: Telling Your BIOS from Your CMOS 193 CHAPTER 5: Managing Storage Technology 223 CHAPTER 6: Working with Power 263 Book 3: Outside the Box 283 CHAPTER 1: Describing Ports, Cables, and Connectors 285 CHAPTER 2: Installing and Configuring Input Devices 313 CHAPTER 3: Installing and Configuring Output Devices 331 CHAPTER 4: Managing Printers 351 CHAPTER 5: Working with Multimedia Devices 385 CHAPTER 6: Dealing with Laptops and Mobile Devices 401 Book 4: Maintenance and Troubleshooting 445 CHAPTER 1: Performing Preventive Maintenance 447 CHAPTER 2: Troubleshooting Procedures and Guidelines 469 Book 5: Operating System Basics 499 CHAPTER 1: Comparison of Major Operating Systems 501 CHAPTER 2: Windows Operating System Functions 539 CHAPTER 3: Installing and Upgrading Windows 581 CHAPTER 4: Managing Files and Directories 613 CHAPTER 5: Command Prompt Procedures 643 CHAPTER 6: Working with System Files and the Boot Process 671 Book 6: Managing the Operating System 683 CHAPTER 1: Loading and Configuring Device Drivers 685 CHAPTER 2: Working with Applications 705 CHAPTER 3: Optimizing the Windows Environment 729 CHAPTER 4: Using Windows-Based Troubleshooting Utilities 767 Book 7: Recovering Systems 803 CHAPTER 1: Managing Error Codes and Startup Messages 805 CHAPTER 2: Managing Common Problems 823 CHAPTER 3: Preparing for Disasters with Disaster Recovery 843 Book 8: Networking 871 CHAPTER 1: Down to the Networking Basics 873 CHAPTER 2: Understanding Common Wireless Communications 921 CHAPTER 3: Networking the Operating System 951 CHAPTER 4: Configuring Internet Access 1017 Book 9: Securing Systems 1053 CHAPTER 1: Fundamentals of Security 1055 CHAPTER 2: Implementing Security 1097 CHAPTER 3: Viruses and Malicious Software 1135 Appendix: CompTIA A Exam Reference Matrix 1157 Index 1173