Main Ft. Bliss Area Campus  

#3 Butterfield Trail
El Paso, Texas 79906
Phone 915.591.8899

Las Cruces Campus

108 Wyatt Drive
Las Cruces,
New Mexico 88003
Phone 505.541.8900

Looking to get ahead in the IT field?  Check out the latest in Information Technology Certifications!

A+ Certification Course

This course will provide the student with the information to assist he/she for A+ certification. For computer professionals, getting industry certification can promote a student's career. The following are some of the main areas covered in this course: proper assembly and disassembly techniques, installing, upgrading, and configuring computer components, installing and configuring an operating system, troubleshooting computer problems and preparation for taking the A+ certification exam.

Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Identify basic procedures for adding and removing field-replaceable modules for desktop systems. Given a replacement scenario, choose the appropriate sequences.

• Identify basic procedures for adding and removing field- replaceable modules for portable systems. Given a replacement scenario, choose the appropriate sequences.

• Identify typical IRQs, DMAs, and I/O addresses, and procedures for altering these settings when installing and configuring devices. Choose the appropriate installation or configuration steps in a given scenario.

• Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring common SCSI devices. Choose the appropriate installation or configuration sequences in given scenarios. Recognize the associated cables.

• Identify proper procedures for installing and configuring common peripheral devices. Choose the appropriate installation or configuration sequences in given scenarios.

• Identify procedures to optimize PC operations in specific situations. Predict the effects of specific procedures under given scenarios.

• Determine the issues that must be considered when upgrading a PC. In a given scenario, determine when and how to upgrade system components.

• Recognize common problems associated with each module and their symptoms, and identify steps to isolate and troubleshoot the problems. Given a problem situation, interpret the symptoms and infer the most likely cause.

• Identify basic troubleshooting procedures and tools, and how to elicit problem symptoms from customers.

• Identify various safety measures and procedures, and when/how to use them.

• Identify environmental protection measures and procedures, and when/how to use them.

• Distinguish between the popular CPU chips in terms of their basic characteristics.

• Identify the types of RAM (Random Access Memory), form factors, and operational characteristics. Determine banking and speed requirements under given scenarios.

• Identify the most popular types of motherboards, their components, and their architecture (bus structures).

• Identify the purpose of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) memory, what it contains, and how and when to change its parameters. Given a scenario involving CMOS, choose the appropriate course of action.

• Identify printer technologies, interfaces, and options/upgrades.

• Recognize common printer problems and techniques used to resolve them.

• Identify the common types of network cables, their characteristics and connectors.

• Identify basic networking concepts including how a network works.

• Identify common technologies available for establishing Internet connectivity and their characteristics.

• Identify the major desktop components and interfaces, and their functions. Differentiate the characteristics of Windows 9x/Me, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP.

• Identify the names, locations, purposes, and contents of major system files.

• Demonstrate the ability to use command-line functions and utilities to manage the operating system, including the proper syntax and switches.

• Identify basic concepts and procedures for creating, viewing, and managing disks, directories and files. This includes procedures for changing file attributes and the ramifications of those changes (for example, security issues).

• Identify the major operating system utilities, their purpose, location, and available switches.

• Identify the procedures for installing Windows 9x/Me, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP, and bringing the operating system to a basic operational level.

• Identify steps to perform an operating system upgrade from Windows 9.x/ME, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP.

• Identify the basic system boot sequences and boot methods, including the steps to create an emergency boot disk with utilities installed for Windows 9x/Me, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP.

• Identify procedures for installing/adding a device, including loading, adding, and configuring device drivers, and required software.

• Identify procedures necessary to optimize the operating system and major operating system subsystems.

• Recognize and interpret the meaning of common error codes and startup messages from the boot sequence, and identify steps to correct the problems.

• Recognize when to use common diagnostic utilities and tools. Given a diagnostic scenario involving one of these utilities or tools, select the appropriate steps needed to resolve the problem.

• Recognize common operational and usability problems and determine how to resolve them.

• Identify the networking capabilities of Windows. Given configuration parameters, configure the operating system to connect to a network.

• Identify the basic Internet protocols and terminologies. Identify procedures for establishing Internet connectivity. In a given scenario, configure the operating system to connect to and use Internet resources.

Recommended prerequisites for this course include a working knowledge of:

Computer software programs such as a word processor, graphics and introduction to microcomputers