A heat sink is an electronic device that incorporates either a fan or a peltier device to keep a hot component such as a processor cool.
Posts Categorized: CompTIA A+
CompTIA A+| Microsoft MTA O/S: Fan
A hardware device that keeps the overall computer or a computer device cool by circulating air to or from the computer or component. The picture is an example of a fan on a heat sink.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Chipset
A chipset is a group of microchips that are designed to work with one or more related functions that were first introduced in 1986 when Chips and Technologies introduced the 82C206.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: What is the difference between BIOS and CMOS?
The BIOS and CMOS are often times thought to be the same thing, but they are not.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Northbridge and Southbridge
Southbridge The southbridge is an IC on the motherboard responsible for the hard drivecontroller, I/O controller and integrated hardware. Integrated hardware can include the sound card and video card if on the motherboard, USB, PCI, ISA, IDE, BIOS, andEthernet.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Super I/O
Short for super input/output or Super I/O, SIO is anintegrated circuit on a computer motherboard that handles the slower and less prominent input/output devices shown below.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Parallel port
Less commonly referred to as the Centronics interface or Centronics connectorafter the company that originally designed it, the port was later developed by Epson.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Game control adapter
Originally known as the Analog-to-Digital port (A-to-D port), the as a game port, joystick port, or game control adapter is a 15-pin connector port first found onIBM computers in 1981.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: How to replace the CMOS Battery
If your computer is losing its time or date settings, or you are receiving a messageCMOS Read Error, CMOS Checksum Error, or CMOS Battery Failure, the CMOS battery needs to be replaced. To do this, follow the steps below.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: What is CMOS Battery?
Alternatively referred to as a Real-Time Clock (RTC), Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM) or CMOS RAM, CMOS is short for Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: How do I install an expansion card?
There are many types of expansion cards that can be installed in a computer, including sound, video, modem, network, interface card, and a number of others. In many cases, these expansion cards will fit in a slot in the computer called a PCI slot.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: PC Expansion Slots
Alternatively referred to as a bus slot or expansion port, an expansion slot is connection or port located inside a computer on the motherboard or riser board that allows a computer hardware expansion card to be connected.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Power Devices and Supplies
Power Supplies Okay, now that we’ve tested our AC outlet and put some protective power devices into play, let’s go ahead and talk power supplies.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: CPU sockets
You may not typically handle the insides of your computers, but if your business requires knowledge of Central Processing Units (CPU), then you’ll also need to learn about CPU sockets
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Ports
Computer port In computer hardware, a port serves as an interface between the computer and other computers or peripheral devices.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Hard Drives
What does a hard drive do? Storage is the hard drive’s responsibility. Everything you keep on your computer is on a hard drive.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Notebook and Desktop Memory
What Is Memory, or RAM? System memory, frequently called main memory or RAM (Random Access Memory), is a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Malicious Software (Malware)
Definition – What does Malicious Software (Malware) mean? Malicious software, commonly known as malware, is any software that brings harm to a computer system. Malware can be in the form of worms, viruses, trojans, spyware, adware and rootkits, etc., which steal protected data, delete documents or add software not approved by a user.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Wireless encryption protocols
Wireless encryption protocols include:
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Common networking command-line tools
Common networking command-line tools include the following:
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range technology aimed at simplifying communications and synchronization among network devices. Bluetooth is divided into three classes:
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Wireless Ethernet Versions
Wireless Ethernet Versions: (Name – Data Transfer Rate – Frequency)
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Cabling Standards
Cabling Standards include:
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Networking Protocols
Networking Protocols include: FTP – File Transfer Protocol : Port 21
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Types of Networks
Exam Cram: LAN = Local Area Network WAN = Wide Area Network MAN = Metropolitan (or Municipal) Area Network PAN = Personal Area Network
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Types of Custom PCs
[bs_icon name=”glyphicon glyphicon-chevron-right”] Custom PCs include: Audio/Video workstations – needs special A/V cards, fast hard drives and multiple monitors
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: 7 Tips for Effective Study Habits
#1 DON’T CRAM #2 DO PLAN #3 TAKE A BREAK #4 MIX IT UP #5 PICK YOUR TOPICS #6 FIND PRACTICE TESTS #7 USE TEST PREP MATERIALS
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Wireless encryption protocols
Wireless encryption protocols include :
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Switch and Router and Firewall
Switches connect computers together in a LAN.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: ATX
ATX 12V 2.x Power Supplies connect to the motherboard by way of 24-pin cable + 4-pin for CPU and 6 or 8-pin for video. Advantages of the ATX motherboard The ATX motherboard includes advanced control facilities, where the BIOS program continually checks the CPU temperature and voltages, the cooling fans RPM, etc. If… Read more »
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: IPv4 and IPv6
IPv4 addresses are 32 bit dotted-decimal numbers (like 192.168.1.1) and can be statically (manually) inputed or dynamically (automatically) assigned by DHCP.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: 6-Step Troubleshooting Process
CompTIA 6-Step Troubleshooting Process:
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: USB
Short for Universal Serial Bus, USB (pronounced yoo-es-bee) is a plug-and-play interface that allows a computer to communicate with peripheral and other devices.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Authentication
Authentication : The verification of a person’s identity – Helps protect against unauthorized access.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Types of Optical Discs
Optical disc drives use removable media to store and retrieve data, typically 5.25”.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Troubleshooting Tips
No network connectivity?
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Storage Devices
Hard Disk Drives are nonvolatile (meaning they don’t lose data when power off) devices that store data, generally 3.5”. Types of HDD include:
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: RAID
RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. RAID 0 is striping, RAID 1 is mirroring , RAID 5 is striping with parity, RAID 10 is mirrored sets in a striped set. [bs_icon name=”glyphicon glyphicon-arrow-right”] RAID 0 is not fault-tolerant. If RAID 1 uses two disk controllers, it is disk duplexing. … Read more »
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Sound cards
Sound cards connect as x1 PCIe or PCI cards and normally have PC 99 color-coded 1/8” mini-jacks for I/O and speakers, and optical I/Os known as S/PDIF (example: TOSLINK). Alternatively referred to as an audio output device, sound board, or audio card. A sound card is an expansion card or IC for producing sound… Read more »
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Video cards
Video cards connect to motherboards by way of x16 PCIe (most common, typically black), AGP (brown), or PCI (white) expansion slots.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Random Access Memory (RAM)
Random Access Memory (RAM) types include SDRAM, DDR, DDR2, DDR3, RDRAM and SODIMMs.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: CPU
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) or processor takes care of all calculations.
CompTIA A+ | Microsoft MTA O/S: Motherboards
Motherboards – Connect everything together. Typical form factors include ATX (most common), microATX, ITX, and BTX.
