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Inside the System Unit

Case

CPU

RAM

Motherboard

Power Supply

Floppy Drive

Hard Drive

Optical Media Drives

Know Your Parts

Chapter Review

Questions

Answers

Chapter 4 Understanding Windows

Historical/Conceptual

A Brief History of Microsoft Windows

Early Windows

Modern Windows

Essentials

Windows 2000

Windows XP

Windows Vista

Enter 64-bit Windows

The Windows Interface

User Interface

Hot Keys

Practical Application

Operating System Folders

System Folder

Program and Personal Document Folders

Registry

Page File

Tech Utilities

Right-Click

Control Panel

Device Manager

System Tools

Command Line

Microsoft Management Console

Administrative Tools

Beyond A+

Windows 7

Windows Mobile

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

Windows Embedded

Chapter Review

Questions

Answers

Chapter 5 Microprocessors

Historical/Conceptual

CPU Core Components

The Man in the Box

Registers

Clock

Back to the External Data Bus

Memory

Memory and RAM

Address Bus

Essentials

Modern CPUs

Manufacturers

CPU Packages

The Pentium CPU: The Early Years

Original Pentium

Pentium Pro

Later Pentium-Class CPUs

Pentium II

Pentium III

Practical Application

Processing and Wattage

CPU Codenames

AMD Athlon

AMD Duron

Intel Pentium 4

Mobile Processors

Early 64-Bit CPUs

Multicore CPUs

Intel Core

AMD Phenom

AMD Phenom II

Intel Core i7

Intel Celeron

Intel Pentium Dual-Core

Intel Xeon Processors

Installing CPUs

Why Replace a CPU?

Determining the Right CPU

Buying a CPU

Preparing to Install

Inserting a PGA-Type CPU

Testing Your New CPU

The Art of Cooling

Know Your CPUs

Beyond A+

Overclocking

Intel Atom

Chapter Review

Questions

Answers

Chapter 6 RAM

Historical/Conceptual

Understanding DRAM

Organizing DRAM

Practical DRAM

DRAM Sticks

Consumer RAM

Essentials

Types of RAM

SDRAM

RDRAM

DDR SDRAM

DDR2

DDR3

RAM Variations

Working with RAM

Do You Need RAM?

Getting the Right RAM

Installing DIMMs and RIMMs

Installing SO-DIMMs in Laptops

Practical Application

Troubleshooting RAM

Testing RAM

Chapter Review

Questions

Answers

Chapter 7 BIOS and CMOS

Historical/Conceptual

We Need to Talk

Talking to the Keyboard

Essentials

BIOS

CMOS

Updating CMOS: The Setup Program

A Quick Tour Through a Typical CMOS Setup Program

Option ROM and Device Drivers

Option ROM

Device Drivers

BIOS, BIOS, Everywhere!

Practical Application

Power-On Self Test (POST)

Before and During the Video Test: The Beep Codes

Text Errors

POST Cards

The Boot Process

Care and Feeding of BIOS and CMOS

Losing CMOS Settings

Flashing ROM

Beyond A+

UEFI

Chapter Review

Questions

Answers

Chapter 8 Expansion Bus

Historical/Conceptual

Structure and Function of the Expansion Bus

PC Bus

ISA

Essentials

Modern Expansion Buses

False Starts

PCI

System Resources

I/O Addresses

Interrupt Requests

COM and LPT Ports

Direct Memory Access

Memory Addresses

Installing Expansion Cards

Step 1: Knowledge

Step 2: Physical Installation

Step 3: Device Drivers

Step 4: Verify

Practical Application

Troubleshooting Expansion Cards

Chapter Review

Questions

Answers

Chapter 9 Motherboards

Historical/Conceptual

How Motherboards Work

Form Factors

Essentials

Chipset

Motherboard Components

Practical Application

Upgrading and Installing Motherboards

Choosing the Motherboard and Case

Installing the Motherboard

Wires, Wires, Wires

Troubleshooting Motherboards

Symptoms

Techniques

Options

Beyond A+

Shuttle Form Factor

Mini-ITX

Chapter Review

Questions

Answers

Chapter 10 Power Supplies

Historical/Conceptual

Understanding Electricity

Essentials

Powering the PC

Supplying AC

Supplying DC

Practical Application

Installing, Maintaining, and Troubleshooting Power Supplies

Installing

Cooling

When Power Supplies Die

Fuses and Fire

Beyond A+

It Glows!

Modular Power Supplies

Rail Power

Chapter Review

Questions

Answers

Chapter 11 Hard Drive Technologies