CompTIA A_ Certification All-In-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition - Michael Meyers [7]
Ford Pierson, my in-house editor and illustrator, brought outrageous wit and skill to his contributions throughout the book. Plus he has a killer instinct in Counter-Strike that makes the gaming sessions all the better. Great job, Ford.
Aaron Verber came in at the last minute with his red pen to help with page proofs, showing a careful eye that Scott will adore. I look forward to many more projects with you, lad.
On the McGraw-Hill side, the crew once again demonstrated why McGraw-Hill is the best in show as a publisher. With excellent work and even better attitude, this book went smoothly together.
Laura Stone reprised her role as developmental editor for this edition, keeping me on my toes for every detail, fact, illustration, screen shot, and photograph—all this while bouncing the newly born and very cute Maleah on one knee. Laura, you’re amazing and a joy to work with. Thanks!
To the copy editors, page proofers, and layout folks—Malinda McCain, Paul Tyler, Jack Lewis, Amarjeet Kumar, and all the folks at Glyph International—superb work in every facet. Thank you for being the best.
CHAPTER 1
The Path of the PC Tech
In this chapter, you will learn how to
Explain the importance of gaining skill in managing and troubleshooting PCs
Explain the importance of CompTIA A+ certification
Describe how to become a CompTIA A+ Certified Technician
Computers have taken over the world, or at least many professions. Everywhere you turn, a quick dig beneath the surface sawdust of construction, the grease of auto mechanics, and the hum of medical technology reveals one or more personal computers (PCs) working away, doing essential jobs. Because the PC evolved from novelty item to essential science tool to everyday object in a short period of time, there’s a huge demand for a workforce that can build, maintain, troubleshoot, and repair PCs.
The Importance of Skill in Managing and Troubleshooting PCs
The people who work with computers—the Information Technology (IT) workforce—do such varied jobs as design hardware, write computer programs that enable you to do specific jobs on the PC, and create small and large groupings of computers—networks—so people can share computer resources. IT people built the Internet, one of the most phenomenal inventions of the 20th century. IT people maintain the millions of computers that make up the Internet. Computer technicians (or PC techs, as those of us in the field call each other) make up the core of the IT workforce. Without the techs, none of the other stuff works. Getting workers with skill in building, maintaining, troubleshooting, and fixing PCs is essential for success for every modern business.
In the early days of the personal computer, anyone who used a PC had to have skills as a PC tech. The PC was new, buggy, and prone to problems. You didn’t want to rely on others to fix your PC when the inevitable problems arose. Today’s PCs are much more robust and have fewer problems, but they’re also much more complex machines. Today’s IT industry, therefore, needs specialized workers who know how to make the machines run well.
Every profession requires specialized skills. For the most part, if you want to get or keep a job that requires those specialized skills, you need some type of certification or license. If you want a job fixing automobiles, for example, you get the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification. If you want to perform companies’ financial audits, you get your Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification.
Nearly every profession has some criteria that you must meet to show your competence and ability to perform at a certain level. Although the way this works varies widely from one profession to another, all of them will at some point make you take an exam or series of exams. Passing these exams proves that you have