IT Essentials I: PC Hardware and Software Lab Companion

The IT Essentials I: PC Hardware and Software Lab Companion supplements the online course and the companion guide. It provides hands-on experience along with review questions to support the material covered. This book is useful in its own right as a hardware and software basics lab manual. The easy-to-follow exercises are useful when the goal is to pass the A+ Certification and to continue with IT Essentials II: Network Operating Systems.

The topics covered in the book include the internal components of a computer used to successfully assemble a system, installing an operating system, and troubleshooting using system tools and diagnostic software. Also, you work with architectures to connect to the Internet and to share resources in a network environment.

You will find that your studies are best complemented by a text that describes the theory and foundational concepts introduced in the hands-on lab exercises. To that end, the Cisco Press IT Essentials I: PC Hardware and Software Companion Guide includes thorough treatments of the topics discussed in this lab manual.

Contents

• Lab 1.3.8: Getting to Know Windows
• Lab 1.5.3: Boolean Operations
• Lab 1.5.9: Converting Numbers Overview
• Worksheet 1.3.8: Windows Navigation and Settings
• Worksheet 1.5.9: Number Systems Exercises
• Worksheet 1.6.6: Lab Safety Checklist

• Lab 2.3.2: Motherboard Identification
• Lab 2.3.4: Identify ROM and BIOS Chips
• Lab 2.3.5: Identifying Computer Expansion Slots
• Lab 2.3.7: Identifying RAM and RAM Sockets
• Lab 2.3.9: Video Card Identification
• Worksheet 2.3.1: PC Power Supply
• Worksheet 2.3.4: BIOS/ROM
• Worksheet 2.3.5: Expansion Slots
• Worksheet 2.3.7: RAM and RAM Sockets
• Worksheet 2.3.9: Video Cards
• Worksheet 2.3.13: Floppy Drive
• Worksheet 2.3.14: Hard Drive Identification
• Worksheet 2.3.15: CD-ROM Identification

• Lab 3.3.5: The Computer Case and Power Supply
• Lab 3.5.3: Motherboard Installation
• Lab 3.6.4: Floppy Drive, Hard Drive, and CD-ROM Installation
• Lab 3.7.1: Video Card Installation and System Booting
• Worksheet 3.3.4: Power Supplies
• Worksheet 3.9.1: What is BIOS?

• Lab 4.2.3: Basic DOS Commands
• Lab 4.2.4: Creating a DOS Boot Disk
• Worksheet 4.1.3: Operating System Fundamentals
• Worksheet 4.2.7: DOS
• Worksheet 4.2.3: DOS Commands

• Lab 5.1.6: Changing File Views in Windows (Showing File Extensions)
• Lab 5.1.7: Text Editing and File Management
• Lab 5.4.2: Hard Drive Preparation Using FDISK and FORMAT
• Lab 5.5.5: Windows OS Installation
• Lab 5.6.1: Troubleshooting 101
• Lab 5.6.4: Installing a Driver
• Lab 5.6.5: Windows Startup Disk
• Worksheet 5.1.10: Windows Files and Folders
• Worksheet 5.2.2: Managing Printers
• Worksheet 5.4.2: Hard Drive Preparation
• Worksheet 5.6.6: Troubleshooting Windows Installation

• Lab 6.2.3: Upgrading the Video Accelerator
• Lab 6.3.4: Sound Card Installation
• Worksheet 6.1.6: Multimedia Devices
• Worksheet 6.2.5: Video Accelerators
• Worksheet 6.3.3: Sound Cards
• Worksheet 6.4.7: CD and DVD Terminology

• Lab 7.1.2: Assigning Permissions in Windows 2000
• Lab 7.2.1: Creating Users Accounts in Windows 2000
• Lab 7.2.4: Creating an Emergency Repair Disk
• Lab 7.3.1: Installation Demonstration of Windows 2000

• Lab 8.1.2: Basic Disk to Dynamic Disk Conversion
• Worksheet 8.1.3: RAID
• Worksheet 8.3.1: Adding Processors
• Worksheet 8.4.1: Adapters

• Lab 9.3.1: NIC Installation
• Lab 9.3.3: Configuring the NIC to Work with a DHCP Server
• Lab 9.7.2: Troubleshooting a NIC Using the Ping Command
• Worksheet 9.2.5: Types of Networks
• Worksheet 9.4.2: Network Topology
• Worksheet 9.6.5: OSI Model, TCP/IP Protocols
• Worksheet 9.8.7: Connecting to the Internet

• Lab 10.3.8: Adding an Ink Jet Printer to Your Computer I
• Lab 10.4.4: Setting Up Print Sharing Capabilities
• Lab 10.5.4: Managing Files in a Printer Queue
• Worksheet 10.6.1: Paper Jams

• Lab 11.1.2: Using a Digital Multimeter
• Lab 11.3.5: Cleaning Computer Components
• Lab 11.4.1: Using the Scandisk and Defrag Utilities
• Worksheet 11.1.3: Environmental Considerations
• Worksheet 11.2.1: BSD
• Worksheet 11.3.5: Preventive Maintenance for Components

• Lab 12.1.7: The Steps of the Troubleshooting Cycle
• Lab 12.2.3: Identifying POST Errors
• Worksheet 12.1.2: Troubleshooting Basics
• Worksheet 12.3.2: Troubleshooting Printers
• Worksheet 12.3.4: Troubleshooting Hardware

• Lab 13.7.4: Booting into Safe Mode
• Lab 13.7.5: Using the Windows 2000 Recovery Console
• Lab 13.9.3: Windows Registry Backup and Recovery
• Worksheet 13.4.5: Troubleshooting Software