A+ Certification is the computer industry recognized credential that certifies the competency of PC Service Specialists. It is sponsored by CompTIA - the Computing Technology Industry Association, and tests are administered by Pearson VUE. This certification program is backed by over 50 Major computer hardware and software manufacturers, vendors, distributors, resellers, and publications. Certification provides a wealth of benefits to any person seeking a job in the computer industry! Your successful computer career can start with this one course, or it can serve as proof of your computer hardware and operating system knowledge as a professional already in your field. The course consists of 23 chapters and over 15 hours of video. It is designed for self-paced learning, so students can review the material as many times as needed, at varying speeds. It begins with soft skills and safety principles, then we dive into components, motherboards and processors. We look at the firmware of BIOS and CMOS, then cover disk drives, power supplies, ports, cables and connectors, I/O devices and printers. A chapter on mobile devices, multimedia and laptops rounds out the hardware coverage. After a discussion of preventive maintenance and troubleshooting procedures, we launch into operating systems, files, utilities, troubleshooting and optimization. We cover device drivers and networking, then look at recovering systems and disaster recovery, rounding off the course with a discussion of cloud computing and security fundamentals.
