Resources and GlossaryICASAS306A Maintain equipment and software

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Table of ContentsTable of Contents 3Getting Started 4Using these notes 4

Topic 1 Research 5Preventative maintenance and diagnostic testing 5

Tech Republic 5

Windows IT Library 5

PCGuide 5

Diagnostic utilities 5

Download.com 5

Information on security and threats 5

Microsoft Support Centre 5

Computer active 6

a-squared6

Windows update 6

Online dictionaries 6

Topic 2 Research 6Websites: hardware-related 7

Websites: software-related 7

Topic 3a Research 8Topic 3b Research 8Topic 3c Research 8Glossary of Terms 9

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Getting StartedThese unit notes have been developed to provide a learning pathway to competence in ICASAS306A Maintain equipment and software. These notes contain all the skills and knowledge learning required to achieve competence.

Using these notesIcons and symbols are used throughout this guide to provide quick visual references. They indicate the following:

Icon Meaning Icon Meaning

ACTIVITY: An activity is listed to be completed

ACTIVITY: A Learning activity requiring some physical action

WWW: A web link is listed REFLECTION: A point is to be considered and thought about more deeply

IMPORTANT: A pivotal point is detailed

SEARCH: A particular item / book etc needs to be found and applied

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Topic 1 ResearchFor resources that relate to your computer’s operating system you can:

search manufacturer’s and/or vendor’s websites find textbooks specialising in the configuration of your chosen operating system (in

libraries and at booksellers) access the original documentation that came with the system you are using.

For device-specific maintenance information: access the original documentation that came with the device access the support sections of the manufacturer’s website. Note that many forms of device documentation may refer to preventative

maintenance as either ‘periodic maintenance’ or simply as ‘maintenance’.

Preventative maintenance and diagnostic testingBooks on A+ Certification are a useful source for information on these topics, and you’re likely to find plenty of information on the Web a well. Below are a few suggestions. Home page links are provided — you’ll have to use the site’s search tool to look for specific information on preventative (or preventive, as it’s often called maintenance.

Tech Republic

This is comprehensive source of information on computer related technical issues: http://techrepublic.com

PCGuide

This site has a comprehensive section titled ‘System Care Guide’: http://www.pcguide.com/

Diagnostic utilitiesDownload.com

Browse this site for a range of preventative maintenance utility software — utilities, drivers, anti-spyware, and so on: http://www.download.com/

Information on security and threatsApart from the few suggestions made below, visit the home pages for popular virus protection software such as Symantec anti-virus, McAffee, Sophos, Vet and so on.

Microsoft Support Centre

Comprehensive support site for Microsoft products. Navigate to the Security Help section for guidance and support on security issues: http://www.support.microsoft.com/

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Computer active

This site boasts ‘simple, clear advice’ on all aspects of computing. There is a section titled ‘A guide to Microsoft.com’ which is a guide to finding what you want on the Microsoft support websites: http://www.computeractive.co.uk/

a-squared

This is a useful source of information on security threats. It is a commercial software site, but does have some well written and concise information on security. Look for the topic: ‘Security-Guide – The Basics’: http://www.emsisoft.com/en/

Windows update

To install items from Windows Update, you must be logged on as an Administrator or a member of the Administrators group. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Online dictionariesIt is always useful to have a link to a good PC dictionary. For example:

http://www.webopedia.com http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia

Topic 2 ResearchVisit the following websites to carry out further research on the reading topics and activities in this topic.

Articles and links for PC support: http://pcsupport.about.com

Articles on PC support from :the PC Support Advisor magazine:

http://www.itp-journals.com

Reference site for all PC terms: http://www.pcwebopedia.com

Motherboard information and other links: http://www.pcguide.com

BIOS information: http://www.sysopt.com

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Websites: hardware-relatedMotherboard manufacturer: http://www.giga-byte.com

CPU and chipset manufacturer: http://www.intel.com

CPU manufacturer: http://www.amd.com

Hard disk drive manufacturer: http://www.seagate.com

Hardware, components, hard drives and PCs: http://www.ibm.com

PCs, servers, notebooks, PDAs, etc: http://www.compaq.com

PCs servers, printers, scanners, etc: http://www.hp.com

Memory and component manufacturer: http://www.kingston.com

Component manufacturer: http://www.sony.com

Motherboard manufacturer: http://www.abit.com

Websites: software-relatedDiagnostic software: Micro-Scope Diagnostic Suite from Micro2000:

http://www.micro2000.com

Microsoft’s prime source on technical information covering most Microsoft products:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/default.aspx

Portal to the Microsoft Developer Network: http://msdn.microsoft.com

Symantec’s website - makers of Norton Anti-Virus and Norton Utilities:

http://www.symantec.com

Novell’s Website: makers of Netware NOS: http://www.novell.com

Utilities, technical information and source code related to Windows internals:

http://www.sysinternals.com

Registry tricks and tweaks for the Windows operating system (recommended for advanced users):

http://www.regedit.com

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Topic 3a ResearchComputer toolkits and antistatic straps are available from electronic suppliers such as:

Dick Smiths Electronics at: http://www.dicksmith.com.au/ Jaycar Electronics at: http://www.jaycar.com.au/ Paw Products at: http://www.paw.com.au/index.jsp

For more information on disk imaging software such as Symantec’s Ghost visit: http://www.symantec.com/

Topic 3b Research Search for ‘tutorials’ to get a tutorial on hard disk partitioning and a tutorial on

building your own PC (this is a lengthy tutorial) at the Hardware Central website at: http://www.hardwarecentral.com/

Topic 3c ResearchThere are many Internet sites that contain information about maintenance logs and software. Searching for ‘computer maintenance log’ will yield a number of websites to investigate. Many of these will relate to examples of specific workplaces that use maintenance logs. Each will be different because they are designed for a specific situation and form part of the overall IT support strategy of a company.

It is always useful to have a link to a good PC dictionary, such as:

http://www.webopedia.com http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia .

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Glossary of Terms

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)

an interface specification developed designed especially for the demands of 3-D graphics

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)

the built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives. BIOS is typically placed in a ROM chip on the motherboard.

Boot drive the hard drive which has the operating system installed on it; once BIOS has performed the system checks, it looks for the boot drive so that the operating system can be loaded

Booting derives from the ‘Boot Strap Code’ that referred to a small piece of programming code built into computers that instructed the machine on what to do when turned on; booting now generally refers to the processes automatically attempted when power is provided to a computer

Business requirements

business needs related to the goals of a business

Conditioner, Power

a device which reforms the quality of mains electrical power entering the building; it can be very useful in prolonging the life of electrical devices such as power supplies

CPU (Central Processing Unit

the brains of the computer; it is here that most calculations take place

CSO an acronym for ‘computer systems officer’, a person whose job is to support users and maintain computer systems

Defragment the process of moving all the segments of data on a drive into one continuous set; defragmenting improves a system’s performance as less disk activity is required to read entire files

Device any piece of hardware attached to a computer system; it normally has a corresponding piece of software called a driver

Driver a device driver is a program that controls a device such as a printer or graphics card; many drivers, such as the keyboard driver, come with the operating system; for other devices such as a sound card, you may need to load a new driver when you connect the device to your computer; the driver is specific to an operating system

Expansion slot a connector on the motherboard that allows an expansion card to be plugged in to allow additional functionality to a computer, such as a sound card; on a motherboard you will find possible three types of expansion slots:

(1) ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) — this is being phased out

(2) PCI (Peripheral Connect Interface) — the most common type of slot for all expansion cards except graphics cards

(3) AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) — most commonly used for graphics cards

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Form factor the form factor of a component or device describes the physical size and layout of the component; the form factor can also describe features of a device such as voltages used and connector types; by working with a common form factor, manufacturers of different devices can ensure that their products will be compatible; for example, a motherboard with an ATX form factor will be suitable for a case with an ATX form factor

HDD the hard disk drive of a computer system; normally based on the IDE interface, but may also be based on SCSI or USB interfaces

IDE Integrated Drive Electronics; this is the most common, but not the only, way of attaching a hard disk to your system; it is the default drive interface on most PC systems; other interfaces for drives include SATA, SCSI and USB

IT an acronym for information technology, the industry sector that installs, configures and supports computer-based systems

Jumper a metal bridge that closes an electrical circuit; typically, a jumper consists of a plastic plug that fits over a pair of protruding pins and is used to configure a device

LED Light Emitting Diode; an electrical component that emits very low levels of light when power is applied; if an electrical device contains some form of power or activity indicator, then it is most likely a LED in use

License a software licence is an agreement for an organisation to operate software

Maintenance log a collection of information about each instance of maintenance work carried out on a computer system

Maintenance task

work (usually done by a CSO) on a device to solve or prevent a serious problem

Motherboard the main system board of a computer; holds input/output interfaces, the CPU and the BIOS/CMOS system

NIC Network Interface Card; the removable card that provides the network connection on a computer system; some motherboards have the network connection built in

OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer; refers to a business that builds computers or other devices from the individual parts

Optical drive a disk drive which reads and/or writes to a disk where the information is stored

PCI (Peripheral Connect Interface)

the most common type of slot for all expansion cards except graphics cards

POST Power On Self Test; an in-built diagnostic program that is run when a device is turned on; it will often report errors as flashing lights or beeps, depending upon the device; most computing devices have a POST procedure

RAM (Random Access Memory)

in common usage, the term RAM is synonymous with main memory, the memory available to programs; RAM memory is volatile, meaning that the contents of RAM memory are lost when the power is turned off

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RFP Request For Proposal; a document created by a client, that outlines the needs of the client; vendors can then offer a suitable product based on the information in the RFP

RFT Request For Tender; an alternative name for a RFP; its purpose is the same as the RFP

ROM (Read Only Memory)

ROM memory is memory chips that usually store critical programs such as BIOS; ROM memory is non-volatile, meaning that the contents are not lost when the power is turned off

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)

an interface for mass storage devices that allows up to 7 or 15 devices (depending on the bus width) to be connected to a single SCSI port in daisy-chain fashion

SLA Service Level Agreement; a contract between a client who requires a service and a service provider; in the IT industry, SLAs are a common occurrence as they define the obligations of the service provider and the value of that service to the client

Surge protector a device that is designed to protect a device from peaks of over-voltage; normally plugged into a power point and then the device is plugged into it; the surge protector is often damaged in the process of protecting the device from a power surge

UPS Un-interruptable Power Supply; a device used to provide short term power in the event of a blackout; the capacity of a UPS must be carefully matched to the power requirements of the systems attached to it

USB Universal Serial Bus; a common interface used for connecting a range of devices to the motherboard

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