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A+ Core 1 220-1201 lessons
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A week-by-week plan with every lesson, quizzes, checkpoint tests, a practice exam and hands-on labs.
Open the A+ Core 1 study planA week-by-week plan with every lesson, quizzes, checkpoint tests, a practice exam and hands-on labs.
Domain 1: Mobile devices
- Laptop hardware replacement: battery, keyboard, RAM (SODIMM vs soldered), storage (2.5-inch, M.2 SATA vs NVMe), wireless cards and antennas
- Screen parts: LCD vs OLED panels, backlight, digitizer/touch layer, webcam and microphone placement in the bezel
- Physical privacy and security: biometrics, privacy screens, NFC-based security
- Mobile ports and accessories: USB-C, Lightning, micro-USB, docking stations and port replicators
- Accessories: touch pens/stylus, headsets, speakers, webcams, trackpads and drawing pads
- Wireless connection methods: Bluetooth pairing, NFC, hotspot and tethering, Wi-Fi
- Cellular connectivity: 4G/5G, enabling and disabling radios, airplane mode, eSIM vs physical SIM
- Location services: GPS and cellular location
- Mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management: enrollment, policies, remote wipe
- Mobile app and data sync: email, calendar and contacts, cloud sync, two-factor authenticator apps
Domain 2: Networking
- TCP vs UDP and common ports: FTP 20/21, SSH 22, Telnet 23, SMTP 25, DNS 53, DHCP 67/68, HTTP 80, POP3 110, IMAP 143, SNMP 161/162, LDAP 389, HTTPS 443, SMB 445, RDP 3389
- Networking hardware: routers, managed vs unmanaged switches, access points, patch panels, firewalls, PoE injectors and switches, cable modems, DSL and ONT
- Wireless: 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz bands, channels and regulations, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth, NFC, RFID
- Networked host services: DNS, DHCP, file and print servers, mail, syslog, web servers, AAA/RADIUS, proxy servers, spam gateways, UTM, load balancers, IoT and legacy/embedded systems
- SOHO setup: DHCP scopes and reservations, static addressing, NAT, port forwarding, DMZ, UPnP, screened subnet, Wi-Fi security (WPA2/WPA3)
- IP addressing: IPv4 vs IPv6, public vs private ranges, APIPA, static vs dynamic, subnet mask and default gateway
- DNS records: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT (SPF, DKIM, DMARC); VLANs and VPNs
- Internet connection types: satellite, fiber, cable, DSL, cellular, fixed wireless (WISP)
- Network types: LAN, WAN, PAN, MAN, SAN, WLAN
- Networking tools: crimper, cable stripper, punchdown tool, toner probe, cable tester, loopback plug, Wi-Fi analyzer, network tap
Domain 3: Hardware
- Displays: LCD panel types (IPS, TN, VA), OLED, mini-LED, resolution, refresh rate, brightness, color gamut, touch screens
- Cables and connectors: USB-A/C, Thunderbolt, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, VGA, SATA, Molex, Lightning, Cat 5e/6/6a, T568A/B, plenum vs riser, coax, fiber, adapters
- RAM: DDR4 vs DDR5, DIMM vs SODIMM, single, dual and multichannel, ECC, virtual RAM
- Storage: HDD speeds and form factors, SSD interfaces (SATA, NVMe, M.2 keys), flash drives and cards, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 and 10
- Motherboards: ATX, microATX, Mini-ITX; connectors, headers and expansion slots (PCIe); CPU sockets
- Firmware: BIOS/UEFI settings, boot order, passwords, Secure Boot, TPM and HSM, virtualization support, fan and temperature monitoring
- CPUs: x86/x64 vs ARM, cores and threads, integrated graphics; cooling with fans, heat sinks, thermal paste/pads and liquid cooling
- Expansion cards: graphics, sound, capture, NIC
- Power supplies: 110/115 vs 220/240 V input, 3.3/5/12 V output, 24-pin, modular, redundant, wattage rating
- Printers and multifunction devices: setup, drivers, duplex, orientation, tray settings, network and cloud printing, secure print
- Printer types and consumables: laser imaging process and maintenance kits, inkjet, thermal, impact, 3-D printers
Domain 4: Virtualization and cloud computing
- Virtualization purposes: sandbox, test/development, application virtualization, legacy software and operating systems
- Hypervisors: Type 1 (bare metal) vs Type 2 (hosted)
- Resource requirements for VMs: CPU virtualization support, RAM, storage, network (NAT, bridged, internal)
- Security for VMs: isolation, snapshots, patching guests
- Containers vs virtual machines
- Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and desktop as a service
- Cloud deployment models: public, private, hybrid, community
- Cloud service models: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS
- Cloud characteristics: shared vs dedicated resources, metered utilization, rapid elasticity, high availability, multitenancy, file synchronization
Domain 5: Hardware and network troubleshooting
- The CompTIA troubleshooting methodology: identify (question users, back up, check recent changes), theorize, test, plan, implement, verify, document
- Motherboard, RAM, CPU and power problems: POST beeps, no power, overheating shutdowns, blue screens, burning smell, swollen capacitors, date/time resets
- Storage problems: clicking or grinding noises, S.M.A.R.T. warnings, bootable device not found, slow performance, degraded or failed RAID
- Video, projector and display problems: no image, dim image, dead pixels, flickering, burn-in, fuzzy image at non-native resolution, projector overheating
- Mobile device problems: poor battery life, swollen battery, overheating, slow charging, broken screen, cursor drift, liquid damage, no connectivity
- Printer problems: faded or streaked prints, ghost images, toner not fused, paper jams, garbled print, stuck print queue, incorrect paper settings
- Wired and wireless network problems: intermittent or no connectivity, APIPA address, IP conflicts, slow speeds, high latency and jitter, interference, SSID not found, port flapping
- Diagnostic tools: Windows Memory Diagnostic, CrystalDiskInfo, Event Viewer, Device Manager, ping, ipconfig, tracert, nslookup, cable tester and multimeter