CompTIA ITF+ Module 3

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface)

is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data

VGA (Video Graphics Adapter)

a graphics standard for video display controller first introduced with the IBM. These Adapters do not deliver audio only video.

DVI (Digital Visual Interface)

Port that enables digital signals to transmit directly to the LCD monitor

SATA (Serial AT Attachment)

A popular bus used to connect hard drives and other mass storage devices to the computer.

USB Universal Serial Port

An external bus standard that supports data transfer.

fire wire port

port that can connect multiple types of devices that require faster data transmission speeds

driver

A small program that instructs the operating system on how to operate a specific piece hardware.

USB Type A

Printer, Scanner, Camera, Mouse, Keyboard, External CD-Rom, MP3 player, PDA

USB Type-C Port

a new port used to support a smaller, reversible connector

Ethernet Cable (RJ-45)

cable that connects computers to the LAN that allows the computers to communicate with each other and other peripherals.

Telephone Connector (RJ-11)

A fax modem uses twisted pair cabling with an RJ-11 connector at the fax end and a connector suitable for use with the country's phone system at the other end. Once used by dial up modems.

NFC (Near Field Communication)

Mobile technology that enables short-range ( around 2-inches) wireless communication between mobile devices. Now used for mobile payment technology such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet

Bluetooth

Wireless PAN technology that transmits signals over short distances between cell phones, computers, and other devices

Display Port

an alternative to DVI that also supports HDMI

Thunderbolt port

A high speed input/output port; Thunderbolt 2 provides two channels of 20 Gbps capacity on one port.

HID (Human Interface Device)

Input devices (peripherals) that enable the user to enter data and select commands

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

uses radio signals to communicate with a tag placed in or attached to an object

PS/2 port

a round 6-pin port used by a keyboard or mouse.

Motherboard

A printed circuit board that connects all PC components

Firmware

Software that is permanently stored into hardware to give instructions

Basic Input/Output System/BIOS

Software built into the ROM that is the first instructions the computer processes to test devices

32-bit CPU

Slightly outdated form of processing with approximately 4 GB of RAM available

64-bit CPU

Modern CPU that allows for much more RAM to be used than a 32-bit

Intel CPU Brands

Core, Pentium, Celeron, Atom, Xeon

Ryzen & Epyc

The AMD CPU brands designed for desktop and workstation computers include:

Bus

The paths, or lines, on the motherboard on which data, instructions, and electrical power move from component to component.

Types of Bus

PCI (32 Bit), PCI Express or PCIe 1.0, PCIe x16 (4 GBpsGraphics adapters use x16 lanes)

Heatsinks

passive cooling systems that looks like metal fins to dissipate heat from components like chips

Thermal paste

A compound used to bridge the thermal gap between the surface of a chips packaging and the mating surface of a heatsink.

bootstrapping or booting a computer

standard means for the CPU to start processing instructions and initialize the other components

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)

provides support for 64-bit CPU operation at boot, a full GUI and mouse operation at boot, and better boot security. A computer with UEFI may also support booting in a legacy BIOS mode.

Optical Drive (CD/DVD)

A storage device that uses light instead of magnetism to store information. This include CD-ROM, DVD, and Blu-ray devices.

External hard Drive

An HDD that can be connected as a peripheral to a computer.

Network Interface Card (NIC)

A component, sometimes built into and sometimes plugged into the motherboard, that provides wired or wireless (or both) network connectivity.

Flash Storage

A compact, portable storage device that uses special memory chips to store data. Flash storage devices can be removed from a power source and its contents will remain intact.

Power Supply

The component of a computer that supplies the right amount and form of electricity to the motherboard and other computer components.

Plug and Play

technology that allows a hardware component to be attached to a computer so that it is automatically configured by the operating system, without user intervention

Device Manager

Primary Windows tool for managing hardware.

Web Interface

The interaction between a user and software running on a web browser. The page is downloaded and rendered.

LCD (liquid crystal display)

Type of display commonly used on portable computers. LCDs have also replaced CRTs as the display of choice for desktop computer users.

CRT Monitor (Cathode Ray Tube)

desktop monitor that contains a cathode-ray tube

laser printer

uses a toner cartridge filled with fine powder and a heated fuser

inkjet printer

A nonimpact printer that sprays tiny drops of ink onto paper.

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)

the four ink colors used to create most process color printing

Webcam

A camera that broadcast images through the Internet through a computer or web cell phone.

printer consumables

Paper, Toner, Fusers and Rollers

thermal printer

generates images by pushing electrically heated pins against the heat-sensitive paper

volatile memory

memory that is lost when the computer is turned off. All RAM Modules are volatile

solid state drive (SSD)

long-term storage device that contains no moving parts. It's Solid, so nothing is moving.

hard disk drive (HDD)

A long-term storage device used to store and retrieve data from rapidly rotating disks coated with magnetic material.

flash memory devices

Electronic storage devices that are compact, portable, require little power, and contain no moving parts.

file system

Determines the way an operating system stores files on disk.

disk partition

A disk partition is a section of a hard drive that is treated as a separate storage unit;

NTFS (New Technology File System)

A file system developed by Microsoft to be used with all Windows Operating Systems

FAT32

File allocation table that uses 32 bits to address and index clusters. Commonly
used with Flash drives or Flash Memory Devices

ext3 and ext4

File systems commonly used by Linux/Unix and Apple's Mac Operating system

Task Manager

lists all the programs being used and indicates their status

File Explorer

The file management tool in the Windows Operating System used to organize files.

file permission settings

option that specify access rights for a specific file or directory

file permission levels

A specific permission which can be granted on files and/or folders.
-Full Control
-Modify
-Read/list/execute
-Write

file types

indicates the type of application that produced the document:
PDF, RTF, DOCX, XLS, PPT

executable files

programs or software that runs immediately after the user clicks on the file
.bat, .msi, .cmd, .com, .dll, .exe

Audio ports

-1 Side Speaker (Grey)
-2 Rear Speaker (Black)
-3 Audio In Sub woofer (Orange)
-4 Microphone (Pink)
-5 Audio Out Speakers (Green)
-6 Analog Line/Telephone (Blue)