COMPTIA CORE 1 Flashcards
CPU SOCKETS
-LGA (who’s uses it?)
-PGA (who uses it?)
LGA- land grid array, used by Intel
PGA- pin grid array, used by AMD
Firmware
Software on a chip, “software for hardware”, that controls a device it is connected to
-BIOS/UEFI programs
-stored on a ROM chip (MB chip that
holds the firmware used for the boot process)
Trouble shooting methodology
- Identify problem (ask questions)
- Establish theory of cause
- Test theory to determine the cause
- Establish plan of action to resolve problem
- Verify full system functionality and add preventative measures if possible
- Document findings, actions and outcomes
Safety concerns
-Personal safety (eye protection
-Component safety (protect against ESD)
- electrical safety- power off and unplug systems you’re working on
-chemical safety (thermal paste, lithium batteries)
ESD
Electro-static discharge
-gathered and destroys components when discharged
MB (mother board) processing steps
- Input
- Processing
- Output
- Storage
ATX
Advanced technology extended
-MB form factor, full size
CPU connectors
4, 6, or 8 pin connectors
-some 8
-some 4+4
Main board/MB connectors
20-pin, 24-pin, or 20+4 pin
-24 and 20+4 are most common
PCIe power connectors/adapter ports
These cards can get power from PSU as well as the MB slots
-usually 8 or 6+2 pin connectors
SATA power connectors
Used to power optical or internal drives
-15-pins
-L-shaped connector
Molex connectors
Legacy connector
-used for PATA and old drives
Y connector
Can be used to connect multiple devices
US-based power supply
120V AC (low line power)
(Range is 110-120V)
Europe and Asia power supply
230V AC (high power line)
(Range is 220-240V)
Voltage sensing/dual voltage
Detects the outlet and converts it into the voltage of DC
Three voltage levels for PC systems
3.3V, 5V, and 12V
-all are DC current
Rail (current/power)
Wire that provides current at a particular level
Wattage is calculated by…
Amperage x voltage
HDDs
Hard disk drives
-storage
SSDs
Solid state drives
-storage
RAM
Random access memory
-memory, volatile but fast
Multi-channel memory
Can have single, dual, triple or quad channel memory modules
-this increases speed and performance for RAM/memory
-must use same model, speed and throughout for all modules in a system
ECC
Error correction code
-a feature on some memory modules that detects AND CORRECTS data errors
-must be ALL or NONE for these types of sticks in a single system
Virtual memory/page file
A OS allocated portion of a hard disk dedicated to memory
-can be used in a pinch, but is slower and less ideal than physical memory (RAM)
BIOS
Basic input/output system
-firmware that is used by PC to start system
-only suppers 32x CPUs
-no GUI
UEFI
Unified extensible firmware interface
-firmware, more advanced than BIOS
-can support 64x CPUs
-supports GPT partitioning
-has gui and more options
POST
Power on self-test
-first step of boot process
-verifies hardware and runs
diagnostics on hardware and BIOS
-can be configured to include beeps to alert things with the hardware/boot process
Flashing
Process of updating/replacing firmware, usually used through a file on a USB
-make sure to backup computer before flashing the ROM
Secure boot
A procedure during the boot process that ensures an OS being loaded can be trusted and isn’t infected with malware
Hardware RoT
Hardware root of trust
-foundation of all secure operations in a computing system
-cryptographic module embedded in PC system that endorses trust and attests to boots settings and metrics
-digital certificate embedded in ROM chip as part of the firmware
-examples: TPM and HSM
TPM (what three things do I need to know?)
Trusted platform module
-it’s a hardware RoT
-ensures secure boot up
-can also provide encryption for storage devices
HDD
Hard disc drive
-storage device/drive
-spins
SATA data cable
7 pins, L-shaped
RAID 0
-RAID 0- striping
○ 2 discs, each hold half of the data
○ No redundancy, faster
RAID 1
- RAID 1- mirroring (fault tolerant, failure resistant)
-Two discs as copies of each other, “mirrored”
-Redundancy, all the data is on both discs
-Less space total
RAID 5
- RAID 5- redundancy through parity (fault tolerant, failure resistant)
○ Minimum of 3 discs, has one parity drive/disc
○ Creates parity memory, if one drive is lost it is still there
○ Redundancy while still having more space
RAID 6
- RAID 6- striping with dual parity (fault tolerant)
○ Minimum of 4 discs
○ Has 2 parity drives/discs
RAID 10
- RAID 10- striping and mirroring (disaster tolerant)
○ a mirrored sets of 2 striped discs
○ At least 4 discs
SSD/SSD cables
Solid state drive
-electronic chip, faster and more expensive than a hard drive
Cable types
-M.2
-mSATA (SSDs that use one cable for data and power)
-NVMe (used with M.2 SSD to plug directly into MB)
-SATA if it’s a SATA SSD
Hot swappable
Drives that can be disconnected and unplugged without turning off the computer
-USBs, thunderbolts, eSATA
AHCI
Advanced host controller interface
-allows SATA drives to be hot swapped if paired with eSATA cables
-allows for some advanced drive features
CD
Compact disc
-stores 650-700 MB
DVD
Digital versatile disc
-stores 4.7 or 8.4 GB (bigger is dual layer)
BD
Blu-ray Disc
-stores 25 or 50 GB (depends on if dual layer or not)
Virtualization
Running a VM (virtual machine) from a hyper visor (software used to install and launch VMs)
-type 1 hyper visor is a bare metal and run straight from hardware
-type 2 hyper visor is run from the host OS
Containers
Type of virtualization applied by host OS to make an isolated environment for an app to run, not a VM tho
-does not use hyper visor
-
Emulators
Software used to imitate a different system that is not compatible with the hardware installed on your PC
Virtual machine resource requirements
-CPU (needs virtualization feature capable processor I.e. VT-x for Intel and AMD-V for AMD)
-memory- more hardware memory the better/more that can be allocated for the VM
-storage- bigger drives mean more space for the VM to be stored, more storage for VM itself
-network- hypervisor will create a virtual network for the VMs to use, need better NICs for multiple guest VMs on one host
Capabilities of cloud computing
-high availability: measured in percentage
-they’re scalable, able to increase resources vertically or horizontally to accommodate level of usage
-rapid elasticity- ability of cloud platforms to quickly scale up or down according to usage
-uses metered utilization (vs measured which is paying for a base amount no matter how much you use)
-share resources- physical server resources can be divided and shared to multiple networks/users since it is remote
-file sync- file sharing due to files being stored on remote machines accessible over the cloud
NIC
Network interface card
-allows Ethernet connection to a device, can use PCIe x1 slot on MB
Switch
Network device that remembers what ports are being used and by which devices, directs Internet traffic to those ports
-connects devices in a local network, allowing them to communicate together
WAP
Wireless access point
-allows wireless connection to a wired network
VDI
Virtual desktop infrastructure
-cloud based virtual desktops
-hosted on remote servers
-can be offered as DaaS (desktop as a service)
SDN
Software defined network
-using software to manage networks
- Breaks down into 4 parts
1. Application layer
2. Control layer
3. Infrastructure layer
4. Management plane
Router
Network device that routes Internet traffic and connects networks to other networks
Firewall
Scans and blocks traffic trying to enter or leave a network
Patch panel
Has ports for RJ45 connections to connect to, patch panel itself connects to switch
Cable modem
Translates coaxial cable signals into radio frequency signals
DSL modem
Digital subscribe line
-translates coaxial cable signals into phone lines
Types of networks (5 main ones)
-PAN (personal area network)
-LAN (local area network)- 100 meters
-CAN (Campus area network)- several miles
-MAN (metro area network)- up to 25 miles
-WAN (Wide area network)- state, country, world
IoT
-what are the 4 kinds?
Internet of things
-devices that can connect to a network but will need a separate network
-smart devices, hvac, science equipment
Broken into 4 parts-
-hub and control
-smart devices
-wearables
-sensors
Twisted pair cables
1. Two different kinds
2. Two different connectors (what are they for)
3. What is bandwidth and throughput?
4 pairs of twisted copper wires
1. a. UTP (unshielded twisted pairs): plastic coating with no metal
1. b. STP (shielded twisted pairs): has metal coating
2. RJ45 (8-pins, for data networks) and RJ11 (6-pins, for phones networks)
3. Bandwidth is how much data COULD be transferred from a source. Throughout put is how much data is ACTUALLY transferred
Twisted pair categories (5 kinds w/ standard, speed and max length)
Cat 5
-100BASE-TX
-100Mbps
-10meters
Cat 5e
-1000BASE-T
-1000Mbps
-100meters
Cat 6
-1000BASE-T OR 10GBASE-T
-1000Mbps OR 10Gbps
-100meters OR 55meters
Cat 6a AND Cat 7
-10GBASE-T
-10Gbps
-100
Cat 8
-40GBASE-T
-40Gbps
-30 meters
- Straight though/patch cable
vs - cross-over cables
- Same pin outs on both ends of cable
- Swaps send and receive pins on opposite ends of the cable
- Plenum cable
Vs - Non-plenum cable
- Plenum has a coating that is fire-retardant, ALL COVERED CABLING NEEDS TO BE PLENUM (walls, ceilings, floors, hvac, etc)
- Non plenum has no fire-retardant coating
WiFi standards:
Standard band:
Standard bandwidth:
-802.11a
5 GHz
54 Mbps
-802.11b
2.4 GHz
11 Mbps
-802.11g
2.4 GHz
54 Mbps
-802.11n (WiFi 4)
2.4 and 5 GHz
150/600 Mbps (MIMO)
802.11ac (WiFi 5)
5 GHz
6.9 Gbps (MU-MIMO)
802.11ax (WiFi 6)
2.4, 5, and 6 GHz
9.6 Gbps (MU-MIMO)
ACL
Access control list
-firewall feature that controls users rights and permissions
-allows or disallows traffic through certain interfaces
-can be placed on different network devices
-rules are enforced from the top down
NFC
Near-field communication
-radio waves between devices to allow them to communicate, often for payments or authentication
-often for mobile devices
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet protocol
-core protocols of the Internet
Public IP vs Private IP address
Public (routable) IP addresses- can be accessed over the Internet and is assigned to the network by an ISP
Private (non-routable) IP addresses- are freely available, but only on a private network
Private IPv4 address ranges
-10.xx.xx.xx
-172.16-172.31
192.168
APIPA addresses
Addresses auto assigned to machines when DHCP isn’t working
-169.254.0.0 to 169.254.255.255
-only local
-can’t get past the router, no internet
4 things needed for an IP addressing, also assigned by the DHCP server
- IP address
- Subnet mask
- Default gateway (router)
- DNS/WINS server
FQDN
Fully qualified domain name
-domain name under a top level provider
-contains “www” thing, domain name and top-level domain provider (.com, .org, etc)
URL
Uniform resource locator
-contains FQDN (www.”website”.com) and method of accessing info (http://, https://,etc)
VLAN
Virtual local area network
- different networks using the same hardware, has added security and efficiency
-allows different subnetwork addresses to be assigned to different ports on the same switch
VPN
Virtual Private network
-encrypts your internet connection
-Internet traffic is routed through a connected tunnel so that other people can’t see your activity and information
3 types:
-Site-to-site
-client-to-site
-clientless
-browser
Mobile display types
A. Two types of input recognition
B. Three types of displays
C. What are OLED screen susceptible to?
A. Capacitive touch, multi touch
B. LCD (liquid crystal display, has back light), LED (light emitting diode, led backlight), OLED (organic LED)
C. Burn in, permanent discoloration of an OLED screen from consistently the same image
Embedded system
System within a machine designed for a specific function
Digitizer
Component in mobile touch devices that detects touch (multi or capacitive). Lies under the layer of protective glass
Mobile input types (2)
- Capacitive touch screen- only one touch at a time
- Multitouch
Accelerometer
Component/software in mobile devices that measures the velocity, rotation and shaking of a mobile device. Detects only pitch (y) and roll (x)
Gyroscope
Better than the accelerometer. Detects pitch (y), roll (x) and yaw (z) and measures the orientation of a mobile device
3 main cloud storage providers
-Google Workspaces
-Microsoft 365
-iCloud
Mobile data sync options
-cloud
-computer (cable to phone)
-automobile to phone
EMM (enterprise mobility management)
What two kinds?
MDM (mobile device manager)- can control the devices themselves
MAM (mobile application manager)- can set restrictions or put requirements on devices for apps and permissions
5 kinds of authentication
What is MFA?
-Knowledge factor- something you know
-possession factor- something you have
-Inherence factor- something you are
-behavior factor- something you do
-location factor- someWHERE you are
MFA is multi factor authentication and it involves using more than one of these types of authentication for one login/access
Mobile device location services
-coarse positioning- old, not precise
-GPS (global positioning system)- satellites, radio based, more accurate
-IPS (indoor positioning system)- even more accurate
2 different kinds of PDLs (page description language) and 2 main kinds of virtual printers (the management software not the device)
-PostScript and PCL
-PDF and XPS
2 ways to share a printer
What is the print spooler?
-with a print server- let it manage and share out the printer over the network
-print share- shared directly from a workstation
Print spooler is the Windows service that queues print jobs and manages them
4 ways to secure printing
-authentication
-audit logs
-secured print
-badging
Bonjour
Apples zero-config network protocol
-automates some network protocols
Laser printer components
○ Image drum- main component that creates the image to be applied to paper
○ Fuser assembly- heats up and melts the toner onto the page
○ Transfer belt- combines the 4 colors (CMYB) before transferring to the paper
*Transfer roller- applies electric charge to paper so it attracts the toner
○ Pickup rollers- pick up paper and feed it through the system
○ Paper separation pad- helps pickup rollers only pick up one paper at a time
○ Duplexing assembly- moves the paper from the front to the back, helps print on both sides
○ Toner cartridges- plastic housing that contains toner powder
What to make sure to do before servicing any printer? (Two things)
- Make sure it is shut off and unplugged
- Make sure it has cooled down as some components may be hot
Inkjet printer components
○ Ink cartridges hold all CMYB colors
○ Printhead- device that takes droplets of ink and directs them at the paper
○ Roller- responsible for moving the paper through the inkjet printer
○ Feeders- responsible for feeding one paper to the roller at a time
○ Duplexing assembly- allows inkjet printer to print on both sides of the printer
Carriage belt- moves the printhead back and forth across the page
What is an inkjet printer?
Printer that uses ink cartridges that spray or shoot the ink in a pattern across the paper, louder and slower than a laser printer
Laser printer
Printer that uses toner cartridges (with toner power that is heated up and melted on the page using ionization) and is quieter and faster than an inkjet printer
Thermal printers
Like a receipt printer, lower quality images but can be higher and color with the right ribbons (thermal ribbon)
Impact printer
Printer using rapid impact heads to make the design, like a transfer paper used to sign multiple copies at once (the same form with different layers of paper)
Types of LCDs?
TN = twisted nemantic
IPS = in plane switching
VA = vertical alignment
When repairing laptops, what is a good first step and and ESSENTIAL step?
Locate and note screw locations
Different crash/catastrophic failure screens?
-Windows- BSoD (blue screen of death)
-macOS- pinwheel of death
-Linux- kernel panic
With cooling issues with a machine what do you do…
- Check for heat with hand, carefully
- Make sure active/passive/liquid cooling is working properly
- Shut down the machine
- Boot to BIOS/UEFI
Physical component integrity (cables, connectors, etc)
Don’t step on it, roll over it or abuse it. Be on lookout for burning or rancid smells
Inaccurate/inconsistent PC time clock almost always means what?
That it’s time to replace the CMOS battery
What is used to connect Cat 5e and above networks in and MDF or IDF?
110 punch down blocks
What kind of IP address should be used in servers?
Static IP address
Which channels should be configured in WAPs? And why?
1, 6, 11
To ensure no overlap between the channels being used
Legacy system
System no longer supported by its vendor
What’s the main cost effective type of coaxial cable connector?
F type
What coaxial cabling is best used for home TV/TV antennas/broadband (home stuff)?
RG-6
What coaxial cabling is best used for CCTV/analog video (usually enterprise stuff)?
RG-59
4 different sizes of PCIe slots on a MB
X1, x4, x8, x16
PCL
Printer control language
-PDL that has faster outputs but has lower quality
PostScript
-PDL that is slower to print but makes higher quality output
Difference between IMAP and POP3
IMAP leaves emails on a server, allows reading and keeps the data on the server, even after the device downloads the email. POP3 has the emails sent to the device itself and then deletes the email from the server, and doesn’t allow multiple device sync.
IPS (display)
Type of LCD display that has high color quality but lower refresh rates
TN
Twisted nematic- LCD that has higher refresh rates but lower color quality
VA (display)
Vertical alignment- LCD with good balance between refresh rate and color quality
Hard drive form factors
1.8”, 2.5”, 3.5”
If an LCD laptop screen is dimly lit, what is mostly likely the cause?
Problem with the “inverter”
Inverter
Chip that is apart of an LCD screens assembly that supplies the correct AC power to the backlight which lights the screen
MX record
DNS record for incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) emails
(T/F) you should NEVER attempt to fix anything that is wrong with a PSU
True.
PSUs should not be fixed by technicians, even if it’s just a faulty cooling fan. Just replace it
What tool is used to test the power of a power circuit?
Multimeter
How many volts are applied to the drum of a laser printer?
-600 volts
What do you use/which code is used to fix the boot manager (BOOTMGR)?
The boot manager (BOOTMGR) needs to be repaired. Boot into recovery mode, go to command-line interface and type command “bootrec /fixmbr” for MBR partitions. For GPT partitions use the BCD command
If a magnetic drive based system is taking a long time to boot, what is a good idea/first step to do?
Defragment hard drive in drive property tools. This only works for HDDs, and won’t help SSDs
What three features does location services use in mobile devices?
GPS, WIFI, and cellular data
What tool I used to test the wiring and continuity of network cables?
Cable tester
SSID
Service set identifier
-name of a wireless network
Maximum transmission distance for single-mode fiber cables?
40+ Km
What is a crimping tool?
A tool used to connect Cat cables to connectors like RJ-45 and RJ-11
What is a repeater?
A device used to extend or amplify a wireless signal to cover a larger area
What cables are immune to EMI?
Fiber optic cables
-they transmit light instead of electricity
What is a loopback plug?
A device that plugs into a network port to test the transmission and reception capabilities of a network card or port. Loops the signal back to itself
Modular PSU
Can plug in and unplug the power cables that you need
Metered billing
Metered- per usage
Why are VMs good for testing things?
They are an isolated, separate environment and OS, so the problem/solution can be tested without harm to the hardware on the physical computer
If a PC powers on but there is not POST/POST beeps and no display, what is the problem?
that likely means there is an issue with how the CPU and RAM is seated
(T/F) The BIOS/UEFI can show power/temperature and fan settings?
True
What does the “input not supported” error mean on a monitor?
The monitor is receiving display setting input (from the computer) that it cannot handle
Black screen with blinking cursor means…
Boot sector issues. The CPU is not finding a bootable drive, either due to boot sector or BOOTMGR problems or boot order in bios
If a computer is powered on and the fans are spinning but there’s no display or POST beeps/test, what is likely the issue?
Not enough wattage coming from the power supply
What can happen with security updates in reference to the NIC?
It can update the driver, which will reduce the connection speed to 100 mbps. Should revert back to previous nic driver version
USB, types and speeds
Universal Serial Bus
-type A (normal), B, C, mini and micro, SS micro (the weird double sided one)
Type A speeds/power
-1.1: 12 mbps/2.5W
-2.0: 480 mbps/2.5W
-3.0 and 3.1: 5 and 10 Gpbs/4.5W
OLED
Organic light-emitting diode
-Deeper colors, thinner and lighter, no back light
Voltages used by laser printers
-5 and +5 for the logic board
+24 for the motor power the rollers
Analog video connectors
S-video, RCA, and VGA
Digital video connectors
HDMI, DVI, display port
Cellular tech that uses HSPA+ and EV-DO to achieve higher speeds compared to older cellular data protocols?
3G
ICS
-Industrial control systems
Used to control industrial plants and systems
SCADA
Supervisory control and data acquisition
-system that monitors and controls industrial processes remotely
If virtualization is installed, where do you enable it?
BIOS/UEFI
What will a CDMA phone use when traveling?
PRL (preferred roaming list: list of providers when roaming) and PRI (preferred roaming index: provides several lines for data and voice for the best quality and service)
If a computer reboots without warning, what are some things to try?
- Reseat CPU and RAM
- Check temperature settings (overheating)
- Test power supply
Three steps to set up a thin-client
- Connect thin client computer to the network l
- Update everything (specifically security software and settings)
- Install/configure any apps need to access the VDI environment
Keystone setting on projectors
THIS IS AN IMAGE DISTORTION
-Keystone effect is when the top of an image is wider or narrower than the rest, adjust this setting to fix this DISTORTION
What will the screen look like if pins are broke off in a VGA connector?
The screen will either be discolored or not display at all
What metrics should be considered to compare SSD and HDD performance?
IOPS (input/output operations per second)
Proxy server
Server that receives and forwards Internet traffic between a client and the desired Internet destination
BSOD
Blue screen of death
-Windows stop error, it will provide a “stop code” that can be used to research why the crash occurred
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
-for providing secure authentication for emails
-provides a cryptographic authentication mechanism for sending email
-NOT for encrypting emails themselves.
(T/F) You can apply a SMALL amount of oil to the ball bearings of cooling fans to reduce the noise they make?
True
UTM
Unified threat management
-combines the work of a firewall, malware scanner, and intrusion detection/prevention
IPS/IDS
Intrusion prevention system/intrusion detection system
-IPS: actively blocks and mitigates against network threats in real time
-IDS: monitors and alerts about suspicious activity but does not do anything to prevent it
IPv4/IPv6 loop back addresses
IPv4: 127.0.0.1
IPv6: ::1
Go study FIBER OPTIC CABLE CONNECTORS IN YOUR TECH PHOTOS
DO IT
What can a loop back address be used to check?
The functionality of a devices NIC
Jitter
Variation in delay of the packets being transmitted
What do most projectors have in relation to the bulb/lamp?
A life counter
-this counts how long the bulb should last and needs to be reset when replacing the bulb
Ambient light sensor
Component of a cell phone/tablet that senses the level of light on the screen
A record vs. AAAA record
-A record- maps domain name to IPv4 address
-AAAA record- maps domain name to IPv6 address
