Chapter 2: The Visible Computer

Overview

In this chapter, you will learn how to

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 Describe how computing devices work

 Identify common connectors and devices on typical computer systems
 Discuss features common to operating system software

Charles Babbage didn’t set out to change the world. He just wanted to perform mathematical
calculations without worrying about human error, something all too common in his day. Babbage
was a mathematician in the nineteenth century, a time well before anyone thought to create
electronic calculators or computers (see Figure 2-1). When he worked on complex math, the best
“computers” were people who computed by hand. They solved equations using pen or pencil
and paper.

Figure 2-1: Charles Babbage, father of the computer

Babbage dreamed of machines that would calculate mechanically, making sure the results were
always right. Although his ideas were ahead of his time, inventors in the mid-twentieth century
picked up the concepts and created huge calculating machines that they called computers.

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This chapter explores how computing devices work. We’ll look first at the computing process,
then turn to hardware components common to all devices. The chapter finishes with a discussion
about software, exploring commonality among all operating systems and specific functions of
application programming.

Historical/Conceptual—The Computing Process

In modern terms, a computer is an electronic device that can perform calculations. The most
common types use special programming languages that people, known as computer
programmers, have written and compiled to accomplish specific tasks.

When most people hear the word “computer,” they picture general computing devices, machines
that can do all sorts of things. The typical personal computer (PC) running Microsoft Windows
is used for various tasks (see Figure 2-2). You can use it to manage your money and play games,
for example, without doing anything special to it, such as adding new hardware.

Figure 2-2: A typical desktop PC

Here are some other general-purpose computing devices:

 Apple Mac
  Apple iPad
 Smartphone
 Laptop (see Figure 2-3)

Figure 2-3: A laptop Page | 3

Plenty of other devices do specific computing jobs, focusing on a single task or set of similar
tasks. You probably encounter them all the time. Here’s a list of common specific-purpose
computers:

 Internet of Things (IoT) thermostat

 Digital watch
 Router
 Wi-Fi picture frame
 Xbox Series X
 Roku
 Point of sale (POS) system (see Figure 2-4)

Figure 2-4: A point of sale computer in a gasoline pump

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This list isn’t even close to complete! Plus, there are computers inside a zillion other devices.
Here are some:

 Modern refrigerators
 Every automobile built since the mid-1990s
 Airplanes
 Boats
 Mall lighting systems
 Zambonis
 Home security alarms

You get the idea. Computers help the modern world function.

Modern computer techs need to know how different types of computing devices work so they
can support the many devices used by their clients. This diversity is also reflected in the
CompTIA A+ exams.

If the list of devices to support seems overwhelming, relax. The secret savior for modern techs is
that computing devices function similarly to each other. Once you know what a device should
enable a user to do, you’ll be able to configure and troubleshoot successfully.
The Computing Parts

A modern computer consists of three major components:

 Hardware Page | 5
 Operating system
 Applications

The hardware is the physical stuff that you can touch or hold in your hand. With a smartphone,
for example, you hold the phone. On a typical personal computer, you touch the keyboard or
view images on the monitor.

The operating system (OS) controls the hardware and enables you to tell the computer what to
do. The operating system often appears as a collection of windows and little icons you can click
or touch (see Figure 2-5). Collectively these are called the user interface (UI), which means the
software parts with which you can interact. The UI that offers images or icons to select (as
opposed to making you type commands) is called a graphical user interface (GUI).

Figure 2-5: The Microsoft Windows 11 operating system

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Applications (or programs) enable you to do specialized tasks on a computer, such as

 Type a letter
 Send a message from your computer in Houston to your friend’s computer in Paris
 Wander through imaginary worlds with people all over Earth

Very simple computing devices might have an operating system with only a few features that
give you choices. A digital camera, for example, has a menu system that enables you to control
things like the quality of the picture taken (see Figure 2-6).

Figure 2-6: Changing settings on a digital camera

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More complicated devices offer more choices. A Samsung Galaxy Z Fold phone, for example,
does some cool things right out of the box, way more than just phone calls! But all smartphones
also have access to an online store with massive selections of applications. Just download the
applications (known as apps) to do all sorts of things that Samsung didn’t include (see Figure 2-
7).

Figure 2-7: Google Play store

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Finally, multipurpose computers like the typical Windows PC or macOS computer offer
applications to help you do everything from write a book on CompTIA A+ certification to talk
with someone on the other side of the world, with full audio and video (see Figure 2-8).

Figure 2-8: Video call with Apple’s FaceTime

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Stages

At the most basic level, computers work through three stages, what’s called the computing
process:

 Input
 Processing
 Output

You start the action by doing something—clicking the mouse, typing on the keyboard, or
touching the touch screen. This is input. The parts inside the device or case take over at that point
as the operating system tells the hardware to do what you’ve requested. This is processing.

In fact, at the heart of every computing device is a central processing unit (CPU), usually a
single, thin wafer of silicon and tiny transistors (see Figure 2-9). The CPU handles the majority
of the processing tasks and is, in a way, the “brain” of the computer.

Figure 2-9: An AMD Ryzen CPU installed on a motherboard

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NOTE

Chapter 3 gives a lot more information on CPUs and other processing components.

Once the computer has processed your request, it shows you the result by changing what you see
on the display or playing a sound through the speakers. This is output. A computer wouldn’t be
worth much if it couldn’t demonstrate that it fulfilled your commands! Figure 2-10 shows the
computing process.

Figure 2-10: The computing process

Modern computing devices almost always have two other stages:

  Data storage
 Network connection

Data storage means saving a permanent copy of your work so that you can come back to it later.
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It works like this. First, you tell the computer to save something. Second, the CPU processes that
command and stores the data. Third, the computer shows you something, such as a message
saying that the data is stored. Any work that you don’t save is lost when you turn the computer
off or exit the application.

Most computing devices connect to other devices to access other resources. A network
connection often describes how one computer connects to one or more other computers. And it
doesn’t just apply to a couple of office computers. Every smartphone, for example, can connect
to the Internet and play a video from YouTube (assuming you have a signal from a cell tower
and a data plan).

At this point, students often ask me a fundamental question: “Why should I care about the
computing process?” The answer to this question defines what makes a good computer
technician. Here’s my response.

Why the Process Matters to Techs

Because the computing process applies to every computing device, it provides the basis for how
every tech builds, upgrades, and repairs such devices. By understanding both the components
involved and how they talk to each other, you can work with any computing device. It might take
a couple minutes to figure out how to communicate with the device via input, for example, but
you’ll quickly master it because you know how all computing devices work.

Breaking It Down

The whole computer process from start to finish has a lot of steps and pieces that interact. The
more you understand about this interaction and these pieces, the better you can troubleshoot
when something goes wrong. This is the core rule to being a great tech. We’ll turn to our
knowledge of these “steps and pieces” as we tackle troubleshooting scenarios throughout the
book, remembering the essential question a tech should ask when facing a problem: What can it
be? Or, in slightly longer fashion: What could cause the problem that stopped this device from
functioning properly?
1101—Computing Hardware

Later chapters examine specific computing hardware, such as CPUs and mass storage devices.
CompTIA expects competent techs to know what to call every connector, socket, and slot in a
variety of computing devices. Rather than describe all of those briefly here, I decided to create a Page | 12

photo walkthrough naming points of interest and the chapters that discuss them.

EXAM TIP

Memorize the names of the components, connectors, and terms discussed and displayed in this
section. You’ll see them in future chapters, in the real world, and on the CompTIA A+ 1101
exam.

This section serves as a visual introduction to the components and connections. Plus, it should
work great as a set of study sheets for memorizing names just before taking the CompTIA A+
1101 exam. The images that follow indicate the chapters where you’ll find information about a
component or connection standard.

Figure 2-11 shows a typical desktop PC. The input and output devices should be familiar to
most.

Figure 2-11: Desktop PC with common peripherals

Figure 2-12 shows the back of a PC’s system unit, where you’ll find the many connection points
called ports. Some ports connect to output devices such as monitors. Other ports are exclusively
used for input devices. Most (such as the universal serial bus, or USB) handle both input and
output.
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Figure 2-12: The business end of a desktop PCOnboard
Figure 2-13 reveals the inside of a PC case, where you’ll find the processing and storage devices.
Hiding under everything is the motherboard, the component into which everything directly or
indirectly connects.

Figure 2-13: Inside the system unit Page | 14

Larger View

Figure 2-14 shows a clamshell-style laptop—in this case, Apple MacBook Pro. The portable
nature of the device calls for input and output devices built into the case—some variation from
the typical PC displayed earlier, therefore, but all the standard computing component functions
apply. Chapter 23 goes into a lot of detail about each component displayed here.

Figure 2-14: Laptop (a MacBook Pro)

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Figure 2-15 shows the side of a laptop with three different connection types.

Figure 2-15: Ports on an older laptop

Figure 2-16 shows a tablet computer, an Apple iPad. Note that the screen has a touch interface,
which makes it both an input and output device.

Figure 2-16: Tablet computer (Apple iPad Mini)

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We could continue with any number of computing devices in the same picture show, but at this
point the uniformity of computing component functions should be clear. They all work similarly,
and, as a competent tech, you should be able to support just about any customer device. Let’s
turn now to a feast of software.

SIM

Check out the excellent Chapter 2 Challenge! sim on motherboard matching at

https://www.totalsem.com/110X. It’s a cool sim that helps names stick in your head.

1102—Computing Software

Any premade set of binary instructions that a CPU can read and react to is software. All
applications are software. Operating systems such as Microsoft Windows or Apple’s iOS
running on your iPhone are also software. Care and feeding of your computer’s software is
important work. Reflecting that importance, the CompTIA A+ 1102 exam covers a lot of
software, mostly operating system tools. You’ll need to know how to install and support
applications, of course, as that’s an essential role for a CompTIA A+ tech.
The exam explores four workstation operating systems, Microsoft Windows (versions 10 and 11
only), Apple macOS, Linux, and Google Chrome OS. Note that the exam covers common Linux
features, but not distribution-specific features. The book follows this pattern as well.

EXAM TIP Page | 17

Linux comes in a dizzying variety of versions, called distributions or distros. The CompTIA
A+ 1102 exam focuses on features common to all distros.

In addition to the workstation operating systems, the CompTIA A+ 1102 exam covers three
smartphone/tablet operating systems: Google Android, Apple iOS, and Apple iPadOS.

Common Operating System Functions

All OSs are not created equal, but every OS provides certain functions. Here’s a list:

 The OS communicates, or provides a method for other programs to communicate, with

the hardware of the PC or device. Operating systems run on specific hardware. For
example, if you have a 32-bit CPU, you need to install a 32-bit version of an operating
system. With a 64-bit CPU, you need a 64-bit OS (Chapter 3 explains 32- vs. 64-bit
processors).
 The OS creates a user interface (UI)—a visual representation of the computer on the
monitor that makes sense to the people using the computer.
 The OS enables users to determine the available installed programs and run, use, and shut
down the programs of their choice.
 The OS enables users to add, move, and delete the installed programs and data.
 The OS provides a method to secure a system from all sorts of threats, such as data loss
or improper access.

All operating systems enable you to use programs, but the formats vary so widely that you can’t
just install any program on any OS. Programmers do extra work to build separate versions of a
program that can run on more than one OS. This is one example of what the CompTIA A+ 1102
exam calls compatibility concerns between OSs. The software your users need can restrict the list
of acceptable OS choices, and the OS choice limits available software. This can also affect how
well users on multiple operating systems can collaborate!
Another common compatibility concern is whether a specific OS can communicate with a given
piece of hardware. A device that works well with one OS may work poorly or not at all with
another! One OS may need no extra software to work with a device, while another OS might
need a special program installed to control it. Likewise, brand-new hardware may not work well
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on any OS until the OS receives updates to support the new hardware.

Almost every chapter in this book explores the interaction of OS and hardware. Chapter
11 examines adding and removing programs. Many security features show up in multiple
chapters, such as Chapter 13 and Chapter 27. The rest of this chapter focuses on the user
interface and the file structures.

User Interfaces

This section tours the various operating system desktop styles/user interfaces. Like the hardware
tours earlier, this section serves a double purpose. First, you need to know the proper names for
the various UI features and understand their functions. Second, it serves as a handy quick review
section before you take the CompTIA A+ 1102 exam.

NOTE

Chapter 24 details the operating systems for mobile devices—iOS, iPadOS, and Android.

Windows

Figure 2-17 shows the standard interface for Windows 11, a traditional multipurpose computer.
Windows uses a graphical user interface primarily, so you engage with the mouse or other
pointing device and click on elements. The background is called the Desktop. The open apps are
File Explorer—the file browser in Windows 11—and the Microsoft Store for purchasing apps,
games, movies, and so on.

Figure 2-17: Windows 11 with apps open

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Other visible items are as follows:

 Click the Start button to get access to applications, tools, files, and folders.
 The pinned applications enable you to launch a program with a single left-click.
 The taskbar shows running programs.
 The notification area shows programs running in the background. Many techs also call it
the system tray.

Interacting with the Windows interface involves using a mouse or touchpad to move the cursor
and either left-clicking or right-clicking the icons to achieve different goals. Left-clicking selects
an item; double left-clicking opens an item. Right-clicking opens a context menu from which you
can select various options. Figure 2-18 shows the context menu for the Zoom app (for video
conferencing) that’s running in the background. (Most people refer to a left-click simply as a
click. This section makes the left/right distinction clear, so you learn how to access tools
properly.)
Figure 2-18: Context menu

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NOTE

The context menu offers options specific to the icon you right-click. Right-clicking a file, for
example, gives you a context menu that differs greatly from when you right-click an application.

The CompTIA A+ exams include two versions of Windows: Windows 10 and Windows 11.
They function quite similarly to each other, but the user interface is different. One of the most
immediate visible differences is the center-aligned Start menu and pinned apps in Windows 11,
unlike the traditional left-aligned taskbar in Windows 10 (see Figure 2-19). Note that these are
just the defaults. In Windows 10, you can move the taskbar to any screen edge you want. In
Windows 11, you are stuck with the taskbar on the bottom of the screen, but you can left align
the Start menu and pinned apps if you prefer the classic Windows look.

Figure 2-19: Windows 10 desktop showing left-aligned taskbar and open Start menu
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The Start menu—the go-to place for launching applications in Windows—differs a lot between
Windows 11 and Windows 10. In Windows 11, clicking the Start button or pressing the
Windows logo key on the keyboard brings up a menu that has a “Type here to search” box,
pinned apps, and recommended files (see Figure 2-20). The last of those are simply the six most
recent files you opened so the entries change frequently.

Figure 2-20: Results of clicking the Start menu or pressing the Windows logo key in Windows 11
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EXAM TIP

The CompTIA A+ 1102 exam objectives specifically call out Windows 10 features, tools, and
Control Panel utilities for the look and feel and location of these various tech tools. This book
will make explicit references to Windows 10 where appropriate, so you won’t miss questions on
the exam.

The Start menu has one more trick up its sleeve for us techs. Pressing windows logo key + x on
the keyboard or right-clicking the Start menu brings up the Quick Link menu (see Figure 2-21).
This extremely handy menu gives us quick access to most of the utilities and apps we need to
keep Windows running smoothly.
Figure 2-21: Accessing the Quick Link menu by right-clicking the Start menu

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Fortunately, most of the time we are not fixing Windows, but using it to get work done. One
feature Windows has to help us stay productive takes advantage of widescreen monitors with
the side-by-side apps feature. Select an open application and press windows logo key + left
arrow and the application will pin to the left half of the monitor. Any other open applications
will appear as smallish icons on the right so you can quickly pin your choice to the right half of
the monitor (Figure 2-22). Do the reverse with another application, and it’ll pin to the right half
of the monitor. With apps like Microsoft Word, where each document opens in a unique window,
side-by-side apps make it easy to compare two documents.
Figure 2-22: Edge browser pinned left; other running apps ready to be pinned right

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NOTE

The Microsoft Store enables you to acquire and download Windows apps directly from
Microsoft. Microsoft has updated the Microsoft Store many times, tying it together with its Xbox
gaming system, for example. The Microsoft Store is the place to get touch-first apps, meaning
programs designed specifically with touchscreen interfaces in mind.

macOS

The macOS operating system interface offers similar functions to those found on Windows. The
background of the main screen is called the Desktop, and running along the bottom of the
desktop is the Dock, which holds your running and pinned applications (very similar to the
Windows taskbar). Along the top of the screen is probably the most distinctive feature of macOS,
the menu bar. The menu bar is divided into a few sections, with the Apple and app menus taking
up the left side, and the status menus (similar to the Windows notification area) taking up the
right. Figure 2-23 shows the typical macOS interface.
Figure 2-23: macOS

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Pressing the Mission Control button on an Apple keyboard (see Figure 2-24) brings up a feature,
called Mission Control, that lets you see all your open apps at a glance and quickly switch
between them, as shown in Figure 2-25. You can also access Mission Control by pressing and
holding the control/ctrl key and then pressing the up arrow key.

Figure 2-24: Mission Control button on keyboard

Figure 2-25: Mission Control showing three open apps and four Desktops

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The macOS interface supports Spaces—essentially multiple Desktops—that can have different
backgrounds and apps but keep the same Dock. You can optimize your workflow, for example,
by putting your primary program full screen on Desktop 1 and putting your e-mail client on
Desktop 2 (see Figure 2-26). New messages won’t disturb you when working, but you can access
the second Desktop easily when you want with Mission Control. Press and hold the control key
and press the right arrow and left arrow keys to scroll through Spaces.

Figure 2-26: Switching between multiple Desktops

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Linux

Linux is a popular, free, open source operating system that’s been around since the mid-1990s.
Over the years, there have been hundreds of different versions or distributions (distros) of Linux.
The reason for all the distro versions depends on what a distro is needed to do. Unlike Windows
or macOS, different Linux distros offer a variety of user interfaces, called desktop environments
(DEs). They offer similar functions to those in Windows or macOS. Figure 2-27 shows a popular
Linux distro, Ubuntu Linux, with the GNOME desktop and notes the various features.
Frequently used utilities and applications are locked on the Dock on the left side of the screen.
Most distros give you options for Web browsing, e-mail, accessing files and folders, and so on.

Figure 2-27: Ubuntu Linux desktop environment

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Command-Line Interface

Long before there were pretty GUIs with their mice pointers and icons, operating systems used a
command-line interface (CLI). Although the CLI is an old concept, every operating system still
has at least one, and for good reason: the CLI works when the GUI just can’t do the job. The CLI
is a tech’s best friend, and you must learn to be comfortable working in the CLI. Chapter 15 is
devoted to the command line, but let’s look at one example of what the command line can do—
in this case, using Windows.

On Windows, the default CLI is called PowerShell. To access it, open the Quick Links menu
(right-click the Start button) and select Windows Powershell (or Windows Terminal in Windows
11). A new window will open with a prompt patiently waiting for you to conjure some
command-line magic (see Figure 2-28).

Figure 2-28: A PowerShell prompt in Windows 11

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NOTE

Microsoft provides two PowerShell choices: one that says PowerShell and another that says
PowerShell (Admin). PowerShell (Admin) is more powerful but requires you to have
administrative rights. For now, choose either.

At the command prompt, type dir and press ENTER. The dir command-line utility displays all
the files and folders in a specific directory—probably your user folder for this exercise—and
displays folder and file names as well as other information. (A directory is the same thing as a
folder.) The dir command is just one of many command-line tools. You’ll learn much more
about dir in Chapter 15.

macOS has a superb CLI called Terminal. The Terminal CLI looks like the Windows CLI but the
commands are different. On a Mac, the dir command doesn’t work. You need to type ls to see
the contents of a folder in Terminal (see Figure 2-29).

Figure 2-29: Running the ls command in Terminal

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Linux is even more dependent on the CLI. You can be a pretty good tech with Windows or a
macOS and not know much about the CLI. Not so in Linux. The command line in Linux (also
called Terminal) is an essential tool. You can get there in most distros by pressing CTRL-ALT-
T. (See Chapter 15 for a lot of details about essential Linux commands.)

File Structures and Paths

Knowing where to find specific content—files and the folders in which they reside—helps techs
help users do their day-to-day tasks more efficiently. Almost every operating system stores files
in folders in a tree pattern. The root of the tree is the drive or disk, followed by a folder,
subfolder, sub-subfolder, and so on, until you get to the desired file. The drive or disk gets some
designation, most usually a drive letter nomenclature that looks like “C:”. Chapter 9 goes into
gory detail on how modern operating systems implement systems for storing data.

Windows

Windows has important folders that help organize programs and documents. They sit in the root
directory—where the operating system is installed—and vary depending on the version of
Windows. The following sections walk through the locations of important folders.
Windows File Explorer enables you to browse and select files and folders stored on all the
storage locations available to the computer. Figure 2-30 shows File Explorer displaying the
contents of the Documents folder in Windows 10. Note the title of the window is Documents.
The tool, regardless of the title, is File Explorer.
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Figure 2-30: File Explorer

The default file and folder view in Windows has a couple of notable features that you can see
in Figure 2-30. Note the “July 15” file? That X icon says Windows recognizes the file as a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which means almost certainly the actual filename is July 15.xlsx.
The .xlsx is the file extension, hidden by default, that tells the OS which application to use with
the file. This pairing of application with file extension is called file association.

Note also that Figure 2-30 has the View tab displayed—that’s the ribbon at the top of the
window. To change the default view, make changes here. Accessing the File Explorer Options—
CompTIA’s term for Folder Options in File Explorer—enables you to make changes in default
behavior with the tool. To get to Folder Options in Windows 11, in the toolbar, click the three
horizontal dots next to the View menu option and select Options. In Windows 10, select the
View tab and click Options. Both paths open a similar dialog box (see Figure 2-31).
Figure 2-31: Windows 11 Folder Options, General tab

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On the General tab (General options in CompTIA speak), you can set the default folder to
display each time File Explorer opens. You can change whether a folder opens in the same
window or a separate window. You can change the click feature to open a folder on a single click
rather than the default double click. You can adjust privacy settings here and clear the File
Explorer history to cover your tracks.

The View tab (see Figure 2-32), which CompTIA calls View options, presents Advanced settings
where you can Show hidden files, folders, and drives. (File Explorer hides them by default.) You
can toggle file extensions on here (deselect Hide extensions for known file types.) You have
many options here. Experiment!

Figure 2-32: Windows 11 Folder Options, View tab

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The folder structures that follow here use standard formatting for describing folder structures.
This is what you’ll see on the CompTIA A+ 1102 exam and in almost any OS. Windows hides
the “\” characters at the beginning to make it prettier. File Explorer might show something like
“Local Disk (C:) > Users > Mike.” This translates in proper fashion as C:\Users\Mike.

C:\Program Files By default, most programs install some or all of their essential files into a
subfolder of the Program Files folder. If you installed a program, it should have its own folder in
here. Individual companies decide how to label their subfolders. Installing Photoshop made by
Adobe, for example, creates the Adobe subfolder and then an Adobe Photoshop subfolder within
it.

C:\Program Files (x86) The 64-bit editions of Windows create two directory structures for
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program files. The 64-bit applications go into the C:\Program Files folder, whereas the 32-bit
applications go into the C:\Program Files (x86) folder. The separation makes it easy to find the
proper version of whatever application you seek.

Personal Documents Windows uses subfolders in the C:\Users folder to organize files for each
user on a PC. Figure 2-33 shows the default folders for a user named Mike. Let’s quickly survey
the ones you most likely need to know for the CompTIA A+ exams:

Figure 2-33: File Explorer in Windows 10 viewing Mike’s folders

 C:\Users\Mike\Desktop This folder stores the files on the user’s Desktop. If you delete
this folder, you delete all the files placed on the Desktop.
 C:\Users\Mike\Documents This is the Documents or My Documents folder for that user.
(Only Windows 7 uses My Documents. The others use Documents.)
  C:\Users\Mike\Downloads Microsoft’s preferred download folder for applications to
use. Most applications use this folder, but some do not.
 C:\Users\Mike\Music This is the default location for music you download. My guess is
that more people have music in iTunes, but that’s just me.
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 C:\Users\Mike\Pictures Pictures is the default location for images imported into the PC,
although the Pictures library can (and does) draw from many folder locations.
 C:\Users\Mike\Videos Videos is the default location for movies and homebrewed videos
imported into a PC.

macOS

Finder holds the keys to files and folders in macOS. Figure 2-34 shows Finder open to display
Mike’s Users folder. Note that, although its style differs from the Windows screen shown
in Figure 2-33, it has functionally similar folders. These are the default locations for files on the
Desktop, in Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and so on. Each user account on the Mac
will have a unique Users folder that is inaccessible by other users on that computer.

Figure 2-34: Mike’s Users directory in Finder

Linux

Ready to be shocked? Not surprisingly, Linux uses pretty much the same structure for user
organization (see Figure 2-35). I guess once something seems logical to enough people, there’s
no reason to add confusion by changing the structure. The only major difference is the name: Page | 36
Linux uses the Home folder, rather than the Users folder.

Figure 2-35: Mike’s Home directory in File Manager

The Tech Utility Launch Points

Every OS has two or three locations (I like to call them tech utility launch points) for some,
most, or all of their tech-specific utilities. This section shows you how to access those areas,
primarily so that we don’t have to repeat the steps to get to them when accessing them many
times throughout the book. Just refer to this section if you have difficulty remembering how to
arrive at a place later on. Also, CompTIA will test your knowledge on how to access these tool
locations, with specific steps. Use this section for the last-minute cram before taking the exams.

Windows
Microsoft has refined and changed Windows with every version. For example, Windows 10 and
Windows 11 modifications included aspects to tech tools such as their location and level of
importance. These changes often trigger strong opinions among techs of all ages on such details.
Despite these opinions, Microsoft does a fine job innovating and advancing their technology and
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will continue to do so. Techs will simply need to keep up with new updates and tools so they
keep their knowledge and skills current with each new version.

Windows offers many tech tool areas, including Settings, Control Panel, and Administrative
Tools. A lot of tools appear to be standalone tools, but they’re specialized manifestations of a
toolset called the Microsoft Management Console. Let’s look at all these now.

NOTE

Most of these tools may be accessed in both Windows 10 or 11 via the Quick Link menu by
right-clicking the Start button.

Settings Settings provides a central location and a consistent interface for most of the important
tech tools in Windows (see Figure 2-36). Introduced way back with Windows 8, Settings is
slowly taking over many utilities from the venerable Control Panel.

Figure 2-36: Settings app in Windows 10 (left) and Windows 11 (right)

Control Panel The Control Panel, an ancient but still used launch point, handles many of the
maintenance, upgrade, and configuration aspects of Windows.
The Control Panel opens in Category view by default, which displays the icons in groups like
Hardware and Sound, as shown in Figure 2-37. This view requires an additional click (and
sometimes a guess about which category includes what you need), so many techs use Classic
view.
Page | 38
Figure 2-37: Windows 10 Control Panel Category view

Administrative Tools (renamed Windows Tools in Windows 11) is one example of the many
powerful utilities found in the Control Panel. The Administrative Tools utility enables you to set
up hard drives, manage devices, test system performance, and much more (see Figure 2-38).

Figure 2-38: Administrative Tools open showing many utilities

 Page | 39

NOTE

Device Manager enables you to examine the state of all the hardware and drivers in a Windows
computer. As you might suspect from that description, techs spend a lot of time with this tool.
You’ll see Device Manager referenced many more times both in this book and during your
career as a PC tech.

The CompTIA A+ 1102 exam specifically assumes Classic view with large icons, so you should
do what every tech does: switch from Category view to Classic view. In Control Panel, select
either Large icons or Small icons from the View by drop-down list for a similar effect. Figure 2-
39 shows the Windows 11 Control Panel in Large icons view.

Figure 2-39: Windows 11 Control Panel Large icons view

 Page | 40

Many programs, called applets, populate the Control Panel. The names and selection of applets
vary depending on the version of Windows and whether any installed programs have added
applets. But all versions of Windows have applets that enable you to control specific aspects of
Windows, such as the appearance, installed applications, and system settings. You will get
details on each applet as we put them into use over the course of this book.

macOS

macOS has two key launch points for techs: the System Preferences app and the Utilities folder.
You can access both quickly.

System Preferences

To access System Preferences, click the Apple icon (top-left corner of screen) and select System
Preferences from the Apple menu to open the app (see Figure 2-40). From System Preferences
you have access to almost all settings you will need to administer a macOS system.

Figure 2-40: Accessing System Preferences

 Page | 41

Utilities Folder The second launch point is the Utilities folder, located neatly in the
Applications folder. Because of its importance, Apple provides a quick shortcut to access it.
With the Finder in focus, click Go on the menu bar and select Utilities (see Figure 2-41).
Alternatively, use the hot-key combination: COMMAND-SHIFT-U. The Utilities folder gives
you access to the tools you need to perform services on a Mac beyond what’s included in System
Preferences, including Activity Monitor and Terminal. The latter is the command-line interface
for macOS that we already touched on, a very powerful tool for techs that we explore in detail
in Chapter 15.

Figure 2-41: Accessing the Utilities folder

 Page | 42

Linux

Linux lacks the handy, one-stop launch points available in Windows and macOS. Instead, the
various desktop environments have their own launch points. Here are the locations of the launch
points for common desktop environments KDE Plasma Desktop and Gnome 3.

KDE Plasma Desktop The most common launch point in KDE Plasma Desktop is the System
Settings app. To access System Settings, open the Application Launcher by clicking the button in
the lower left of the screen. From the launcher, either search for System Settings or click
Applications then the Settings category. From here, open the System Setting application
(see Figure 2-42).

Figure 2-42: Accessing KDE’s System Settings

 Page | 43

Gnome 3 The main utility launch point in Gnome 3 is the System menu, shown in Figure 2-43,
which you access by clicking the downward-pointing triangle on the menu bar. From here, you
can access the Settings app and log out or shut down/restart the computer.

Figure 2-43: Accessing Gnome 3’s System menu

 Page | 44

Smartphone OSs

Your smartphone’s OS also has utility launch points, just not as many as a traditional desktop
like Windows or macOS. For instance, Figure 2-44 shows the iOS Settings app—the first place
to go to configure anything on your iOS phone. Android phones also use a launch point called
Settings.

Figure 2-44: Apple iOS Settings app

 Page | 45

Chapter Review

Questions

1. What is the oldest version of Windows covered on the CompTIA A+ 220-1102 exam?
A. Windows Server 2016
B. Windows 8 Enterprise
C. Windows 10
 D. Windows 11

Answer:

C. Windows 10 is the oldest version of Windows covered on the CompTIA A+ 220-1102 Page | 46
exam.

2. Which of the following is the utility used to download apps in Windows?

A. Play Store
B. Apple Spaces
C. Microsoft Store
D. Windows Store

Answer:

C. Microsoft Store is used to download apps in Windows.

3. What macOS feature is essentially multiple Desktops?

A. Charms
B. Desktop
C. Mission Control
D. Spaces

Answer:

D. Spaces is the term Apple uses for multiple Desktops in macOS.

4. The Linux operating system comes in hundreds of different versions, known as _______.
A. Desktops
B. Distros
C. Dispersions
D. Domiciles

Answer:

B. Different versions of Linux are known as distros, short for distributions.

5. The user, Mike, has downloaded files with his Web browser. Where will they be stored
by default?
A. C:\Downloads
B. C:\Mike\Desktop\Downloads
Page | 47
C. C:\Users\Mike\Downloads
D. C:\Users\Mike\Desktop\Downloads

Answer:

C. The default download location in Windows is C:\Users\<user name>\Downloads.

6. 32-bit programs are installed into which folder by default in a 64-bit edition of Windows?
A. C:\Program Files
B. C:\Program Files (x32)
C. C:\Program Files\Wins\Old
D. C:\Program Files (x86)

Answer:

D. By default, 32-bit applications install into the C:\Program Files (x86) folder.

7. Which macOS feature is functionally equivalent to Windows File Explorer?

A. Finder
B. Dock
C. Quartz
D. File Manager

Answer:

A. Finder is the equivalent of File Explorer.

8. Which of the following Windows utilities is slowly replacing the ancient Windows
Control Panel?
A. Device Manager
B. Settings
C. Administrative Tools
D. Terminal
 Answer:

B. Settings is slowly taking over many utilities from the Control Panel.

9. What feature of macOS is the equivalent of the command-line interface in Windows? Page | 48
A. Dock
B. Spaces
C. Terminal
D. Unity

Answer:

C. Terminal is the equivalent of the Windows command-line interface.

10. Both Apple and Android smartphones have a utility called ______.
A. Settings
B. Control
C. Command Center
D. Control Center

Answer:

A. Both Apple and Android smartphones have a utility called Settings.