CompTIA A+® Certification All-In-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Chapter 7. Dealing with Portable Computers

Exam Objectives

• Identifying portable computer components

• Looking at laptop batteries

• Understanding AC adapters

• Finding out about LCD panels

• Upgrading and expanding a laptop

• Troubleshooting laptop issues

In this chapter, you find out about portable computers and their supporting technologies. On the A+ exam, you're required to identify characteristics of a laptop, such as the types of batteries and displays, and also how to upgrade a laptop's hard drive or memory.

Laptops gained popularity years ago because of their small size and mobility. I suppose you could carry around a standard desktop computer, but that is pretty inconvenient and causes wear and tear on your biceps. And even if you are willing to lug around a big, heavy desktop computer, the other problem with desktop computers is that you will not always have a power outlet to plug it into. A big benefit of laptops is that they use a battery to use as a power source, which is great for when you're on a plane or out on safari and don't have a wall outlet.

Although laptops are the portable computer type to focus on for the A+ Certification exam, you should also be familiar with handheld devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), which a lot of people use to keep track of their daily schedule and contacts.

This chapter helps you identify, install, configure, and upgrade special portable computer components, such as batteries, hard drives, and memory. Procedures in this chapter ...