CISC201 Managing and Maintaining the PC
Department of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics: Computer/Information Science
- I. Course Number and Title
- CISC201 Managing and Maintaining the PC
- II. Number of Credits
- 4 credits
- III. Number of Instructional Minutes
- 3000
- IV. Prerequisites
- CISC128 (C or better)
- Corequisites
- None
- V. Other Pertinent Information
- A comprehensive departmental final examination is given.
- VI. Catalog Course Description
- The course covers installation, configuration, upgrading, troubleshooting, and repairing desktop computer systems. The hands-on opportunity to build a complete computer from component parts is an integral part of the course. Successful completion of the course will prepare a student to take the industry standard, vendor-neutral certification test in this area.
- VII. Required Course Content and Direction
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Course Learning Goals
Students will:
- identify, install, configure, and upgrade desktop computer modules and peripherals, following established basic procedures for system assembly and disassembly of field replaceable modules;
- diagnose and troubleshoot common hardware problems and system malfunctions; and
- evaluate the potential hazards to personnel and equipment when working with lasers, high voltage equipment, ESD, and items that require special disposal procedures that comply with environmental guidelines.
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Planned Sequence of Topics and/or Learning Activities
Course Outline:
- Basic Computer Operation
- PC hardware - motherboard, CPU and chipset, storage devices, input and output devices
- CPU - operation, use of memory, communication with other devices
- Binary and hexadecimal numbers
- Hardware and Software
- System resources - I/0, IRQ, DMA, memory
- System BIOS and the boot process
- Power Supplies
- Basic electrical theory - Volts, Amps, Ohms, Watts
- Power management in PCs
- The Motherboard
- Types - AT. ATX
- CPU - Pentium Classic, MMX,II,III,IV
- System busses - PCI, AGP, ISA
- I/0 Devices
- Serial and parallel - USB, IEEE1394
- Keyboards and pointing devices
- Video
- Memory
- ROM
- RAM
- CMOS
- Removable Storage Devices
- Hard Drives
- IDE
- SCSI
- SATA
- Multi-Media Devices
- CD-ROM - CD-R, CD-RW, DVD
- Sound cards
- Mass Storage
- Tape drives and Zip drives
- RAID
- Network attached storage
- Modems
- PCs Connecting to a Network
- Physical network architectures - Ethernet, FDDI, Wireless
- Network interface cards - installing under Windows OS
- Notebooks and PDAs
- Upgrading memory
- Other field replaceable units
- Printers
- Laser, dot-matrix, ink-jet
- Troubleshooting
- Troubleshooting and Maintenance Fundamentals
- Fundamental rules of troubleshooting
- Preventative maintenance
- Disposal rules
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Assessment Methods for Course Learning Goals
The assessment of Course Learning Goals is based on written tests, labs, and other assignments, as well as performance-based tasks as appropriate, and a departmental final exam. -
Reference, Resource, or Learning Materials to be used by Student:
Departmentally-selected textbook. Details provided by the instructor of each course section. See course syllabus.
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Review/Approval Date - 11/02; Revised 6/09; New Core 8/2015; Revised: 5/20/2024