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Bucks County Community College

Courses + Programs

  Academics  —  Courses + Programs  —  Master Course Outlines

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
  1. Course Learning Goals

    Students will:

    1. identify, install, configure, and upgrade desktop computer modules and peripherals, following established basic procedures for system assembly and disassembly of field replaceable modules;
    2. diagnose and effectively troubleshoot common hardware problems and system malfunctions;
    3. recognize 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; and
    4. explain basic network concepts and terminology, determine whether a computer is networked, construct procedures for swapping and configuring network interface cards, and predict ramifications of repairs when a computer is networked.
  2. Planned Sequence of Topics and/or Learning Activities

    Course Outline:

    1. Basic Computer Operation
      1. PC hardware - motherboard, CPU and chipset, storage devices, input and output devices
      2. CPU - operation, use of memory, communication with other devices
      3. Binary and hexadecimal numbers
    2. Hardware and Software
      1. System resources - I/0, IRQ, DMA, memory
      2. System BIOS and the boot process
    3. Power Supplies
      1. Basic electrical theory - Volts, Amps, Ohms, Watts
      2. Power management in PCs
    4. The Motherboard
      1. Types - AT. ATX
      2. CPU - Pentium Classic, MMX,II,III,IV
      3. System busses - PCI, AGP, ISA
    5. I/0 Devices
      1. Serial and parallel - USB, IEEE1394
      2. Keyboards and pointing devices
      3. Video
    6. Memory
      1. ROM
      2. RAM
      3. CMOS
    7. Removable Storage Devices
    8. Hard Drives
      1. IDE
      2. SCSI
      3. SATA
    9. Multi-Media Devices
      1. CD-ROM - CD-R, CD-RW, DVD
      2. Sound cards
    10. Mass Storage
      1. Tape drives and Zip drives
      2. RAID
      3. Network attached storage
    11. Modems
    12. PCs Connecting to a Network
      1. Physical network architectures - Ethernet, FDDI, Wireless
      2. Network interface cards - installing under Windows OS
    13. Notebooks and PDAs
      1. Upgrading memory
      2. Other field replaceable units
    14. Printers
      1. Laser, dot-matrix, ink-jet
      2. Troubleshooting
    15. Troubleshooting and Maintenance Fundamentals
      1. Fundamental rules of troubleshooting
      2. Preventative maintenance
      3. Disposal rules
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Review/Approval Date - 11/02; Revised 6/09; New Core 8/2015

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