How to become a computer hardware expert/technician?

[Franky]

Hello guys,

I'm a computer software engineer and have some good skills on that area of computer world. But my knowledge about the hardware of the computer is poor. I guess best thing for start to be familiar with hardware is to knowing the CPUs and Graphic cards and like those. I'd like to entrust it to you to suggest me a good reference (such as a free ebook) for being familiar with computer hardware world.

 

[kbrady1979]

Most schools have a PC "Hardware/Software" Maintenance class that will cover the basics without getting too complicated, and then you can look for any book that covers A+ certification material. That is where I would start.

 

[Windows Sniper]

I would go with what KBrady suggested.

But, you might want some building blocks to start with, so why not try doing a practice test to assess your knowledge. Since it is only a practice you can look up the questions and read materials about it. This may prove a better way to learn as your doing it at your own pace.

Check out this, CompTIA A+ Core Hardware Certification Practice Questions for a quick test if you want to.

 

[Franky]

Guys, what I need is not a class and also is not an online testing. I need a book. I like to learn knowledge from a reference which best sample for a reference is a book. I don't know is there any book covering comptia a+ or not but probably it is the one I'm looking for. Anyway, thanks for your comments.

 

[Mark Phelps]

I need a book.

Then ... you need to go back and reread post #2 where the poster said:

you can look for any book that covers A+ certification material

You can also look for a book that has a title similar to "How to Repair PCs"

 

[Franky]

it's clear that what they said and also what title I should search for. I need a book doesn't mean that I don't know what title I should search for. I need a book that is most popular on that topic. I need one that other hardware experts have read that and when suggesting to others, they directly point to that.

 

[Windows Sniper]

it's clear that what they said and also what title I should search for. I need a book doesn't mean that I don't know what title I should search for. I need a book that is most popular on that topic. I need one that other hardware experts have read that and when suggesting to others, they directly point to that.

Aye the reason that we were pointing towards this source or Comptia A+ is because it really does provide the basics in terms of computer hardware.

No matter what book you choose, website you use, Hardware is hardware. The suggested company is just recognised for learning users as being the simplest.

But the book you are looking for is CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, 8th Edition Exams 220-801 & 220-802: Amazon.co.uk: Michael Meyers: Books. It incorporates practically everything.

But as Mark said, you can look for anything that describes hardware. The reason we cannot tell you a definitive source, is because there isn't one. We can only suggest materials that can help you in your goal. Such as looking at hardware manufacturers websites and learning from them.

 

[kbrady1979]

The reason I suggested the class is in IT, you should never stop learning. There are plenty of places that will pay for a class or two, for a local community college, if it would be beneficial. Or, you could find out what book they use and just order it. Other than that, you can look at the "Exam Cram" series of CompTIA A+ certification books.

Good luck

 

[AmericanPharaoh]

In addition to the A+ book.

Upgrading and Repairing PCs

John

 

[HAVOC]

Aren't these books obsolete by the time they are printed?

 

[x BlueRobot]

It depends on how in depth, you wish to pursue, if check the specification documents then you'll get a understanding of how hardware and software interact. E.g. TLPs with PCIe

 

[madcratebuilder]

Aren't these books obsolete by the time they are printed?

+1

If it's in print it's outdated. Of course print well give you a strong basic understanding of the hardware and how it all interacts.

There are web sites that give you detailed hardware info.

 

[x BlueRobot]

Check Wikipedia and it's references, most of the references are from papers or good websites.

 

[Mark Phelps]

Aren't these books obsolete by the time they are printed?

Depends on what you mean by "obsolete"!

Sure, a book printed and published last year will not have details on diagnosing problems with hardware only built and sold this year -- but not every PC has hardware that is less than one year old.

And, lots of the basic diagnostic techniques apply regardless of the age of the hardware.

 

[whs]

Aren't these books obsolete by the time they are printed?

Good point - but the principles still apply.

 

[kbrady1979]

Books won't keep up with cutting edge technology, like enthusiasts do, but they will give you a good foundation to get you going.

 

[AddRAM]

The books are outdated already, nothing beats experience, grab a pc and start taking it apart and putting it back together, do that 150 times and you`ll be good.

Then learn how to install an Operating System.

After that start learning what a driver is and how to hunt them down, especially for old equipment, it can be a real challenge.

 

[whs]

Plus - hang around this forum. Here you can learn a lot.

 

[kbrady1979]

In the IT world, things don't become "outdated" like they do with us. There is a misconception that if you don't keep up with new technology, you can't properly do your job.......that's not entirely correct. I work in IT and work with outdated hardware/software day-to-day. Businesses don't upgrade or completely redo their equipment every time Intel or AMD releases a new chip or architecture. That being said, once you get a good foundation that consists of OS knowledge, CPU socket architecture, RAM, and storage solutions, etc, no matter what you face, you will have a good foundation to do your job. On the other side of the coin, an IT professional should ALWAYS read and learn new things to keep up with the changing times in order to be ready for hardware changes in the future.

 

[whs]

You are absolutely correct. I retired from a 35 year computer carrer 21 years ago but most of the things I learned then do still apply.

Some of it is of course outdated. You don't have to calculate the rotation of your drum (which was your RAM) any more like in the late 50s and early 60s and storage dumps don't come in hexadecimal anymore like in the 60s thru 90s (that would be a real challenge for the kids).

Most of the time I was in Operating System development and the basic structure of Windows is no different than it was for the systems then. Only the nitty gritty part has changed.

The real new world is the internet - and all it's pros and cons. That did not exist then but starting in the 70s we had a company wide internal network that connected over 300.000 employees - and no malware, LOL.