Below is a long list of topics that can be used for Independent Projects.

• Review
  • If you feel you need more practice in any subject area from class, you can spend some time doing those projects. Good review subjects can include:
    • Hardware and re-assembly
    • Windows install
    • Software and driver install
    • Partitioning
    • Imaging
    • Troubleshooting
• Troubleshooting
  • How do you diagnose and things when something goes wrong? Where do you begin? What do you look for and how do you analyze what the computer is telling you?
  • Learn how to understand the sounds and actions of the computer even without video.
  • Create and read flowcharts on what steps to take when troubleshooting.
  •  Hands-on projects require fixing computers that don’t work. Use this Troubleshooting Chart to help learn how to troubleshoot computers. 
• Hard Drive Partitioning and Formatting
  • Split your hard drive into multiple parts and format them for different purposes.
  • This is often done to separate the OS from your data. It is also used for imaging.
  • Make sure you know about these terms: Partition Table, GUID, FAT32, NTFS, HFS,  and exFAT.
  • See Chapter 10 of the book (Magnetic and Solid State storage devices) for more information.
  • Tutorials
    • Managing Hard Drive Partitioning with Disk Management
    • What Is a File System, and Why Are There So Many of Them?
• Imaging and cloning
  • Make a backup of your OS.
  • You need to know partitioning and formatting above first.
  • Use Clonezilla or a built in OS imaging tool.
  • Imaging Page
• Advanced imaging and cloning
  • Investigate network cloning, incremental backups and other advanced imaging topics.
• Advanced hard drive configurations
  • Windows: Learn how to use Dynamic Disks to extend partitions and use simple RAID tools.
  • RAID: Investigate how to set up RAID systems for fault protection and automatic backup of data.
  • These tools all require multiple hard drives.
  • Page 732-734 give a rough intro to RAID.
  • Tutorials
    • Hard Drive Partitions Explained.
    • How to Use Multiple Disks Intelligently: An Introduction to RAID
    • How to Create a Software RAID Array in Windows 7 
• Other Operating Systems and Dual-Booting
  • Install Linux or MacOS on a computer.
  • Linux Tutorials
    • Linux Tutorial for Beginners by Edureka. Video tutorials covering the basics of both the GUI and command line interfaces.
    • Learn Linux by TutorialsPoint. Texted based tutorial that covers everything from beginner to advanced topics. It focuses more on command line than GUI interfaces. This is a good tech reference.
  • Even better, build a dual-boot machine with Windows and Linux.
    • Tutorial
      • How to Dual Boot Linux Mint & Windows tutorial covers how to build a dual boot machine. It talks about Windows 10, but it will work with Windows 7 as well.
    • Basic dual-boot steps
      1. Boot from Windows 7 boot disk
      2. Split hard drive in half when partitioning, one half for Windows the other for Linux.
      3. Install Windows on the first partition.
      4. Get Windows drivers and everything running.
      5. Boot from Linux disk.
      6. Choose “Install Alongside Windows” option when installing Linux.
      7. Install Linux to the second partition of hard drive, the one without Windows.
      8. When booting the computer up, you should be able to choose which OS to boot from.
• Networking
  • Learn more about networks and how they work.
  • This will probably require a little books study, i.e. Chapters 19-23 of book.
  • Hands-on projects will require multiple devices, a hub/switch/router, and possibly a server.
  • Tutorials
    • Follow the Networking Intro Page to create a network with Windows in the classroom. 
    • Windows Networking Tutorials from HowToGeek starting with user accounts.
• Servers
  • Set up a server, either Mac or Linux (we don’t have a copy of Windows Server).
  • Set up a DHCP, DNS, domain, users, file sharing, web hosting, and other server functions.
• Windows Administration
  • Learn to setup  and control Windows better. Learn about the registry, services, users and groups, disk management, task scheduler and basic networking.
  • Tutorials
    • Windows Admin tutorials from HowToGeek starting with task scheduling.
    • Windows Networking Tutorials from HowToGeek starting with user accounts.
• Dos, Powershell, Linux and command prompts
  • Learn how to operate your computer from the command prompt instead of from a Graphic User Interface (like Windows or MacOS).
  • Dos and Powershell are for Windows computers.
    • Geek School: Powershell from HowToGeek
    • Powesrhell Tutorial from Microsoft
    • Powershell Video Tutorial
  • Linux commands are for Linux and MacOS computers.
    • Linux Command Line for Beginners
    • Linux Command Handbook
• Mobile devices (phones, tablets)
  • Bring in an old phone or tablet for dissection to learn how to repair mobile devices.
• Cybersecurity
  • Learn about computer security and encryption techniques.
  • Tutorials
    • CyberStart America’s cybersecurity training game. is a free cybersecurity training program with over 200 fun-to-play challenges for beginners. You will need to create an account with them (here is the referral link for LAHS) and you can join my school group. The school group name is LAHS and the join code is equal-guides-training 
    • Kahn Academy Cryptography Course covers the fundamentals and history of cryptography and information security.
    • Codecademy’s Introduction to Cybersecurity course covers the history and fields of cybersecurity.
    • Securing a Windows Computer tutorial series from HowToGeek starting with securing accounts and passwords.
    • Cyber Aces Fundamentals of Cybersecurity course is technical covering security of operating systems, networking, and system administration.
• A+ Test Prep
  • Get a feel for the A+ Certification exam by studying more in-depth topics covered or not covered in class.
  • A+ test prep can be done using a A+ specific test prep book or using the textbook for this class. The textbook doesn’t go into quite as much detail as needed for the A+ test, but it goes into much more detail that we covered in class.
  • Topics would include any piece of hardware, Windows configuration, viruses, etc.
• Research projects
  • Pick a topic related to computer maintenance and do a research project.
  • Here is a list of some maintenance research topics.
• Home computer repair
  • Bring in a computer from home that needs a little TLC.
• Dissection projects
  • Take apart and rebuild other pieces of hardware.
  • We have the following hardware that you can dissect:
    • POS (Point of Sale) computers
    • Laptops
    • Cell phones
    • Inkjet printers
    • Monitors
• Programming
  • Learn the behind the scenes action of how software works by learning and honing your programming skills.
  • See the Intro to Computer Science Programming Projects page for more ideas.
• Arduino/Galileo
  • Learn about some different hardware, electronics, and programming using Arduino/Galileo boards.
  • Check out the Arduino Projects page for more info.
• Raspberry Pi
  • Raspberry Pi’s are full computers the size of a credit card.  Check out the Raspberry Pi Project page for more information.
  • Explore Linux, Minecraft Servers, and more with the Pi.
• Robotics
  • Build and program Lego Miindstorm robots.
  • Learn to program and control an Arduino Robotic Car