The following is a list of acronyms which may appear on the CompTIA A+ exams covering 2009 objectives. Candidates are encouraged to review the complete list and attain a working knowledge of all listed acronyms as a part of a comprehensive exam preparation program.
Source CompTIA
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
AC - alternating current
ACPI - advanced configuration and power interface
ACT - activity
ADSL - asymmetrical digital subscriber line
AGP - accelerated graphics port
AMD - advanced micro devices
AMR - audio modem riser
APIPA - automatic private internet protocol addressing
ARP - address resolution protocol
ASR - automated system recovery
AT - advanced technology
ATA - advanced technology attachment
ATAPI - advanced technology attachment packet interface
ATM - asynchronous transfer mode
ATX - advanced technology extended
BIOS - basic input/output system
BNC - Bayonet-Neill-Concelman or British navel connector
BRI - basic rate interface
BTX - balanced technology extended
CD - compact disc
CD-ROM - compact disc-read-only memory
CD-RW - compact disc-rewritable
CDFS - compact disc file system
CGA - color/graphics adapter
CMOS - complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
COM1 - communication port 1
CPU - central processing unit
CRIMM continuity-rambus inline memory module
CRT - cathode-ray tube
DB-25 - serial communications D-shell connector, 25 pins
DC - direct current
DDR - double data-rate
DDR RAM - double data-rate random access memory
DDR SDRAM - double data-rate symmetric dynamic random access memory
DFS - distributed file system
DHCP - dynamic host configuration protocol
DIMM - dual inline memory module
DIN - Deutsche Industrie Norm
DIP - dual inline package
DMA - direct memory access
DNS - domain name service or domain name server
DOS - disk operating system
DB-9 - 9 pin D shell connector
DRAM - dynamic random access memory
DSL - digital subscriber line
DVD - digital video disc
DVD-RAM - digital versatile disc-random access memory
DVD-ROM - digital video disc-read only memory
DVD-R - digital video disc-recordable
DVD-RW - digital video disc-rewritable
DVI - digital visual interface
ECC - error correction code
ECP - extended capabilities port
EDO SDRAM - extended data out symmetric dynamic random access memory
EEPROM - electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
EFS - encrypting file system
EGA - enhanced graphics adapter
EIDE - enhanced integrated drive electronics
EISA - extended industry standard architecture
EMI - electromagnetic interference
ENET - Ethernet EPP enhanced parallel port
ERD - emergency repair disk
ESD - electrostatic discharge
ESDI - enhanced small device interface
EVGA - extended video graphics adapter/array
EVDO - evolution data optimized or evolution data only
FAT - file allocation table
FAT12 - 12-bit file allocation table
FAT16 - 16-bit file allocation table
FAT32 - 32-bit file allocation table
FCC - Federal Communications Commission
FDD - floppy disk drive
FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
FPM - fast page-mode
FPM SDRAM - fast page-mode symmetric dynamic random access memory
FRU - field replaceable unit
FTP - file transfer protocol
GB - gigabyte
GDI - graphics device interface
GHz - gigahertz
GUI - graphical user interface
GRPS - general radio packet system
GSM - global system manager or graphic size modification or graphics screen manager
HCL - hardware compatibility list
HDD - hard disk drive
HDMi - high definition media interface
HPFS - high performance file system
HTML - hypertext markup language
HTTP - hypertext transfer protocol
HTTPS - hypertext transfer protocol over secure sockets layer
I/O - input/output
ICMP - internet control message protocol
ICS - internet connection sharing
IDE integrated drive electronics
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IIS - internet information server
IMAP - internet mail access protocol
IP - internet protocol
IPSEC - internet protocol security
IPX - internetwork packet exchange
IPX/SPX - internetwork packet exchange/sequenced packet exchange
IR - infrared
IrDA - Infrared Data Association
IRQ - interrupt request
ISA - industry standard architecture
ISDN - integrated services digital network
ISO - Industry Standards Organization
ISP - internet service provider
KB - kilobyte
LAN - local area network
LAT - local area transport
LCD - liquid crystal display
LED - light emitting diode
LPT - line printer terminal
LPT1 - line printer terminal 1
LPX - low profile extended
LVD - low voltage differential
MAC - media access control
MAN - metropolitan area network
Mb - megabit
MB - megabyte
MBR - master boot record
MCA - micro channel architecture
MHz - megahertz
MicroDIMM - micro dual inline memory module
MIDI - musical instrument digital interface
MLI - multiple link interface
MMC - Microsoft management console
MMX - multimedia extensions
MP3 - Moving Picture Experts Group Layer 3 Audio
MPEG - Moving Picture Experts Group
MSDS - material safety data sheet
MUI - multilingual user interface
NAS - network-attached storage
NAT - network address translation
NetBIOS - networked basic input/output system
NetBEUI - networked basic input/output system extended user interface
NFS - network file system
NIC - network interface card
NLI - not logged in or natural language interface
NLX - new low-profile extended
NNTP - network news transfer protocol
NTFS - new technology file system
NTLDR - new technology loader
OEM - original equipment manufacturer
OS - operating system
OSR - original equipment manufacturer service release
PAN - personal area network
PATA - parallel advanced technology attachment
PCI - peripheral component interconnect
PCIX - peripheral component interconnect extended
PCL - printer control language
PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
PDA - personal digital assistant
PGA - pin grid array
PGA2 - pin grid array 2 PIN personal identification number
PnP - plug and play
POP - post office protocol
POP3 - post office protocol 3
POST - power-on self test
PPP - point-to-point protocol
PPTP - point-to-point tunneling protocol
PRI - primary rate interface
PROM - programmable read-only memory
PS/2 - personal system/2 connector
PSTN - public switched telephone network
PVC - permanent virtual circuit
QoS - quality of service
RAID - redundant array of independent discs
RAM - random access memory
RAMBUS - trademarked term
RAS - remote access service
RDRAM - rambus dynamic random access memory
RF - radio frequency
RGB - red green blue
RIMM - rambus inline memory module
RIP - routing information protocol
RIS - remote installation service
RISC - reduced instruction set computer
RJ - registered jack
RJ-11 - registered jack function 11
RJ-45 - registered jack-45
ROM - read only memory
RS-232 - recommended standard 232
RTC - real-time clock
SAN - storage area network
SATA - serial advanced technology attachment
SCSI - small computer system interface
SCSI ID - small computer system interface identifier
SD - card secure digital card
SDRAM - symmetric dynamic random access memory
SEC - single edge connector
SFC - system file checker
SGRAM - synchronous graphics random access memory
SIMM - single inline memory module
SLI - scalable link interface or system level integration or scanline interleave mode
SMB - server message block
SMTP - simple mail transport protocol
SNMP - simple network management protocol
SoDIMM - small outline dual inline memory module
SOHO - small office/home office
SP - service pack
SP1 - service pack 1
SP2 - service pack 2
SPDIF - Sony-Philips digital interface format
SPGA - staggered pin grid array
SPX - sequenced package exchange
SRAM - static random access memory
SSH - secure shell
SSID - service set identifier
SSL - secure sockets layer
ST - straight tip
STP - shielded twisted pair
SVGA - super video graphics array
SXGA - super extended graphic array
TB - terabyte
TCP/IP - transmission control protocol/internet protocol
TFTP - trivial file transfer protocol
UART - universal asynchronous receiver transmitter
UDF - user defined functions or universal disk format or universal data format
UDMA - ultra direct memory access
UDP - user datagram protocol
UFS - universal file system
UPS - uninterruptible power supply
URL - uniform resource locator
USB - universal serial bus
UTP - unshielded twisted pair
UXGA - ultra extended graphics array
VESA - Video Electronics Standards Association
VFAT - virtual file allocation table
VGA - video graphics array
VoIP - voice over internet protocol
VPN - virtual private network
VRAM - video random access memory
WAN - wide area network
WAP - wireless application protocol
WEP - wired equivalent privacy
WIFI - wireless fidelity
WINS - windows internet name service
WLAN - wireless local area network
WPA - wireless protected access
WUXGA - wide ultra extended graphics array
XGA - extended graphics array
XPR - is an AIX command line utility
ZIF - zero-insertion-force
ZIP - zigzag inline package