Testing Out

The Prebuild program consists of several steps. There are three steps that a suitably experienced Build volunteer may test out of. He or she may do this as early as their first tour, assuming that there is someone available to conduct the test.

Card Sorting

The volunteer should be able to identify by sight:

• The main types of cards by function: video, sound, modem, NIC (and miscellaneous)
• The major slot types: ISA, PCI, AGP (and miscellaneous)
• Tell the difference between a 10baseT and 100 or 10/100 NIC

(Card sorters may learn a little more than this, but this is all that's necessary to test out.)

Motherboard Sorting

The volunteer should be able to identify by sight:

• The different types of RAM slots
• ATX vs. AT
• Where the PCI, ISA, and AGP slots are
• What onboard video is
• Identify blown capacitors
• Identify a motherboard that needs a riser
• Slot vs. socket mobos and type of socket (1-digit vs. 3-digit)
• The speed of the processor
• Dual processor capable motherboards

(These skills can also be learned in System Evaluation 1 at the discretion of the trainer.)

Command Line Class

The volunteer needs to know:

• What symlinks and hardlinks are
• What's tab completion
• What's history
• How to use nano (equivalent to pico), vi, emacs, or vim
• How to access man pages