[.ca] A+ Complete Study Guide: Exams 220-301 & 220-302 (ISBN 0782142443)

From Amazon.co.uk:
The A+ Complete Study Guide, Second Edition, is interesting, mainly because it is neither fish nor fowl--it tries to prepare the reader for life in the field, yet ignores some critical new technologies that are pretty much a must-know. It readies you for the A+ exams, yet entirely skips some of the lesser-tested sections. And yet in the end, the book becomes a fish with wings--because in spite of these drawbacks, it's engagingly written and astoundingly comprehensive when it counts. First, the good news: The folks who wrote this book know what they're talking about, and can write rings around most of the other certification writers. The book is peppered with real-life examples, reminders of good practices, and history that will help you to understand why things are the way they are today. The end of each chapter is punctuated with a summary and 20 multiple-choice questions, all of which are pretty close to what you'll find in the exam. The book takes some shortcuts along the way, however, and has some odd areas of focus. The idea is to prepare you for what you'll find in the field, and it frankly admits that practically no one is going to work with DOS commands or 80286 processors anymore. As such, it barely mentions DOS at all, giving a brief list of commands and some quick takes on memory management, and gives Windows 3.1 only a side note. However, there is a staggeringly large section on Windows 95/98 installation. Admittedly, DOS and Windows 3.1 questions are very few and far between on the most recent round of A+ exams, but all it takes is two or three surprise questions to shoot a big hole through your score. Fortunately, the section on the more recent (and more often tested) Windows 95 section is very thorough. Unfortunately, although the field preparation is a good idea, it leaves off mentioning some major technologies. The Guide barely mentions that it is possible to burn a CD-ROM in your own home and doesn't even touch on video accelerators. Although it's tough to keep up with the ever-changing world of hardware, it would be nice to have some newer technology. But in the end, this book will serve you well in your quest for an A+ certification, as it has for thousands of others. If you can overlook some minor flaws that (probably) won't get in the way of your passing, this book comes highly recommended. --William Steinmetz

Not recommended for the A+ Exam:
I cannot recommend this Book for the A+ Exam. The A+ Topics are discussed in a hard and unpleasant way. After reading 350 pages, i had to stop reading and had to look for another A+ training Guide. It is not as easy to learn for the exam with the book from David Groth as with other books. During the exam, i realised that most of the discussions in this book haven't anything to do with the real A+ exam. So this Book isn't very Exam related. Don't waste your time with this book, there are other, much better A+ Training Guides out there.

In this case being first is a good thing.:
A+ is updating exams and the new exams are being released shortly. You want to find a book that will give you fighting chance witht he new objectives. You want to find a book wriiten by a trusted and respected name in the industry. You can all this and much more with the release of the A+ Deluxe edition. David Groth has given us what would appear to be an excellent breakdown for the exam. Being first in this case is a good thing and the material included is more then the objectives and the exam require. As if the expectation would be anything less with Groth. Just short of 1000 pages, this book covers both the exams and has the explaantion in a easy to comprehend manner without over working the information. The author has gone to great lengths to ensure that everyone and anyone reading this book can understand the material, no matter what the technical level. One of the most impressive parts of the book is amount of troubleshooting infomration included. Also the practice questions, of which there has to be more than a 1000 in the book and hundreds more on the cd, are excllent and in most case harder then the actual exam. If that was all you got,then you would have a great start, but the deluxe edition has a second cd with 20 videos that have more hands on exercises. The cds also have bonus exams and flashcards making this one of the best values on the market today. Overall this one great book and if you add the lab manual, then you just might have the best combination around so far.

Ever wanted to read the back of the book, while online?:
Here it goes: A+ Complete Study Guide Retail Price: US $49.99 A+ Exam Preparation from an Expert - Your Key to better job opportunities Comprehensive Preparation for the A+ Exams Hundreds of Practice Questions Full Coverage of All Exam Objectives Tear-Out Objectives Map for Easy Reference The A+ Complete Study Guide is a comprehensive training resource designed to prepare you to pass both the Core Module and the DOS/Windows Module of CompTIA's 1998 A+ certification program. This Study Guide provides full coverage of every objective for each module of the exam, giving you all of the information you need to master PC issues. Core Module Coverage: - Basic computer service concepts - General PC architecture - Memory architecture - Disk system architectures - PC bus architectures - Installation and upgrades - Printers - Networks - Safety and maintenance issues - Customer service techniques - Troubleshooting DOS/Windows Module Coverage: - Operating system architecture - Operating system instalation and configuration - Preventive maintenance - Installing and running applications - MS-DOS and Windows networking - Guarding against virus attacks - Operating system management - Application installation and configuration - Networking - Troubleshooting DOS and Windows Featured on the CD: The enclosed CD includes an exclusive custom test-preparation program that will help you prepare for the A+ exam. About the Author: David Groth is President and Chief Consultant of Devarim, Inc., located in Fargo, North Dakota. He holds a number of technical certifications, incluiding A+ (DOS/Windows and MAc), MCP, and Novell CNA, CNE, and CNI. He is also an Apple Certified Technician and a Toshiba Certified Technician. Publisher: Sybex Book level: Intermediate Book type: Reference Computer book shelf category: Certification/Hardware Here is some of the reason why you may want to get this book: Today is Tuesday, the 26 of May, and I just checked the price of this book at other stores online. Here is what I found from yahoo shopping (http://shopping.yahoo.com/p___1978299072?d=b & id=1978299072): Price at (new): Yahoo: $49.99 Barnes and Noble: $49.99 A Book Company, IIc: $32.49 Superbookdeals: $47.49 Bottomdollarm did not have the price for that book. Shopper did not have the price for that book. Dealtime was offline. $33.24 at Buy Out of stock from Amazon.com (but not from the resellers who are selling this book for WAY too cheap). The newer version of this (that is obviously worth a lot more) is going for $59.99 - which is the same price that it's going for at BarnesAndNobles. I personaly prefer Amazon.com, because they allow you to get the book for the full price, if you have the money for it, or used, if you don't, and because of the lower shipping and handling cost. I'm having a hard time finding the newer version in some of the other stores I looked at. $29.79 at Overstock $31.49 at Walmart Pricewatch does not have it. The book covers all the the cover says it does. If you are looking for a book that will help you with work, and you are already certified, this book may be a good reference for you. But, honestly, propeller heads who are almost hackers are geniouses, unlike most common people, and most who are still in the road to becoming that. They may already be at the same level as the author, and not learn much from it, since the book is for intermediates, not for advanced. (Lots of people have trouble selecting books for their knowledge level.) If the author had made this book much more complex, it would not serve its purpose anymore: Helping people who don't yet have an A+ Certification, and who most likely haven't worked with computers for very long (else they would likely have one) to obtain a certificate that will significantly improve their job security, and perhaps even their pay checks. Perhapsfill their pockets, and help feed their children and their families... Perhaps reading this book may be too easy for you, if you've been working with computers for 40 years. But if you are a college student, wanting to get your first, second, or third real job, it will be challenging. You may need to focus a lot. This book is certainly not for beginners, and although it does not cover everything you will ever need to know about computers, the author says it covers everything you need for the certification test. Anyone can see that this claim is far from being farfetched just by flipping the pages w/out even reading the book and seing the complexity of the material - or by looking at its thickness, for Pete's sake. If you want to improve your job security, or increase you income, and you don't consider yourself an Eistein - though you know you are smart, and relatively knowledgeable of computers - get this book! It is worth it! Totaly! You'll be much more likely to get certified with it, than w/out it. If you study it well, I know you'll get A+ Certified. Good luck.

A+ Complete Study Guide, Deluxe Edition (Exams #220-301/2):
I have had my MSCE+I and CCNA certifications since 1999, and I am an experienced Windows network administrator. I purchased this book when I decided to round out my resume with an A+ certification. I just want to voice my agreement with those who have given a similar rating, especially with respect to the O/S Technologies Exam and networking in general. This text is full of errors and emphasizes legacy technology. Regardless of whatever potential value it might have as an aid to pass the certification examinations, this text could very well do more harm than good as a general training tool for a novice technician working in a real-world production environment due to its many errors and a novice's inability to tell a good text from a bad. In my humble opinion, one should simply not buy this book.

A+ Complete Study Guide - Not Enough Information:
I bought this book with the hopes of preparing me for the new A+ certification exams (220-301 and 220-302). This book fell way short. The information in the book is good and informative but most of it is not on the tests. If it weren't for the fact that I've been in the IT business for over 15 years and because of my experience from this line of work, I would have failed the tests miserably! Also, there are MANY typos in the book. So many, in fact, that I quit counting. It was somewhat distracting. It's apparent the book was not proofread well before being published. If you are wanting a book to study that will prepare you for passing the A+ exams, this isn't the one you want to buy.