A+ Certification for Dummies
by Ron Gilster
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Book Reviews of A+ Certification for Dummies
Book Review: Okay as Starter
Summary: 4 Stars
I am MCSE, A+, and CCNA certified and used this book as part of my preparation for the CompTia A+ exams.This is a typical "Dummies" book that serves a great purpose for introduction to a subject, but does not go into sufficient detail to rely upon solely as a preparation for the A+ exam. I would use this book if I knew next to nothing about the A+ exam and was interested in finding out what all the fuss was about. Otherwise, I would skip this one. Either way, do not rely solely on this book for your test prep. Use it in conjunction with other guides by Sybex or Exam Cram.
The cheat sheet included in this book is virtually worthless, as the reminders are too brief and vague to be of any real value, instead, use Exam Cram's book ISBN: 078983043x. the book covers both aspects of the A+ exam (hardware and OS), but has limited graphics with hardly any photos. I found the exam required identifying parts and components from pictures, so this book won't help you there.
This book overall presents a decent, but minimal, overview of both the hardware and operating system exams and should be used in conjunction with Mueller's "Upgrading and Repairing PCs" classic (ISBN: 0789727455).
Book Review: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I read the entire book from front to back and discovered that when it came time to take the exam half of the information which it said not to worry about, was on the exam. I have been in the computer business for over a year and I can tell you that using this as a study guide is quite possibly the worst idea you could ever do. His book is good to use if you want basic and fundamental knowledge of how a PC works, but you will NEVER pass the A+ exam with this book. As an example, on page 378 he writes, "You may encounter some terminology that relates to twisted-pair copper wiring on exams. Don't worry about the really techinical issues." Meanwhile, the exam which I took had 3 specific questions related to the subject which he said not to worry about. There are so many instances of this in the book, that it would wrong of me to not tell the world how bad this book is. The only reason I passed this exam was because of my job training in the past. If you want to pass the A+ go with the Exam Cram books.Book Review: Ok for intro, average resource for actual test.
Summary: 3 Stars
This book was OK for beginners to get acquainted with actual computer hardware and its inner workings, but NOT ENOUGH for the Core hardware 2003 test at least. I used this as my sole reference and I passed with a 674 (minimum 515 pass). Im not quite satisfied with that score. LUCKILY, I had LOTS OF BACKGROUND computer knowledge by myself and it helped greatly in passing the exam. If I had no background computer knowledge and solely used this book I would have failed miserably. The reason why this book is not good for exam: Many, MANY of the A+ questions are actually real world scenario questions on "what would you most likely do" in a troubleshooting problem. and Many questions are on printers. This book does not have many real world scenario troubleshooting answers, but for the technicalities its ok. It said memorize IRQs and I/O addresses. BULL!!! None of that, if maybe one, was on the test. I hope someone can recommened to me a good book for the OS tech test!!Book Review: Don't buy this book ! Not completely updated!
Summary: 1 Stars
This book was suppose to be the latest updated version but it looks like an older edition was reprinted just to sell this book. Once you start reading this book, it won't take you very long to see what I mean when you read about things that are now no longer being used in the PC world. The Dummies series was excellent for beginners when they first hit the market several years ago. Now they have over-expanded and are trying too hard to write a book on every possible subject, thus not being able to publish quality updated versions. Don't buy this book! Read the other reviews! If you are planning to buy only one book to assist you with the A+ or if you are just a curious novice then buy "Absolute Beginners Guide to A+" isbn 0789730626. That book is loaded with many photos and charts and is written with CURRENT information necessary for your A+ exam. The tests on the CD are excellent! Just compare the two books side by side if you don't believe me.Book Review: You won't need this one!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I just finished passing my A+ exams today, and I must say that this book was definately not much help. Overall, as a review, perhaps it could be considered useful, but only to someone who can spot the errors. There have been several reviews already pointing some of these out, but there are more dealing with file system types supported by which operating systems, etc. As another reviewer pointed out, I think the cheat sheet is useless as a cram tool. Also, the CD did not contain all of the materials listed in Appendix A, and the test engine interface was pretty cheesy, with absolutely NO graphics or picures. I wouldn't recommend this one to anybody who is seriously studying to pass their A+ certification exams!!! For my recommendation, go get All-In-One A+ Certification Exam Guide by Michael Meyers ... it's the only way to go.