Customer Reviews

CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams 220-701 & 220-702)

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I had received the CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide for xmas because the All-in-One Exam Guide wasn't available yet. Well, I gave up on the Complete Study Guide after I was 1/3 the way through and ordered Meyer's version as I saw that it had become available on Amazon. What can I say? The guy is such a great teacher and the book is very well laid out and easy to understand, relying on plenty of analogies and diagrams. You get the feeling that you are in a classroom listening to your favorite teacher; Mikes methods of teaching are pleasantly informal, and he seems to have the formula for mixing professionalism and humor down to a tee.

Definitely going to give this book two thumbs up. I've been doing the things in this book for about three years, but I do my best to play around at home and do stuff like this anyway. I simply read through the book and took the tests on the CD. Saw that there were a couple of areas on the tests that I needed to review. Reread 3 chapters and took the tests this morning. I made an 845 on the 701 test and an 870 on the 702 test (both out of 900). Overall, it took me about a month to study and finally take the test. Not too bad for a book that's 1300+ pages. It was easy to read and easy to understand. The light jokes were nicely thrown in as well. Can't say enough good about this book. I hope the Network+ and Security+ are the same way... because I just bought them. ;)

I found Mike Meyer's CompTIA A+ Certification Exam Guide to be of great help in passing the A+ certification. His seventh edition is written in a clear and concise manner that's easy to understand and also makes a great reference book.

However in some areas, for example, the CPU section, I think that Mike goes into too much detail for the A+ certification and I found there is not enough background or troubleshooting information on VOIP technologies. Even with these shortcomings, I would still highly recommend this book.

This is a very very good book. It covers every detail of everything a technician should know and is very easy to read, If you really study it I think you could easily pass the exam. And I will recommend anyone who want to pass the exam.

However, if you are going to buy this book, DON'T buy the kindle edition. Because I bought it and have to ask them for a refund. The kindle edition miss almost everything of this book's actual value. and yes I meant everything.

Let's see what came with the kindle edition: an e-book you could read with your kindle, or kindle reader on your computer and iPad.
and here's what came with the paper edition: an actual book; a CD-ROM with video sessions; and PDF ebook you could basically read on any support reader; and most importantly, the practice exam and review questions that you can use to further prepare yourself for the real exam.

So, for 2 bucks-something difference, you don't get non of the goodies that came with paper edition. With paper edition, if you want to read the book on any portable device, get the pdfs off the CD and read on!

In my opinion kindle edition worth nothing compared to the actual paper edition.

Having been in the I.T. field for 6 years (although not certified) and after TONS of experience of fixing people's computers, upgrading them, and troubleshooting them, I decided that it was time for me to go for my A+ certification. Right now I am going to take the test in the next two weeks, and I feel VERY prepared.

Even if you have NO EXPERIENCE fixing PC's, you will by the time that you are done with this book. It gives you helpful hints on what to see on the exam, and what you will see in the I.T. field. After studying and doing the practice tests in the back of the book on the CD which I HIGHLY recommend that you do once you are done with this book because if you want to pass the A+ exam, you want to see as many questions and answers because most, if not all, are going to be on the exam but written differently.

The book also shows you how to stuff too; like installing a NIC, CPU, RAM, motherboard's, and a list of other things too. Also on the CD, there are video tutorials on how to do specific things also in case you want to see how things are properly installed without wrecking the hardware.

I LOVE this book and I cannot recommend it enough to people who want to get into the I.T. field. This is definitely a GREAT foundation to other higher certifications (after this, I'm going for my CCNA).

Before I end this review, I want to give out a couple of pieces of advice that Mike left out.

1. Take your time, I know that there is a time limit, but READ EVERY SINGLE QUESTION AND POSSIBLE ANSWER VERY THROUGHLY. Trust me, CompTIA likes to throw some hard-ball questions and think that they have the right answer when in reality it is the wrong answer. If you know that it is the right answer, go for it. Like I said, CompTIA likes to trick you into thinking that the wrong answer is the right answer.

2. Study the heck out of this book and grab an old computer and study the heck out of it. If you are new to PC repair, read this and know it like the back of your hand. Trust me, there are going to be some real world situations where you are stuck and don't know the answer, my solution? Before you go take the exam, get an old computer and study the heck out of it with the book by your side...having book skills is one thing, but having good troubleshooting skills is another.

3. My last and final tip....Be Patient. I know this is a THICK book, and whatever you do, DON'T SKIP ANY CHAPTERS OR SECTIONS! Like I said, CompTIA will throw some HARDBALL questions at you (and some soft ones too so expect those also), and if you are not sure about something, go back into the book, study, or research the heck out of it.


Like I said, this book (and an old beat-up computer) will help you pass the exam. Good luck passing that exam!

To put it simply this is probably the most dynamic and interesting text-book I have
read in ages. Most texts use the format of dry facts and statistics while dragging
out the source material for what seems like forever. Mike has that unique writer's gift
of taking a relatively dry subject and making it fun and interesting to read. I love
the format he uses of starting with the broad history and moving into the factoids
all without losing his humorous touch. Using this book and a few practice tests from CompTIA's
own website, I was able to pass the test on my first try after about a month of study.


This was a great resource for study and I only have two small complaints.

1. The practice tests included on the CD do not have enough questions. This means that after
you take it once or twice you will have seen all the questions and it goes from being
a good gauge of your progress to just memorizing the correct answers.

2. The book does not cover VoIP in enough detail to satisfy the questions that will probably be on the
exam. So you will have to do a bit of extra research into VoIP to get up to speed on the topic.
Overall this is an excellent all-in-one guide that will help you towards achieving A+ certification.

If you want to get lifetime certification you better start now, because come January 1st
your certification will switch to only being good for 3 years if you don't get it before 2011.

This book is great for its price and it shares alot of intersting information that can help on the A+ certification, but if you are entirely new to A+ cirriculum and are planning to start here you may find it more worth your while to find a slightly more expensive but clearer guide.

I purchased the book and it did a terrific job of using aids and examples to show important facts and explain topics necessary to passing the test, but after reading about half way through it i started noticing some problems. First off, the method the writer uses to explain topics can be considered erratic at best. In some chapters you will find overly detailed information that wont really help you in anything but understanding the topic better, while some chapters will be overly ambiguous and contradict previous statements.

The CD is a great tool to practice with, but like the book it too has some issues. Many of the questions you will find in the review sections at the end of each chapter and in the practice exams on the CD can be overly ambiguous, to the point where it almost seems like an opinionated question is being asked. I've found a few times where the questions quized over the chapter have answers that actually contradict statements in the chapter (particularly in the last few chapters, starting with video on chapter 19). While this isnt necessarily bad, and is most likely a mistake, it left me wondering which one would truly be correct on the actual test.

At any rate, its a good book to read and study for these tests, but I wouldn't reccomend it to someone who is not already learned in the basics of the A+ cirriculum.

This is real simple formula:
1) Decide you want to become A+ Certified
2) Have the desire and dedication to study
3) Buy Mike Meyers book
4) Read it- study it- use the included CD
5) Schedule your exam
6) Take the exam and pass
7) Get a better career or a raise at present job
8) Done!

Mike Meyers has been doing training longer than many of the younger techs have been alive. He has the experience and the gift of teaching that makes his books the best of the best of the best, sir(MIB).

Thanks to this book, I took both 220-701 and 220-702 back-to-back yesterday and passed both! I'm in my fifties, never had the chance to go to college and haven't taken a test in 40 years. With Mr. Meyers book, if I can do it, anyone can.

I just recently passed both A+ tests yesterday and have to thank Mike Myers for the excellent book. I used this book, Exam Cram Version 3, examcheets, ILT series from my New Horizons class and IT exam world practice tests. The two best where the Mike Myers book and IT examworld tests for passing the tests. Dont waste your time with anything else then these two sources and you will pass with no problem. This book will teach you about legacy devices that the new 220-701 just loves to ask questions about. The IT exam world will cover just about every question that you will run across on the test. The test cd is excellent as well that comes with the book but is lacking with command line commands and there switches. Two of us in my New Horizons Class used this book to supplement the ILT books and passed both A+'s with no problem. On to our Network+ training now!!

Besides a couple of college elective courses, I've had no formal training or education to become a support tech. I've built just a few PC's over the past few years and have had a real passion for fixing and optimizing them. After a while I became pretty good at it but I felt it would be nice to get some training of some sort. While this is a pretty boring story, I bet other people looking to buy this book are in the same boat.

I'm very glad I bought this book and took the exams. I found it easy to follow and I learned some very useful things along the way. The practice test are very helpful and without them I may not have passed the test. For the $35, how can I complain? Also, you can get the test vouchers from the authors website instead of CompTIA's and save a few bucks there.

Good luck for those taking the exam!