Customer Reviews

A+ Complete Study Guide

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

David Groth's new version of the A+ certification is the standard by which all new versions will be judged by. I bought this book recently, to prep myself for the new A+ certification exam guidelines. I enjoyed the material covered on the CD as well as the end of section questions for reviewing subject matter. I put this book a little ahead of the Myers' book for A+, and certainly ahead of the Microsoft Press A+ Certification Study guide.

As for the exams, gone are the questions from the old tests, like customer service, DOS, and Windows 3.1 and 95 questions. New material on tests include Windows 98, NT4, and 2000 Professional.

Groth's book is one of the first new version books to hit the market. Worthwhile subjects for study consideration are: installation and upgrading operating systems(v95 to v98,vNT4 workstation to v2000 Professional), diagnosing and troubleshooting of operating systems errors and peripheral difficulties and the makeup of the two newly named exams (the Core Hardware Exam and the Operating System Technologies Exam).

Buy this book and pass 2001 objectives, the first time through!

A+ has come out with new exams and keeping up with the changes requires you to have the best possible reference material at your fingertips. David Groth has once again taken the opportunity to make sure that the newest A+ Exams are covered and covered completely.

Groth has updated his already successful book to meet or exceed every exam objective. He also included an objectives quick reference card right in the front the book. Groth's expertise is very evident in this book and this book should be very helpful for a great number of people.

In part 1 of the book, which covers the first 10 chapters, the Core hardware objectives are tackled. Topics like system boards, memory, storage, pc memory, disk system architecture, bus architecture, peripherals, printing, networking foundations and troubleshooting are given complete and detailed coverage.

In part 2, the Operating Systems Technologies, you are exposed to the OSI model, Windows 9.X, NT, 2000 professional, network software, applications support and operating system troubleshooting. Groth makes sure that the book is more than the usual A+ manual, far more.

The book includes review questions at the end of each chapter. Also included is the CD-rom with chapter tests, random testing, an e-book, flash cards and 4 bonus exams. As with other books written by David Groth you get more than you expect and this book is a definitive rival to all others out there.

I found this book to be very well laid out for beginners and advanced techs alike. It was easy to read and understand and did a great job of keeping the information in your head (the chapter quizes and study CD were a great tool). I am now A+ Certified and scored a 95 on the Core and an 89 on the DOS/Windows on the first try and I would not have done it without this book! The book led me from knowing nothing but the basics to a solid fundamental knowledge of all exam objectives. The Core Part covers virtually everything the exam can test you on and the DOS/Windows part does a good job of prepping you for the basics but on the exam you had better know Dos,Win3.x and Windows 95 via experience or you may have a hard time with the test. I highly recommend this as your first study platform then using A+ Exam Cram to polish your knowledge before taking the tests! Good Luck! If I can do it so can you!!

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.

Among the finalists for best A+ study guides are: "A+ Complete Study Guide" by David Groth and "A+ All-In-One Certification Exam Guide" by Michael D. Meyers. Both books are very good, but A+ Complete Study Guide - Second Edition comes out the winner as far as I'm concerned. David Groth presents a thorough guide, logically laid-out with clear and concise synopsis of each objective. In my opinion, no one book can be all things to everyone, but this book comes closest.

Face it, there is a lot of material to cover and comprehend to prepare you for CompTIA's A+ Certification Exam. David Groth not only gives you more than enough information to enable you to pass the exam, but also a thorough basic understanding of what CompTIA expects you to know. The book contains advice for studying, pointing out that you should take the pretest at the beginning of each section, and pay attention to those areas where you appear weak.

This is one of the most up-to-date books dealing with A+ certification, including sections on the newest Windows 2000 operating system. The book tries to parallel the newest CompTIA exam, de-emphasizing DOS and Windows 3.1 and beefing-up Windows 95, 98 & 2000.

You can buy this book confidently knowing that if you study it thoroughly you won't have a problem with the CompTIA A+ exam.

This was the ONLY book that I read and I passed the exams with a 90%. The book is quite detailed, and its content more than sufficiently covers the test objectives.

I recently passed both of my tests with in a week under the 2001 objectives. (Core: 815/ OS: 750) Even though my scores are fairly impressive considering I only had this book as a guide, 1/8 of the Core and 1/4 of the OS portion was answered from personal experience and was NOT covered in the book.

The book contains errors and in some sections has a poor layout that can be confusing. If you pay attention between sections, they will contradict each other as to the "right" answer or in some cases have a completely wrong answer. (Ex. You can have a dual boot between 9x/2000 with the 2000 partition set to NTFS, you just will not be able to see the NTFS partition in 9x.)

If you visit the blueprints for the OS exam on the CompTIA website (Highly Recommended before the test), you will notice that there is material on the test that is not in the book at all.

Overall I am very happy with this purchase, but the OS exam is fairly difficult (more so then the core) and if you are not an avid windows 9x/2000 user, you may need extra study material.

The 2nd Edition of the A+ Complete Study Guide was an excellent reference for the A+ exams. David Groth is highly respected in the field and his books are without exception some of the best material to found. So it is true with the latest A+ Study Guide the Deluxe Edition.

In over 900 pages page Groth with have you looking at every exam objective and more. With Part 1 focusing on the hardware exam from buses, BIOS, CMOS, memory, power supplies, mice, ISA, MCA, USB, AGP, video, audio, portable, printers, networking and troubleshooting. This section covers far more than the exam requires and is an excellent source of information for every technician certified or not.

In part 2 the Operating Systems Technologies exam is taken apart working with DOS, Windows 9.X, NT work station, 2000 Professional. As with the hardware exam Groth extends the coverage to include Linux and the MAC and also networking and troubleshooting.

Although Windows 3.X is left out there is more information than the exam requires which has become a trademark of the David Groth over the years. Included in the book comes 2 cd, one of the cd has over 20 videos and hands on exercises that coincide with the book.

The other cd has practice question and coupled with the ones in the book you'll have 1,000 questions to work with. Again Groth goes beyond the call of duty and included 6 bonus exams and allows you to download information to a palm device. Overall this is one of the very best sources of information for the exam on the market today.

I passed both exams relying solely on this book. However, I nearly tanked on the O/S test b/c the book just barely covers Windows XP, which accounts for 60% of the O/S exam (directly or indirectly). And, like someone else pointed out, I would have certainly failed had I not had 5+ years in IT behind me. If you are inexperienced or not sure about yourself, don't rely on this book due to the complex nature of Windows XP. You'll do fine with the hardware, although there is a lot of fluff that would waste your time. For the O/S part though, Windows XP *should* have had its own section in the book with a detailed discussion. Since, this book failed to do it, not to mention the many typos and logical errors of a critical nature, the only recourse for the unfortunate Comptia A+ candidate is to dole out some additional cash for a book dedicated to Windows XP.
Not to be completely bitter about my experience though, I aced the hardware section with this book. And, that's saying a lot for a guy who only did software up to this point. That's my 2c on it.

I'm somewhat new to computers so I recently took a course at a local school to get help passing the A+ test. The school used this book for the class.

Per advice, I bought the Transcender A+ Certification Test software, which I'm told is the one study test that most closely resembles the actual test given by Comptia.

After taking a few of the practice exams, I found the book to fall far short of the information and knowledge base required to pass the exam. Not thrilled with the idea that the actual test does not test one's ability to perform well in the real world, I am looking for a comprehensive book that will offer the information I need. As it's title states it to be a prep for the A+ test, by definition, it will disappoint most readers.

The test is much more focused on troubleshooting scenarios and trickery, and alot of it on very outdated hardware. The book does deal with the types of hardware and software issues discussed on the test, but does not take the information to the level one needs to do well on the A+ Test. I found the software troubleshooting section to be very weak and very general, and the index is so poorly written that it makes the desired information (if available at all) extremely difficult to find.

Perhaps a good book for someone who just wants to learn the basics about PC hardware and software, but it is a poor prep for the actual test if you're someone just getting into the field. The questions in the book are much different than what one will actually find in the new adaptive test for 2001. (Go to Transcenders.com and download free test samples)

Hopefully, a book will come out that properly prepares one for taking the adaptive test, but I haven't found it yet.