IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software Labs and Study Guide (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

Patrick Regan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1587131986 | ISBN-13: 978-1587131981 | Publication Date: January 26, 2008 | Edition: 3

IT Essentials PC Hardware and Software

Labs and Study Guide, Third Edition

 

Patrick Regan

 

The IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software version 4 course in the Cisco® Networking Academy® is designed to prepare you to take and pass the CompTIA A+ exams based on the 2006 objectives. You must pass both the A+ Essentials and one of the technician exams to earn the A+ certification. Chapters 1 through 10 cover the foundational knowledge that aligns with the CompTIA A+ Essentials exam (220-601). Chapters 11 through 16 explore more advanced concepts in greater depth to prepare you for the specialized CompTIA A+ technician exams (220-602 for IT Technician, 220-603 for Remote Support Technician, and 220-604 for Bench Technician).

 

IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software Labs and Study Guide, Third Edition, is designed as a valuable teaching and learning tool, incorporating new features to improve your hands-on skills and reinforce the key topics of the course. Each chapter contains a Study Guide section and a Labs section.

 

The Study Guide section is designed to provide additional exercises and questions to reinforce your understanding of the course topics, preparing you for the course assessments and focusing on preparing for the associated certification exams.

 

The Labs section features the complete collection of the lab exercises and worksheets specifically designed by Cisco to give students hands-on experience in a particular concept or technology.

 

Chapters 1–10 cover the following skills and competencies:

• Core competencies in the latest hardware and software technologies
• Information security skills
• Safety and environmental issues
• Soft skills for career development

 

Chapters 11–16 cover the following skills and competencies:

• Advanced troubleshooting skills
• Preparation for all three CompTIA job environment certification exams
• Advanced installation of computers, peripheral devices, networks, and security components

 

Use this book with:

IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software

Companion Guide, Third Edition

ISBN-10: 1-58713-199-4

ISBN-13: 978-158713-199-8

 

Patrick Regan has been a PC technician, network administrator/engineer, design architect, and security analyst for 16 years. He holds many certifications, including the Microsoft MCSE, MCSA, and MCT; CompTIA’s A+, Network+, Server+, Linux+, Security+, and CTT+; Cisco CCNA®; and Novell’s CNE and CWNP Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA).

 

This book is part of the Cisco Networking Academy Series from Cisco Press®. Books in this series support and complement the Cisco Networking Academy curriculum.

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patrick Reganhas been a PC technician, network administrator/engineer, design architect, and security analyst for the past 16 years after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Akron. He has taught many computer and network classes at Sacramento local colleges (Heald College and MTI College) and has participated in and led many projects (Heald College, Intel Corporation, Miles Consulting Corporation, and Pacific Coast Companies). For his teaching accomplishments, he received the Teacher of the Year award from Heald College, and he has received several recognition awards from Intel. Previously, he worked as a product support engineer for the Intel Corporation Customer Service, a senior network engineer for Virtual Alert supporting the BioTerrorism Readiness suite, and as a senior design architect/engineer and training coordinator for Miles Consulting Corp (MCC), a premiere Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and consulting firm. He is currently a senior network engineer at Pacific Coast Companies, supporting a large enterprise network. He holds many certifications, including the Microsoft MCSE, MCSA, MCT; the CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Linux+, Security+, and CTT+; the Cisco CCNA; and the Novell CNE and CWNP Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA).

 

Over the past several years, he has written several textbooks for Prentice Hall, including Troubleshooting the PC, Networking with Windows 2000 and 2003, Linux, Local Area Networks, Wide Area Networks, and the Acing series (Acing the A+, Acing the Network+, Acing the Security+, and Acing the Linux+). He also coauthored Exam Cram 70-290 MCSA/MCSE Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment, Second Edition.

 

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Cisco Press; 3 edition (January 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587131986
• ISBN-13: 978-1587131981
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #538,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patrick Regan has been a PC technician and network administrator/engineer for the past 12 years. He has also taught many computer and networking technology classes at Sacramento local colleges (Heald Colleges and Institute of Technology), conducted considerable formal and informal training while an IT administrator (Heald Colleges) and a product support engineer for the Intel Corporation's customer service, and participated in and led many projects (Heald Colleges and Intel). For his teaching accomplishments, he received the Teacher of the Year award from Heald Colleges; in addition, he received several recognition awards from Intel. Currently, he holds many certifications, including Microsoft's MCSE, MCSA, and MCT; COMPTIA's A+, Network+, Server+, Linux+, Security+, and CTT+; Cisco's CCNA; and Novell's CNE.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not a simple cookbook approach, April 25, 2009

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software Labs and Study Guide (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

The book is meant as a supplement or aid to IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software Companion Guide (3rd Edition). I haven't looked at the latter, so I'm going to review this book based on that absence.

The book itself ultimately supplements the actual hands on labs offered for the Cisco Networking Academy, that cover the CompTIA A+ exam topics. This needs to be emphasised. If you aspire to be a credentialled technician, you really should already have actual lab experience. No doubt Cisco will say through their lab courses. Maybe there are independent labs that also train you for the exam.

So when an earlier reviewer remarked that the book disconnects from the other book, that may be true but misses the point. Just reading from books is not enough, even in principle, for an experimental credential.

Also, the reviewer said "how do you find the answers". She then said she used other A+ books and websites to do so. Inadvertently perhaps, while she meant that as a negative critique of this book, it forced her to do more than just trivially look up the answer in another book. The best way to answer the problems in this book is to already have used the various control panels, changed system registry values, tweaked the BIOS etc.

Plus, a lot of this book already has detailed steps for the above topics, with many screen captures of system control panels, where appropriate. While there are problems that deliberately have no single specific answer. Like page 209, where you are asked to "research a video adapter card". There are questions that then flow from this. The answers are a function of what you've picked.

Keep in mind what your ultimate objective should be. Not passing the exam and getting that credential. But being able to walk into a customer site and diagnose and fix a computer problem. Readers who want simple cookbook methodology of using this book and flipping back and forth between this and the other book are shortchanging their education.

5.0 out of 5 stars My first purchase from Amazon but not the last one!, May 24, 2010

By 

Theofania Bouchoutsou "TKB" (THEO, HELLAS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software Labs and Study Guide (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

Excellent packaging, wonderful service.
I bought this book to supplement my reading and I am 100% satisfied.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars SET FOR FAILURE!, February 14, 2009

By 

EJ (CHICAGO, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software Labs and Study Guide (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

BOTH-BOOK AND LAB BOOK ARE SETUP FOR A+ FAILURE! THE BOOK DOES NOT FOLLOW THE A+ ESSENTIALS OBJECTIVES. SO MUCH INFORMATION THAT IS LISTED IN THE EXAM OBJECTIVES, THIS BOOK DOES NOT COVER! I HAD TO BUT SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS FOR STUDYING. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!