Customer Reviews

A+ Guide to Hardware: Managing, Maintaining and Troubleshooting

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you plan to obtain a low-level A+ Certification, or simply wish to posses the knowledge necessary to do so, then this book is pretty much sufficient. Combined with it's sibling book, A+ Guide to Software, this book could allow one to become a relatively intermediate Windows-based PC technician. Then again, don't expect to walk away from these books an expert. A lot of technical details about troubleshooting are chucked up to common sense. The author often says things such as, "Ask questions and test for obvious errors." That's a given. But intense registry manipulation, command prompt maneuvering, and other areas of troubleshooting are barely explored. The book spends a lot of time explaining the fundamentals and technical stats of hardware. It doesn't spend a lot of time really diving into the realm of troubleshooting them.

The simplicity of the books makes them accessible to individuals who are not already very familiar with computer concepts. However, the simplicity makes them somewhat boring and unexciting to individuals with a considerable amount of computer experience. I found them useful for filling in small gaps that lingered due to many years of self-teaching.

The content of these books may not be advanced Systems Architecture, but it's still surprisingly beyond what the average user knows. I highly recommend these books for beginners who wish to break the barrier between being computer "noobs" and being fairly confident Windows-PC users and builders.

Even though the CompTIA A+ exam objectives changed in 2006 from the old version of hardware and software, that is still the way that most people teach and learn the material. Therefore, this book and its companion volume CompTIA A+ Guide to Software cover all the material for the exams 220-601 A+ Essentials, 220-602 A+ IT Technician, 220-603 A+ Remote Support Technician and 220-604 Depot Technician.

These books have a number of great features. First is the exam objective map in the front cover of each book. It maps the exam objectives for each of the four exams to the chapters in the books. The second is the side marks; on each page there are either green or blue sidebars marking what part of the page is for what exam, or if it is not. (See Image) The extensive Appendixes in this book include:

o Appendix A How an OS Uses System Resources
o Appendix B Electricity and Multimeters
o Appendix C Supporting SCSI and Legacy Devices
o Appendix D Disassembling a Notebook
o Appendix E CompTIA A+ Acronym

These are very helpful and really should be essential reading for certification exam prep. Both books also have an extensive glossary; each word that is in the glossary appears in blue in the text of the book. From there the books become very different. The CD that comes with this book includes the Course.com test software and the Certblaster test software, as well as a slew of other resources to help you. If however you are working on this by yourself, get the Instructors book. It is the same book but the CD has extra features like test generation software, textbook answer keys, and powerpoint presentations for each chapter.

The Chapters are:
1.Introducing Hardware
2.PC Repair Fundamentals
3.Form Factors and Power Supplies
4.Processors and Chipsets
5.Motherboards
6.Upgrading Memory
7.Hard Drives
8.Installing and Supporting I/O Devices
9.Multimedia Devices and Mass Storage
10.PCs on a Network
11.Notebooks, Tablet PCs, and PDAs
12.Supporting Printers and Scanners

I have seen two or three other A+ books that friends have used, and none are as well laid out or designed for learning as these two. I have gone back and referenced these books a number of times, and use them almost every week. Worth the investment in a good resource for your IT tool box. The best thing about IT is realizing that you cannot know it all. A good IT person knows how to troubleshoot, how to research, and continually builds a network or contacts that they can draw upon. These two books will teach the first and give you a good start on the second. Other resources for you to draw upon are the CompTIA IT Pro forums, the CompTIA Facebook group and the CompTIA LinkedIn groups.

Well, I ordered this book for a class. So far it does its function well. Its easy to read, and has alot of useful information.

I Bought this Book because My Neighbor that always rescuses me took the PC course and swears by this book and its contents.It was dirt cheap but explains about computers and also has a Disc in the back of the textbook. I bought 3 other copies and gave them away because Im tired of ansewring questions too and what the heck a little help goes a long ways.

Overall it's a good book. It's very easy to understand. The videos included in the CD are great. I would suggest watching them before reading the chapters since they help you see what's going on. This book was required for a hardware class at school, the main reason I bought it.

I gave it 4 stars because some answers for the review questions are hard to find. You really have to dig to find the answers. Some answers are found in applying concepts and side notes. Otherwise it's a good book for beginners and a good reference for those of us with some experience. The only book I'd recommend for A+ over this book is CompTIA A+ Complete published by Sybex.

I've been A+ certified since 2008. I think it's a worthwhile move regardless what your career and educational goals are. This book and it's partner (A+ Guide to Software)along with the Sybex one mentioned earlier are good places to start. That and as much hands on experience as you can get.

Bought this for CompTIA class, great detailed book and easy to read. This text has great chapter tests.

Jean Andrews is an excellent author, everything is explained well without putting the reader to sleep. Quick ship, book was like new.

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The shipping was fast, quicker than an order I placed on Half-price books. The book was as described on link. Very pleased with the purchase.

My book arrived in quick time and in excellent condition. I would not hesitate to do business with this seller again. Many thanks!