A+ Certification Exam Guide (All-in-One) (Hardcover)

by Michael D. Meyers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The best A+ Certification guide in the field just got better.

Because, let's face it; in terms of walking you through the computer from the ground up, there wasn't anything better out there. Other A+ guides will fling random tables of processors and numbers at you as if you were a dartboard, hoping that maybe a couple of facts will stick; Michael Meyers's All-In-One A+ Certification Exam Guide starts by showing you the same sets of problems that faced the original designers of the PC. You have just designed a chip that can handle thousands of calculations per second. Now how do you talk to it? How do you get other components to communicate with it? How do you know when it's listening?

By the time you finished the previous editions, you knew all of the answers--and better than that, you understood why the hundreds of processor types were so hinky. You had been faced with the same hurdles that the designers had to face, and you'd had the solutions explained to you--all in a delightful, easy-to-digest format. And furthermore, you'd had that same treatment given to every part of the PC, from the monitor all the way down to the motherboard. If you got confused, a wealth of pictures would show you the difference between an RJ-45 and an RJ-11 jack.

The only problem was that it was a little out of date, but you could forgive it for that. Everything else was so amazingly strong, and the A+ exam itself tends to be a little behind the technology curve anyway--so it was a forgivable sin.

Sin no more, my friends, and read on--the latest edition of this book isn't quite cutting edge, but it deals with Windows 2000, 3-D video cards, surround sound speakers, and burnable CDs. You might not find all of these listed on the A+ exam, but there they are nonetheless.

Which is, come to think of it, another strength of this book: It goes beyond the normal testable topics and really wants you to know what problems you're likely to face as an actual technician in the real world. Meyers gives lots of hands-on advice, frankly admitting that this topic is still tested but he's not quite sure why, telling you that power supplies can be repaired (and should be) even if the test says otherwise, and generally giving copious examples from his tech experience to show "what can go wrong."

In fact, if a major criticism can be leveled at this book nowadays, it's that it might go a bit too in-depth at times; Meyers's zeal to show you everything he knows about computers makes it possible to get lost in the wealth of information and not focus on critically-tested subjects. But keep in mind that if you truly understand even 60 percent of this book, you'll pass the exam with flying colors--it's that good.

The book has ten questions at the end of every chapter that aren't modeled specifically after the A+ exam, but they are fairly tough questions nonetheless. There's also a CD that has the standard array of video clips and test questions, but it also has several tech utilities that Meyers himself recommends--a great value.

In short, this is simply one of the best test-prep books on the market for any exam, and it's also one of the few books that's completely honest: It is, when it comes down to it, an all-in-one guide. Buy this and you will pass. Highly recommended. --William Steinmetz

Review
What we're reading. So you're a tinkerer. Make the move from computer junkie to certified computer service tech and prove you're qualified to "check under the hood." Pick up a copy of Michael J. Meyer's A+ Certification Exam Guide--it's one of the best and most complete A+ study books to be found. (Amazon.com ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1263 pages
• Publisher: Osborne Publishing; 3rd edition (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072126795
• ISBN-13: 978-0072126792
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.8 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (145 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #180,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

141 of 146 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book but not enough, March 18, 2000

By	D. SHARGEL (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A+ All-In-One Certification Exam Guide (Hardcover)

I think this is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn computer hardware but I would recommend supplementing your studying with other material for the actual exam. Study guides and free practice tests available on the Internet will help you focus on what is actually on the exam. Meyers' book goes into much more detail than what is needed for the A+ exams, making review a daunting task if you depend only on this book. The author seems to care more about teaching you something than preparing you for the exam (that is commendable but this is supposed to be geared for the test). To sum up, this is a very well-written book and I learned a great deal from reading it, but it is just way too much too review with. I passed both tests on the first try with good scores but I don't think I would have if I had depended solely on this book. So read this book but use study guides and practice tests for review. By the way, according to the CompTIA site the Dos/Windows exam is changing this spring or summer. They are dropping the Win 3.x info and adding NT, Win98 and Linux. None of which is covered by this book so keep that mind if you don't plan on taking your test before June. Good luck.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book; Not Just for the Exam; 1 Caution w/ the CD, March 24, 2001

By	Mark (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This third edition of "A+ All-In-One Certification Exam Guide" is one of the first (and currently one of the very few) A+ Exam preparation books that cover the new 2001 exam.

In case you are not familiar with the name Michael Meyers, he is major name in PC hardware book authoring. He has a wonderful writing style that makes concepts easy to understand. This book uses excellent analogies and illustrations to further clarify and explain concepts. While the book may appear daunting at 1260+ pages, keep in mind that much of that length is due to the heavy use of illustrations, photos, tables, and screenshots. Remove these extremely helpful and virtually essential items, and I would suspect a book of one-half to two-thirds the size would be the result.

Each chapter concludes with review questions and their answers. While not enough on their own to serve as the only practice exam as part of your exam preparation, they do help considerably to solidify the concepts presented in the chapter, and test your understanding.

One of the major benefits of this book is that is not solely aimed at A+ Exam preparation, but on PC's as a whole. While presenting the material, Meyers identifies and breaks it up into three categories (as explained in the book's introduction):

1) Historical/Conceptual: Material not on the A+ exams, but it is knowledge that will help you understand the material that is on the A+ exams more clearly.

2) Test Specific: Topics that are on the A+ exams.

3) Beyond A+: More advanced issues that most likely will not be on the A+ exams (but would be beneficial additional information).

This categorization of the material makes the book an excellent textbook and subsequent study guide.

This book can easily help anyone learn and understand the material needed for A+ Certification. You will find Myers to be knowledgeable and an easy to read author. I highly recommend this book as your choice for an A+ Exam preparation book.

There is, however, one caveat: The enclosed CD-ROM, which contains practice exams published by Total Seminars, has some bugs. The most prominent one is that the software will (currently) not run on Windows NT or 2000. This fact and other bug related information is available at Total Seminar's web site.... Once you get around these bugs, the testing software is pretty good. Even without the enclosed software, the book is well worth the price.

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A ten star rating for a first rate book and author., March 18, 2001

By	Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" (Holland, MA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When I took my A+ tests I used the second edition of Mike Meyers book. This choice was based on a recommendation from several people and I was certainly glad I did. Now that I am a technical instructor there is no doubt as to what I will use on the classroom to help the students pass the newest exam - the third edition.

Mike Meyers is the master of the A+ exam and this book is loaded with more than enough information to pass the exam. After reading through the book I can now understand what made this book one of the most anticipated books, the author simply covers everything in great detail and makes sure you are fully prepared for the exam. About the only thing this book doesn't do is take the exams for you.

Updated to the newest exam, this 1260 page book starts with the breakdown of the pc, moves on to microprocessors, ram, bios and motherboards, buses, power supply, modems, printers, portable computers, storage systems, cd-roms, sound and video.

Thinking you might be done, not even close. Meyers then breaks down operating systems starting off with DOS, and then to Windows 3.X and 9.X. Excellent coverage for NT and 2000 are also a major part of this book. Finally you have coverage of the networking side of things and the information goes far beyond the A+ arena.

Normally this would be enough material and information for anyone, but what separates Mike Meyers from the rest of the pack is the other things his books include. There is review Questions, information beyond the A+ objectives, pictures, figures, tables, screen shots and even a pull out poster of the motherboard.

Every section is detailed yet easy to follow and understand and comprehend. The book includes a cd-rom that has 6 practice tests, if this is not enough you can go to the Total Seminars website and order more. There are video clips, tools and utilities for technicians completing and rounding out what I would say is probably the best and must buy for every technician on any level.