A+ Fast Pass (Paperback)

~ David Groth (Editor), Faithe Wempen (Editor), et al. (Author) "This chapter dissects the personal computer, identifies its various components, and attempts to explain those components as succinctly and precisely as possible..." (more)
Key Phrases: expansion slots parallel, major desktop components, system boot sequences, Critical Information, Device Manager, Exam Essentials Know (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The two A+ exams cover a lot of ground, leading many candidates who have previously read a Study Guide or taken a course to seek a well-organized review guide to help them brush up on key topics. The A+ Fast Pass is that book! Updated for the newly revised A+ exams, this book is organized by objectives for quick review and reinforcement of chief topics. It gives you the most comprehensive set of study review features, including ten chapter review tests, two bonus exams, two sets of Flashcard exams, and a searchable Key Term Database on CD-ROM. This adds up to 500 practice questions in all. Turn to the A+ Fast Pass as the perfect companion piece to Sybex's best-selling A+ Complete Study Guide.

From the Back Cover

The Perfect A+ Preparation and Review Tool From the author of Sybex’s best-selling A+ Study Guide comes the streamlined tool you need to bone up on critical A+ information: A+ Fast Pass. The enclosed CD lets you practice, practice, practice so you can approach the exams with confidence. Coverage includes: Installing, configuring, and upgrading hardware Diagnosing and troubleshooting hardware problems Performing preventive maintenance Addressing safety and environmental issues Working with motherboards, processors, and memory Working with printers Understanding physical networking techniques Understanding OS fundamentals Installing, configuring, and upgrading operating systems and applications Diagnosing and troubleshooting software problems

Configuring network software Featured on the CD The enclosed CD features two A+ practice exams covering Core Hardware and OS objectives. You also get a set of flash cards for each exam, plus a database of key terms.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (August 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782142591
• ISBN-13: 978-0782142594
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #860,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent helpdesk info, but insufficent for the A+ exam, April 8, 2004

By A Customer

Before taking the two A+ exams, I read this book twice, was able to answer all the practice questions in the book as well as all of the 70+ questions on the CD, not to mention the 70+ flash card questions. I had everything memorized.

But, I failed the A+ Hardware exam.

This book does NOT prepare you to take the A+ exam with all of its "helpdesk scenario" questions, such as "A client calls you and says they can boot up, but no image is appearing on the screen. Some of the possible causes are..."

This book is excellent for all around knowledge of hardware and operating systems, but it's not a good choice as an exam prep. Stick with Exam Cram.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am now A+ Certified!, April 1, 2004

By	Timothy W. Kao "t_ringz" (Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews

I received this book last week, looked over it over a weekend, and signed up for the 2 new A+ exams which were available the next week. I took the A+ Core yesterday and the A+ OS today. I passed both, thanks in part to this book.

This book gets right down to the meat of it and doesn't skip a beat. As soon as you open up the book, you won't be able to put it down. It reads very nicely. But dont get me wrong, this is only intended as a review of key concepts, so you may have to go elsewhere to get certain facts.

I would highly recommend this book for those of you that don't want to spend a week reading a tome (I won't name names here... but a certain corporate giant publishes books over 1000 pages to help pass their exams... which is great, but not if you want to get your certification fast). Best of all, it has a CD with flash cards and 2 practice exams. What more can you ask for?

Here is my advice. If you are thinking about taking the exam, start with this book. It is rougly 280 pages, and it will give you an idea of what you need to study up on. Good luck!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best A+ Book Ever, February 23, 2006

By	Anthony Tranquillo - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I teach an A+ certificaion course at a school for disabled students. I tried using a few different books because the students were having a hard time with the material and none of them were passing the tests. Even Mike Meyer's books were not helping the students to pass and he is considered kind of an authority on A+ certification preparation. When we began using the A+ Fast Pass, the students started passing the tests and said they liked it much more than any other books they read. While reading through it, I knew I was reading a truly superior A+ preparaion book. The problem with all the other A+ books out there is they do not follow the actual exam objectives available on CompTIA's website. The A+ Fast Pass is organized according to the exam objectives so you know it has everything in it you need to pass the tests.