mmm I failed :(

marty.1980

Hello,
I took the exam Core today..but i failed with 490 points..
It seemed that the exam was (about 40 questions or so) about Hard disks and ES-LVD and stuff.

Some chapters weren't discussed at all.
Why was it that about all questions i got was about hard disks and just a few on other chapters? Did you got also one primary subject and some from other chapters?

Please let me know. I'm going to studying harder on the Hard disk part :S

Go Bucks

Sorry to hear that.

First off, welcome to this site. I found this site back in December when I started into studying for the A+ exam and it will definitely help you to pass the next time. Be sure to review the technotes section and take all of the practice questions you can from this site and any practice tests that may have come with the books you are using.

By the way, what books are you using to study the material?

Plantwiz

Welcome to the site Marty!

Sorry to hear about your score, but you are very close. Don't fret too much.

Get a little more practice with the components, installing, uninstalling, etc.. review Meyer's A-I-O book (if you have it, if not find a copy). And you should gain a few more points for the next attempt.

Do you have a copy of the Objectives from CompTIA? Also, how did you do with the Practice exams on this site?

jescab

SORRY to hear - get teh Objectives from www.comptia.org and make sure you know them.........do tons and tons of online practice test or get www.measureup.com or www.transcender.com practice test.

Majestic_Lizard

What the hell is ESLVD?

How did you do on the practice tests on this site?

I would like to know. Because if you aced them and still flunked, this will be useful knowlege for others.

wastedtime

Well I don't know what es-lvd is. Although SE, LVD, HVD are types of SCSI signaling.

Majestic_Lizard

That is disconcerting that those terms would be major parts of the test as I have studied two books and taken many practice exams and either I have yet to come across them, or they took up such a small part of the material that I don't remember them.

Allan Nevala

The best way to prepare yourself for these exams is HANDS ON EXPERIENCE. I didn't learn nearly as much as when I got to actually work on computers. Memorizing is different than experiencing and exploring.

-Allan Nevala

Majestic_Lizard

The best way to prepare yourself for these exams is HANDS ON EXPERIENCE. I didn't learn nearly as much as when I got to actually work on computers. Memorizing is different than experiencing and exploring.

-Allan Nevala

Sorry, but I call bullzhit. From the techs I've talked to (who have all the certifications this site covers) I have been told that there a significant amount of questions on the exam relating to information you may not even run across or use.

Hands on experience is not going to help you pass an acedemic test. I wish it did because I have a decade of it. Though hands on experience is definately more important in working on computers than wrote-memorization, unfortunately wrote memorizations is what it takes to beat the test.

sart

Majestic_Lizard wrote:

Hands on experience is not going to help you pass an acedemic test. I wish it did because I have a decade of it. Though hands on experience is definitely more important in working on computers than wrote-memorization, unfortunately wrote memorizations is what it takes to beat the test.

There are a few ways to look at this. To sum it up: To work in IT you need to know IT both by experience and academically. If you can't pass the A+ exams, you simply don't belong in IT.

marty -- Keep studying, you'll get it on your next time now that you know how prepared you need to be for the next sit. You really need to hammer on the book knowledge for this stuff. One way to do it is to suddenly become interested in building 'the ultimate pc' over time.

Work volunteer work to fix in-need families computers. Install your friends new hard drives and sound cards.

Majestic_Lizard

You missed my point. My point was that if his objective is to pass the test, and someone tells him if he just gets lots of experience working on PCs and it will help him pass the test, he isn't going to pass the test.

He needs that practical experience, yes. However, he needs to study the book material to pass the exam. The two things don't cross over as much as people are suggesting.

crap I forgot my old pwd

It is true, yet unfortunate, that hands on experience doesn't really help too much in preparation for the A+ exams. However, it doesn't hurt to have it. Marty, keep it up. Go get some more hands on experience. Also, try the practice exams here, and on free-tests.com. I made this recommendation to one other person today and I shall make the same to you. When it comes to memory speeds, CPU speeds, IRQs, etc. It can be tough to memorize all of it. Try making a chart and filling it in. Do this over and over, and it will definately make this test a lot easier since it is an academic test.

igor_yuri

Sorry to hear that dude.. I also failed when I first took it 'coz I didn't study well and took for granted all the questions. Answered all of it in 30 minutes without reading it over and over again. I know how it feels but hey..I passed the second time and yesterday I took my O/S and passed. I downloaded the technotes here and belive me it really helps.

Practice...practice...test questions here man..



Ogz
A+ Certified

maxnebe

Sorry Marty ! Monday is my turn and you have allready been a great help. At least you know what it's all about, considering they ask random questions, when you pass next time you have done twice as much as someone else. That leaves you with alot more knowlegde... :P

paige1

I wanted to know too so I looked it up...

http://www.paralan.com/scsiexpert.html

johnnyg5646

Got to agree with Majestic_Lizard with what he said about it being an academic test. I've done three internships while in college. Each one I have worked with so-called know it all techs who were not able to pass the A+ exam, but were quick to tell me I was wrong on topics just because I was certified at the time. They had far more experience than I did, but had no clue for example what an address bus was. That was something you learn from a book or in a class. So, there is certainly a difference between hands on experience and studying a book. I think both are extremely important. When combined, these two things can make one hell of a tech. It's when one side is missing that there can be problems.

Tricon7

Majestic_Lizard wrote:

The best way to prepare yourself for these exams is HANDS ON EXPERIENCE. I didn't learn nearly as much as when I got to actually work on computers. Memorizing is different than experiencing and exploring.

-Allan Nevala

Sorry, but I call bullzhit. From the techs I've talked to (who have all the certifications this site covers) I have been told that there a significant amount of questions on the exam relating to information you may not even run across or use.

Hands on experience is not going to help you pass an acedemic test. I wish it did because I have a decade of it. Though hands on experience is definitely more important in working on computers than wrote-memorization, unfortunately wrote memorizations is what it takes to beat the test.

I agree 100%.

BTW, I think you mean "rote" instead of "wrote." [I can't help it; I'm a journalist!]

kujayhawk93

Tricon7 wrote:

BTW, I think you mean "rote" instead of "wrote." [I can't help it; I'm a journalist!]

Wow, did you really dig up a post that hadn't been touched in nearly 10 months just to correct the grammar?

Orion82698

kujayhawk93 wrote:

Tricon7 wrote:

BTW, I think you mean "rote" instead of "wrote." [I can't help it; I'm a journalist!]

Wow, did you really dig up a post that hadn't been touched in nearly 10 months just to correct the grammar?