For those who passed

ricktea

hi and congratulations, can you tell the board how you achieved your passing score. What study material, Books, study guides,
practice exams or videos did you use. How long to study, thankyou.

Im not wayne

I used the Guide to A+ Hardware published by Thompson (I believe) I also used selftestsoftware.com's pratice tests.

kujayhawk93

Resource #1: Nearly 7 years of experience working with PCs
Resource #2: TechNotes from this site
Resource #3: A+ FastPass by Sybex
Resource #4: Practice tests on this site and mcmcse.com

Got an 801 on Hardware and 806 on OS

ricktea

thankyou for your help, I would really like to
hear from as many people as possible.. who have passed
and what they found helpful thanks

cchamp

hey i used sybex book a+ complete 3rd edt., anyway the book is understandable ,.. from my test and hearing others you need to know 4 things well the printing process, memory, devices on the mother boardand its connectors, different cpu's. there is mre things to know but the test is favored on these things specialy. i also look at practice Q's from actual tests.com

ricktea

4 things well the printing process, memory, devices on the mother boardand its connectors

are there any good study guides for the above, and configuring, ports,
and modems also, thanks

Plantwiz

ricktea wrote:

thankyou for your help, I would really like to
hear from as many people as possible.. who have passed
and what they found helpful thanks

Experience.

My exam was long before there were forum like this one...perhaps I would have prepared differently but at the time it was walk in cold with the objectives and maybe Meyers Book (which I bought about a month before my exams).

Best way to learn it is to use it, really.

Plantwiz

ricktea wrote:

4 things well the printing process, memory, devices on the mother boardand its connectors

are there any good study guides for the above, and configuring, ports,
and modems also, thanks

Have you looked that the Technotes here yet?
http://www.techexams.net/technotes.php

How about the stickies in the forum?

deneb829

When I started for a company after 18mos in the IT business, I was told that I had 90 days to become A+ certified, or I would be fired. They gave me a pile of books that I probably couldn't finish in 90 weeks much less 90 days.

What worked for me was taking a practice test before I hit the books to find out what I needed and did not need to focus on. If you have more time, you'll be able to review most of the material.

I don't know your personality, but nothing motivates me to study like a scheduled exam date!

Good Luck!

Druid

I kicked off in February this year with PC Servicing Modules One,Two and Three at my local college (evenings part time) which took me up to June and gained me three NCF's in the process, (don't forget I am a total newbie . I used The PC Support Handbook by David Dick for reference as suggested by the college and found it informative reading.

Then went on to the A+ Hardware Core in July, 10 week (30 hours)part time study, book used was Exam Cram 2 and the interactive CD's (reading make me fall asleep )
Also used this site more often than not plus 'Measure Up' Certification v8.88 interactive exams, I found the more different interactive stuff I could my grubby hands on the better!

I'm currently studying the software side of the A+ and using purely the course material as supplied by GTS learning to the college.

oldtech

I used
Myers book
Myers video
This site
cramexam practice questions
....and the web

Vogon Poet

You've come to the right place. I didn't find this site until my Net+ exam.
I was a newbie too. I started my MCSA program with an A+ class.
Use at least 2 books, 2 practice tests
Resources I used:
-Mike Meyers (good for a basic outline)
-Que A+ book (very good)
-Measure Up practice test (OK)
-Test Out practice test (very good; large database of questions)

Hands on is essential for having a practical grasp of what you're studying. I built a computer, configured it, networked it, and now use it as a practice server.
Most of the textbooks only mention legacy technologies and what they are. You will probably need more detail. There is a lot of info on practice exams that can help with this. Same goes for troubleshooting.

plettner

Plantwiz wrote:

ricktea wrote:

thankyou for your help, I would really like to
hear from as many people as possible.. who have passed
and what they found helpful thanks

Experience.

My exam was long before there were forum like this one...perhaps I would have prepared differently but at the time it was walk in cold with the objectives and maybe Meyers Book (which I bought about a month before my exams).

Best way to learn it is to use it, really.

Same here. No books - nuthin' - just experience. Passed comfortbly on each inital test too. I better not step into the wind as all those tickets I;ve got on myself may just blow off

Druid

Vogon Poet wrote:
Hands on is essential for having a practical grasp of what you're studying. I built a computer, configured it, networked it, and now use it as a practice server.


Yep totally agree, did the same, stripped down my old ME (ptui) re-built it and reloaded it with 98 its now networked to two other 'XP' machines and will be used for various activities including learning command line

DirtySouth

1. 5+ years helpdesk & PC Repair
2. Mike Meyer's A+ Passbook
3. Techexams.net resources. (Online Example Questions & Study Guides)
4. Comptia Study books (can't remember the exact name)

johnnyg5646

I used Mike Meyers All in one and the mike meyers passport. The all in one is huge and intimidating, but if you dont raelly knwo much about computers (which was the case with me at the time), it's a great starting point. His passport book is the same as all in one, only it is more focused on what you actually need to know for the test. Good luck!!

manny355

I used the Exam Cram 2 Book, the Faster and Smarter A+ Book, the Mike Myers A+ Certification Passport Book...and of course Technotes from Tech Exam (which are really good), I also took many, many, many practice exams....I even made up my own practice exams to take, I used index cards to help me remember and drill the information that I was weak in...

powerman7t

Well...

My Experience (w/ hardware certification):

1. 4 semester of comp. classes in high school (not 5 star by any means but I got my foot wet!!!)
2. Getting an A at my college on both Cisco IT Essentials I (split into 2 classes, Hardware and OS)
3. On and off experience helping teachers with their computers in high school, and my family's computer.
4. Reading A+ 5th edition by Ed Tittel (excellent book, by the way!!) until I wore the pages out of the Hardware chapters)
5. Practice Tests

...And here I am.

I say that you should know in your sleep:

CPUs
SCSI
Printers
Basic Troubleshooting
Customer Service
IRQs (there may be a question asking which IRQs are NOT used)

I got an 822 on hardware (surprised me a lot!!).
Now I am going to take software next month (I have heard evil things about this test, though!!!)

My advice to you:

Study hard, but don't burn out!!!

Good Luck!!!

Slowhand

I had been tinkering with PC's for a few years, then I started consulting. I worked in the networking and PC repair/build area while I was going to college. Then, I was hired as a technician at a CompUSA Tech Shop, and they required the A+ within a certain amount of time of working there. One day, the senior tech told me that I'd been scheduled for the exams, I went down and took them, and that was that.

ricktea

hi thankyou all for your help, your advice is excellent
I hope I am able to pass in 2 weeks from
now, any advice on what to write down on
some scrap paper if given to you in the exam

Slowhand

ricktea wrote:

hi thankyou all for your help, your advice is excellent
I hope I am able to pass in 2 weeks from
now, any advice on what to write down on
some scrap paper if given to you in the exam

You don't get any scrap paper, and you won't be allowed to bring anything with you into the testing center. That includes cellphones, jackets, anything you could conceal things in or use to store information in. The only thing you get is a pair of laminated sheets, along with a dry-erase pen to write with.