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My A + test preparation: Core completed
I am in early 40 and decided to change career from manufacturing to computer. Though I have extensively worked on computer application such as Words/Excel/and sometime Access, I have never seen inside of a computer. This is true till date. I have never opened a computer case.
My A + preparation has started with Meyer AIO book. This is really a good book having wealth of information. As I do not have opportunity to open a computer, I have visited various Internet sites to visualize the actual components. One site is www.motherboards.org. One can magnify the part of a motherboard and see component detail. You can even count the number of floppy/hard disk controller pin from the picture. The manufacturers site such as Viking or AMD have video to demonstrate how to install memory or processor. Another great site is http://computer.howstuffworks.com. Please visit the site. For Scanner, you can play to see how photon is converted to electric charge. I knew that my major bottleneck would be trouble shooting and maintenance. After going through each chapter from AIO book, I have noted down the trouble shooting area. For examples: after reading RAM chapter, I have separately jotted down the various kinds of memory errors, such as, general parity error, intermittent parity error, System lockups and page fault etc. In case of Floppy disk, if connection is reversed on both ends, the LED will not come at all. And so on. Although it is true there is no substitute for real experience, at least this effort gave me some kind of confidence in trouble shooting area. After finishing the AIO book with CD ROM questions, I bought another book: A+ Adaptive exam by Christpher A. Crayton. Contrary to AIO, this book is short and crisp, focussed on specific test area. Though the book is about adaptive test, the tests in CD ROM are not. All 4 tests have 30 questions. Most of the questions can be found on Internet site. I do not know who copied whom.
The real test was quite straightforward. In my opinion questions at the back of AIO book are much more difficult than the real test. I think I have marked two questions wrong out of 20/21 questions encountered. One is on motherboard form identification. Another is on dot matrix printer problem. I managed to score 874. Not a great one, but respectable (I think).
To the test taker: Don't be afraid. The test is not so difficult. If one studies systematically, one will pass. If I can be of any help, please post question. I have found following sites are very useful:
www.staffguide.com www.pcwebopedia.com
And off course this site. www.techexams.net Very good practice exam!!!!
I have long way to go. A+ OS, JAVA, J2EE etc. My target is to be an IBM e-business solution specialist by October this year.
Thank you very much!
My A + preparation has started with Meyer AIO book. This is really a good book having wealth of information. As I do not have opportunity to open a computer, I have visited various Internet sites to visualize the actual components. One site is www.motherboards.org. One can magnify the part of a motherboard and see component detail. You can even count the number of floppy/hard disk controller pin from the picture. The manufacturers site such as Viking or AMD have video to demonstrate how to install memory or processor. Another great site is http://computer.howstuffworks.com. Please visit the site. For Scanner, you can play to see how photon is converted to electric charge. I knew that my major bottleneck would be trouble shooting and maintenance. After going through each chapter from AIO book, I have noted down the trouble shooting area. For examples: after reading RAM chapter, I have separately jotted down the various kinds of memory errors, such as, general parity error, intermittent parity error, System lockups and page fault etc. In case of Floppy disk, if connection is reversed on both ends, the LED will not come at all. And so on. Although it is true there is no substitute for real experience, at least this effort gave me some kind of confidence in trouble shooting area. After finishing the AIO book with CD ROM questions, I bought another book: A+ Adaptive exam by Christpher A. Crayton. Contrary to AIO, this book is short and crisp, focussed on specific test area. Though the book is about adaptive test, the tests in CD ROM are not. All 4 tests have 30 questions. Most of the questions can be found on Internet site. I do not know who copied whom.
The real test was quite straightforward. In my opinion questions at the back of AIO book are much more difficult than the real test. I think I have marked two questions wrong out of 20/21 questions encountered. One is on motherboard form identification. Another is on dot matrix printer problem. I managed to score 874. Not a great one, but respectable (I think).
To the test taker: Don't be afraid. The test is not so difficult. If one studies systematically, one will pass. If I can be of any help, please post question. I have found following sites are very useful:
www.staffguide.com www.pcwebopedia.com
And off course this site. www.techexams.net Very good practice exam!!!!
I have long way to go. A+ OS, JAVA, J2EE etc. My target is to be an IBM e-business solution specialist by October this year.
Thank you very much!
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bellboy
Member Posts: 1,017
congrats on the pass and the tips.
the operating systems exams should be straigforward also. try to understand the concepts and try to get as much hands-on with the operating systems in question.
changing careers in maturer years is a real pain. i had spent sixteen years in desktop publishing before being made redundant and decided to change into the i.t. field. i ended up getting a job as i.t. support in a school, and it's tough starting at the bottom of the ladder
good luck.A+ Moderator