Just failed core hardware exam

hey..well. i just took my core hardware exam this morning and failed with a 509 out of 1300. Terrible terrible score. its really a let down because i took countless practice tests from all sorts of different websites last night, as a last review before my test, and i scored no less than 80 percent on any of them. so i was pretty confident. but nothing, i mean NOTHING i memorized was on the test. no IRQs, none of the CPU/RAM/Connetors/ports information i memorized was there..nothing. I really dont know what do to now..because i used all the resources i thought would help me pass and none of it helped. any recommendations would be helpful, but i'm really discouraged now.

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Comments

JIT

My friend,

Don't be so disappointed. It happened sometime. Despite all preparation, the test does not click. Last month, I sat for Core. I found questions were not so intimidating.

What kind of preparation materials did you use? I mean book/sample tests. I used Mike' "All in One" and "A + adaptive test". The sample tests at this site, the Staff Guide and also exam Notes are really good. I feel if you confidently answered 80% of them, there should not be much problem during actual test.

Give some information. There are so many friends in this forum to help you.

GOOD LUCK!!!

ghaouf

do noy feel bad you will get it next time

bellboy

how much experience have you had working on computers? how long did you study for?

Cross

Also don't feel bad, you know what is being measured on the exam. Don't rush for a cert just because many other people do. Know your materials and feel confident, prepared and focused when you retake the exam.

axis_D

hey everyone sorry i took so long to reply..i've been busy, i only now got a chance to check all your responses..thanks for all the responses and support. To answer some of the questions..first of all, the resources i used: I first went through an online course provided to me by a local job agency, manpower. I took the course at manpowernet.com and took their practice exams, and quizes at the end of every module. Then after i was finished with that, i went to the library and got the A+ cert for dummies book, and Exam book for Core hardware and OS tests. So i reviewed most of the dummies book, i felt pretty confident before i had a chance to look at the exam cram book. I took several practice tests at many different websites, and scored high on most of them, so I felt very confident going into the exam. I haven't had any experience fixing computers though. No hands on. For me its kind of a catch 22. I really cant get any hands on experience until i get a job. Unless anyone has any advice? thanks again for the responses. and thanks for any other advice you give. Right now i've started reading the exam cram book. i'm not sure what else i can do.

Bastard

Buck up man! all is not lost. What you need to do is get a PC repair book, or online guide, and just start taking stuff apart. I learned a TON just by taking a PC apart, and looking at all the stuff. Try finding an older PC too, like a PI or PII. For some reason they really want you to know legacy crap.

Ricka182

hey, I failed twice before i passed core, and just barely. I use Mike Myers all in one as well, but the objectives change frequently to stay current with the times. Knowing how to troubleshoot, being able to dictate steps to fix problems, and not falling for trick questions is your best chance.

bellboy

Bastard wrote:

I learned a TON just by taking a PC apart, and looking at all the stuff.

you don't need to have a job as a pc tech to get hands-on. buy yourself some cheap computers and swap the bits around. it will help with the operating systems exam too.