If you’re planning on taking the new A+ exams (220-801 and 220-802), you know that they cover an extensive amount of knowledge and will take you some time to prepare. Your best bet is to get a comprehensive book such as the CompTIA A+ Training Kit (Exam 220-801 and Exam 220-802) (ISBN- 978-0735662681) by Darril Gibson. The book covers all five domains of the 220-801 exam and all four domains of the 220-802 exam. It includes a CD with practice test questions and the entire book in a searchable PDF format.
The book takes you through the inner workings of a computer in simple to understand language. Chapters 1 through 10 focus primarily on hardware components. Chapters 11 through 17 cover the specific Windows operating systems mentioned in the objectives. Networking topics are covered in chapters 18 through 24. Last, chapters 25 and 26 cover some security topics.
Each chapter includes a list of the specific objectives covered in the chapter to help you remember what is important for each exam. At the beginning of the book, you’ll find a listing of all the objectives along with the specific chapter where the objective is covered.
Most chapters start with a real world scenario illustrating how some of the knowledge directly relates to real world and on-the-job situations. Exam tips are sprinkled throughout to remind you of key information you’ll need for the exams and notes are occasionally used to provide amplifying information about a topic. At the end of most sections, you’ll find two or three Quick Check questions and Quick Check answers to help you test your knowledge of the key information in the topic.
At the end of the chapter, you’ll find a chapter summary along with some practice test questions. All of the practice test questions (on the CD and in the chapters) include detailed explanations so you’ll know why the correct answer is correct, and why the incorrect answers are incorrect.
Of course, there are also some great courses that many people find valuable to help them prepare. Infosec Institute hosts a five-day CompTIA A+ Boot Camp which includes the cost of the exams and on-site testing. They also have A+ Online Training in two separate formats depending on your needs.
You can view the full excerpt on the Infosec Institute site.
Just wanted to thank you for your publication which enabled me to pass the A+ 801 and 802 in a single sitting.
I loved the fact I could read the book on my work computer to save lugging around the large paper volume. The layout of the sections was terrific and the tests at the end of each one helped me recognize if I had absorbed sufficient to move on.
I don’t have an IT background but have assembled my own home computers for years. I configure my own wired and wireless networks at home and learn mostly through trial and error. Your publication gave me the knowledge I needed to both pass the tests and feel more confident about pursuing an entry level IT job.
Though I wouldn’t recommend it, I studied for just two weeks and then took the tests. I would have been more confident about passing if I had taken a month and tried more than one example of a practice test (and doing that the morning of the test isn’t the best preparation either 🙂 ).
Wouldn’t have done it without you.
Thank you.
Congratulations on the pass Moggi, and thanks for the kind words. Not many people are willing to knock them both out in a single sitting so Kudos to you.
Good luck on your IT job pursuit and all the adventures you have in front of you.
Hi Pierce, That’s a Dell XPS on page 10. Both Dell and HP make great computers and I’ve also seen great deals at both Costco online and Sams online with some generic computers. I’d recommend you get a 64-bit system with at least 8 GB of RAM so that you can experiment with virtualization (from chapter 10). Good luck.
Hi Darril,
My Name is Pierce. I just received your comptia A+ training kit that i bought from amazon. I was wondering if there was a specific desktop model you can recommend me buy that would be most common for IT technicians, I am guessing Dell but not sure which model to buy any help would be great. What is the name of the desktop on chapter 1 page 10?
Thanks a million for writing such a great book, i am looking forward to getting stuck in.
Hello, I’m studying your book and is good, straight to the point, in which i like..But i see that the section where it says,” notes” u say a note but is cut in half, not sure if u aware of that..but other than that great book and God Bless your work…and hopefully be A+ CERTIFY..
Thanks for the comment. Can you help me out and let me know what page you’re seeing this on?
Good luck with the A+ exams.
Darril,
Congratulations on the book.
I remember the A+ being an elective a long time ago for the 2003 track but MS dropped that option for the subsequent certifications and so was surprised to see your book being published by Microsoft Press. Does the publishing of your book through Microsoft Press suggest anything more than Microsoft acknowledging that A+ is a good grounding/starting point?
Thank you.
Dave.
Thanks on the congrats. There aren’t any rumors about Microsoft combining other certs as options as they did years ago. It’s exactly as you state – Microsoft recognizes that people need to have good foundation of knowledge and the the A- is good starting point.
Darril,
Ok, thanks for your reply.
Dave