The Ultimate Comptia A+ 2006 Resource Kit

Jean Andrews has more than 30 years of experience in the computer industry, including more than 13 years in the college classroom. She has worked in a variety of businesses and corporations designing, writing, and supporting application software; managing a PC repair help desk; and troubleshooting wide area networks. She has written numerous books on software, hardware, and the Internet, including the bestselling A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, 6th Edition, and A+ Guide to Hardware: Managing, Maintaining and Troubleshooting, Fourth Edition. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

 

 

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Amazon Reviews: Average Rating: 4.5

Beware being swallowed, but the CD is good for like 10?'s on the 602 exam (11/12/2008) My first test score was 685 without this book. After a week with this book/CD my test score was 700. I took my 2nd test today and good luck if you use this as your sole study guide for the CompTIA A+ 220-601 or A+ 220-602. I used the CompTIA 2006 resource kit as my my only study guide and was pleasantly surprised on my second attempt at the 602 exam. I took the 602 exam the first time based only on my knowlede as a guy out of a 4 year technical school working in the field solely for 3 1/2 years reading online free study guide questions thinking I would be ALL SET, was wrong! The 601 exam requires you to know the basics (passed 1'st shot) but 602 exam requires you to know things only the book can provide. I used this book and barely passed with a score of 700; on the exam which is the minimum. To sum things up (if your still reading this): is to buy this kit solely for the the CD in the back of the book and maybe 9 out of 90 questions on the 4 diff. test will help you pass. Still reading? Looking for a 602 test question suggestions? Try the exam crams. I bought a exam cram for $20.00 (approx. 90 ?'s) about 10 ?'s came in handy for the exam. Furthermore, study things you don't need to know from this book like SIMMS and how many pins they have, SCSI (basically number of pins and why #7 is important), Windows 9.X and how to upgrade it, customer service (treat her like a honest beautiful lady..., and random facts about security).

 

Worth every penny. (5/6/2008) Bought my copy from Booksamillion's website. This kit has EVERYTHING. The CD has actual practice tests with several modes as well as a second CD with video tutorials and more, Flash Cards, and a HUGE book with pictures and easy to understand language. Worth every penny.

 

It Works (1/9/2008) As of this review I have not yet taken the 220-602 but will add to this review when I take this portion of the A+ as well. I took my A+ essentials 220-601 yesterday, 1-8-08, and passed using this study material. So far this has been quite effective as both a learning and test preparation tool. It works because it is written well and has good structure which goes a long long way when people need a guide to an area of study. The Certblaster CD based training was pivotal in helping me retain the information presented in the manuals. A word of caution, when you install the Certblaster Programs to your computer, make sure you immediately click the update buttons for each test prep install. This will bring the test prep CD to current status. The CD is version 1.0 where with the updates the information is brought up to like version 2.02. So make sure you do this after you install. The formula I used was to take the practice tests in assess mode which check to see what your strong and weak points are and it maps out what subject matter you need to study the most and from what I saw it was quite accurate. So I followed the course outline it presented me based on my weaknesses and studied those first to the point of total and utter overkill. Once I was able to consistently score 95% minimum on the practice questions in those weak areas, only then did I go back and study in my stronger areas, again to the point of total and utter overkill, for added assurance that I would pass the real thing. I basically trained myself to make sure every shot made a dent when I took the test for real. Also make sure you get a good night sleep before you go take the real test. Like I stated earlier, I will update this review when I take the 220-602 IT Technician test and give my results but so far it has done exactly what I needed it to do and I give it a thumbs up. UPDATE: I just took the 220-602 test on 4-8-08 and again by following the formula mapped out by the test assessment software, and studying until I was literally blue in the face for about 5 weeks up to the night before the test, I passed the 220-602. I am happy with the test prep course, and I think it is a great investment for anyone who is willing to study for the A+ certification. :) I passed both the 220-601 and 220-602 on the first try :) For 95% It covered all subject matter very well. The only thing I felt was somewhat weak about the test prep kit was the Networking section. I read the entire Networking Curriculum several times, and it did not seem to be as "test specific" as the other sections were. When I was using the networking section of the test prep CD in assessment and study mode, there were many questions asked that were not even covered in the test prep guide. So watch out! Not to say that the Networking section was not good information, because indeed IT IS GOOD INFORMATION. I just feel it was not as "test specific" as it could have been, which for some could possibly make a hole that could be stepped in on test day. Use outside study materials if necessary for that one, which the prep CD will have direct links to online content and resources to click on during study mode if you have an internet connection. Take advantage of all of this. And above all, Study! Study! Study! Study! Study! Put into practice and really engross what this Resource Kit is teaching you. You will thank yourself on test day. Overall I give this Product a 95% out of 100, and I think it is absolutely worth it.

 

A+ Book Review (1/7/2008) I found the material to be very complete and the flash cards were an excellent addition to the study materials. Well worth the money.

 

This kit does its job (11/9/2007) This kit did help me pass the A+ exams. Admit it, technical books are a bore. I usually get narcoleptic on the fifth page of most computer books. This book was not like that for me however. I actually read the whole book (over the course of about 4 weeks), watched many of the videos (which I admit were not all that useful for me - but it helped to get to know the author), went through the flash cards once, and (very helpful) took all the CertBlaster CBT tests (a couple times). The best part of the book is the way it's crafted. It's a physically large book (which makes it easy on the eyes - and the pages lay flat) and it's well illustrated. The sentences are carefully constructed to convey knowledge. They explain things the way they are without getting boring. Even though I have 14 years experience in IT, I found myself saying: "I didn't know that, that's good to know". In that respect, the book stands on its own as a good way for anyone not familiar with the way things work in the personal computer world to get familiar with computerdom. I found a few mistakes - for instance: "Windows 2000 does not offer automatic updates" and the test answer (of false) for the question regarding the speeding up of a CD drive as the laser moves to the center is wrong (s/b true). There are also a couple things that were a bit dated in my opinion, such as giving the impression BTX will be the new standard form factor (when was the last time you saw a BTX board?) and the somewhat debatable assumption that Mozilla Firefox is a safer browser than IE (no flaming allowed).

 

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