If you are wanting certification this is the perfect book. Not to technical or just the right amount of technical, good for anyone looking for A+ training.

As someone new to IT ( not a complete novice, I do know how to use a mouse/keyboard and surf the web, etc. ), this book is great especially when compared with the other A+ books one can find out there. For the price it's a steal, I highly recommend it.

While there is a lot of good info here it is all mixed together. If you are looking for a book to study for the A+ by test get something else. The book is organized by chapter with the Essentals test mixed in with parts 1,2,3,4. You have to go to an index in the back to lookup which parts of each chapter to study for which test you are preparing for. This wastes a lot of time. I ended up having to get another book locally to study.

I just passed my A+ certifications. This book helped me a lot with the basic portions that weren't sticking from the other A+ books I had read. I didn't use the test engine, but the basic knowledge from this book helped me pass the test. I wouldn't use this book as a final review, but as a starting point it is extremely helpful (especially if you aren't in the IT field yet).

Bought this book to study, used this book alone for my A+, just read the book, do the practice questions on the cd and you should have no proble passing the A+. this is the best book i ever bought, passed both of the tests the first time because of this book.

I'm willing to bet that anyone who uses this book as a stand alone study guide for the A+ exam will be broadsided by a mediocre (AT BEST) score, even if the book were open right next to you while taking the test.

I just bought CompTIA A+ Practice Questions (Exam Cram by Que) second edition, and found myself reading questions that seemed completely foreign. I began using the 'Dummies' guide as a reference to answer the practice questions, and still found myself answerless. The test prep questions in the 'dummies' guide are really easy and give you a false confidence.

In retrospect I would have saved my eyes the pain of reading over a thousand pages, had I known I would only need to read another book to fill in the gaps in my working knowledge. After reading this dummy-book, I have a dummy-edumacation to go with. Thanks dummies!

easy to follow, was able to pick up what i needed from this book without any difficulty. Even a dummy could do it.

I purchased this book in order to pass the A+ exam and also to have as a desk reference. This book did both. It is very informative and great to have lying around for whenever you come across a problem. I recently took and passed both the A+ Essentials and then the IT-Technician exam. Both on the first attempt. This is the only book I used to prepare for the exam. The only reason I did not give it all 5 stars is because I wish the book was organized around the different A+ exams. Instead it is all blended together. If you only want to study for a particular exam then you will have to use the index and jump around the book. Just read the book once, review some test questions and you will do fine on the A+ exams. But it is a great book to have for reference.

I have just got my A+ Certification and I think that this book was much more informative than both books that came with my class. If you want more in depth instruction,this would definately be a good choice.I told the other people in my class about the book and most said that they would get the book also.

As one other reviewer said there were some bugs on the CD test questions. The one thing I would have like to have seen, was a way to just take the test on questions from specfic topics.

The A+ Cert. for Dummies book is a great investment for multiple reasons. It's a great book to have to help you along with your studies, and it's a great read while your waiting to take your test. It comes with a full practice test on a CD that is very useful knowing that a practice test online would cost about the same amount of money as this book does. If you are studying for the A+ tests or if you just want to learn more about any specific computer related topic, you should get this book.

I titled this the real story because these are the things you need to know before buying this book. First, yes its 1100 pages; big because of the "improved" A+ update. The problem isn't the size, its the organization. To become A+ certified you have to pass A+ Essentials & one "elective" (IT Technician, Remote Support, or Depot Technician) One would assume that there would be one section dedicated to A+ Essentials, and others for the aforementioned "electives" but there isn't. There are no sections that start off saying "Remote Support" then teach you everything about that particular "elective" etc. Everything is mashed together. If the book was as short as the previous version then this probably wouldn't be a problem for most people. But again its 1100 pages, of technical stuff; why read about technical stuff pertaining to Remote Support when you're studying for Depot Technician. The software is pretty much a joke. It's not adaptive (then again neither is the real exam for now) so it can't really help you learn your strengths & weaknesses. You're just being asked 750+ questions with no interactivity (no test engine at all) so it doesn't help all that much. There's also the quick assessment tests that are nothing more than pdf files that you open and read. They are 2 page files that contain between 5 & 10 questions. The first page has the questions and the second page has the questions with answers. The only reason I gave this book 2 stars is because of the amount of info in it and work that went into it, but its the worst Dummies tech book I've bought; My opinion, wait for the next release or make sure you buy study material for the "electives" you're studying for.

It's a great product for those getting ready for A+ Certification and offers a great indepth guide that's VERY comprehensible.

Being a CompTIA A+ Certified Technician myself, I am aware of the formatting and types of questions asked on the test. Because I have help desk technicians reporting to me, it's vital I find a complete resource for them as they progress in their careers.

After looking over the content and material, this is one of the two books I recommend to look over for the exam.

If you are either going for your A+ Certification or need a good reference book on computers and how they are put together, this is it. The cd exam which is included could have been designed a little better but it is "The Test". The book is written so you don't have to read the whole thing to get the information you are looking for. Nicely done.

There is certainly a lot of information in this book, and it certainly helps that the writers sort of refresh your memory as you go along. The "For The Exam" tips help a lot as well and give the reader a nice focus area for studying outside the contents of the book.

The only real problem I have with the book itself is there are a couple of spelling mistakes here and there, and I tend to be very critical of the materials I read, so noticing things like that in a publication such as this dishearten me slightly.

As I said before however, the information contained within the book is very useful and is certainly helping me gain some grounds on my A+ Certification preparations!

This book was a gift for someone interested in this subject. The recipient appeared to be very pleased with the topics of content -- and will use it to further his studies in hardware systems.

I actually purchased this item for my son who is learning about the computer from a friend. This is the book his friend recommended who is an expert in this field. My son is very happy with this book that breaks down in layman terms what you need to know about the computer. My son also mentioned that the tests at the end of each lesson lets him know just how well he is comprehending what he is reading. He loves it.

I am very pleased with my initial review of this book as a study aid. So far, it has been quite useful helping me hit all the salient points I need to hit in order to be sure I understand all the A+ exam requirements. Very thorough and well written. Like all the Dummies books I have seen up until now, the A+ Desk Reference for Dummies is totally easy to understand and entertaining in its presentation of the material it covers. Well worth the buy.

This book was recommended to me by my tech support guy, who is very knowledgeable. I picked up this book because I am tired of not knowing how my computer works and I want to be able to help others with their computer problems, possibly in a work setting where I could increase my paycheck and/or switch jobs by getting my A+ certification.

The main drawback of this book is that it contains more than a few proofreading errors, but despite that annoyance, the content and organization of the book are very helpful. The best thing about this book is that the chapters are short, which makes the gigantic book seem a lot more manageable, and there are short quizzes at the end of each chapter which will allow you to see if you've actually retained and understood what you just read. Though concepts are generally explained simply, if you do not already have at least an intermediate knowledge of computers, many parts of this book will probably be above your head. If you're not already fairly well-versed in computers, I would recommend reading PC Troubleshooting for Dummies and learning about the innards of your computer before venturing into this book.

I generally like the Dummies books because they are surprisingly comprehensive and very readable. This one was no different, but I wanted to warn A+ test takers that the "Test Engine" on the cd has a large amount of bugs. Like you will choose the correct answer, but it thought you chose a different one, or the question won't match the answers, etc. There are 724 questions and I would say at least 50+ bugs. So if you use the cd (which is definitely useful) just be careful and check your answer with the book if you think the engine made a mistake. I have the 2007 edition, ISBN 978-0-471-74811-3, and hopefully they will fix the bugs in a later version.

Book is not separated into test objectives. All 1100 pages covers all tests. If you are not wanting to take "Depot" or "Remote," You still must read ALL chapters to cover information required for basic tests. The book is very well written and explains topics in detail. If the book was separated into test objectives, I would give it 5 STARS

This is a great book. Its got about everything you can imagne in it. Quite usefull.

THIS IS A VERY HELPFUL BOOK FOR ALL YOU COMPUTER NERDS OUT THERE!

THIS IS A VERY HELPFUL BOOK FOR ALL YOU COMPUTER NERDS OUT THERE!

This huge book, or as the front cover says, 9 Books in 1, covers CompTIA A+ exams 220-601, 220-602, 220-603, and 220-604. It takes over eleven hundred pages to cover everything, and then has a CD with the 'For Dummies' test engine and hundreds of sample question.

The book basically covers two areas:

First is the material you need to know and understand about computers in order to pass the test. This covers simple things like what's a motherboard to security in networked systems. It is written in the typical 'For Dummies' manner, that is, light and easy to understand, but with all the bases covered from the big picture (is the power on) to the small details.

Second is the part specialized to the test itself. This covers everything from what the test is about, to what to do on the day of the test itself to give yourself the best possible chance of passing.

All of this is combined with the usual humorous writing common to the 'For Dummies' books that help to make them a bit more interesting. And of course there are Rich Tennant's cartoons between the major sections.