This is a GREAT informative book for anyone with computer experience, brand new to computers, or just the casual hobbyist. Will explain the ins & outs of computers with wonderful photos and illustrations. I am halfway through and even look forward to picking the book up again to read. He provides a 'history' of various subjects and covers even the most up-to-date technologies.

I only wish that it had color photos/illustrations and covered laptops a little more than it does. He does add in a little bit about laptops, but I suppose the book has enough content as it is.

This book will have you ahead of the techs over at 'Geek Squad' in no time.

I must say this book has been very helpful, but according to most of the reviews I have read, I am very hesitant to take the exams with this book as my only study guide. Also, I have found several answers that were wrong in the questions at the end of each chapter. With only 10 questions how hard can it be to make sure they are 100% correct??? Seems very careless... I have the 6th edition of Meyers' book, but I think I am going to buy Exam Cram's book of nothing but practice questions.

It's a very good study tool, especially, if you need to troubleshoot your computer for various problems.

Some background on me, I have a Computer Science degree but didn't enter the field upon graduating. Currently looking to broaden my career choices, I purchased this as a self-study exercise. Through this reading material and the practice exams you can purchase, I passed both exams for the Essentials and IT Technician on my first try. I know this book will retain it's value (until the whole computing world goes to different OSs) on my workspace shelf. I would highly reccomend the purchase of this product. Now on to Network+. Good luck all.

I just needed the A+ certification ASAP. I took 220-601 (Essentials) and 220-602 (IT Technician) and the book was a good help. My score was 710 and 800, just good enough to be certified. The sixth edition is updated and covers all I needed to pass.

Also bought the vouchers with practice exams from Meyers and many questions were pretty similar.

I studied the material, reading 3 or 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, in one month. I recommend complement the study with wikipedia or whatever quick source of consultation and of course the practice tests

Conclusion: The book and the practice exams are the perfect combination to pass the exams, but you need at least six months of experience in the "Real world" because you find some answers in the field.

This book is very detailed and a great reference. I recommend it to anyone wanting to take the A+ exams.

I would have liked to have been able to print out the helpful glossary and take it with me, but it is secured and both printing and right-click feature (to copy and paste)are locked. You would have to retype everything into another document if you wanted a glossary or have a computer with the glossary.pdf on it. This makes for a very frustrating experience. I'm sure there is a good reason to lock this from McGraw-Hill's point of view, I just don't know what it is.

A+Certification is a great book for all persons who want to learn about their PC.

I got the book as a Christmas gift and was A+ certified January 4th, 2008. I read the book from cover to cover, took practice exams, and scored in the low 800s (exams 601 and 602.) There are tons of A+ books out there and this is one of the best. Weighing in at over 1,100 pages, you'll find enough information tucked between the covers to pass the A+ exam even if you only have ten days to study.

Mike Meyers did a great job with this book. It's written to where people of all educational levels can understand, and it's a very good refresher for those who already have a background in computers. It would also be a good "on the job" reference.
If you were to only use this book and the disk that came with it, then you should be able to easily pass the IT Technician Exam (220-602). I used ONLY this book and the included disk and I took the IT Technician Exam in March of 2008, and I got a near perfect score of 900 thanks to this book.
However, this book isn't enough to get you through the Essentials Exam unless you already have a vast knowledge of trouble shooting operating systems. I took the Essentials Exam (220-601) in March of 2008, and I would say that 90% of my version of the exam was about trouble shooting. They might as well have called it the "Trouble Shooting Operating Systems Exam". This book can't prepare you for how they're going to ask the questions on the Essentials Exam. I'm just lucky I have 10 years of general computer expericence and a 4-year bachelor's degree in CIS or this Essentials Exam could've been a complete disaster. You will be very disappointed when you see what this Essentials Exam focuses on. Instead of spending all that time reading this 1100+ page book and knowing everything in it from top to bottom, I could have just studied trouble shooting for about 4-5 hours. I took a lot of time learing all the technical aspects of every hardware component on a PC, and basically everything under the sun about the software side & operating systems and it seemed like only 10% of that was on the Essentials. To get prepared for the Essentials Exam all you need to do is focus on operating system trouble shooting, diagnostic procedures, configuring operating systems in general and for networks, and the command line interface commands. And the only commands they asked about were the commands that would help you restore and diagnose problems. They asked a lot about restoring and recovery of operating systems too.

Conclusion:
This book is great for the (220-601) IT Technician Exam, but if you don't have much experience in trouble shooting and preventive maintenance of operating systems, then to pass the (220-601) Essentials Exam I would suggest finding some supplemental sample questions off the internet and really focusing on installing, diagnostic procedures, preventive maintenance, and trouble shooting techniques for operating systems and networks.

This book is very informative and full of the latest technology in XP and touches on Vista. Keep it around for a great reference manual as well.

The cd in the back is ok. It does not have a complete demo with real type tests. you have to pay a few hundred more for that.

I spent over a week agonizing over which book to purchase to prepare for the A+ exam. I ended up choosing this because it seemed to me to be the most material for the money and because Meyers, the author, has a reputation for quality in the industry. After working through the book, I am fully satisfied, and passed the exam on the first try. This guide is extremely comprehensive, and laid out in a very logical and easy-to-use way. Meyers' writing style is very easy to read and engaging. Even dry subjects are quite readable. The included materials are also quite good, but I should mention a few caveats. The book advertises 8 practice exams, but that means two for each of the four tests. Because any one person will only take two tests (Essentials and one elective), there really are only four practice tests (however, there is so much overlap, I found taking all the tests to be helpful). Also, each practice test is only 50 questions, but the real test is 100, so each is only half a test. On the other hand, the practice tests are very accurate and the interface is just like what you'll face on test day. Also, if you purchase your exam vouchers from Meyers' website, you will not only save $30 on each test, but also get an additional two practice tests (100 questions) for each exam. Overall, I definitely recommend this book over any other you might be considering, and I plan to purchase the accompanying Network+ book to study for that test.

This book is well written and easy to follow. As a result, I was able to repair an issue with my personal PC and in a few more weeks I should be ready for the A+ Certification test.

Here's the quick version, read on for full-blown details if you wish:

After passing both of my tests (220-601 & 220-602), my opinion is that this book doesn't quite earn the reputation of covering all the bases for the exams. If you purchase this book with the intent to go completely self-study as I did, you MUST suppliment it with a book of full-length practice tests (there are several available). Doing so may have saved me from two failurs in a row. I believe I passed thanks to some last-minute exposure to numerous topics that Mike has simply left out of his book.

Here's the beef in full:

I recently read this book cover-to-cover in preparation for taking the Essentials and IT Technician exams. I passed 220-601 with a 780/900 and 220-602 with a 810/900. Having done so, I can't recommend this book to anyone who wishes to go full self-study as I did. Here's why:

- The CompTIA test writers like to ask questions on minutia. Mike has included a lot of minutia in this book, but there were several topics that just aren't in there, such as a complete list of all standard IRQ settings (which turned up in two different questions on my exam).

- The chapter review questions are woefully inadequate. Very late in the game I compared Mike's book with some competing authors and found their chapter reviews and excercises to be much more robust.

- The practice tests included on the CD are nothing like the real thing in terms of difficulty. To be fair, nobody should expect a perfect match when using practice tests. I personally felt like the differential was almost unrealistic though. Aside from consisting of a mere 50 questions rather than 90-100, they are very tame by comparison to the actual test.

Sorry to say I won't be a repeat customer for Network+. The competing authors have much more robust study aids than Mike's series has to offer.

If you get this book to take advantage of the CD, you just wasted your money.
The book in itself is great but they couldve done away with the CD and sold it at a lower price.
The Osborne McGraw CD gets this book its low score but the LearnKey customer service should get a 20+ stars for its tenaciousness in helping me get the problem resolved. It basically boils down to downloading 4 exe files from 3 different sources, changing the folder the disc wants to download to and rebooting about 2X.
All in all, way too much then what should have to be done to view a simple video training demo.
Do yourselves a favor, STAY AWAY FROM OSBORNE BOOKS WITH CDs.
Its not worth the trouble. The actual content of the book itself is fantastic and very condusive for someone just starting. The CD makes a noble effort to be a frisbee. And it cant even do that well.

This book has it all plus it is actually pretty fun to read for a tech book.

I took the exam on Sep 17, 2007 and I passed both of them.
730 on Essential
840 on IT Technician.
I would say that almost every answer on the tests can be found in the book. If you remember and understand every single word in the book, you will not need to do the practice exam, you will pass guarantee it.
I would say the practice exam is easier than on the real exam. You MIGHT want to buy additional study guide, like Exam Cram, so that you can work on hard, even harder questions in relate to the A+ exam. Of course if you memorize every single word in the book, about 1150 pages, you won't need no practice exam, lol.
After all, this book worths the money. The author writes the book in simple language but still pertain to his technical knowledge, which makes it easier to understand and absorb. I strongly recommend anyone who is going to take the A+ exam to read this book first.

Hi guys: Please read carefully, I really want to help those wanting to get A+ Certified to do it right. This is a good book the reason i gave it 3 stars are:
1st the book has some errors and i can tell you that it doesn't cover a 100% what's coming in the exam. (trust me i just passed essentials this morning)
2nd the Historical/Essentials/IT Technician divisions are worthless. DO NOT TRUST THEM AND STUDY ONLY ESSENTIALS PARTS FOR THE ESSENTIAL EXAM FOR EXAMPLE!! study all the chapter thoroughly
The book helped me a lot but Im also an experience technician (5+yrs) who just decided to take the test. I DO NOT RECOMMEND TRYING TO TAKE THE TEST USING THIS BOOK OR ANY BOOK IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY RELEVANT PREVIOUS COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE OR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN TECHNICAL SUPPORT ROLES!!(GET YOURSELF INTO TRAINING PROGRAM, REMEMBER IS NOT JUST PASSING THE EXAM IS REALLY KNOWING WHAT TO DO AND WHERE TO START) AND I ALSO DO NOT RECOMMEND TO THIS BOOK AS THE ONLY STUDY SOURCE!! You will need comprehensive knowledge and previous experience to pass this (unless you are a genius!) and I also recommend CompTIA Press books over any other books, is worth it and you will be on a safer path to pass the exam

This is a excellant study guide. Easy to understand and well written. I would recomend it to anyone studing for A+.

This book was well written, and because of it I passed my exams. There were a couple spelling mistakes, but they are few and far between. Its getting a little bit outdated though, but its still enough to get you to pass. I would definitely read this book, but also have some supplementary reading too that would fill in what this book is missing.

Winner!! Mike Meyers writes the perfect book covering all objectives on the A+ Certification exam. Don't be intimidated by the size of this book. The book is a great read and covers everything in a very organized manner. I was able to pass both exams on the first try using this book and the A+ Passport book for a quick review before taking the exams. If you carefully read through the material, you should be able to pass with no problems. I can see now why so many technical college (including mine) in my state use this book as the main study guide. A job well done Mr. Meyers.

This book is very informative, current and well thought out. It has provided me with what i think are all the necessary tools to take my A+ Exams.

The other book of the set of two that I would recommend for those wanting CompTIA A+ Certification. This book are for those that are already familiar with the material and are more seasoned in the IT industry. It provides an outline of everything you need to know to pass all facets of the exam (and then some).

If you want to learn about computers and have no prior experience, this is an excellent place to start. If you are studying for your A+ certification, stay away from this book. For over a 1000 pages of material, its ridiculously light on real material. To make matters worse, the "practice exams" have questions that were not covered in the book. Mike Meyers is an absolute joke.

This is a great reference book even if you don't want to be A+ certified. It explains how the computer works both software and hardware.

I am a college student and one of my professors uses this study guide as the course textbook and encourages students to get the certification while taking the course. This book is very thorough and if studied correctly, anyone is guaranteed to pass the certification.

I bought this book in the hopes it would fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge, as well as give me more preparation for the A+ exams. There is a lot of good information, but I would agree with a lot of reviewers here that it shouldn't be your only source of study unless you're wickedly smart or already have lots of experience. The best case senario would be to take a class either at a tech school or tech education center. If time or money doesn't allow, the next best thing is to take instructor led training on a CD. This is what I did. That and LOTS of practice tests and of course, take apart an old pc and look at the parts. Oh, the CD training I took is from Specialized Solutions with Bill Ferguson, one of the best trainers in the industry. And if you have Windows 98, don't bother getting this book. You won't be able to access the practice exams. That's a terrible disappointment to me.

I would definitely buy this book if you have any interest of learning about computers or if your studying for the A+ certification. It is very easy reading and it does a somewhat good job to keep you interested.

What can I say? I bought the book, studied, and then scored 810 on the Essentials exam and 865 on the IT exam. The secret is not just to read the book. I've heard lots of people complaining about this book that obviously gave it a courtesy read and then thought they could pass the exams. The real secret is to READ the book the use the index in the back, cross reference the chapters in the book with the COMPTIA A+ objectives (available on their web site), STUDY, and then take the exams. For a single source of everything you need this is the book. It explains everything, the how, what, when, who, and most important the WHY. Take it from me, I'm COMPTIA A+ 2007 certified because of this book.

I do computer tech work as a hobby and hope to get A+ certified sometime soon. I have only read a little over 200 pages (out of 1100+ pages) of the book. I think that it is very informative and interesting. I have even used the book to figure out a problem that I was having with a PC! I would recommend this book.

with this book i pass both comptia examen: the essentials and the 602. This book is awesome explain in detail everything about the test. I recomended this book at 100%

A very concise and easy to understand book. Its more of a Classroom book but also very easy to use as a stand alone Reference book. I'm currently taking Classes and this book has been more than Very Helpful, and the Price could'nt be beat.

I had to read the whole book on pdf because a friend of mine had lost my book, but I had the cd rom. I bought this book to study for the exam; which I believe that is what it was intended for. The main drawback I had was I wanted to study the glossary, which was not in the book at all, you have to look at it on pdf and then you can't print it. This was a major disappointment for me.

I wish people would take the tests before rating these books.

My scores are 810/900 and 840/900 for Essentials and 602 respectively. Passing scores are 675 and 700 with 100 being the minimum.

I bought this book and Mike Meyers' A+ Certification Passport, Third Edition (Mike Meyers' Certification Passport) by the same author. I also bought the exam vouchers from them which came with 300 practice questions. Both books come with practice questions both in the books and additional ones on the accompanying CDs. However, the CDs and the downloaded questions were mostly repeats and nothing like the actual exams (same goes for the books).

I have over twenty years of tinkering with computers. I was an aerospace engineer and an Oracle database programmer. I just wanted to get this Certification for kicks. There is a lot of fluff in both books which has nothing to do with the exams. Neither book really tells you how the actual exam questions are like. Actual exams are generally much simpler and test you mostly on your broad knowledge rather than the fine details (the exams does not ask which socket Pentium II uses, but it does ask what does a series of long beeps mean after you boot up). If you know the basics and understand the logic, you will pass. You still need to know some details, but they are not the hard ones. There has to be better book out there.

Even though I already knew 80% of the subject matter, I studied real hard. There is more stuff in the other book worth knowing though (not for the test). But personally, fluff puts me to sleep. Just keep it brief and to the point and pertinent to the test, that's what the books are selling.

If you buy these books, make sure you already have some experience in the field and that you really study these books like a text book.

I passed both of the tests, Essentials and IT Technician, after only having read this book, so I guess it's a pretty good book for anyone thinking about getting the A+ Certification. However, I did find quite a bit of mistakes in the book relating to the questions at the very end of each chapter, sometimes the answer that was supposed to be right, wasn't. Besides that though, this book is a must for anyone going for the exams.

While it has its drawbacks, Mike Meyers' A+ Certification All-In-One Exam Guide (Sixth Edition) is still a great way to prepare for the A+ Certification exam. I used this book almost exclusively as my study material for the A+ Certification test, and passed with flying colors. I took the test on June 28, 2007 and got a 745 on the Essentials and an 830 on the IT Technician exam (out of a possible 900 on each.) My study method was pretty simple - I read the book cover to cover (all 1100+ pages) and did extra review and study on the subjects I was unclear on.

While I would definitely recommend it, I would advise you to stay on your toes. If you get a review question wrong, double-check it, because there are some glaring errors on the chapter review questions (like Question #4 in Chapter 21 that tries to tell you the answer is B when in fact it is D,) and some missing sections in the book (like what operating systems can upgrade to Windows 2000 Professional.)

This kind of error also follows you into your practice exams included on the CD (and the extra practice exams that came with my voucher purchase from the Total Seminars website.) But for the most part, the Guide does a good job of preparing you for the kind of questions you'll need to answer. Some of the questions on the actual exam were nearly identical to the ones I'd been practicing with.

Also, it's probably impossible to cover everything, but notable in its absence is information about things like UDP and ARP. It's a good idea to know a little bit more about networks than the book teaches you. As a general rule, if you don't feel like you completely understand a subject, fill in the gaps by researching it on Wikipedia or elsewhere on the net.

I'm now passing this book on to my younger brother, and pursuing my Network+ certification. If I decide to use another exam guide, I will be sticking with Mike Meyers. (Although now that I've gone through the networking portion of the A+, I may be able to get by with just some online study guides!)

I have read the entire book and purchased the complete test bank on CD that Mike Myers offers. I studied the hardware questions till I was scoring in the mid 90%, on the 600 plus questions on hardware. I just passed the hardware section with 10 points to spare. This book should not be considered test prep material.. I am preparing for the software section of the test now using Test King. I do not have any professional experience in the IT field but I have been using computers since I build my first one that ran on CPM.

I am currently taking my A+ prep class and this is the book that my instructor uses along with his lecture. So far the book has been very easy to understand and I feel confident using this book to pass my A+ exam.

I am learning righ now. It seems very good like other persons said

I have bought and researched a lot of Certification books and the only book I found to keep your interest was Michael Myers..I also bought some DVD courses and this man keeps you interested. in what you are studying..Awesome author...All his books are up to date on all courses of study...If you want to pass the exam this is all you will need..He also offers a practice exam, so don't miss out...

Picked up the Blackjack a few weeks ago and must say it's a solid little SOB. As you'll read the matte finish makes it feel really nice in your hands. I like the jog wheel a lot too even though it's not adjustable (yet). The phone looks and acts a lot like the Q but the slimmer profile is noticeably better to work with.

The menu's and layouts are well planned and like all my previous Smartphones it has the same basic sub-menus and categories. WMP10 is a lot nicer then 9 was and when you pop in a MicroSD card (which can be hard to get it in without long fingernails) it asks if you'd like to find media. BT stereo works flawlessly with my HT820 for music but watching a hi frame rate movie was a little chunky. I need to try a lower frame rate with BT to see if it makes a difference.

So far I've been using almost non-stop and the battery was only half full. I'm sure it'll take a lot of charging but hey with two batteries and an external charger I can make it work. Might even turn the external charger into a little "backpack" with straps or Velcro to give me a longer out of office time. So far the 3G work awesome (when I'm in it!) and just screams through mobile web pages.

Sadly in my current apartment I do not get signal (metal roof and siding), I have to step outside in order to receive/send voice calls :(. I will be moving here in the next month or so and can only hope I will be able to get reception in my house; otherwise the signal strength is great.

Positives:

0. HSDPA is fast and solid
1. QVGA landscape great for web and media
2. XM radio totally rocks!
3. Keyboard layout is highly functional (but does not come without cons)
4. BT stereo works really well
5. Built in Task Manager and Piscel Viewer
6. JAVA download app
7. Nice external speaker
8. Hot swappable Tflash
9. Jog button
10. Battery life and Extended included
11. 1.3 mega pixel camera
12. Overall size and feel :)

Negatives:

0. Center nav button to close to end and call

1. No push to talk feature.

2. No WiFi on this phone; damn you T-Mobile dash!

3. The 1-0 (zero) QWERTY keys don't have any special feel to them. A tiny bump on each would by nice. However I don't drive and talk at the same time so not that big of a problem.

4. Applications must be ended in Windows Task Menu to free up memory. :(

I'm very satisfied with this phone and would recommend it to any business people and students who want an all around practical phone with a lot of usability.

The author has a pleasant way of presenting the content of the book.
This book, contrary to other books,has lots of photographs to give the reader an adequate visual concept of what to look for.
The glossery section is good,yet a little too compact at times.
This book has more "how to " sections than most books I've read.
Personally I would like to see a more info on networking.

This is an excellent book, easy to understand, so many details, I am sure I am going to buy all the next edition....Thanks for Amazon for the best prices, and quality....
Again thank you!!!

I have read the half of the book already and it is excellent. I recommend it. Although it has a lot of pages it is easy and fast to read.

I studied this book for four months and I nailed the exam. I coupled this book with going to school, but I realized all I needed was this book.
My school books for A+ are still in plastic wrapping, they have never been opened. The best thing about this book is the practice exams it gives you on the CD. Taking the practice exams prepared me alot, because the questions are very similiar to the real CompTIA exams. If I new what this book was all about before going to school for A+ I could have saved $1500 bucks. Oh well for that I guess. You don't know what's good for you until it smacks you in the face.

I have learned alot about computers from the help of friends and on my own. This book has some chapters that may be a bit insulting to those who are very familiar with computers, and some chapters that will open your eyes like never before. If you are a true computer enthusiast, this is the place to start for your knowledge, and if you retain it, I don't think there is any reason why you couldn't attain a certification and begin a career (after proper experience is achieved that is) I loved it, it answered all the questions I was wondering, like how do those magic boxes work and gave me a very basic knowledge to work with, I was already repairing PC's on my own as a part time job, but now I have so many more useful tools to make my job more thorough and efficient as a PC technician. Don't expect to find out the secrets to being a genius engineer in this book, rather an advanced user and beginner at troubleshooting. I can't keep my head out of this book!

This book will give you an excellent overview of all the stuff you need to know for the new A+ exams. It's great for complete beginners to the IT/PC world. I passed both the Essentials exam and the IT Technician exam with scores over 850 using this book as my primary guide. However, you're going to need to supplement your training with additional resources if, like me, you don't have much computer experience. I used Transcender for the Essentials exam and found the test to be easy. For the Technician exam, I used on-line quiz sources, but was stumped by many of the questions. The exam was very difficult, though I ended up scoring even higher on it than on the Essentials exam. I should have used Transcender for that exam also.
In sum, this book is a great guide, but the exams are so comprehensive, I would suggest studying it in detail.
I also used Sybex tests which I downloaded for free from the Sybex website (in the errata portion for their A+ guide).

Excellent book. I read it cover-to-cover. Mike Meyers explains how everything works in an easy to follow analogies. Teaches you more then you need to know for the A+. Has the history behind the technology and where the technology is going. This is definitely a big plus for any tech to fully understand and appreciate computers. This book should be the start for anyone who is studying for A+.

This book is a great asset to anyone getting into the IT field or as a reference for anyone already in the field. All concepts are explained using easy to understand examples. I thought I knew a lot about computers but after reading not even half of the book I have learned so much more already. After reading this book I will feel confident to take the A+ exam.

Ok, I just got done taking the A+ Cert Exam within the past 10 min. I took the #601 and #602 exam. I scored a 835 on the #601 & 825 on the #602. In case you dont know its out of 900 and you need a 675 on the #601 and a 700 on the #602. Now onto the book. I have the revised edition of the book to include the new series. The book itself is a great book with alot of good information for not only reference material, good foundation of computers and more. I myself have 7 years of IT experience and is what Im currently employed in. The test itself isnt difficult but at the same time it is. When you test you will know what I mean if your going to test on the #601 & #602. The book does cover material needed to know for the exam and in becoming a "computer" person in any field. I rated it a 4 because the book itself is great and I will keep it because of that however having just taken the test its not an exact mirror of it. Again, the book is great but be sure to have a basic foundation of computers already and read the questions carefully.