THE ONLY BOOK I NEEDED TO PASS THE ESENTIALS AND IT TECHNICIAN EXAMS HAPPENED TO BE THIS ONE. QUENTIN DOCTER REALLY TAKES YOU BEYOND A+ CERTIFICATION THROUGHOUT THIS BOOK. LOTS OF PAGES BUT ITS WELL WORTH THE READ. I'M PROUD OF MY ACHIEVEMENT WITH MUCH THANKS TO MR.QUENTIN DOCTER AND CO. SO... WHAT'S THE WAIT? GET THE BOOK NOW!!!!

I'LL NAME ONE UH MY KIDS QUENTIN!

After about 6 years of procrastination I decided to get my A+ certification even though I have been fixing and building PCs for close to a decade.

I decided to buy this book after I read the reviews here. I studied the book for two weeks and also used the questions in Meyers Sixth Edition book to supplement my studying.

I took the A+ certification exam on August 7th, 2008. I passed both the essentials and IT Tech designation with scores 700/675 and 740/700.

My thoughts on this book? It will only prepare you for about 60% of the exams. This book is outdated as well since the questions asked on the exams were part of the 2007 set of questions. There was new material that wasn't even discussed in the book. If it weren't for my experience with computers I would've failed the test just relying on this book alone.

It's a good easy to read book overall. But don't underestimate the test by relying on this book alone. Go out and read more before you take the test.

I really like the Sybex books for their lay-out and organization of material as well as a practice test after each chapter to test your knowledge of the subject. There are also two practice tests for each exam (Essentials, IT Technician etc). I would recommend getting this book along with the Exam Cram Practice Questions as the questions are closer to the real exam. If you get both, you will pass both tests with out a problem (like me).

I found that this book, combined with the exam cram test questions book, was adequate for passing the test. I passed the essentials exam with a 780, and the 602 test with a 860.

I read the whole book through over the period of a month or two, along with some other online sources and the things I've learned from my classes. I then went back and re-read a few chapters that I felt I needed a little more understanding in.

The author attempts to write the book in a way that makes the material less... boring, by adding in a little bit of light humor and bring "real world" examples into play. But, computer hardware and windows maintenance aren't the most exciting topics, so the book's sometimes boring feel are not entirely the authors fault.

I do have a few gripes about the book. First of all, quite a few times the book just repeats itself- it doesn't add more to the subject, it just repeats what was said in an earlier chapter, word for word. Second of all, a few of the subjects could use a little more information. I found that the security and "soft-skills" chapters in particular were really shallow. Granted, the soft-skills chapters are for the most part common-knowledge. But there could have been a little more meat in there. The security section did a lot of generalizing.

Overall, this book is very helpful in preparing you for the test. Be sure to completely read through the chapters. I would suggest getting some sort of practice test type book as a companion to this one. Read some chapters, take the related practice tests, and study more in-depth on the sections you aren't as comfortable with.

Good luck to you in your pursuit of certification!

This is an excellent book, but it has become outdated with the advent of Vista and Windows Server 2008.

I have years of experience in A+ skill, just lack of an official cert, so I am studying this book to get one. The book is good, very detailed. The only thing funny is there are quite a number of typos in it.

This is a great book. Easy to read and very well prepared. Found it about 40% cheaper(including delivery) on Amazon then in store.

I have read 200 out of the 800 pages within this book. So far, it seems to be a very well writtin study guide, with much detail to almost all aspects of the IT Tech field.

I do believe once i review over the book after my initial reading, i will have no trouble passing the A+ exam.

I saw the review left by G. Waggoner before I purchased the book and was kind of worried. Well, my worries were justified. I received the book and the CD was cracked. I then got the replacement and the CD was also cracked. I will now think twice before ordering any books which are supplemented with a CD from Amazon.

I learned all the basics hands on and never got around to getting my certification for about 6 years. I recently decided to get it taken care of and found out about all the new inclusions. After looking through the reviews of all the possible choices this book seemed to shine and it does. I passed the 601 and 602 exams just fine with the help of this book. It's very in-depth and very worth the price! I liked this one so much I'm going to look toward this series for my Network+ and CCNA.

I ordered this product and the CD was cracked. Ordered a replacement and it was cracked also!
Beware!

Overall I think this book is a good buy. I recently passed my A+ exams with a 675 on 601 and 830 on 602. The information is excellent and easy to understand. That said, I wouldn't use it as the only study source. If you're fairly new to the IT field or are in school, I would suggest learning both A+ and Network+ courses before attempting either test.

I would also suggest purchasing practice test questions on all 4 tests regardless which ones you take. (I used Measure Up but I'm sure there are other good ones too). And of course some basic experience with pc repair and assembly, along with at least intermediate knowledge of Windows XP are very helpful. Also, making flash cards with hard to remember information is a big help. Now it's off to Network+ and MCSA.

This is a great study guide. I just passed my IT Tech exam, and after reading this book and going through the practice tests it was easy. The book on PDF is a nice touch, too.

As in all my studies for testing I don't usually just "do" one book, but this one far outweighed one I had used in a college course. Sybex always does an outstanding job of putting into laymans terms "tech-speak" and they've done a fine job here. Passed my exam almost acing it; do the reviews and re-read if you are unsure. Overall super job.

Sybex has published quality study guides for years and this book is no exception. The PC hardware and Windows information in this book maps very well to the 2006 CompTIA A+ exams and provides "above and beyond" coverage of printer troubleshooting, networking, and network security. Unlike other books of its kind, this may have value as a reference once you pass the A+ tests, especially if you are considering other related CompTIA certifications. The absence of an introduction, its textbook-like tone, and minor errors on some practice questions are why I withhold my fifth star... the book is not perfect, but it is quite good.

This book is available by itself or as a part of the CompTIA A+ Complete Certification Kit; let price and your own experience with PC troubleshooting determine which is the best value for you.

I want to stress to everyone reading this review that this book was all I needed to pass the A+ tests with great scores. Many websites and people will tell you that the A+ tests are very difficult and that you need to sign up for a class that probably costs $1,000 or more. This is absolutely false information. I studied this book (read and took notes, made flash cards, did the practice exams on the CD, etc.) for about three hours per day for two weeks over Christmas break. I then signed up and took the tests and aced them!

Very well written and presented. I would surely recommend it to anyone who wants to take the A+ certification.

The A+ cert is considered the entry level IT and comptia recommends a certain amount of experience in a field before taking there certs. That being said I have about 7 solid document years of IT experience, I took the essential exam with minimal preparation and failed. Decided to buy this book which corresponds with the newly revamped 2007 A+ exam. Followed the easy to read book to the T, did all the practice exams and chapter exams. Sybex recommends a score of 80% or better on a chapter exam to achieve proficiency. The sybex certification books are some of the best as they are easy to read and follow, even with my experience I learned quite a bit that I didn't know such the white paper of various printer technologies. This is a great book that comes with a CD with practice exams and the entire text in pdf, this book will get you certified.

This book helped me pass the Essentials and I.T. Exam in less than a month of studying. I passed easily on both tests on the first try. I knew quite a bit about computer hardware and software before reading, but this helped provide a refresher for stuff I knew and topics I was unfamiliar with, such as networking and printers.

The CD that comes with the book is fairly useful as well. 2 practice exams for each test, plus a e-copy of the book, and some flashcards. I found the exams and the e-book very useful, and the flashcards could be used for a quick review.

The only negatives are some minor mistakes and errors on the CD and the book. But those are covered in the errata on the website, even though I found some that weren't covered. But those mistakes are far outweighed by the usefulness of this book. And unfortunately, mistakes seem to be a way of life for writers and editors of computer books.

Great book. If your looking to get certified, this book will be the only thing you need to get it done.

This book prepared me quite well. I spent a month reading and reviewing and passed the essential exam with a 790 and the IT Tech exam with an 850. The CD that comes with this book is quite handy, coming with 7 practice tests, flashcards and a pdf copy of the whole book. My only real complaint is that the practice tests are for the most part too easy. The IT Tech practice tests dwell on memorizing IRQ and I/O addresses, none of which were on the real exam.

Over all, I think that learning the book cover to cover has brought me from being a simple computer user to being a competent Tech.

I also greatly recommend get the Cliffs Notes practice test book. The questions are much more difficult(more difficult than the real exam) but really prepare you to go into the exam room with confidence.

This book covers so much of PC hardware information. It will take a while for people who consider themselves "above average" users, but even if you don't complete the A+ exam, there is tons of useful information.

One chapter at a time. I recommend that you read the quizes then the chapter to find key points easier. Great study material! Sybex is always the way to go.

The book is quite informative and up-to-date. It covers all new A+ examination areas (really comprehensive). The bundled stuffs are very helpful too. It comes with lots of practice exams. The electronic flashcards are handy and refreshing. With the bundled compact disc, you can read your book anywhere, anytime with any portable device that support .pdf file format. Good book.

Finally an A+ book that doesn't drown itself in tech terms without actually explaining what it is they are trying to convey. This is as user-friendly as one could hope to get in a study guide. It doesn't go over one's head, if it the subject matter does the author brings it down to earth.

The companion CD is pretty good as well, offering the whole book in .pdf form for downloading on one's iPod or PDA.

To begin the book is well organized and well written. The flow of the book is easy to understand, and easy to take notes from. The CD-Rom includes an electronic copy of the book (which in my opinion is something that all paper copies should come with these days) which is very helpful for working professionals whom commute.

Cons: Unfortunately the book will miss a thing here or there as it relates directly to the exam itself. As an example: You will find that the study questions, while good at reinforcing the material you just read, do not line up with the flow, format or difficulty of the actual exam questions. They are really there to cement what you've just read and reinforce that to you.

Another example is the Professionalism and Communications section does not go over enough material in detail. It rather uses broad terms and concepts to go over that particular domain.

Conclusion: I feel this is a very good primary study guide. I would recommend however that you use supliments to your studying such as Transcender exams to help prep you for the actual testing enviornment as well as the Exam Cram book to compliment and really drive home the material.

The book is definately worth the purchase and you will be 75%-80% read to take the exam after completetion of studying.

This book does cover A+ exam objectives, moreover the chapters are arranged well according to the objective which made me feel easier to find the topic of interest or the topic that i need to study further.

With the chapters arranged and written according to compTIA objectives, I found it easier to review what I should study more after I take the test, since the test result will give you explanation in which area you need to review.

As I was an experience technician, I did feel it easy to follow and understand this book and pass the exam just by using this book, but i think this book lacks in the troubleshooting area. The author does give you quite a lot of troubleshooting example from his experience, but ff the author can give a lot more real world example of problems and solutions, i think this book will be perfect for exam preparation as well as on the job reference.

This book does cover A+ exam objectives, moreover the chapters are arranged well according to the objective which made me feel easier to find the topic of interest.

As I was an experience technician, I did feel it easy to follow and understand this book, but what i thing this book lacks in the troubleshooting area. If the author can give more real world example of problems and solutions, i think this book will be perfect for exam preparation as well as on the job reference.

good condition, fast respond, low price. I foud all that I need in this book.

I just read this book for few weeks to prepare the test of Comptia A+. So far I would like to say this is a good book, giving a clear description of idea and knowledge even for someone with several year experience in IT. But be cautious with the details, You need to understand and remember every words in this book. When you done, you will find yourself really ready not only for the test,but also for your career.

I just read this book for few weeks to prepare the test of Comptia A+. So far I would like to say this is a good book, giving a clear description of idea and knowledge even for someone with several year experience in IT. But be cautious with the details, You need to understand and remember every words in this book. When you done, you will find yourself really ready not only for the test,but also for your career.

I would have to say it isn't much better than A+ for dummies but it's not bad. The main thing that really annoyed me is that many large chunks of text are simply repeated verbatim in different sections. The repetition accounts for a good deal of the material in this book. If you can get it at a good discount go ahead but don't pay full price for this book.

Definitely the best book I saw to review. I studied from this book only, knew everything in it, and I got 830/900 on the essentials exam, and 850/900 on the IT exam (passing scores were 675 and 700 respectively).

Only complaint is that the CD that comes with it is buggy. Although it provides many extra questions which are helpful, several of the questions are filled with bugs, like they mark the wrong answer right, or on one of the practice exams one question was repeated a dozen times.

Still the best book and definitely worth it.

This was the only study guide I needed for the new A+ exams (Essentials, IT technician, Remote). I passed both the Essentials and IT technician tests easily with scores in the 835 range. I spent about a month studying with the book for each exam module. The book does a great job of laying out the information for each particular exam. In addition, it guide is an excellant easy to ready reference manual.
If you are looking for one study guide to pass the new A+ exam format, this is the one to get.

I would highly recommend this book. Not only did it help me pass the exam, it also taught how to apply what I learned to my every-day job.

I have to respectfully disagree with the previous review. This was a very comprehensive study guide, and covered all the topics I expected to find on the exam. I thought it was very well organized, followed a logical order, and had the the extras I expect to find from Sybex: Exam Essentials, Hands-on Exercises, Review Questions, and so on.

It was also very easy to read. Unlike some books--Mike Meyer's for one--the authors are not pompus or over the top. They are straight forward, not making any assumptions about the reader's intelligence or sense of humor.

I'm a pretty thorough studier, read *every page*, took all the chapters tests, made my own notes, and took all the CD-ROM tests repeatedly... yet only 75% of the material was covered on the test. I passed, but it was only because I had experience in those areas to be able to answer them well enough. I've been off the field for a few years and wanted to take the certification to not only get caught up, but also clear the new exam as well.

I was just a little disappointed that the book didn't adequately prepare me as the "Complete Study Guide" said it would. There were at least 20-25 questions per exam that were not in the book at all... and to let you know, it takes only 25 questions to miss to fail the exam.

The book was a bit disorganized in the new security chapter, and while the rest of the book was organized pretty well... covering only 75% isn't a "Complete Study Guide" and unfortunately is worthy of only two stars.

Let me start off with just one word: Wow. When I was going through my training for A+, I would've loved to have had this book for studying. While I have not read the book cover-to-cover, I have gone through a lot of it and actually found myself being sucked in and reading more and more of it. Throw in the changes for the new A+ exam and I was blown away. The format of the book really works for someone getting a foot in the IT door by taking the A+ exam. Not only that, but as it stands now with the current trends, this (currently) very up-to-date tome is a good standby reference tool.

Having been only accustomed with the Mike Meyers universe of A+ study, this book was like walking into a different culture. It begins with my favorite part of the book: the Real World Scenarios. Often I found myself shuffling through the book looking just for these, some were a bit lacking but for the most part I found them to be relevant, insightful and in a lot of ways bringing the classroom to the reader. A great part of having any type of teacher is how they are able to impart to the student contextual knowledge, thereby putting everything in perspective. I think the Real World Scenario does a great job of accomplishing this. This also helps out in something friends and I have discussed that I happened to notice in the book.

A part that's almost worth the price of admission is the introduction, all in all, it's a mini study guide. I believe someone could use the intro for some last minute recognition and cramming. I believe this will come in handy for prospective A+ test takers.

As far as the negatives, while I have previously complimented much of the format used throughout, I do have a couple of qualms. For starters, when it comes to the OS-es, I think it would be a tad bit easier if it was separated by chapter. Command-line gets a chapter, 2K gets a chapter and XP gets a chapter. In some ways it seems a bit mashed together. The other les with the exam itself.

Instead of two clearly defined exams: OS and Hardware, there are 4 exams, but you only have to take 2: The "core" exam: Essentials and from there you can choose one of 3 tests. While I could go into more details, just looking at the outline and objectives, they all seem the same but just vary on the amount of customer interaction. It's nice to go the route of Microsoft and others with paths to certification, but it seems like it's more hype than anything else, almost irrelevant. Of course, without having ever taken the test, I can't be entirely sure. We'll just have to wait for the first victims to find out if I'm right or not.

All in all, the format is friendly and inviting. I thought that I would dread going through another A+ book, but I thought the approach was a breath of fresh air. It brings the classroom to the reader. The labs/exercises, scenarios, tips and notes do a marvelous job of getting the point across. I was even impressed by some of the technology covered. The various printers, scanner and media technology got some page time, so while it may, in some cases, give too much information, the book will stand the test of time on a shelf for easy reference.