This book is all you will need to pass the A+ exams (2007 editions). If you are looking for a quick, bare bones, "here's what you need to pass" book, this is not it. You're better off with a FastPass book if that's what you're looking for (although I wouldn't recommend it). If you want an all inclusive explanation of concepts and theories along with detailed background information on the hardware and software covered, then this is the book for you! 984 pages is a little intimidating at first but because the first 11 chapters cover the essentials and the last 6 cover the electives, a lot of the info is redundant. Repetition is not necessarily a bad thing since the ideas will be drilled into your head, but you can also skip over large sections if you feel like you already know it. Not only will you be better prepared to pass with this book than with a FastPass but you'll have a handy reference to refer to on the job as well.

My only caution is that the CD-ROM test engine is corrupt. It's not a big deal though because the publishers are aware of the problem and have provided a corrected version that can be downloaded for free from the Wiley & Sons technical support website. I just googled the problem to find the link but the web address is also in the ReadMe .txt file on the CD. Overall this book is a good buy. Using only this resource to study I passed the Essentials 601 exam with a 730 out of 900 (675 is passing), and passed the IT Tech 602 exam with an 820 out of 900 (700 is passing). I am new to the IT industry and I passed both exams on the first try so this book should be a good guide for anyone. Good luck!

Love the Sybex series. Studied the book to brush up on those subjects I had trouble with on the practice exams, then got my A+.

Don't limit yourself to ONE book, I always use 2 or 3 for a well-rounded learning experience, usually I'll couple Sybex with ExamCram series. This book was thorough in what you needed to know; work the labs, work the practice tests, know your stuff before you go in there. I passed missing one question- but as I said, I tend to use more than one study object. Sybex always does well in their books, however, I rated this 4 stars because of the test questions. While helpful, not exactly close to the real thing once I got in there.

I bought this already having some knowledge of PC's, but this book really gives you a good foundation then goes into every detail about PC hardware and software. Great book to use and combine with practice tests. Passed with my first attempt.

I would say the book is good but I would not bother spending the extra money on the deluxe edition. The videos are completely useless, it's only the most basic stuff. From my perspective, the videos are for someone that knows nothing about computers and if a person really doesn't know this stuff then they should spend some time cracking open some computers (which is the only way you are really going to learn) and pick up a more basic book to start out.

I find this to be a good reference for the A+ exams. One error... Centronics was never a subdivision of Wang? Not sure where that came from.

This book is a great read; it is very informative and the CD's included are a big help. It teaches a lot to experienced and unexperienced, all you need it a will to learn. I would recommend this book to anyone aiming to take their A+ exam, as it will definitely help them pass.

So fur I like the the book. It has some nice features and enough resources to prep the cert exams.

I bought this book to make sure that I knew what I needed to pass the A+ certification test, even though I know most of the material. But there are a few errors that I came across in just the first few chapters, specifically in the Chapter Review questions. For one example, there is a review question for Chapter 2 that reads:

19. Every computer has a diagnostic program built into its BIOS called the __________.

A. CMOS
B. BIOS
C. POST
D. DNS

The answer is definitely C, ACCORDING TO THE LETTERS GIVEN, but the answer to this problem given is:

"B. Every computer has a diagnostic program built into its BIOS called the power-on self-test (POST)."

In my opinion, the correct answer should be C, and when I used the electronic test engine that came on the CD (which does work), it came up wrong when I put C with the same annotation.

So I would recommend this book to somebody on the condition that they were on their toes when they read it. I hope that they do a better job further down the line in the book with keeping the errors to a minimum.

I used only this book and Thompson Course Technology CompTIA A+ 2006 Q&A book to study for the A+ certification exams. I did not attend any classes or use any other study materials. I passed both the 220-601 Essentials exam and 220-602 IT Technician exam on the first try with a score of 840 on each.

The CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide is quite comprehensive in my opinion. It covers many topics and will make a good reference book now that my study is finished. Each chapter includes a 20 question practice test (also included on the CD) over the material in that chapter. The included CD has three 60-question practice tests for each of the A+ exams. I worked every practice test until I could do them without making mistakes. The Thompson A+ 2006 Q&A book provided several hundred more practice test questions and was a good supplement to the Docter book as it forced me to go back and re-read some sections in order to answer the additional questions.

The CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide does have a few problems. I found a number of typos and some of the answers to practice test questions are wrong (although I guess if you can tell the answer is wrong you are learning the material.) Also, I had trouble getting the practice test engine on the CD to run. Had to go to the CD publisher's web site (Wiley) to download an updated test engine.

Overall, I am satisfied with this book and accompanying software. It got me up-to-speed on the material that is tested on the A+ exams. Given the cost of some A+ training products and classes, the book is a bargain.

I used only this book and Thompson Course Technology CompTIA A+ 2006 Q&A book to study for the A+ certification exams. I did not attend any classes or use any other study materials. I passed both the 220-601 Essentials exam and 220-602 IT Technician exam on the first try with a score of 840 on each.

The CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide is quite comprehensive in my opinion. It covers many topics and will make a good reference book now that my study is finished. Each chapter includes a 20 question practice test (also included on the CD) over the material in that chapter. The included CD has three 60-question practice tests for each of the A+ exams. I worked every practice test until I could do them without making mistakes. The Thompson A+ 2006 Q&A book provided several hundred more practice test questions and was a good suppliment to the Docter book as it forced me to go back and re-read some sections in order to answer the additional questions.

The CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide does have a few problems. I found a number of typos and some of the answers to practice test questions are wrong (although I guess if you can tell the answer is wrong you are learning the material.) Also, I had trouble getting the practice test engine on the CD to run. Had to go to the CD publisher's web site [...]

Overall, I am satisfied with this book and accompanying software. It got me up-to-speed on the material that is tested on the A+ exams and given the cost of some A+ training classes, it is a bargain.

I've just barely begun to get into this book but from what I've seen I believe it will be an excellent source of information on the A+ exam. The disks that are included work just fine for me, no problems at all with running them. Perhaps the people having such trouble and ranting and raving about them not working should maybe make another career choice. Goodness, if you can't get a simple disk to run I sure wouldn't want you working on my computer!
This book will be the backbone of my studies, I believe that several sources are needed in order to get an all around idea of what the A+ wants you to know.
All in all I'm very happy with my purchase and can honestly recommend it to others.

There are two versions of this book: the regular edition and the "Deluxe" edition. The primary difference is that the Deluxe has additional content on two CDs, one of which contains the self tests. The problem is, the test engine is (by the publisher's own admission) defective. I downloaded the "fixed" test engine from their site, which meant that I could have saved $20 by buying the regular edition and doing the same thing. Even worse, the answers in the "fixed" test engine frequently contradicted the book! With no way of knowing which was correct, I had to get a different study guide and start studying it from square one. Just get a different book like Exam Cram's so you don't spend twice as much time and money.

The book got here in a timely manner. It is Brand New and much more inexpensive than i would find it in Barnes and noble. This was my first buy and I am really satisfied. :)

I bought this book with the intentions of learning how to pass the A+ exam. When i got it, i was really surprised how thick it was. At 800+ pages, it looks a little daunting. After picking the book up and reading it, i was pleasantly surprised. The book flows very well and is an easy read. I already know most of it, but i can see it being easy for a beginner to pick up. As far as the CD, i didn't have any problems at all with the test engine, and the E-book is a nice addition. At around 100mb, you can throw the Ebook on a thumbdrive and take it to work with you and keep reading there.

Very interesting book, it gives in depth details specifing everything clearly. Can' semm to put the book down.....All in all best computer book I have read so far...

Despite several contacts with the publisher, I couldn't get the test engine to work. And to add icing on the cake it corrupted some of the software on my computer. If you try this product be sure that if you don't backup your drive, then at least set a restore point. Good Luck

I received my copy on Jan. 20, 2007 from Amazon, it has a 2007 copyright date. I tried all functions supplied on the CR-ROM. Apparently the problems others had with the SYBEX TEST ENGINE have been successfully resolved! I did not download anything, the TEST questions that I tried all worked fine from the CD supplied. I also tried the SYBEX TEST ENGINE DEMO for another Series, Microsoft DBA in this case, & the test qs worked fine also. I also was able to view the book text using Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Electronic Book option & use the Flash Cards from the CD. I tried downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader from the CD & had problem but I already had the Reader installed, I just wanted to see if version 7.0.9 was included, I had problem loading 7.0.9 previously from Internet so this may not be a problem with CD process. My system was built in 1999, 500MH with 256MB RAM, running Windows XP Pro, so people with newer systems should be fine. Book appears to be well-written & organized. I also have "HP IT Essentials I" copyright 2005 by Cisco Press to compare it to, we're using it as text in college course to prepare for A+ exam. The "CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide" appears to be better book, but Cisco book may have been updated & CORRECTED, I hope, we've found many errors in it as we used it in a previous course. Maybe I can pass the A+ exam with both guides!

It's a big book, with plenty of information and not hard to read.

The test engine CD rom doesn't work at all ... i sent an E-mail to the company and they never answer me :( i'll never buy any other course from SYBEX again.

Like many workplace professionals I have long harbored the desire to obtain accreditation and certification in many of the Microsoft and A+ fields. A friend of mine slipped me the CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide shortly before the holidays with little more than a wink and a nod. As many of you can empathize with, my holiday season was filled with many hours of road and plane trips visiting various familial groups. Frankly if it weren't for said monotonous travel times I probably would have never picked up the book. Its one thing to say you want to prepare for an exam and another to pick up the 800+ page study guide. Several hours into my read, I was glad I did.

While I may be a newcomer to the certification field, I'm by no means a layman to computer-related study and preparatory guides. I have spent many an hour at the local mega book store perusing the offerings of the major companies and have, almost universally, found them to be sloppily and spasmodically written and filled with superfluous information that was more in line with A+ theory than A+ application. Not so with this guide, the authors say it best themselves "This book was written with one goal in mind: to prepare you for the challenges of the real IT world, not just pass the A+ exams."

They weren't kidding. I learned, not only how to pass the exam but application of the exam's knowledge in a common-sense fashion. Everything in the guide is streamlined information delivery, always prefaced with easily understood `Real-World Scenarios' and memory aiding `Hands-On-Exercises'. The CD, which I initially had a little trouble running, is packed with close to an hour and a half of instructional video so not only could I read about tasks but seem them performed real time. The combination of these features didn't just `bring the class-room to the reader' as so many study guides claim but it brought me into the guide. It didn't just feel like I was studying it, the videos, combined with a little exploratory action in my own old pc, made it feel like I was actually doing it.

You will learn with CompTIA's latest A+ Complete Study Guide, I did.

The book and the covered material is wonderful, but there is a problem with the test engine on the CD ROM. The test engine won't open so you can't take any of the exams. Contacting customer service to fix the problem is ridiculous. The support section of the Sybex website sends you to the support section of the publisher's website (Wiley) where you get to read that they have a solution to the problem, but that you must go to the "ask a question" section or the "live chat" section and speak with tech support who will send you a "fix it" file. However, live chat is not compatible with IE7 (which I have) so I had to use the "ask a question" section and provide a lot of personal information. Since it was a weekend my question will be answered the next business day. I patiently await a response. It's still one of the only study guides for the 2006 objectives recommended by CompTIA.

As noted by some readers here, there were indeed problems with one of the CDs that accompanied this book. The problem was traced to a compilation error that affected users of the latest version of Flash. The problem has now been fixed, and the corrected software is available for download from the errata link on the book's main page on the Sybex web site. The correct CD will also be included in subsequent reprints. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our customers.

Neil Edde
Vice President & Publisher
Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley

I purchased this book to be able to take the A+ '06 exams. Once I read the book, I looked forward to taking the CD's exam questions to catch my weak area's. Unfortunately, the exam questions wouldn't come up when I clicked on the link.
I went to the books website, only to find that it's a known issue, and is currently being worked on. No anticipated patch date. Nothing as of 11/27/2006.

Buyer beware.