I, like so many others, was required to have this book for two of my classes. While it is a very informative, useful book, it is not very well-organized and is very boring. The videos on the CD that comes with it is very helpful to understand a lot of the hands-on stuff. Many of the "Reviewing the Basics" questions at the end of the chapter cover a lot of pointless things that are not necessary to know, and there are always anywhere from 1 - 5 questions that I just absolutely cannot find the answers to. There have also been many things that a few of my PC tech teachers have found in the book that they would like to debate with the author about. Overall, it's still a good book, but you need a LOT of time and a LOT of patience, and you can't be the type that gets bored too easily with reading, to be able to successfully read this book. The only exception to these rules is if you are required by your teacher to have this book for class. :P

I, like so many others, was required to have this book for two of my classes. While it is a very informative, useful book, it is not very well-organized and is very boring. The videos on the CD that comes with it is very helpful to understand a lot of the hands-on stuff. Many of the "Reviewing the Basics" questions at the end of the chapter cover a lot of pointless things that are not necessary to know, and there are always anywhere from 1 - 5 questions that I just absolutely cannot find the answers to. There have also been many things that a few of my PC tech teachers have found in the book that they would like to debate with the author about. Overall, it's still a good book, but you need a LOT of time and a LOT of patience, and you can't be the type that gets bored too easily with reading, to be able to successfully read this book. The only exception to these rules is if you are required by your teacher to have this book for class. :P

The book has 19 chapters and 7 appendixes. Chapters cover introduction to computer software, hardware, multimedia technology, viruses and as well as networking. In the appendixes you will find about ASCII Character Set, ANSI.SYS, The Hexadecimal number system and etc. Briefly this book is really handy one and written about mostly hardware components. When you read you will see it by yourself how handy it is. So i would say if you need basic computer reference then buy the book. Good Luck.

The book has 19 chapters and 7 appendixes. Chapters cover introduction to computer software, hardware, multimedia technology, viruses and as well as networking. In the appendixes you will find about ASCII Character Set, ANSI.SYS, The Hexadecimal number system and etc. Briefly this book is really handy one and written about mostly hardware components. When you read you will see it by yourself how handy it is. So i would say if you need basic computer reference then buy the book. Good Luck.

COMPTIA has started to update the A+ Exam and the new exam will be out in the first quarter of 2001. Having a book that gives you the newest objectives is certainly a plus and Jean Andrews has delivered the first book I have seen to cover the newest set of objectives.

The 1200 page book can be used as a self-study manual or in a classroom setting. Starting off with computer concepts and how software and hardware works gives the technician a great base to build on.

Andrews then covers the topics of system boards, memory, storage devices and troubleshooting the hardware side. This covers about 40% of the book. Andrews makes sure that the laser printer process and laptops get the needed coverage devoting chapters to each topic.

The networking sections are excellent and each area is covered with enough information to make sure that you can pass the exam. The software topics of Windows 9.X, NT and 2000 Professional are also given their due with excellent attention to detail.

With tables, figures, diagrams, review question, key terms, hands-on projects you have every objective covered and the best chance of getting a leg up on the rest of the IT community. The cd-rom included has a 120-day eval of Nuts and Bolts and a discount voucher is also included.

Again, Jean Andrews is leading the pack in making sure that future technicians are given every opportunity to climb the IT ladder. About the only thing left out is the software practice test, but overall this is an excellent place to start.

This book is full of redundant sentences. If it wasn't for all the poor writing and organization, it would be about 15 pages long. I have considered burning this book on the writers front door step! Or just boinking her on the head with it. Please buy any other book except this one. I suggest A+ Cert guide by Michael Myers, It rocks.

Ms.MaddP

I have used "A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC : Comprehensive" to study for A+ certification, to teach from as a textbook, and to develop a course using it as the text. It has strengths and weaknesses.

The main strength is the ease for which information is accessed.

By showing the A+ Exam objectives in the front matter and referencing each objective to specific pages as well as referencing the text in the margins, it makes it simple to study each objective individually.

The weaknesses become apparent when you try to use it as a study text for the A+ Certification Exam.

Though the exam objectives are referenced and noted on each page, the information is widely dispersed throughout the book. It becomes difficult trying to study while paging through the book to find related information. The A+ Certification Exam is divided into a "Core" exam and a "DOS/Windows" exam. "A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC : Comprehensive" does not use this division.

To study for A+ you need to study from several sources. I would recommend "A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC : Comprehensive" as an adjunct source but not as a main source of study material.

Like many others, I was assigned this book as part of a training course, and didn't expect much out of it. Was I wrong! This book is crammed with detailed information about hardware and the DOS/Windows operating systems. My preparation for the A+ exams included my one-week class, several of the online quizzes available via the Internet, and reading this book cover to cover like a novel.The result? 92% on the hardware section and 93% on the DOS/Windows portion.The author also includes an entire chapter devoted to Windows NT, which will be useful for future versions of the A+ exam. I continue to use this book as a reference tool, and expect to for many years to come.

I bought Mike Myer's A+ book because I thought the book the school was assigning (this one) would stink. To my surprise it was fantasitc. I would say it is as packed with information as the other one I got.

It has features that "A+ Certification Exam Guide" doesn't, like a glossary of terms and summary after every chapter. But it also has extremely weak questions. Sometimes the questions even appear at the end of the chapter before the content is actually covered.

Overall it's a good book but not enough to pass with, especially with the exam changing. I used this book, Mike Myers' book and poured over every net based study site I could find. The final result was 95% Core, 87% DOS/Windows

I have looked at 20 other books for the A+ exam. This book takes you from being able to click on icons to knowing " what's in the box". After studying this book, you will be able to pass the A+ exam and do ANYTHING with your PC that you want to.