A+ Complete Study Guide, Deluxe Edition

First, the good news: the folks who wrote this book know what they're talking about, and can write rings around most of the other certification writers. Many certification books are written as if you're a Thanksgiving turkey waiting to be stuffed with a miscellany of acronyms and computer facts, whereas the A+ Complete Study Guide actually takes the time to explain things from a repairperson's perspective, giving tips and hints along the way. The book is peppered with real-life examples, reminders of good practices, and history that will help you to understand why things are the way they are today. (They often don't make much sense anymore, but there was a reason for that way back then.) If you're looking for a friendly teacher, this will do nicely.

The end of each chapter is punctuated with a summary and 20 multiple-choice questions, all of which are pretty close to what you'll find on the exam. The explanations given for the answers are terse and don't necessarily tell you why the other answers are wrong, but they suffice.

The book takes some shortcuts along the way, however, and has some odd focuses. The idea is to prepare you for what you'll find in the field, and it frankly admits that practically no one is going to work with DOS commands or 80286 processors anymore. As such, it barely mentions DOS at all, giving a brief list of commands and some quick takes on memory management, and gives Windows 3.1 only a side note, not even bothering to provide pictures. However, there is a staggeringly large section on Windows 95/98 installation. Admittedly, DOS and Windows 3.1 questions are very few and far between on the most recent round of A+ exams, but all it takes is two or three surprise questions to shoot a big hole through your score. Fortunately, the section on the more recent (and more often tested) Windows 95 section is very thorough and should prepare you without a hitch.

Unfortunately, although the field preparation is a good idea, it leaves off mentioning some major technologies. The A+ Complete Study Guide barely mentions that it is possible to burn a CD-ROM in your own home, and doesn't even touch on video accelerators. Although it's tough to keep up with the ever-changing world of hardware, it would have been nice to have some newer technology.

Still, in the end this book means well, and it will serve you in your quest for an A+ certification, as it has for thousands of others. If you can overlook some minor flaws that (probably) won't get in the way of your passing, this book comes highly recommended. --William Steinmetz

Product Description
-Complete A+ courseware in a single volume! This Deluxe Edition covers both the Core Hardware and Operating System Technologies exams, covering all exam objectives in depth. -Includes over 1,000 review questions in the book and on the CD! -The bonus CD includes twenty video segments of key hands-on procedures. The standard companion CD contains an advanced testing engine with adaptive testing capabilities, electronic flashcards for PCs and Palm devices, and the complete book in PDF format.

As for the exams, gone are the questions from the old tests, like customer service, DOS, and Windows 3.1 and 95 questions. New material on tests include Windows 98, NT4, and 2000 Professional.

Groth's book is one of the first new version books to hit the market. Worthwhile subjects for study consideration are: installation and upgrading operating systems(v95 to v98,vNT4 workstation to v2000 Professional), diagnosing and troubleshooting of operating systems errors and peripheral difficulties and the makeup of the two newly named exams (the Core Hardware Exam and the Operating System Technologies Exam).

Buy this book and pass 2001 objectives, the first time through!


Groth does it again!   February 20, 2001
Michael J Woznicki (Holland, MA USA)
40 out of 43 found this review helpful

A+ has come out with new exams and keeping up with the changes requires you to have the best possible reference material at your fingertips. David Groth has once again taken the opportunity to make sure that the newest A+ Exams are covered and covered completely.

Groth has updated his already successful book to meet or exceed every exam objective. He also included an objectives quick reference card right in the front the book. Groth's expertise is very evident in this book and this book should be very helpful for a great number of people.

In part 1 of the book, which covers the first 10 chapters, the Core hardware objectives are tackled. Topics like system boards, memory, storage, pc memory, disk system architecture, bus architecture, peripherals, printing, networking foundations and troubleshooting are given complete and detailed coverage.

In part 2, the Operating Systems Technologies, you are exposed to the OSI model, Windows 9.X, NT, 2000 professional, network software, applications support and operating system troubleshooting. Groth makes sure that the book is more than the usual A+ manual, far more.

The book includes review questions at the end of each chapter. Also included is the CD-rom with chapter tests, random testing, an e-book, flash cards and 4 bonus exams. As with other books written by David Groth you get more than you expect and this book is a definitive rival to all others out there.


This book is a great place to start your studies   September 26, 1999
23 out of 23 found this review helpful

I found this book to be very well laid out for beginners and advanced techs alike. It was easy to read and understand and did a great job of keeping the information in your head (the chapter quizes and study CD were a great tool). I am now A+ Certified and scored a 95 on the Core and an 89 on the DOS/Windows on the first try and I would not have done it without this book! The book led me from knowing nothing but the basics to a solid fundamental knowledge of all exam objectives. The Core Part covers virtually everything the exam can test you on and the DOS/Windows part does a good job of prepping you for the basics but on the exam you had better know Dos,Win3.x and Windows 95 via experience or you may have a hard time with the test. I highly recommend this as your first study platform then using A+ Exam Cram to polish your knowledge before taking the tests! Good Luck! If I can do it so can you!!


Make this your primary study guide   March 12, 2001
Raymond Alstrom (Victoria, TX)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

Among the finalists for best A+ study guides are: "A+ Complete Study Guide" by David Groth and "A+ All-In-One Certification Exam Guide" by Michael D. Meyers. Both books are very good, but A+ Complete Study Guide - Second Edition comes out the winner as far as I'm concerned. David Groth presents a thorough guide, logically laid-out with clear and concise synopsis of each objective. In my opinion, no one book can be all things to everyone, but this book comes closest.

Face it, there is a lot of material to cover and comprehend to prepare you for CompTIA's A+ Certification Exam. David Groth not only gives you more than enough information to enable you to pass the exam, but also a thorough basic understanding of what CompTIA expects you to know. The book contains advice for studying, pointing out that you should take the pretest at the beginning of each section, and pay attention to those areas where you appear weak.

This is one of the most up-to-date books dealing with A+ certification, including sections on the newest Windows 2000 operating system. The book tries to parallel the newest CompTIA exam, de-emphasizing DOS and Windows 3.1 and beefing-up Windows 95, 98 & 2000.

You can buy this book confidently knowing that if you study it thoroughly you won't have a problem with the CompTIA A+ exam.


Hats off to the latest and best effort from David Groth.   December 10, 2001
Michael J Woznicki (Holland, MA USA)
22 out of 26 found this review helpful

The 2nd Edition of the A+ Complete Study Guide was an excellent reference for the A+ exams. David Groth is highly respected in the field and his books are without exception some of the best material to found. So it is true with the latest A+ Study Guide the Deluxe Edition.

In over 900 pages page Groth with have you looking at every exam objective and more. With Part 1 focusing on the hardware exam from buses, BIOS, CMOS, memory, power supplies, mice, ISA, MCA, USB, AGP, video, audio, portable, printers, networking and troubleshooting. This section covers far more than the exam requires and is an excellent source of information for every technician certified or not.

In part 2 the Operating Systems Technologies exam is taken apart working with DOS, Windows 9.X, NT work station, 2000 Professional. As with the hardware exam Groth extends the coverage to include Linux and the MAC and also networking and troubleshooting.

Although Windows 3.X is left out there is more information than the exam requires which has become a trademark of the David Groth over the years. Included in the book comes 2 cd, one of the cd has over 20 videos and hands on exercises that coincide with the book.

The other cd has practice question and coupled with the ones in the book you'll have 1,000 questions to work with. Again Groth goes beyond the call of duty and included 6 bonus exams and allows you to download information to a palm device. Overall this is one of the very best sources of information for the exam on the market today.