Rating: 
Summary: A+ Certification, real cheap!
Review: You don't have to spend thousands to become A+ Certified. In fact, you've just stumbled on one of certifications best kept secrets, Mike Myers "A+ Certification." PC guru Mike Myers has a nack for simplicication. He is one of the few technical writers who must have actually taken English in school. His insight and wit makes for easy, understandable reading without overwhelming the reader. His seasoned writing style keeps "Techno-babble" to a minimum while keeping substantive. The many pictures and photos keep the reading synchronized and easy to follow.Most importantly, the book contains 2 CD-ROMs that give mock A+ tests and a reference. Since this book covers both A+ tests (Hardware/Software & DOS/Windows), the reader can resource any specific information the CD-ROMs without the book. This makes the book very convenient! The only question Mike Myers' book leaves you with is what to do with all the money you saved by NOT going to an expensive tech school? I suggest buying Mike Myers A+ Certification for anyone inspired to become A+. This book works!
Rating:
Summary: If you buy just one book for A+ study, let this one be it!
Review: This book is the best of breed for successful prep to pass the A+ Core and DOS/Win modules. The study guide in the front of the book giving numbers of hours to study in order to pass is very 'real world'. I studied a total of 103 hours and passed the Core Module with a 93 and the DOS/Win with an 89. The DOS/Win score would have been better had I studied the book's chapter on Networking a little more. It's all there in the book. If you want to really ace the tests, purchase the additional 550 practice exam questions on the accompanying CD. The book not only helps a learner pass the A+ tests, it really provides the preparation to become a real, live PC technician...
Rating: 
Summary: Solid book for learning the PC, not perfect for A+ study
Review: This book, overall is good and effective. It does a good job of teaching the concepts behind the facts, which makes them easier to learn, and allows you to make better practical use of your knowledge, however, the book is not perfect for the A+ certification exams. Using this book, in addition to "braindump" web sites I found, in addition to my personal experiences computing (I have no professional experience, but have done upgrades and such to my PC for many years), I was able to pass the test, scoring 79 percent on the "Core" portion, and 89 on the DOS/Win portion (65 and 66 percent were the scores required to pass, respectively.) My primary complaint with this book is that it goes into much greater detail at points than is really necessary, such as going through painstaking detail of all the settings in the MSDOS.SYS file, and listing all the HP LaserJet error codes. This would be good if Meyers made it clear what would likely be asked on the test, and what wouldn't, allowing the book to serve as a good reference guide for pratical PC troubleshooting, ect., while still functioning well as a study guide. I thoroughly studied this book, using the system recommended by Meyers, and I still didn't do exceptionally well, although I did pass by a fairly comfortable margin. There is a good deal of information that is not in the book, and I think I might have failed, had it not been for the braindump sites that allowed me to focus on the more important issues to study. The accompanying cd rom is fairly good, but shares the same pros and cons as the book: while it has useful shareware tools for actually working on a PC, that doesn't help you pass the test. It doesn't come with very many practice questions, but the questions that came with on the cd seemed fairly close to what is asked on the exam... one annoyance, however, is that you can't view your score unless you have a printer connected to the PC (but you don't have to print your results to view them.) Fairly quirky if you ask me, but better than nothing I suppose. So, in summary, if you are looking to learn the necessary knowledge and skills to become a PC technician, this is a pretty good book to buy, regardless of whether or not you're studying to become A+ certified... however, if you are preparing for the A+ test, I personally wouldn't recommend relying solely on this book. Groth's Exam Cram is supposed to be fairly good. The aforementioned "braindumps" are good as well, but watch out for incorrect answers on those web sites. They are good to finding out what is on the test, but don't put TOO much faith in the answers given.
Rating:
Summary: Best A+ and PC Hardware guide on the market
Review: This is for people who want to understand and use the test material for the actual job. If you just want to memorize for the test I found the Dummies guide short and quicker to the point. I used this book when I wanted to understand what was really going on. I read 3 different books before the Test because I thought it would be harder than it was. Mike's is the only one I still use to refresh how stuff really works. The Network+ Guide sequel is also excellent.
Rating:
Summary: GRRRREEEEAAAATTTTT PC TECH BOOK
Review: Hey, I used this book in my PC Hardware class in college. This book is awsome when it comes to stuff you will need to know in "real life". This is by no means a cram guide however. It is VERY detailed and wordy. This will actually require you to learn not only what you need for the test, but the work bench as well. I would not recommend this for the A+ exam. I would get exam cram for that. However, this would be a great desk reference, albeit, is does get into history and theory a bit. You just have to "learn" how to read it.
Rating:
Summary: It wasn't bad at all
Review: What a recall.... I had so much fun with it, and it was my friend whenever I needed help. Now I gave this book to my dear friend whom I care a lot. I miss this book. It was my first book I bought for my IT certification. I read it again and again and again. Of course I recieved near perfect score on A+ Exam. Very well written book. It is very thick but don't get scared... Lots of pictures and illustrations. If you are on to IT certification and chosen A+ is the first one, this is the book for you. This book will walk you with ease on your exam. Everytime I see this book, I feel like it's a comic book. On my memory... It wasn't bad at all... MCSE, A+, Network+, i-Net+
Rating: 
Summary: Great Reference Book, not a Great Study Guide.
Review: This is a great reference book for any support tech but I would not recomend it as as a study guide for the A+ Certification. Although I haven't seen them, I'm guessing that Exam Cram or Sams Teach Yourself would have a better study guide for certification. I've been A+ certified for almost two years now and will still refer back to this book. It's a great addition to any technical library and would be a great suppliment for any other A+ certification study program.
Rating:
Summary: Overall................Good but not Great
Review: This book covers desktops and peripherals in-depth. While it may be more than you need to know to pass the A+ test, what's wrong with a technician that knows more than is required? It's also the only book I'm aware of that covers configurations in-depth including editing the msdos.sys file. Great reference guide for any technician, even if you've already passed the test.
Rating:
Summary: Informative but "Get the other ALL IN ONE,,,"
Review: This is reference book. But first, you must down load and correct all the Errata. If you have several months to study, then this will help not only with the exam but will increase your knowledge. Otherwise if you are short on time and want to just pass the exam then get a book that gets to the point and does not contain all he extra stuff. Also, this is an outdated book 98. If you must have this then, get the other All in one by the same author ISBN: 0072122668. And let's get this straight, the CompTIA exam format is changing on the 7/28 to adaptive but not the contents. That changes at the end of the year.
Rating: 
Summary: Get new edition...This one is full of errors!
Review: I read this book from cover to cover and passed both tests the first time. I do not think he went into enough detail on what is actually on the test, and too much detail on what is not. If he had only marked the sections that were "optional" material, I would have been able to read it much faster. Also, there were many obvious mistakes in his facts and examples, but maybe his newer version takes care of that. I also used the Cramsession website.
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