PC Hardware and A+ Handbook (Pro - Admin. PC)

Rating:
Summary: Careful, looks good, but....
Review: ...But this book may not live up to the product descriptions claim that it will "-and even prepare for the CompTIA A+ certification exam! ".

No, I have not purchased this book. I am a student in pursuit of A+ certification and am researching texts to accomplish that goal. I know that the A+ cert requires two tests for completion, Core Hardware and OS Technologies and currently sets the objectives at 2003 standards and that now the test designations are 220-301 & -302. The 2004 publiction date is a good sign that it meets the new requirements. Upon examining the "Inside this Book" section and a careful study of the Table of Contents for this book I noticed that it covers Core Hardware well, but has only one 50 page section on OS's. Careful, my understanding so far indicates that the OS exam is just as detailed as the Core exam if not more so and those 50 slim pages on the subject probably are not enough for that aspect of the cert exam. Notice the title.. "PC Hardware and A+ Handbook".

The product description could be more accurate by probably saying "-and even prepare for the CompTIA A+ -CORE HARDWARE- certification exam! ".

Also examining the T of C showed that it is extensive on the Hardware side, but many subject matters are treated in just one or two pages, so depth in the topic matter may be lacking in relation to preparing for the test. All supposition on my part, as again I have not read the book.

It is not my intent here to "Rake" the book as bad. As a matter of fact I'm interested in some of the topic matters outlined in the T of C and the books specific chapters, such as Ch. 2 OS's info looks intriguing and Ch. 3's insights on a "Toolkit". As well as others.

But even though I am a knowledge junkie and enjoy Oh! thats where that came from mysteries, my ultimate goal here is to have a book which will accomplish my objective. Educate me upon the subject matter I will be required and expected to know for COMPTIA's exam questions. If the book does that then it will also train me to be a fine PC Technician because COMPTIAS exam objectives and questions are tailored toward troubleshooting and resolving daily in house PC physical problems and OS glitches.

Yet, here's the rub! MOST training textbooks do a wonderful job of compiling facts and history about Hardware or OS specifications and how all of the standards and engineering come come together to make lets say a hard drive, but then fail to make the connection to the the real world of how to implement those facts about HD's into practicle skills and knowledge of the common malfunctions of the HD itself when one or more of those specs or standards stops functioning.

Comptia wants you to know that when you have a "data error reading on drive C:" that that problem indicates you've got bad sectors on the hard drive, (actually clusters of verticle sectors on the cylinders of tracks on the platters of the HD) and that you would use ScanDisk to scan for them and have that "Utility" software do its magic in fixing the formatting error or physically damaged area of the HD if possible and/or marking them as bad. The textbooks usually just explain what a cluster of a HD is and how to determine what clusters are (if your book is so thurough) and then somewhere else in the text it talks about utility software, such as scandisk, that are included in the OS's system software, but never links the two in a practicle way to resolve an error code or typical result of the error condition. I'm affraid thats exactly whats in store with this text and would have to purchase something else to accomplish my goal. Wasting time and money.

Thats what I've come to know in this Certification game that is being played out. I am deeply appreciative of all those who have taken the time to post reviews because, through them, I've been able to piece together some common pitfalls between textbooks and what Comptia tests on. I've learned what I need in the way of prep material and what generally to expect on the exam. That I need both facts and some history, but be keenly aware that the book must link that knowledge to practicle TROUBLESHOOTING and problem resolutions which ultimately leads to passing the Comptia exams and trains me to be the answer guru for my customers.

You are going to shell out money for an education no matter what. Don't let marketing get in between you and your pocketbook and the goal. Most of all know what is required to obtain the goal and look for books and prep material that fulfills those requirements. Remember, tech certification info is perishable over time. Test objectives, hardware and software change with time requiring constant upgrading in the texts themselves. Be publication date aware in relation to your certs current requirments.

Heres my path. Comptias web site. Get the objectives and read all their site info on certification. Take the time to read the A+ book reviews posted on amazon by individuals, lots and lots of them on different texts. Get a feel for their disappointments and successes and their pointers. Go to about.com and review the a+ section info. Brave it out and buy at least one textbook and make sure it comes with practice exams and questions. It probably isn't going to be "the be all and end all" book to your certification, but it's the start. My research has narrowed down my choices to:

The A+ Certification and PC Repair Handbook (Networking Series) by Christopher A. Crayton ,

A+ Training Guide, Fifth Edition by Charles J. Brooks,

A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide (5th ed.) by Michael Meyers, Scott Jernigan

These are the tomes, 800 plus page reference manuals. Your going to need at least one tome. They are listed in my order of preference.

The A+ Exams Guide: (Exam 220-301), (Exam 220-302) by Christopher A. Crayton;

Practice tests and questions are essential. This is my choice (probably Chris's book tome as well). These are what will make or break your abilities to link tome knowledge and troubleshooting competentcy in passing the exam. They force you to learn to link the facts and practicle skills implementation. It's just the way its done in certs. I'll have to say I have a personal bias against Exam Cram books and practice ?'s.

I hope this helps. I'll post a review about the texts I buy out of the above list and give my apprasial as to there worth when I get through them and something concerning the testing process as well.





Rating:
Summary: Enough of a book to go into detail.
Review: Most of the books you find on PC hardware are so simple that they really don't provide you with the information you are seeking. Finally this book has come out with sufficient detail that it will indeed help you find problems with your computer, tell you what features to look for in your next one, or provide the background to understand the older system that you may be working on.

This is a full sized - 656 page - computer book that is quite up to date. It is quite up to date, including information on things like the new Serial ATA disk drives and the AMD Opteron that is changing Intel's thoughts on how to do their next CPU's.

The book is intended to help with installing, upgrading, fine-tuning and troubleshooting your PC. It also provide a bit of information to help pass the CompTIA A+ certification. Notice I said a bit of information, this is not a cram guide to the test. This book presumes that you really want to know how the PC hardware works, is configured, or what to do if it doesn't.