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Rating: 
Summary: Lord God Almighty probably couldn't answer a third of these
Review: ...but I passed anyway on the first try today :P Some definite errors that had me guessing my own knowledge, and archaic DOS riddles that would confuzzle Von Straub. Many times, this book made me feel about as computer savvy as a newbie in an AOL chat room, but it beat plenty of knowledge into me. Much more than the exam asked for, but it's not all about the cert, is it? I learned as well, which is just as important. Don't let any low scores on the book's tests getcha down - you'll laugh all the way to the bank after you take the real thing. A shame the publishers couldn't hire proofreaders (I've seen hyperactive monkeys write more coherent prose)...the worst part is that I paid full price for this! I'll buy the next one here, and read the reviews before I get it. But the end result is the one that counts, and passing on the first go made me feel good about the prep this book gave me, since most of my tech friends told me it took them a couple of time (or more - ouch!) to pass. Now, onto the MCSE.......
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, just disappointing
Review: According to the publishers of this book, they had hoped to publish a cheaper, more efficient guide to the A+ exams, but I think that they cut out too much, and slapped too many things together haphazardly.Each section contains at best a couple REALLY brief pages about a certain topic (say EIDE for example), and then suddenly throw some questions at you that are often unclear, and have an odd structure to them (not to mention typos and errors that other reviewers have pointed out). I definitely doubt that the real questions on the A+ exam are this tough or have this sort of format because people would surely revolt. The worst gripe of all was the supposed "free test exam software" that you can download from their website. Its very difficult to find, and not that helpful since its always the same few questions. I did have to give this book 3 stars because it did accomplish its aim of being a "cram for the test" style book. If you need to just read the differences between different Pentium processors, for example, then this book will still help you. However, don't rely too much on the questions, they are just not worth it. If you have time to thoroughly study for the A+ exam, consider looking for another book, but if you need a quick review, then go ahead and pick up this book, but look elsewhere for self-testing resources.
Rating: 
Summary: Took to long to read, some errors
Review: I found that it took too long to read the qeations and found some errors also. I guess that means know a little to spot errors.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Like The Test At All!
Review: I was hesitant when I purchased this book but not having worked in the IT industry before, I wanted to get as much help as possible. The questions in the 2nd edition could be insightful and helpful to some folks, but this book did nothing but frustrate me. After a few months of studying other books and material from several web sites, I was seeing material in this book for the first time. And guess what! That material was not on the exam! Save your money and stick with the A+ For Dummies and Mr. Meyer's A+ Certification books.
Rating:
Summary: Not a very impressive effort
Review: On the plus side, there are 1,052 questions in the text. They're also harder then the actual A+ exam questions, in that they use the 'choose all that apply' multiple choice format. You really need to know your stuff to do well on these questions. On the minus side, the answers are often plain flat Wrong! And this is compounded by explanations that have obviously been dreamt up on the spot by the authors, who apparently would prefer to resort to BS and bafflegab then pause to look up the correct answer. An example: the questions insist that the location of an IDE drive on the cable is crucial to determining whether or not a drive is a slave or master, while the master/slave/carrier select pins are not important. In fact, the M/S/CS pins are all important, and the location of the hard drive on an IDE cable has no bearing on whether its a master or slave. (Only floppies are arranged in this manner). Another example: the book insists that SRAM (static ram) uses less power then DRAM (dynamic ram), because SRAM contains 6 capacitors which need to be charged much less frequently. In fact, SRAM contains 6 transistors, and NO capacitors. Although horribly expensive, it is unbelievably fast, which is why SRAM is used in L1 and L2 caching. That is the primary advantage of SRAM. Yet, the book would have you believe that the primary use for SRAM is in low power applications. These were only two examples, drawn from the first 72. I expect that there are many more. Nonetheless, you CAN profit from this book. The way to do it is answer all the questions. When the book agrees with you, you're right; when you don't know the answer to a question, well, you've targetted an area you need to study more thoroughly; and when the book disagrees with you, check your sources, make sure you're right, and curse those authors and publishers who allow such misleading material to reach the trusting public. Under NO circumstances should you use this book as a study guide; under NO circumstances should you trust these answers. For a spectacular study guide to PCs in general, check out Muellers' "Guide to PC maintenance and repair", 11th edition. This 1600+ page book is staggeringly great, and a solid testament to the fact that it is possible to write a really, really good book on computers. Had the authors of"A+ Certification Test Yourself Practice Exams" read the Mueller text, their own book would have been vastly improved. Charlie Worton, MCP, MCP+I, MCSE
Rating:
Summary: Not a very impressive effort
Review: On the plus side, there are 1,052 questions in the text. They're also harder then the actual A+ exam questions, in that they use the 'choose all that apply' multiple choice format. You really need to know your stuff to do well on these questions. On the minus side, the answers are often plain flat Wrong! And this is compounded by explanations that have obviously been dreamt up on the spot by the authors, who apparently would prefer to resort to BS and bafflegab then pause to look up the correct answer. An example: the questions insist that the location of an IDE drive on the cable is crucial to determining whether or not a drive is a slave or master, while the master/slave/carrier select pins are not important. In fact, the M/S/CS pins are all important, and the location of the hard drive on an IDE cable has no bearing on whether its a master or slave. (Only floppies are arranged in this manner). Another example: the book insists that SRAM (static ram) uses less power then DRAM (dynamic ram), because SRAM contains 6 capacitors which need to be charged much less frequently. In fact, SRAM contains 6 transistors, and NO capacitors. Although horribly expensive, it is unbelievably fast, which is why SRAM is used in L1 and L2 caching. That is the primary advantage of SRAM. Yet, the book would have you believe that the primary use for SRAM is in low power applications. These were only two examples, drawn from the first 72. I expect that there are many more. Nonetheless, you CAN profit from this book. The way to do it is answer all the questions. When the book agrees with you, you're right; when you don't know the answer to a question, well, you've targetted an area you need to study more thoroughly; and when the book disagrees with you, check your sources, make sure you're right, and curse those authors and publishers who allow such misleading material to reach the trusting public. Under NO circumstances should you use this book as a study guide; under NO circumstances should you trust these answers. For a spectacular study guide to PCs in general, check out Muellers' "Guide to PC maintenance and repair", 11th edition. This 1600+ page book is staggeringly great, and a solid testament to the fact that it is possible to write a really, really good book on computers. Had the authors of"A+ Certification Test Yourself Practice Exams" read the Mueller text, their own book would have been vastly improved. Charlie Worton, MCP, MCP+I, MCSE
Rating:
Summary: Obsolete ? 1998 Edition
Review: This book is a mediocre test prep book churned out for the 1998 test objectives. Since then, the A+ exams have been revamped and rewritten several times over. As of July CompTIA is dumping the adaptive exam structure in favor of linear testing. Given the changes, and the new technology coming down this year (PCI express, Serial ATA, Serial SCSI, etc), I wouldn't recommend this book as a primary study aid.
Rating:
Summary: Obsolete ¿ 1998 Edition
Review: This book is a mediocre test prep book churned out for the 1998 test objectives. Since then, the A+ exams have been revamped and rewritten several times over. As of July CompTIA is dumping the adaptive exam structure in favor of linear testing. Given the changes, and the new technology coming down this year (PCI express, Serial ATA, Serial SCSI, etc), I wouldn't recommend this book as a primary study aid.
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre
Review: This book is inticulate and has easy to understand questions.The use of this book has shone a light on the easy ways to pass the A+ examination I highly recommend it to other students
Rating: 
Summary: BIG HELP!
Review: To put it simply: if you no nothing...and want to get a quick certification, dont get this, BUT, if you have experience and at least already know what an IRQ is, GET THIS BOOK! You will pass.
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