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Hi guys,
I'm currently studying for the A+ one night a week at college and with the
All-in-one book. There seem to be quite a lot of discrepancies between
handouts and class work our tutor gives and the book.
For instance, CPU characteristics... there is an awful lot to remember and
although I'm happy to knuckle down and memorise stuff, I wanna memorise the
'right' stuff! In your experience, are Chip, Year, Data Bus Width, Address
Bus Width, Speed, Socket/Pins and L2 Cache all needed and to that point,
how far back in time should I learn ie. before Pentium or just from that
point on?
Is it best to go with the Mike Meyers *bible*?
Any other advice welcomed!

I have just passed my A+ H/ware (704 marks) and O/S (658 marks.) and done it
self study as I have been in IT for 6 years. Why I did not take the exam
sooner was due to my last employer not helping with training but my current
one does.

I studied from the Mike Myers book but found that the simulation test
questions were very differnent to the actual exam questions. This to me is
odd as the book is recomended by Comptia and I would have thought the
questions would have been closer. Eg, my exam covered a lot on Win ME but
the book to me says that apart from the obvious differences the O/S is
baisicly Win 98, Also he says to be aware they will ask questions on K/Board
shortcuts, not one in the exam!
I am not saying that the simulation questions should be the same but
because there is a lot A+ study material out there the reason I went for
Mike Myers book was because it was recomended by Comptia thus giving me a
good grounding.

Has anyone else found that this is the same?

I would still recomenned the Mike Myers book but be aware the questions are
worded very differentlly and not as it puts across in the book and can trip
you up!!



"Linda" <> wrote in message
news0hw5bxk2elg$.1veap8pyvogr3$... .
> Hi guys,
> I'm currently studying for the A+ one night a week at college and with the
> All-in-one book. There seem to be quite a lot of discrepancies between
> handouts and class work our tutor gives and the book.
> For instance, CPU characteristics... there is an awful lot to remember and
> although I'm happy to knuckle down and memorise stuff, I wanna memorise
> the
> 'right' stuff! In your experience, are Chip, Year, Data Bus Width, Address
> Bus Width, Speed, Socket/Pins and L2 Cache all needed and to that point,
> how far back in time should I learn ie. before Pentium or just from that
> point on?
> Is it best to go with the Mike Meyers *bible*?
> Any other advice welcomed!

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 20:25:29 GMT, "Richard Walker"
<> wrote:

> I studied from the Mike Myers book but found that the simulation test
>questions were very differnent to the actual exam questions. This to me is
>odd as the book is recomended by Comptia and I would have thought the
>questions would have been closer.

The whole purpose of A+ is, to weed out the dummies from the
reliable computer technicians.

Simulation questions are intended to prepare you for the way the
test runs and the methodes Comptia expects you to use in order to
get to your answer.
And to prepare you for questions that do not just test your field
experience as well as test if you did some proper studiing
(This was once called the 'walk in protecion'. To prevent that
guys with some experience, but without background knowledge,
could just walk in to a testsite and walk out 'A+ certified'.)

In the field you will come across 'paper MCSE' people.
'Highly qualified' folks who just bought enough preparation
material to pass a number of tests. But cannot be relied upon to
replace, say a faulty NIC.
[Please note, the vast majority of MCSE probably are
knowledgeable people.
The value of their certifiquation just got eroded by questional
practices of some enterpreneurs. Posing as 'schools'.]

Comptia works hard to avoid 'paper A+' etc. technicians.
So they point you to proper training, not to prefab 'questions
with their answers'.

--
Kind regards,
Gerard Bok

On 26/11/05, Gerard Bok wrote:

> On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 20:25:29 GMT, "Richard Walker"
> <> wrote:
>
>> I studied from the Mike Myers book but found that the simulation test
>>questions were very differnent to the actual exam questions. This to me is
>>odd as the book is recomended by Comptia and I would have thought the
>>questions would have been closer.
>
> The whole purpose of A+ is, to weed out the dummies from the
> reliable computer technicians.

Yes and that is the way it should be, I agree. There's not much point in
having a paper qualification if you can't 'do the job'.
In my own personal situation, I decided to do the course because I wanted
to learn and become more confident in my abilities and to further the
extent of my knowledge, but I won't necessarily be looking for a job in the
field, although I do already have (limited) experience in maintaining my
own family and friends computers (for free).

> Simulation questions are intended to prepare you for the way the
> test runs and the methodes Comptia expects you to use in order to
> get to your answer.
> And to prepare you for questions that do not just test your field
> experience as well as test if you did some proper studiing
> (This was once called the 'walk in protecion'. To prevent that
> guys with some experience, but without background knowledge,
> could just walk in to a testsite and walk out 'A+ certified'.)

Again, I have to agree here. My problem is that although I am doing the
course at college, it is only one night a week and I don't have access to
very much else in the way of field experience, so I'm having to do a lot
more theory than practice. I'm quite willing to do this, as I said, because
for me, the point is 'learning', not just the end result but what I don't
want to do is learn the *wrong* stuff, if you see what I mean, which is
where I'm having difficulty, with the discrepancy between college and the
AIO book.

> In the field you will come across 'paper MCSE' people.
> 'Highly qualified' folks who just bought enough preparation
> material to pass a number of tests. But cannot be relied upon to
> replace, say a faulty NIC.

I definitely want to be confident of doing both but at the moment, without
on the job experience, I'm having to rely on 'paper training'.

> [Please note, the vast majority of MCSE probably are
> knowledgeable people.
> The value of their certifiquation just got eroded by questional
> practices of some enterpreneurs. Posing as 'schools'.]

Oh heck, I'm hoping you mean the 'dubious' sites on the internet that I
have seen recommended (and not something I myself would consider using!)
and NOT a 'proper' College course, for which I've paid a lot of my
hard-earned dosh?!!

> Comptia works hard to avoid 'paper A+' etc. technicians.
> So they point you to proper training, not to prefab 'questions
> with their answers'.

So, in your opinion (and anyone else's) do you think it is possible for me
to pass the exam very limited field experience but definitely without using
the *cheating* kind of stuff I think you're referring to above?
As I said, I want to end up with knowledge, not just a piece of paper.
Thanks for your input and apologies for more questions.

Linda

On 25/11/05, Richard Walker wrote:

> I have just passed my A+ H/ware (704 marks) and O/S (658 marks.) and done it
> self study as I have been in IT for 6 years. Why I did not take the exam
> sooner was due to my last employer not helping with training but my current
> one does.
>
> I studied from the Mike Myers book but found that the simulation test
> questions were very differnent to the actual exam questions. This to me is
> odd as the book is recomended by Comptia and I would have thought the
> questions would have been closer. Eg, my exam covered a lot on Win ME but
> the book to me says that apart from the obvious differences the O/S is
> baisicly Win 98, Also he says to be aware they will ask questions on K/Board
> shortcuts, not one in the exam!
> I am not saying that the simulation questions should be the same but
> because there is a lot A+ study material out there the reason I went for
> Mike Myers book was because it was recomended by Comptia thus giving me a
> good grounding.
>
> Has anyone else found that this is the same?
>
> I would still recomenned the Mike Myers book but be aware the questions are
> worded very differentlly and not as it puts across in the book and can trip
> you up!!
>


Thankyou for replying.
There is an awful lot of information in the MM book and I've already
learned such a lot from it... far more than in five weeks of college!
(albeit only three hours a week)
I think the different wording is, in some ways, a good idea as it makes
sure people really 'read' the questions properly and if they've done their
homework properly, will still know the right answers.
Congratulations on passing btw.

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 12:45:14 +0000, Linda
<> wrote:

>On 26/11/05, Gerard Bok wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 20:25:29 GMT, "Richard Walker"
>> <> wrote:

>Oh heck, I'm hoping you mean the 'dubious' sites on the internet that I
>have seen recommended (and not something I myself would consider using!)
>and NOT a 'proper' College course, for which I've paid a lot of my
>hard-earned dosh?!!

No. I was referring to the situation a couple of years ago.
When some institutions even paid folks to write tests.
Not with the objective to get qualified, but just to collect the
questions for their clients.
(And that was greatly defeated by the tests going 'adaptive'
You still see remnants of this: once qualified, you are not
allowed to write the same test again for at least a year.

>So, in your opinion (and anyone else's) do you think it is possible for me
>to pass the exam very limited field experience but definitely without using
>the *cheating* kind of stuff I think you're referring to above?

Yes. It is certainly possible. With the proper materials, you
learn what you will see inside a real PC.
Proper training will allow you to pass the test; just walking in
with just a whole lot of experience might not.

>Thanks for your input and apologies for more questions.

NOT asking questions, THAT's stupid
Actually, this subject once was part of the A+ curriculum.
What do you do when you face a problem that you don't have a
solution for? (And what do I tell the client in that case.)

--
Kind regards,
Gerard Bok

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 16:07:30 GMT, (Gerard Bok) wrote:

>No. I was referring to the situation a couple of years ago.
>When some institutions even paid folks to write tests.
>Not with the objective to get qualified, but just to collect the
>questions for their clients.
>(And that was greatly defeated by the tests going 'adaptive'
>You still see remnants of this: once qualified, you are not
>allowed to write the same test again for at least a year.

It still never ceases to amaze me how people who can braindump large
numbers of questions don't have loftier goals. I couldn't tell you
what was on my tests 5 minutes after I did them.

Tom

I think people have misinterpreted what I was trying to
explain, I am for people getting qualifications properley and not being able
to take any exam and pass just because they have good memorys. I do agree
with them that the questions should not be routine enabling anyone to pass
willy nilly.
In my years in IT i have met some very well paper qualified people who knew
diddley squat about the job they were employed to do!!
All I was questioning was some consistensy in the questioning
and the lack of consistent study material (Mike M`s book is still the best!)
I did find that they test you to the limit and I had to still study hard to
pass the exams even after all this time in IT!!

As I said in my post I have been in IT now for 6yrs as both a Field Engineer
and Desktop Support. I always wanted to take the A+ but could not afford it
on my own and my last employer as (I was a contractor) would not pay for me
to do it. I was lucky to get offered the job in the first place but I had to
work hard to learn my stuff. But now I am employed by a company who focus on
training and qualifications I felt this was the ideal time to take it

"Linda" <> wrote in message
news:tb34u9gzhdk7.3l7l9xgkcnb0$....
> On 25/11/05, Richard Walker wrote:
>
>> I have just passed my A+ H/ware (704 marks) and O/S (658 marks.) and done
>> it
>> self study as I have been in IT for 6 years. Why I did not take the exam
>> sooner was due to my last employer not helping with training but my
>> current
>> one does.
>>
>> I studied from the Mike Myers book but found that the simulation test
>> questions were very differnent to the actual exam questions. This to me
>> is
>> odd as the book is recomended by Comptia and I would have thought the
>> questions would have been closer. Eg, my exam covered a lot on Win ME but
>> the book to me says that apart from the obvious differences the O/S is
>> baisicly Win 98, Also he says to be aware they will ask questions on
>> K/Board
>> shortcuts, not one in the exam!
>> I am not saying that the simulation questions should be the same but
>> because there is a lot A+ study material out there the reason I went for
>> Mike Myers book was because it was recomended by Comptia thus giving me a
>> good grounding.
>>
>> Has anyone else found that this is the same?
>>
>> I would still recomenned the Mike Myers book but be aware the questions
>> are
>> worded very differentlly and not as it puts across in the book and can
>> trip
>> you up!!
>>
>
>
> Thankyou for replying.
> There is an awful lot of information in the MM book and I've already
> learned such a lot from it... far more than in five weeks of college!
> (albeit only three hours a week)
> I think the different wording is, in some ways, a good idea as it makes
> sure people really 'read' the questions properly and if they've done their
> homework properly, will still know the right answers.
> Congratulations on passing btw.

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 17:21:43 GMT, Tom MacIntyre
<> wrote:

>On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 16:07:30 GMT, (Gerard Bok) wrote:
>
>>No. I was referring to the situation a couple of years ago.
>>When some institutions even paid folks to write tests.
>>Not with the objective to get qualified, but just to collect the
>>questions for their clients.
>>(And that was greatly defeated by the tests going 'adaptive'
>>You still see remnants of this: once qualified, you are not
>>allowed to write the same test again for at least a year.
>
>It still never ceases to amaze me how people who can braindump large
>numbers of questions don't have loftier goals. I couldn't tell you
>what was on my tests 5 minutes after I did them.

That's because of the way you write your test.
You see a question, know the answer, hit the correct button and
forget about it. (I guess.)

Some folks memorize sets. Questions + answer.
And they are able to match them, even without knowledge on the
question's actual content.

--
Kind regards,
Gerard Bok

Linda <> wrote in
news0hw5bxk2elg$.1veap8pyvogr3$.:

> Hi guys,
> I'm currently studying for the A+ one night a week at college and
> with the All-in-one book. There seem to be quite a lot of
> discrepancies between handouts and class work our tutor gives and
> the book. For instance, CPU characteristics... there is an awful
> lot to remember and although I'm happy to knuckle down and
> memorise stuff, I wanna memorise the 'right' stuff! In your
> experience, are Chip, Year, Data Bus Width, Address Bus Width,
> Speed, Socket/Pins and L2 Cache all needed and to that point, how
> far back in time should I learn ie. before Pentium or just from
> that point on?
> Is it best to go with the Mike Meyers *bible*?
> Any other advice welcomed!
>

Upgrading and Repairing PCs by Scott Mueller is my trusted authority.
I also don't remember memorizing the things you mentioned and I passed
just fine.

Also, as an instructor, I have found my class book to be wrong. Make
sure you notify the instructor if you notice differences between the
two sources so he can discuss it with the class.

Adam