Rating: 
Summary: Smaller Because It Covers Less
Review: After being disappointed by the "A+ Complete Study Guide" book (see my review there), I picked up this book. Immediately I saw in it the answers to three questions I had missed when taking the hardware exam for the A+ certification, such as the cable required for the latest EIDE hard drives. This book is definitely more up to date.It didn't take long to cruise through the well written chapters on operating systems technologies. It was very pleasing to feel that I was ready to take the second part of the A+ exams so quickly. I scored an average of 86 on the end of chapter practice tests, reviewed all the chapters again and then scored higher. Then, I pulled out the includeded practice exam CD and took the test there. I scored a 56%! What happened! Here's what happened, most of questions asked weren't covered in the book. Or, it appears this way. I can't tell for sure since the book's index is weak and there is no searchable copy of the book on the CD. Here are a couple examples. Yes, the book talks about MEM.EXE and it role, but says nothing about its options. Nor does it talk about the FDISK options available. Yet, questions about these options are on his practice exam. More importantly, I found these types of questions on the A+ test. Did I pass the test? Yes, scored an 804 (600 is passing). In order to do so, I went into the web and took every practice exam I could find. These exams give answers and often explanations. I doubt just taking the exams themselves would enable anyone to pass the test as they do not provide the foundation knowedge needed that the book provided. However, the exams will bring to light all the smaller things that the book just breezes past. I spent as much time on these exams as I spent in reading the book. That is what it took to get me to the point where I was scoring decently on the exams. The book just does not cover the material in the depth required.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent summary
Review: After having read the famous All in One A+ Certification Guide with the constant thought "This is how a technical book SHOULD be written!", my sentiments are the same for this more concise version. A great review with time-manageable chapters. Highly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: MEDOCRE BOOK - LOUSY CD
Review: BOOK IS MEDIOCRE READING WITH CROWDED CONTENT. THE CD WITH THE PRACTICE EXAMS WILL NOT RUN ON MY BRAND NEW COMPUTER. IF THESE FOLKS CANT PRODUCE A CD THAT WORKS - HOW CAN THEY TEACH YOU A+ CERTIFICATION.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Study Manuel
Review: Excellent book for both exam's. I did quit well for someone who doesn't take tests well. If you have good basic knowledge of how a computer functions and how it is assembled then this book is for you. Remember the A+ exam is for someone with about 6 months of PC Technician experience and I am someone who has a two year degree in Information Systems who decided computer hardware and networking was the path to take. This book is for people with sound prerequisite understanding of Windows 9x, 2000pro, and networking. Also a good understanding and comprehension of hardware archritecture. This book is a touch base, explain all, and hit every point book to prepare and remind us IT pros what is on the test.Period...!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for experienced computer techs
Review: Hi, First of all I believe it should be stressed that this book is not intended for people with no prior experience in this subject matter. If you don't have any experience in this but want to take (and pass) the A+ go with Mr. Meyer's all in one A+ book. Much more depth and detail for people of all levels. I recently read through this book and took the A+ exams and passed. So here is my review of this book as it pertains to my experience with the A+. Before you begin know that everything in this book is important! There are no set definitive questions that everyone will have. Your A+ test will be different from the test your peers have taken. Thus one cannot know just what concepts will be covered on this exam. Second this book is excellent in that Mike and Tracy break things down and explain even the most complex concepts in a nice, consise and easy to follow manner. However there is one glaring fault:
Oftentimes Mike and Tracy ask you questions at the end of the chapter (and on the CD-Rom) about things that were never covered in the chapter or anywhere else in the book! A prime example of this is on loopback analog and digital tests. So if you do pick up this book know that you will have to look up references elsewhere for this (and other) material. Besides that rather nasty fact this is a very well written and good book! I passed the A+ using only this book and the upgrade off of the enclosed CD for testing material. Speaking of which: I highly recommend the upgrade! It's ... and with it comes more practice questions plus a whole bunch of tools to tell you what areas you are weak on and what your strong points are. Before going into the exam, be sure that you can answer any and all of these questions consistantly with test scores in the high 90's.
When you can do that you are ready for the A+ exams. Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: Decent Overview of test
Review: I am MCSE, A+, and CCNA certified and used this book as part of my preparation for the CompTia A+ exams. This book presents a decent overview of the CompTia A+ exam objectives, but lacks sufficient detail to actually pass the test without supplementing the material. I have provided 2 recommendations at the bottom of this review. The book covers both areas of the exam (hardware and OS), and provides a CD with tice tests. I noticed the review questions at the end of each chapter lacked worthwhile explanations, which necessitated searching through the text to figure out why you may have missed a particular question. This book overall presents a decent, but minimal, overview of both the hardware and operating system exams and should be used in conjunction with Mueller's "Upgrading and Repairing PCs" classic (ISBN: 0789727455), and Exam Cram's book (ISBN: 078983043x).
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Money
Review: I bought this book, along with the A+ Bible by Ed Tetz and passed both tests with no problem. With any cert test real world experience helps but with these two books, even a complete newbe could pass. Meyers' is a great author, his books are easy to read and entertaining. The test software with the book gives you a good idea of the types of questions on the test.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible Hardware section
Review: I first purchased this book hoping to pass the test because I read other text too. When i read through the part where it talks
about Processors he states AMD as America Mega Devices and if the information is new to you you would not know that the real
meaning of AMD is Advanced Micro Devices but I took the test thinking that I was going to pass but I found out that the only
thing that was useful was the information on the IRQ assignments
and I/O adresses and my score was a 505 ten pnts away from passing but I just retook the test this time I used Jean Andrews
A+ Guide to Hardware and I passed with a 548 33pnts above passing, so don't waist your money on this mess
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book For A+ Studies
Review: I found this book to be all I needed to prepare me for the A+ exams with no added fluff. The explanations are very clear and easy to read, and there are all kinds of exam tips to guide you along the way. I was really impressed when I received very high scores on my A+ exams after using only this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone preparing for the A+ exams. Mike Meyers and Tracey Rosenblath seem to make an excellent team. I hope to see more from them in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Use this Book to Pass Both Exams!
Review: I just passed (January 2003) both A+ exams using this book! Knowing the information in this book will enable you to pass both exams. The nature and scope of the material and review questions are right on target when compared to the actual adaptive exam. You can pass the test after reading the book two or three times, understanding the theory behind each question,
and missing no more than one or two questions on the final two practice tests. This book contains current info about the test. In addition to this book, I would also buy one of more of the current A+ references, like or Mike Meyers' A+ Certification Exam Guide, Charles J Brooks' A+ Certification Training Guide, or even the or even the Microsoft A+ Certification Training Kit. Even though you could pass both A+ exams with this book and a reference book, I would also buy other adaptive study guides, like Crayton's A+ Adaptive Exams because even though both book cover the required objectives, each book covers different topics in detail beyond the test requirements. PS. I tried the several practice tests on the included CD and found them better than the CD practice tests included with other books; however, I wouldn't buy the additional exam questions. PPS. Forget the other cram/Q&A lists on the Internet: they are a mixed bag. Lot of their questions seemed copied from the major A+ books. The rest of unique questions are good things to know, but about mostly outdated topics not on the current tests. The quality of my two A+ cram/exam sheets were fair at best: typos, correct answers with incorrect explanations, and incorrect answers with correct explanations. Spend your money on another major A+ book.
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