A+ 2003 OS exam tomorrow

Discussion in 'A+' started by derkit, Apr 10, 2007.

  1. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    well, I don't post every day but I read and take it what the pro's say and will have the opportunity to put it to the test tomorrow afternoon - my first exam in hopefully a long road of exams :ohmy

    So around 7/8pm tomorrow I'll report back on what I training materials I used and opinions on them (not that they'll help many people as the 2003 obj finish in 2 1/2 months time!)
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293
  2. nXPLOSi

    nXPLOSi Terabyte Poster

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    Good luck mate, get a good night sleep!
     
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  3. mondos

    mondos Kilobyte Poster

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    Good luck :thumbleft .
     
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  4. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    Good luck, derkit. Kick butt. Take names. :biggrin
     
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  5. Bambino1506

    Bambino1506 Megabyte Poster

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    Good luck mate, keep us updated. :D
     
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  6. Raffaz

    Raffaz Kebab Lover Gold Member

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    Good luck mate :)
     
    Certifications: A+, MCP, MCDST, AutoCAD
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  7. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    thanks people - about another 1.5 hours reading I think and then food and chill out for the rest of the evening - will report back afterewards!
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293
  8. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Best of luck!
     
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  9. robbo1962

    robbo1962 Byte Poster

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    Best of luck to you.
     
    Certifications: A+
  10. UCHEEKYMONKEY
    Honorary Member

    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Good Luck Derkit!:thumbleft

    Let us know how you got on!
     
    Certifications: Comptia A+
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  11. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Derkit which Mike Meyers books are you using and are concentrating on one area ie. W2K and WinXP OS or have you learn't it all?8)
     
    Certifications: Comptia A+
    WIP: Comptia N+
  12. zimbo
    Honorary Member

    zimbo Petabyte Poster

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    Good luck! :biggrin
     
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  13. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    fingers crossed mate 8)
     
    Certifications: C&G Electronics - MCSA (W2K) MCSE (W2K)
  14. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    I'm using version 5, the last one for the 2003 objectives - very in depth if you needed a background on why/how/where it came from, a little to much waffle if you just wanted to know the facts - a whole 20 page chapter on how to use fdisc step by step, but then a whole networking chapter in 20 pages - I did feel it was slightly unproportionate sometimes.

    Studied all areas - I have used Win 95 for about 6 months some 10 years ago when I first had a PC, never used MSDOS except for tech-type jobs (ipconfig/ping etc.), 98 for about 2/3 years but as a casual user, WinMe never - I've only seen it from afar, NT - only at work, but its about a 10:1 XP:NT ratio so not as much hands on there, 2k and XP yes to both at home.

    It's been hard going sometimes, built a VM 2k and NT workstations to have a play with, but my failing seems to be trying to remember how to get to certain items - if I wanted to get to the device manager I just would and not really pay much attention to what the tabs and buttons were called - suppose we'll see if the extra attention has paid of later! :blink
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293
  15. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    ... sat in this pokey little room not 7 feet deep by 3 feet wide, just enough for a chair and a computer, but it didn't matter.......
    :cheers :cheers I passed my A+ OS exam!!!!! YAYAYAYA!!!!!!:cheers :cheers

    Went through the 100 questions in about 50/55 minutes and job done!

    Will make a note of what I used and thought next.....
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293
  16. UCHEEKYMONKEY
    Honorary Member

    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Well done and Congratulations on Passing:biggrin :clap :alc :slidedrin

    Were there any questions on Win NT 4.0?
     
    Certifications: Comptia A+
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  17. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    I think I can say this without breaking the signed agreement (someone will correct me!)
    yes there was, of OS specific, mostly NT and 2k - few or none of the rest. For the rest, no real specific topics were covered, just a bit of everything networks, file systems, diagnosing - I suppose what the syllabus sets out really :biggrin

    thanks - was well chuffed - thankfully the result reflected the effort!
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293
  18. Raffaz

    Raffaz Kebab Lover Gold Member

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    Congrats on the pass:) Is that you done now or have you still got the hardware to do?
     
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  19. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    As I said I would what I used (and thought about it)

    Books I Bought
    ==============
    Mike Meyers ver5 - full of detail, good background, couldn't have done it without him.
    Exam Cram 2 - went through once to get a feeling of the questions I was getting wrong and where to study.


    CBT Videos I Bought/Got from work/Got from a friend/ *cough* downloaded *cough*
    ===============================================================================
    CATS - Along with VTC this was the most boring CBT ever - I spent £200 on the A+ set in 2006 and what a waste of money. He spoke down to you, covered very little content and really didn't inspire me at all to learn - I tried about 30% of the video before I gave up in disgust - I won't be watching the rest for the h/w exam!

    VTC OS - Thankfully I downloaded this, again I would have been disappointed if I had paid for it - badly organised, dull and waffled too much - no distinction between OS and H/W exam.

    CBT Nuggets - plain simple, way too little info to use as a single source, but good for reinforcing ideas.
    Learnkey OS - as his book, Mike Meyers takes you through examples - worked very well, the exams were simple sometimes and was a simple memory game.
    Both Nuggets and Learnkey I got from work - would recommend if they're cheap/free as a reinforcing tool.

    Testout - wow, informative and clear. Interactivity added a new dimension and reinforced the learning, his attempt at writing on a white board with an overhead camera was pants as his handwriting was pretty lousy!! Test exams were spot on. Got this from a friend via his company - thankfully he used this about 4 months ago and used his head to not give the CDs back - not sure it is worth paying $300+ but very worth getting if you know a friend.

    Test Programs
    =============
    CATS exam - came with the CDs so I was hesitant. I believe they're taken from Specialised Solutions, they were OK but if you didn't know the answer, don't rely on the explanation to be in any way related to the question - very poor.

    Self Test - I bought this when it was half price and have been reasonably satisfied with it - may use it again for the H/w exam. Simple interface, easily understood, unfortunately crashed at certain points - and no matter what I followed from the website about patches/tips it never resolved it.

    Transcender - my friend bought this when he was doing his A+ for work - used the 1 random practice exam when I was around his place about a week ago. Not that odd I suppose given that they are sold by the same company, but the interface was the same right down to what buttons were where and also oddly it crashed at the same point as my self test........ coincidence????

    My exam
    =======
    Out of the 100 questions, there were 10 hardware ones and about 10 customer service ones.
    Also, ones that were silly (this is an example not in the exam!) - how to clean out a printer: 1) use a vacuum, 2) use a data cable, 3) use a CD, 4) reinstall drivers - very odd, and about 5 of those!!

    The rest of them - take transcender and self test - photocopy the questions they use and a surprising number were in there (and in one situation the exact same spelling mistake was in the exam!!!!!:mad - very disappointing after studying about 30 hours over the easter weekend for this exam :x
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293
  20. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    thanks mate - still got the hardware to do. I'm hopeful for the end of May if I take my time. That said, I've done a lot of work on it already by reading Mike Meyers so perhaps sooner - can't wait though :p
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293

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