The fastest way to refresh and integrate your knowledge

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Hi guys,

I've done a bit of research around, but there is still one piece missing and I hope you can help me planning successfully my study.

Short version:

What is in your opinion the best material for someone who is already knowledgeable about computers?


Long version:

I live in Italy and I'm in IT since more than 10 years. I started as a computer technician, assembling PCs, meanwhile I graduated in computer science and now work as a system administrator. The thing is my knowledge is a bit scattered and fragmented. As most sysadmin, I work with very tight schedule and often don't have the time to study a technology in depth. Usually I just have to make things work (I've no certification).

This is why I've looked around, searching for something that would refresh my skills and fill the missing pieces, all in a nicely organized way.

I want to start from the bottom, from CompTIA A+ and then build up from there. Reading the syllabus I understand there are still subjects I need to study, even if I probably already know most of the topics -- as looking at some video samples has confirmed. So, before starting to study, I'd like to collect the most useful resources for me. Live training is out of question because of time constraints and preference for self-study. Also, I'm not interested in memorizing dumps, or just passing the exam. The exam is secondary right now. The goal is to refresh and organize my foundations.

I guess the questions are:

- Video or books?
- What specific product should I buy?
- Are there courses targeted to an experienced audience?

Thanks a lot for reading.

 

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The Mike Meyer All In One Exam guide is a no brainer for this really, it contains all the information needed to both pass the A+ and ensure that you fill the gaps in your knowledge and refresh the bits you do know.

 

You are like me,but you have more experience,there was parts of the A+ i felt i knew very little about,but a large amount of the A+ i had already done in a practical hands on sense long before i started studying it.

What i found with the A+ ,especially studying it at college,was the hundreds of little things that are covered in this subject,speed of memory,how many pins are on each type of cable,how long can a piece of network cable be,what distance does infrared cover,what distance does bluetooth cover,all these little things,it's repeated non stop throughout the chapters.

It's more than likely you only need a small part of any of this information for the exam.

Because the A+ is for beginners,and the experienced,there is often times when you are listening to the very basics in a college enviroment,when they are catering for the people who knew nothing at all to start with.

In your case you'll probably be better off with only a book to study from as all you are doing is brushing up on your knowledge.

 

Thank you guys for yor suggestions, I've bought Meyer's book.

 

Before my order gets shipped I'd like to ask another question.

I've seen on Amazon this:

Mike Meyers' A+ Certification Passport, Third Edition (may 3, 2007), 674 pages, $20
http://www.amazon.com/Mike-Meyers-Certification-Passport-Third/dp/0072263083

compared to

A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Sixth Edition (december 21, 2006), 1171 pages, $40
http://www.amazon.com/Certification-All-One-Guide-Sixth/dp/0072263113

it seems a very good deal.

I took the time to compare a subject, using the "Look Inside" function: 5 pages about Windows boot troubleshooting (Objective 19.03). It's not a lot, just to get the feel, and I found the text is practically identical.

Because of this and looking at the table of contents it look like Passport has everything minus history and non-tech talk. Is this the case? What's the real difference between the two?

Passport is newer, cheaper, smaller, and complete. Too good to be true!

Please, if you have experience with both I would appreciate your feedback.

 

The best I can say is this: the other 497 pages are probably there for a reason.

 

about the a+ stuff you are also like me.
i knew most of the stuff, but the interesting things of it is for me that i filled in the gaps and learn more WHY i must fix the problems like i fixed them in past.. (sorry, difficult to explain in English for me)