A+ training materials/books?

Discussion in 'A+' started by Guvnor, Nov 3, 2015.

  1. Guvnor

    Guvnor Nibble Poster

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    Hi guys

    A bit of dilemma right now

    I've got myself Meyers vids, I've got Messer's vids and some other guys vids I got off ebay.

    To supplement it all now properly I need a proper book. Which books do you guys recommend?

    I have the pdfs but to be honest I'd prefer a physical copy instead that I can sit with and break it down.

    Also with the new 901-902 I don't want to waste my money too if that makes sense.

    Meyers vids are great and tbh after having watched the vids I go and read what he says in the book and I must say there is not much difference between his vids and books just in the vid he summarises it nicely in small chunks.

    I'm thinking of getting Mike Meyers book and for book 2 I'll get the one by Prowse.

    What do you guys suggest keeping in mind the 9 series is coming out and ideally I want to get over and done with this, within 4 months max.
     
  2. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    In your situation Id get Mike Meyers all in one book the exam cram by prowse is ok also. Im using gtslearning book and A+ passport book written also by Mike Meyers but its not full of so much extra content. I find the all in one guide to have too much added fluff, but for a complete novice its a great book!
     
  3. Guvnor

    Guvnor Nibble Poster

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    I was thinking of getting the Meyers book plus it'll be a great reference tool for the future.

    Thoughts on Prowse's book? I've skimmed it, it's pretty much to the point and a plus was the questions it has at the back.

    Also how are we going to get practice on the different operating systems? It will work out to be pretty expensive if I have to start buying different versions of Windows/OS etc
     
  4. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    Yeah Prowse book gets straight to the point of what you need to know to pass but I think its not entirely useful for a complete beginner. No need to buy multiple OSs just download the ISOs and install them in a virtual runtime environment, I use VMWARE.
     
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  5. Pseudonym

    Pseudonym Kilobyte Poster

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    Use the Mike Meyers all in one. I recommend reading it back to front and make sure you understand all the content. You'll thank yourself in the future when you're on the job, or in an interview. You might get an interview because of your A+, but you'll get a job based on your understanding of the hardware/OS and how to troubleshoot them in a real life situation.
     
    Guvnor likes this.
  6. Guvnor

    Guvnor Nibble Poster

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    Thanks, Would you recommend one book or two ?
     
  7. Guvnor

    Guvnor Nibble Poster

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    Thanks mate, I'll have to chech out how to do that.
     
  8. Jaron78

    Jaron78 Gigabyte Poster Forum Leader

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    Id go with Meyers all in one as well. Few years ago now but that's what I used and it got me through the exam(s) comfortably mate.
     
    Guvnor likes this.
  9. Pseudonym

    Pseudonym Kilobyte Poster

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    The problem with exam material is one source will never cover everything. So it's best to have more than one source to study from. I tend to use 1 book, plus practice exams, and maybe videos. This is what I did for the A+ and passed first time, but you may benefit from watching videos, or getting 2 or 3 books and not using practice exams. I can only advise on what worked for me really.
     
    Guvnor likes this.
  10. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    Do people generally take 801 & 802 at the same time?
     
  11. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    Do people generally take 801 & 802 at the same time?
     
  12. Pseudonym

    Pseudonym Kilobyte Poster

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    That's how I did it. I think there's so much overlap in the exams that isn't too much point in mentally or chronologically separating them.
     
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  13. Jaron78

    Jaron78 Gigabyte Poster Forum Leader

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    Personally, I didn't. I took about 3 weeks between each one.

    Reason being that I wasn't in an IT role and it was the first exam I had taken in 15 years. But after taking the 802 (or whatever it was in 2010) I realised that I could have taken both at the same time.
     
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  14. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    So even though you took them 3 weeks apart fif you study for each of the exams individually then?
     
  15. Jaron78

    Jaron78 Gigabyte Poster Forum Leader

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    It was a mixture to be honest mate. As it was my first exam in a very long time I went through the whole book (Mike Meyers All in One) twice. I also watched Messer religiously.

    Towards the due date of the first exam, I kind of spent about a week just focusing on the 801 part of the exam. So re-reading all my notes, doing practice tests again and reading up on bits I wasn't sure about.

    After the pass, I then went back and done a skim of my 801 notes but put serious reading into the 802 Notes and went through Messer again.

    In all honesty, I think I really over studied but better to be safe than sorry.
     
    Guvnor likes this.
  16. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    You read the Mike Meyers book twice? Did you study for a year?
     
  17. Jaron78

    Jaron78 Gigabyte Poster Forum Leader

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    Nah mate. I got made redundant Ad got a payout.

    It gave me a few months to spend all my time studying to be honest.
     
  18. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    A blessing is disguise?
     
  19. Jaron78

    Jaron78 Gigabyte Poster Forum Leader

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    Massively mate! Really made me put my working life into context and it gave me the kick up the arse to do something about the situation. Don't get me wrong, I had 15 good years in the video games industry, but if I had the chance to do it all again, I would swap it for IT in a heartbeat.
     
    Guvnor likes this.
  20. Guvnor

    Guvnor Nibble Poster

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    Okay guys, thank you for the replies.

    For now I will stick with Meyers book as I believe that is the main reference book and has everything in it that I need especially as a complete novice. I have plenty of vids so I guess I can risk it by having one book only, plus I do have some pdfs as well.

    What do you guys do for past papers? I've seen a few names been mentioned on the forum but not sure of them and how much do they cost?

    past papers I believe are a must.
     

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