Advice on getting started???

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Hiya all, hows things?

Im new to the forum and also im new to IT.

Ive started the A+ course (and after that the N+) and i am looking for any advice anyone has, from how to gain some experience to what to expect from the course.

Cheers in advance to anyone who can help!!

 

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Hi and welcome to CF!

How are you studying for these courses? The A+ will give you a solid foundation in computer hardware and software that will enable to progress to something more difficult like Network+. Studying for the A+ should involve alot of hands-on as well, pulling components out and putting them back in and possibly building a pc from scratch!

The book everyone seems to use and is the "best" book on the market is A+ Certification All-in-one Exam Guide

 

Im doing it with Scheiddeger. Its going well so far but one thing is worrying me. There are lots of tables with specifications for all kinds of stuff. Surely you dont have to remember all of these right?

Whats in the book?

 

Nope you need to know them!

Hard drive standard... cpu speeds...cable speeds... the whole lot!

 

Seems a bit much to remember!

Are you studying for it or have you passed?

 

Just make sure you make some notes and highlight the areas you are not sure on then write some question on your weak areas.

You can always post them here under the A+ section of the forum. The CF community is very friendly and knowledgeable. All of us at one point or another have been in the same postion you are now in

If you are worried about how you are going to remember all of the data, write it out parrot fashion, do some practicals by getting hold of an old PC and if you still worried about the course talk to your tutor or students on the forum.

From what I heard the learning provider has a student portal?

Good luck with your studies

 

yes and i have a copy of that book....

 

Thanks for the advice (and "the book").

There is a student portal but it has no forum! I will stick around here i think coz it does look a good place to be.

 

I passed my A+ a few months ago and there isnt any easy way to remember, but ya need to get the tables in your head. I had a good method of remembering the IRQ's and i never got a single question on them tho. I was gutted.

 

Thats just typical!

So what have you done since you passed raffaz?

 

Im busy studying for MCDST, im down Birmingham in the morning for a few days workshop stuff. Il try and find my notes for the IRQ stuff coz i had some good methods for remembering them if ya want them

 

That would be top. Anything that will help.

Cheers mate!

 

The IRQ thing i had was simple, but i havent got things for all of them. These helped me, but may do nothing for you Il try and explain. This was a symple thing to remember some, so i could write them on my sheet in exam

IRQ
0 - System timer - I remembered this by turning the 0 into a clock and associating it with time
1 - Keyboard - Had nothing for this
2 - Linked to 9
3 - COM 2,4,6,8 - IRQ is odd number, COM is an even number
4 - COM 1,3,5,7 - IRQ is even number, COM is odd number
5 - LPT2 - 5+2=7 which links it to other LPT
6 - Floppy - I remembered this by substituting the p's for 6 flo66y sort of inverted p
7 - LPT1
8 - Real time clock - Turned the 8 into an egg timer
9 - Linked to 2
10 - Available
11 - Available
12 - PS/2 - Remembered by changing to PS12 / for 1
13 - Maths co processor - Didnt like maths so was unlucky 13
14 - Primary IDE
15 - Secondary IDE

I know some of them are totally daft lol, but they helped me by associating certain things. Also the more i could remember, the less i had to guess with. Hopefully ya will find a couple of them usefull. Try and think of things that might help ya with things i couldnt think of aswell.

 

Greetings, jono. It is if you try to memorize the whole book. I remember back in the day when a neighbor suggested that I try to get certified as an A+ (I was unemployed at the time). I bought the Mike Meyers book that's been suggested and started reading.

Keep in mind that I had no PC hardware experience whatsoever. I was even afraid to open a PC for fear I'd break something. My initial assumption that I could pass the exams without any practical experience was faulty and if by some miracle I managed to pass, I'd be a poor PC tech if I couldn't actually "walk the walk".

In my case, I took a two year course at my local uni on PC and Network support. The access to instructor led classes, interactions with other students and labs made all the difference.

Now I have the basic foundation to where I *can* get a hold of a book and use it as a self-study platform to expand my skills. The real difference in taking the A+ exams is that you'll remember what you did in terms of hands on...not just what you read.

 

Welcome!

Yeah, all those tables are much easier to "remember" if you work with the technology. Take a PC, tear it apart, put it together, install an operating system, load drivers, etc. It's well worth the work you put into it.

Best of luck!

 

My suggestion for remembering all those things is to buy Derren Brown's (Wikipedia entry) book. I got it for Christmas and read the first half of the chapter on memory techniques last night and already this morning I can remember the order of 20 playing cards. I went for the full deck but I'm not quite there yet. Not only is it hilariously written, it's also amazingly simple to learn the techniques in it. I guarantee if you get a copy and apply what it says, it will help you with your studys. I wish I'd read it before I took my A+ that's for sure.