The Certified Computer Technician title--otherwise known as A+ Certification--is one way to document your technical skills for your résumé, and A+ Certification for Dummies is a painless way to prepare for the tests. It also serves as a wonderful primer for anyone who wants to learn more about computers.

The book begins with an introduction to basic electronics and to the numbering systems relevant to computer processing. This opening section also covers the tools and techniques you need to know when working on computers. Next, author Ron Gilster builds your hardware knowledge from the bottom up with chapters on motherboards, memory technology, disk and other storage options, bus structures, and power supplies. Discussions of input and output devices, I/O ports, printers, and basic networking follow.

Further on, the author explains how to work on computers, install new options, and implement upgrades. Gilster also discusses how to deal with customers--often a bigger challenge than diagnosing the hardware problem--and covers the DOS/Windows platform and diagnostic techniques.

An included CD contains study software and hundreds of practice questions. Whether you are preparing for the A+ exam or simply want to get a clue about how computers work, this title covers the basics well. --Stephen W. Plain

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
The new ￯﾿ﾽA+ 2003 Upgrade Core Hardware￯﾿ﾽ and ￯﾿ﾽA+ 2003 Upgrade OS Technologies￯﾿ﾽ exams have arrived -- and you have some more studying to do.

Roughly 25 percent of the content has changed. The latest versions of Windows -- including both Windows XP and Me -- are now covered in detail. There￯﾿ﾽs new technology all over the place -- new I/O, new forms of PC memory, new peripherals, new wireless stuff, you name it.

Meanwhile, there￯﾿ﾽs been a quieter, maybe more important change: one that has little to do with the content. The job market has gotten tougher. Once, A+ certification was a luxury. Now, it￯﾿ﾽs a baseline necessity.

Now, let￯﾿ﾽs say you￯﾿ﾽre a reasonably experienced tech. Let￯﾿ﾽs imagine, further, that you hate studying for exams. You know most of this stuff. You know where to find stuff out when you need to. You just don￯﾿ﾽt like the whole test experience. But it￯﾿ﾽs time to hold your nose and get your credential. If only someone could make prepping less painful.

That￯﾿ﾽs where A+ for Dummies, Third Edition comes in.

Ron Gilster is great at extracting the boredom from certification exam review. He￯﾿ﾽs not only written For Dummies￯﾿ﾽ books for A+, but also for CCNA, Network+, Server+, even Microsoft￯﾿ﾽs MCSA certification. He also knows the material backward and forward -- having spent 30 years upgrading, repairing, and programming computers, earning multiple CompTIA certs along the way.

Gilster￯﾿ﾽs formula makes a lot of sense. Quick, bite-size discussions (so you can review even if you only have a few minutes to spare.) Ten-question self-assessments at the beginning of every chapter (so you know where to spend your time). Hands-on labs that step you through many of the more challenging procedures you need to understand (for example, flashing a PC￯﾿ﾽs BIOS -- carefully).

And all that￯﾿ﾽs backed by twice as many exam questions as in the previous edition -- all provided on CD-ROM and delivered through the customizable Dummies Test Engine.

Gilster presents straight-to-the-point coverage of every exam objective, on both the hardware and OS exams. He starts with the ￯﾿ﾽtheoretical￯﾿ﾽ stuff many techs never bothered to learn: the fundamentals, jargon, and properties of electronics and electricity inside the PC, and the ins-and-outs of binary and hex numbering. (Notwithstanding plug-and-play, you never know when you￯﾿ﾽll have to mess with IRQs and memory addresses).

Then, it￯﾿ﾽs on to each hardware component covered on the A+ exam. Inside the box, you￯﾿ﾽll find updated chapters on motherboards, BIOSes, buses, microprocessors, memory, storage, and power. Outside the box, you￯﾿ﾽll find revamped coverage of the latest I/O ports and devices, printers, and notebooks.

What was formerly a single chapter on networking has been expanded to an entire section in this edition. You￯﾿ﾽll find everything from LAN installation and configuration to management and troubleshooting -- as well as a full chapter on delivering Internet services. And, of course, there￯﾿ﾽs thorough Windows coverage: a chapter on the fundamentals of Windows, then drill-downs on Win95, 98, Me, 2000 Pro, and XP Pro.

Inexpensive, friendly, and mercifully concise, A+ for Dummies, Third Edition is a great way to go from experienced tech to certified tech. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Complete with a CD-ROM loaded with test-like exam questions written just for this book, A+ Certification For Dummies brings you everything you need to pass both the core hardware exam and the DOS/Windows exam - and make every second count.

SYNOPSIS

Make acquiring the skills for an A+ Certification enjoyable with A+ Certification for Dummies and accompanying CD-ROM which contains a customizable test engine with hundreds of sample questions.

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