Book Description
250,000 readers have trusted their A+ studies to Exam Cram because this book ensures they have what they need to pass the exams. In this best-selling new edition, the chapters map exactly to the objectives for the new A+ exams (220-301, 220-302) -- released in November 2003 -- helping readers quickly and easily assess their mastery of the material. In addition, it features test-taking strategies, time-saving tips, more than 750 practice questions, and two hours of video from Scott Mueller's Upgrading & Repairing PCs Video Trainer. The book also includes the popular Cram Sheet, a tear card that highlights the essential information covered on the exam and is designed for that "last-second read" before taking the exam. To ensure our material is the most complete, up-to-date, technically accurate, and well-organized material on the market, the book goes through a stringent review process by industry experts.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Looking for a job as a PC tech? You￯﾿ﾽve noticed how often A+ certification is required nowadays. You can probably rely on your experience to get you partway toward passing your A+ exams. But what about the rest? For that, rely on A+ Exam Cram2, Second Edition.

This new edition has just been updated for the new 2003 exam objectives -- including the latest memory, bus, peripherals, and wireless technologies, and the newest Windows desktops (through Windows XP). It￯﾿ﾽs a superb resource if you￯﾿ﾽre just starting out on A+ certification and you want to get your preparation on the fast track. Or if you￯﾿ﾽve been studying awhile and want to make absolutely certain you￯﾿ﾽre ready. Or if you want to deepen your understanding of key A+ concepts by understanding their context.

Lead author James Jones has been everything from a tech to senior VP of a Fortune 500 corporation. He￯﾿ﾽs personally A+, MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, and Novell CNE certified and now leads a firm that delivers tech training to companies like IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and HP. He got involved with PCs long before IBM did.

He and longtime IT educator Craig Landes combine clarity, insight, and a little fun -- and they never trivialize their subject. They￯﾿ﾽre especially good at showing how disparate ￯﾿ﾽfacts￯﾿ﾽ fit together -- a crucial skill for PC troubleshooters.

They￯﾿ﾽre also about as concise as you can be while still thoroughly covering both A+ exams. For an ExamCram book, this one￯﾿ﾽs fat. But we￯﾿ﾽd encourage you to read it from cover to cover. You￯﾿ﾽll learn plenty that￯﾿ﾽll benefit you on exam day -- and afterward.

You￯﾿ﾽll start on the hardware side, with motherboards: how they￯﾿ﾽve evolved and which form factors, slots, sockets, and chipsets you￯﾿ﾽre likely to encounter. Want to know the difference between the North bridge and South bridge? They￯﾿ﾽll tell you. And who else will warn you about the A+ exam graphics (it can be tricky to differentiate power supply and keyboard connectors).

There are full chapters on memory and processors (what￯﾿ﾽs the difference between Socket A and Slot A?); on I/O and storage devices (can you name the four types of DVDs now on the market?); on video and printers; and on basic networking.

Then, it￯﾿ﾽs on to the Windows-centered operating systems exam. You￯﾿ﾽll find intelligent coverage of every version of Windows through XP: file systems, the registry, device drivers, the boot process, error messages, Safe Mode, you name it. There￯﾿ﾽs also significant coverage of troubleshooting, including some Internet and network troubleshooting, as well as tools like IPCONFIG.EXE and TRACERT.EXE.

There are loads of study goodies here, including plenty of end-of-chapter questions plus two complete A+ exams at the end of the book. Still more Interactive PrepLogic exam questions can be found on CD-ROM, along with a complete ￯﾿ﾽstudy anywhere￯﾿ﾽ e-copy of the book.

We especially like the cardboard tear-away ￯﾿ﾽCram Sheet￯﾿ﾽ collecting the hard-to-remember facts and numbers you absolutely need to memorize. (Which IRQ is which? What￯﾿ﾽs the difference between a bridge and a router?) Give this sheet one extra long look before you leave for the exam: It￯﾿ﾽs almost guaranteed to help you with at least a few questions -- and that might be the difference between passing and failing. 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