Taking A+ on thursday... should i be nervous.

[swatpup]

Here's the deal I signed up on vue.com to take my test on monday, & then today I get a call from new horizions telling me that my test was rescheduled to thursday of this week. So I start thinking crap I better study. So next thing I do is bust out the mike myers learnkey study cd-roms. I start going thourgh the test and anything I got wrong I watch that portion of the video. Well it doesn't take long before mike myers starts saying remember the speed of every processor ever made it's going to be on the test remember all the irqs & com ports there goin...remember all the parts of a printer its...beep codes...etc. It's like he wants me to know his whole book like the back of my hand.

I know what I'm talking about when it comes to computers. Hell i've been using,and fixing, computers since the good old pc jr. days. In my time I've must fixed over a hundred or so computers (50% of those where older types donated to my high school), built 5 or 6 computers for friends and family, set up about a couple of dozen networks, and ran about three thousand feet of cable. I mean in high school I took two semesters of comp repair and two semesters of networking. Right now I'm responsible for maintaing the 4 computers in my house as well as the network. Not to mention my grandparents computer and my aunt Dianes, and uncle John. It's not often that there is a problem I can't fix or at least find the source.

I guess it's that I don't know what to expect and what is REALLY going to be on the test. I thought the only thing that I was going to take a crash course on was diffrent OS systems like NT 4.0, but know I don't know. I never took the time to memerize the trivial stuff because if I really needed it could just look it up.

If any of you guys know where I can get an adaptive test simulation or could do anything else to help me out I would greatly appreciate it. I guess i'm going to study and hope everything turns out ok.

[Darknyt]

Just study....dont memorize...learn it!!!! I am not a comp wizz.....my major is Chemistry....different subj, same methods....if you learn it, it becomes engraved into your personal 100^1000 GB of DDR533. Good luck. Sorry but thats the only advise I can give you.

[maface]

www.boson.com has some practice exams. I took the exam a couple of years ago so I not sure what is on. But you should know IRQ's and the process of printing. Good luck

[CMonster]

Quote:

I know what I'm talking about when it comes to computers.

Unfortunately the tests don't cover that.

When preparing for any test always study for what will be on the test -not what you think you already know.

Most of A+ is very basic, but covers a wide variety of PC related topics:

*for the hardware module at least be familliar with the major CPU evolutionary differences, the IRQs 0-15, the major I/O addresses, memory types, connector types, as well as printer maintenence, the laser printing process, basic networking components, and common sense safety precautions. Throw in the kitchen sink and anything else you find in your study guide and you should pass.

It may help you to remember that usually the lower number of a pair of ports like com1 vs com2 gets the higher irq& I/O like com1=irq4/3f8 com2=irq3/2f8

lpt1vs lpt2 lpt1=irq7/378 lpt2=irq5/278

*for the OS portion you probably already have a good knowledge of how Win9x and NT/2000 differ, and how to navigate through Windows, but pay particular attention to what is outlined in your study guide. It may also help to visualize a Windows desktop and clicking through the interface when answering test questions.

I took it back when DOS, Win3x, Win9x made up the OS portion of the test. ..and it was not in adaptive format.

Good luck... "welcome to techimo, we have the most certified users"

[SeanC]

Just relax and study from the guide. The exams don't cover common sense things, they cover things that you would be able to look up in a normal situation.

Sean

[T-32]

the different versions cover differnet main topics.. some have more on printing processes and laser printer. Another may have more about scsi... Theres no easy way out.. All you can do is know the material and hope for the best.... Good luck.. I passed the first time around so it's not impossible... T-32

[CMonster]

Quote:

The exams don't cover common sense things

-yeah, there's no "common sense" in the correct answers, but you should use common sense to eliminate the incorrect choices. For example, if a floppy drive can read some disks but not others it is very unlikely to be a problem with the drive, cable, or disk controller -common sense dictates that there is likely a problem with the unreadable disks. Additionally, A+ doesn't intend for it's technitions to open a power supply or CRT because of dangers associated with high voltage (interestingly enough they may ask if you should wear a wrist strap while working on a monitor -the answer is NO of course) -- there are certainly common sense rules that will help you correctly answer the test questions. I'm sure many are outlined in the study guide.

You may not like to hear this with the test so close at hand, but it is a good idea to use two different study guides, and you will find that the study guides themselves do not always agree. Of three typical certification study guides, Syngress/Osbourne, the "*for Dummies" series, and the Myers "*all in One" books, I have found the Myers books to be the least helpful -and in the case of Comptia Server+ the Myers book was just terrible.

I have found the Syngress/Osbourne Certification Study Guides to be the most helpful -dry, boring, hard to read without nodding off, but usually they cover the actual test material.

One more thing -I have never heard of anyone failing the tests... but then again perhaps not many brag/rant about that.

[Gait_Keeper]

you'll be ok

I haven't taken it yet, post back after the test

can't wiat to here you say how easy it was

[CMonster]

today is the big day... good luck

[Gait_Keeper]

you'll be fine

I'd say good luck, but you don't need it