A+

[Revjapaca]

Hello all,
I intend on taking the A+ exam in Feb. Would you all sugest taking both parts at once or taking a break between os and hardware? Do you still have an option now that the test is adaptive? Any input would be appreciated.

[rustycason]

I took both tests at once. That way I did not have to wait for the next test. I got it all out of the way in one day.

[Revjapaca]

Thanks for the reply rusty I guess I should have added that I have little practical experience,(Although I work as a computer repair tech for a contracting company, I fake it alot) I have a hard time grasping some of the concepts. i.e. DOS, Windows 2000, System files IO.SYS ect, registry. And on the Hardware side I am only required to do the most basic repairs because our budget is large enough that if a system board goes bad they trash the pc and buy a new one. I was curious if it would help to concentrate on one area at a time and devote all my study time to that one area. thanks for the input, mabey I should pick a new profession; it probably wont be long until they figure me out.

[YODA74]

I am not getting down on you by no means and i mean that! but let me ask you something your earlyier post was on how to read a multimeter and just in this post you have admitted to faking a pretty important job or at least to me being a computer tech and being good at it and being able to help some one means somthing. and you actually think you are going to be ready by feb. to fully take an exam and pass? and that people are supposed to trust someone in your situation with there computer.I am not the smartest person when it comes to a computer and that is evident with some of my posts but at least I am honest and I am sorry if I have offended you and this will probobly get me booted but I'm sorry I just had to say to please take this a little more seriously a lot of these people here on this forum have taken a lot of time and effort and money to get to the level of quality that a forum like this deserves. just my opinion and not much of one at that.

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[andyswork@beci.net]

I agee with you Yoda, so if you get booted I will to. I am new at this and admit it. I try to answer some ?s to give me some troubling shooting skills. I have made mistakes and I am thankful for the people here, that so nicely correct my wrong trouble shooting. I love this site. To abuse the trust that other people put in you is not good. I am just learning and try not to do things that are over my head. Advice to Revjapaca study, be trueful, and honest. I wish you the best.

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One day I will be a pro, Thanks Andy

[diurnal]

The tests are adaptive, and it just depends on how smart you are if you want to take the whole one or break it up.
As for the otheer issues i have no comment..
Thanks

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Sledgehammer will save the day!

[Jiggy]

i also agree with the people above. i to am new to the workings of computers (soft/hardware). i like to think when helping people/friends i do what i can with what i know, and if i dont know, i say i dont, but i will try and find out for them.
Jiggy

[rustycason]

I was not aware that you had no experience. I had been working with PCs for years before I took the tests. I would recommend studying and getting more experience before you attempt the test.

[Revjapaca]

FIRST OF ALL LET ME JUST SAY YOU GUYS CAN ALL GET BENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ALL ARE A MORE THAN A LITTLE MISTAKEN IF YOU THINK THAT BY ANSWERING A FEW POSTS YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE PEOPLE. YOU FRUITCAKES HAVE NO IDEA WHO I AM OR WHAT I DO. IF YOU HAD ANY SOCIAL SKILLS AT ALL YOU WOULD HAVE NOTICED THE OBVIOUS SARCASIM IN MY POST. OBVIOUSLY I HAVE AT LEAST BASIC SKILLS OR I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HIRED IN THE FIRST PLACE. I STATED THAT “on the Hardware side I am only required to do the most basic repairs because our budget is large enough that if a system board goes bad they trash the pc and buy a new one” THIS DOES NOT MEAN I AM CHEATING PEOPLE OR BEING DISHONEST. I WAS JUST CURIOUS AS TO THE BEST STUDY APPROACH. I UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE MOST OF YOU PROBABLY HAVE NO SOCIAL LIFE IT BECOMES EASY TO JUDGE OTHER PEOPLE. I DID NOT FORCE ANY OF YOU GUYS TO WASTE YOUR LIVES ANSWERING POST AS IF YOU’RE GODS OF THE PC WORLD. I MEAN 500+ POSTS GIVE ME A BREAK, FREAKS. YOU CLOWNS NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT GETTING BOOTED BECAUSE I’LL BOW OUT,, WITH PLEASURE. PEACE

[This message has been edited by Revjapaca (edited 11-14-2001).]

[Revjapaca]

And YODA74 IF YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE THE NERVE TO CRITISIZE PEOPLE YOU SHOULD AT THE VERY LEAST LEARN TO SPELL. (earlyier, somthing, probobly,) YOU WOULD THINK A MASTER GEEK WOULD KNOW HOW TO USE SPELL CHECKER.

[diurnal]

Hey Revjapaca, i have no problems with you. I hope you would stick around. I dont know what exactly the problem is . Im clueless as what the issues are and i dont want to know either.

YOU FRUITCAKES HAVE NO IDEA WHO I AM OR WHAT I DO.

Who are you referring too, as for this comment is directed to the whole forums. please specify who you are referring too. Thanks

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Sledgehammer will save the day!

[Jiggy]

Hi Revjapaca, as to judging you, im not. im responding to what you rote in your post (faking it). as a joke between friend its ok, but its not what i want to see new to this stuff myself.
Jiggy

[Paleo Pete]

Hmmm...This I don't like at all...

There will be NO MORE insulting, derogatory, confrontational comments. Come back with more of the same garbage and I promise it will be your last post.

Now let's take a closer look at what was posted. First,
(Although I work as a computer repair tech for a contracting company, I fake it alot) I have a hard time grasping some of the concepts. i.e. DOS, Windows 2000, System files IO.SYS ect, registry.

Nobody said you have to be a computer genius to work on them. I've seen so-called "techs" working for national retail establishments and tech support for large computer companies who know far less than I or the average participant here on the forums. Nothing wrong with not being a master technician as long as you know your limits and try not to tackle something you're not capable of dealing with.

The replies... I am not getting down on you by no means and i mean that! ThenI'm sorry I just had to say to please take this a little more seriously a lot of these people here on this forum have taken a lot of time and effort and money to get to the level of quality that a forum like this deserves.

I am just learning and try not to do things that are over my head. Advice to Revjapaca study, be trueful, and honest. I wish you the best.

And...
I was not aware that you had no experience. I had been working with PCs for years before I took the tests. I would recommend studying and getting more experience before you attempt the test.

I don't see anything there that should get someone this riled up. These people have tried their best to offer solid, well intentioned advice. They have also tried to make sure you know they are not trying to get on your case, simply answering your question and offering the best suggestions and advice they can.

My advice would be the same, study and get more experience, and of course try not to be dishonest concerning your capabilities.

A reply of the sort I see here is not necessary, not very well thought out, and unacceptable overall. When yuou registered your user name you accepted an agreement that states in part:
You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this forum to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law...Please keep your postings on topic to the particular forum you are using, and be respectful and considerate to other participants.

Although I rarely find it necessary, I do enforce those guidelines. I do not tolerate insulting, derogatory comments toward ANY participant of the PC Guide Discussion Forums, period. That is one of the things most of these people like best about this site, we have always had a friendly, cooperative atmosphere, without the bickering and insults that are common with other similar forums. It will stay that way as long as I am in the captain's chair.

Nobody has insulted or belittled you, they gave you the best advice they could, and tried their best to let you know they were not getting on your case. What they said is true, you do need to get more hands-on experience, you do need to study before attempting the test, and by "faking it" as you say, you are deceiving people. That is not a good thing.

To handle a job such as you describe, where most of your duties are limited to basic parts replacements, maybe a person could get by with only a modicum of knowledge. But to get A+ certification and become a true computer technician, you'll need much more knowledge and experience.

True, some of these people are not exactly perfect at spelling, but that does not mean they don't know what they are doing with computer repairs. We have people at nearly all levels of expertise, and those who are just beginning usually learn a lot from those of us who are more advanced, and since the software used for these forums has no spell checker, sometimes we have to grin and bear a few spelling mistakes.

Answering a couple hundred questions on the forums does not make any of these people qualified to judge anyone else, and none of them have tried to judge you. YOU told them that you had little experience, they answered your question accordingly and made excellent suggestions concerning what you will need to do to be able to acquire A+ certification.

Study and experience, same as anyone else.

No more ranting will be tolerated, treat these people with respect, same as they do, or find somewhere else to rant. They only answered your question. If you don't like the answer, don't get mad at them, YOU are the one who asked, you got honest answers.







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[rustycason]

That last post was only my third post. I thought you really needed some input. Sorry.

[Revjapaca]

You're wasting you time and energy, I had already stated that I would bow out and find another site. Peace 2 U

[YODA74]

sorry, if thats your choice.It would be nice if you stayed,But Good luck

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[chall67]

WOW! What a flamer that was. This is my first day as a registered member of the forum and I it's refreshing to finally find a place that I can go to and learn something useful from people that are kind enough to share their knowledge with a novice such as I. My complements to the moderator of this forum for the way he tactfully handled that situation.
Anyway, in answer to the original question, I myself am going to take the hardware core part of the A+ exam first. I'm having a little trouble grasping the OS core part of it but next semester I'll be taking a class on the Windows OS and I figure that will give me what I need to know to pass the OS core. Right now I'm just going to get the hardware core part out of the way. You all take care. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

[moe20]

I'm from Ontario,Canada and I'm new on this forum.Iwas just reading about the post that this guy posted on the forum, and I agree with all of you guys, that he shouldn't be insulted in the way you responded to the question he ask. If you're not able to take advices from others, you're in the wrong field. So far, I like this forum and I'm always eager to learn more from whoever knows more than me. I'm planning on going from my A+ certification next year. Congratulation for that forum. Keep on going......Moe20

[jcnoernberg]

You're wasting you time and energy, I had already stated that I would bow out and find another site. Peace 2 U

good luck to ya... this is the only site i've found in years that i have followed for more than a dozen posts... this is about as good as it gets.

anyway, why get all upset? nobody here knows you and you don't know them... so why take it personal?

the best advice i can give on learning any skill is to have a lot of first hand experience. someone said something about a multimeter... if you need a refresher, just grab one and start playing around with it, read the manual, test circuits, etc. to learn more about computers... you already work on them which is good, so start looking real close at them, and when you find a bad board, maybe try to troubleshoot it deeper... post some error codes/problems here and you might LEARN SOMETHING!

[jcnoernberg]

hmmmm... i should have noticed this thread was FIVE YEARS OLD before posting... sorry for beating a long-dead horse!

[Moonwarrior]

Greetings to all !

I’m a disable war veteran 57 years old I have only been into computers for about 4 years but have read a lot and have learn a lot by hands on somewhat. I have read about computers and new computer technologies. I have made a decision to become a tech.

I would like to know where to start as far as books to read for the A+ certificate? I would really appreciate it.

Thank you kindly

Moonwarrior

[PrntRhd]

Welcome Moonwarrior,
Believe it or not, there is a free sister site with A+ materials here:
www.certiguide.com

[sini5tra]

Greetings to all !

I’m a disable war veteran 57 years old I have only been into computers for about 4 years but have read a lot and have learn a lot by hands on somewhat. I have read about computers and new computer technologies. I have made a decision to become a tech.

I would like to know where to start as far as books to read for the A+ certificate? I would really appreciate it.

Thank you kindly

Moonwarrior

Mike Meyers A+ Certification is a must.

I'm disabled myself, 50 next month and I've been "playing" with computers since 1998 and am in the throws of retraining for a tech job. I've just passed my A+ Core Hardware exam. Financial constraints mean that I must save up to pay for the OS Tech Exam, but I hope to take it by the end of April, beginning of May at the latest.

I've got a Mike Meyers OS Lab Manual coming as well to help me with real life troubleshooting scenarios since although I've fixed or upgraded a fair number of PCs I lack the wider troubleshooting experience. Plus all the Exam Cram guides, the field guide and exam questions are very good as they wiil help to show you what you require to know for the exam and they do contain a lot of additional information. I'm also now moderating a tech forum on an rpger site which has helped a great deal as I've learnt a quite a bit myself, not least of which is how to find the information I need if I don't know the answer to something.

Mike Meyers book goes beyond A+, but like he says, a better understanding of the underlying technology will make you a better tech in the long run.

One thing I have learnt over the years is DOS, using the command line and how to edit the registry and system files, which I'm glad of. There seems to be an awful lot of it in the OS Exam. :)