Comptia A+ 220-801 and 220-802 Authorized Exam Cram

I cannot say this strongly enough... If your goal is to pass the A+ exams in the most efficient manner possible, then this is absolutely the only study material you will need. This was my only source of study and I was able to pass both exams easily after 3.5 weeks.Unlike with the Mike Meyer's series and a few others, this book gets straight to brass tacks. Don't expect personal anecdotes, jokes, stories or other superfluous chatter. The book respects your time and will deliver the information as directly and succinctly as possible. Inside you'll find study sheets, practice questions (both written and digital), pictures, charts, and "exam alerts" which are designed to draw your attention to material that is necessary to master.If you prefer a book with humor or back stories to lighten the mood (and there's nothing wrong with that) then this is not the book for you. In that situation, I would recommend looking in the direction of the Mike Meyer's series of books. But, conversely if your full intent is to quickly and completely understand the subject and then pass the A+ exams, you'd be making a mistake if you looked elsewhere.

In order to review for the CompTIA A+ 220-810 and 220-802 certification tests I purchased the EXAM/CRAM 220-801 220-802 and rented Meyer's book, CompTIA A+ Certification from Amazon. I found the information in Meyer's book to be helpful, laid out in a clear (but not concise) way, and, for 1,450 pages of text able to hold my attention.Where Meyer's book fails and EXAM/CRAM's wins is the massive amount of exam prep questions contained within each chapter and the two prep tests at the end of the book.Compared to Meyer's book, the EXAM/CRAM book had more "beneficial" review material, it laid all the information needed in a more concise way, contained plenty of prep/review questions and two complete prep tests, one for the 220-801 and one for the 220-802.Based on both of these books, I favored the EXAM/CRAM book, hands-down. It had the same amount of required information (CompTIA test obkectives) without the extra 700 pages of text. It also had more preparatory questions that made me feel confident on test day.If (and that's a big if) Meyer's included more prep questions and prep tests, his book would be a clear winner, but, for my studying style (questioning myself to death) his book failed and EXAM/CRAM's won. I credit EXAM/CRAM's CompTIA A+ review book with my 90.5% and 91.5% on the CompTIA A+ 220-801 and 220-802 respectively.

I've worked in the IT field for 15+ years and decided to get my A+ Certification after finding more employers requiring field techs and Help Desk Analysts to have it. Only halfway through the book, but it's an easy read with exam tips throughout. If you're like me and don't need to be overloaded with unnecessary technical jargon, but don't want to waste your money on a watered down reference manual that won't help you get prepared for the exam then this is the one for you.UPDATE 4/18/2016: I took the 220-801 exam in February 2016 and passed on the first attempt with a score in the 800s. On the advice of my colleagues, I waited a few weeks and took the 220-802 in March 2016 and again passed on my first attempt with a score in the 800s. The simulation tests provided on the enclosed disc were a big help supplemented with numerous online simulation tests that I found on various websites. This book was my only reference book for the exam and I highly recommend it. Before ordering, make sure that the 220-801 and 220-802 exams are still being offered by your local testing site. The 220-901 and 220-902 A+ exams are now available and it's just a matter of time before the 801 and 802 will be dropped.

I was going to wait until after I take the 220-801 & 220-802 to post a review (because the proof is in the pudding) but I thought I should do it now in case someone out there like me was comparing books. I am halfway through this so I've got a good idea of the writing style. If you are comparing texts with the sole purpose of passing the exams, buy this one! I had previously purchased a the Mike Meyers book, and while it is detailed, it is so long and tedious I quickly lost interest. If you have a basic competency with computers and don't need someone to hold your hand through the history of the Internet & what a modem does, then this is the book for you. It jumps right in with real world scenarios and troubleshooting. I learned more in 5 days than I have in the past year. The accompanying software is also really helpful as it contains a lot of practice exams. If you are on the fence, grab this book, it's much more practical.

I would highly recommend both this book and the companion one which contains 700 sample test questions. Both books come with CDs, allowing you to take computer based tests, similar to the actual exams. I found this to be a valuable addition to the book material.That said, I would recommend the use of more than one study guide in preparing for the A+ tests. Different authors will have slightly different ways of covering the material, both in terms of subject areas and ways of teaching the material. I initially used another highly recommended (1450page!) study guide, but even with the size of the book I found explanations and coverage a bit lacking. In my opinion, Prowse presents the material in a much more coherent manner.Also, it probably goes without saying that the operating systems sections will make much more sense if you have access to computers running those OSs and can follow along. For this version of the exams, that would be Win XP, Vista, 7. I run XP on my desktop, so that was no problem. And I purchased Win 7 and put that on my laptop. I never had access to Vista, so I just had to work harder at memorizing that related material.By the way, I easily passed both exams this week on the first try.

Good book, I've only read to chapter 2 and so far I can say out of the three other A+ books I bought and not learnt a thing, I have actually learnt from this book. The way the author presents the information is good its clear and has a reasonable structure. I have the all-In-One book which is ok but I think the book is poorly ordered and its full of to much fluff as appose to this book that just get down to business. You are made aware of what objectives you are covering from the get go of each chapter and the author really doesn't include and jibber but still is able to make the book readable. I would say that if you have 0 knowledge of hardware then probably dont get this book as you may struggle, admittedly I still consider myself a novice but could tell you what RAM, CPU, PCI etc was before reading so it is probably suitable for me. I like that is book is only just over 600 pages but still provides the info you need. Only reason it get 4* and not 5 is I feel the author should have literally gone through the objective all in order as displayed in the actually A+ exam objectives.

This book has clear explanations, very good use of tables and diagrams, and manages to cover essential knowledge in a way that is both accessible and rigorous to the degree necessary to be of use in the real world.The advantage of its compact size is that it gives you a framework into which you can fit more details gathered from bigger books covering the same subject. Ideally you want a bigger Comptia A+ book that you read with repeated cross reference to this smaller book. The smaller book helps to prevent one getting lost in the maze of details in the bigger book(s).There is a happy blend of theory with real world examples. The writing style is clear, neither overly academic nor popular but striking a good balance.I read this book after passing the A+ exams but will often refer to it if I've forgotten something I need in my daily work. Of course you need more reference books than this but for quick look-up of foundational knowledge for any computer technician then this is my go-to book. With the accompanying question book it also becomes a serious learning package. Highly recommended.

I'm only part of the way through this so don't take my word as gospel, but so far the key concepts and technologies have been explained clearly, concisely and memorably. By the time I get to each section quiz I am confident in my answers.I'm versed in IT and it's relevant to my job, but I'm not a quote-unquote "IT Professional." However, I do not feel I need any more than this guide to pass the exam, and in fact more detail might detract from remembering the important stuff. Obviously, beyond the exam in the real world you'll want a broader knowledge of the subject, but I think this a good start for anyone with a basic grasp of technology who wants to get the A+ qualification.

I highly recommend this book if you have any experience with PCs at all.It gets straight to the point, dosn't mess around, it tells you exactly what you need to know, if your completely new to computers i would recommend the A+ Complete Guide as that will make it easier for everything to sink in, otherwise this book is excellent and helped me pass my exam.It also has alot of great practice questions at the end of the book, five stars from me!

I bought this book initially to see how much I actually really new about computer maintenance, and I have found it to be excellent. Well written, clear and concise information, well laid, out an absolute must have even if only for reference. My problem now is trying to find a place in Ireland to sit the exam without having to pay thousands of euro for it. I am sure that once I finish the book I would be in a position to pass the exam though as it is such a good book.