PC Technician Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to CompTIA A+ Skills

Great book. Just what I thought it would be. A great addition to an technicians bookshelf.

This guide is actually a step-by-step hands-on learning, real world scenarios, teaching Support Specialist how to actually perform those tasks that arises frequently on the job, common responsibilities of a PC Technician, based upon exam objectives. This book is merely saying that you can use it as a Lab Manual for certification prep, along side another resources, therefore, is not the go to source for passing the A+ CompTia Test alone, I've been an A+ Technician for 7 years now, and worked with individuals with all kinds of certifications that couldn't handle the most basic of tasks on the job. The IT Field is littered with Know-it-all types, instead, this is the very beginning point and should be recommended to better understand more advance systems and technologies down the road. If you're studying for the test, add this to your resources of learning, you won't be disappointed and soon you too will start noticing individuals that negatively review the basics but can't replace a Hardrive, Troubleshoot a Network, Install a Printer or Add User accounts to a Windows Server Domain, among other tasks. Hope This Review Helps You, Good Luck

In response to the person who said it was to easy and not practical, well I'm here to tell you it is. I'm studying for the A+ exams and just purchased this as a supplement to the Mike Meyers book. I've been working with computers since the DOS days but have never gotten in to building, repairing, or upgrading systems. This book covers simple things that most of us should know how to do (replacing ram, pci cards, etc) but it also does more advanced things as well. I never replaced a motherboard or cpu. This book goes into detail on how to do this. Obviously if you know how to build a cpu from scratch, this book is not for you. If you have rarely, or never, opened up a cpu and installed components, its extremely helpful. I recommend it and it has helped me out.

I agree with the previous reviewer, James' style is easy to follow. The book is divided up by simple tasks to harder task as you progress through the book. If you are a noob to the PC repair and upgrade workplace and want a book that will walk you through the normal day to day jobs that makes up "A day in the life of a PC Tech", then this book is right up your alley. I don't reccomend this for people who have been working in the field and just found themselves wanting or needing the A+ certificate. It would not provide much more than a basic review and your money could be spent better on an exam cram or fast pass guide. Good luck on the Exam!

If you need some hands-on practice for the A+ exams, you really ought to invest a little in your career and buy this book. After all, most of us learn by doing... and in my opinion, there are no better hands-on practice scenarios than the labs included in this book. The step-by-step directions for each lab are clear, and Pyles' writing style is interesting and easy to understand. The book is also filled with helpful notes, tips, and warnings, many of which are critical for you to know for the A+ exams. In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone studying for the A+ certification. Not only will it help you pass the exams, but more importantly, it will also make you a much better tech.