Greetings. I just passed both A+ exams after studying for only 3 weeks. The only book I read was Michael Meyers' 3rd edition All-in-One A+ Certification Exam Guide.

The book is very interesting and very thorough. As far as the hardware sections go, even someone who has never set eyes on a computer could understand them after reading his book. For the two weeks it took me to read it, the only thing I could bear to put it down for was to rip my old computer apart.

The software section of the book was a little more confusing. Definitely do not skip the online chapter on Windows basics. I waited until the end to read it, and it should be read right before the Windows chapter in the book. If all I had done to prepare for the OS test was read Mike's book, I don't think I would have passed.

I also used some free online tests to prepare. They were very helpful. The tests on the CD in Mike's book were not all that helpful and didn't seem to have had much thought put into them. Also there are tons of programming errors on the CD, so stop by the website to download potential fixes. None of them worked for me, but when I emailed Total Seminars, Mike's company, for tech support, they happily offered to send me a free copy of the CD which had had all the bugs removed.

All in all, I'd say I recommend the book highly for the hardware section of the exam. I especially recommend it if you're actually interested in learning. I also recommend that you find another book for the OS exam.

Recommended: Yes