To indicate basic hardware mastery, consider adding the vendor-independent A+ certification to your résumé.
Making the Grade with A+
To indicate basic hardware mastery, consider adding the vendor-independent A+ certification to your résumé.
Odds are good that one of the reasons youve become
a Microsoft Certified Professional is to stand out from
your peers. Now you may be seeking another certification
to enhance what you have. One of the best companion certifications
youll find is the A+, the only independent hardware
competency certification around. While Microsoft certifications
represent software mastery, with emphasis on a product
(Windows NT Server), the A+ certification represents a
hardware mastery (although one of the two exams is actually
software-based).
The A+ certification is universally recognized and gives
you the ability to fulfill many service technician requirements
established by vendors like Hewlett-Packard.
Marrying what the market perceives as a software certification
(the MCP title) with a hardware one helps indicate a well-rounded
administrator, able to see the whole picture. Also, theres
a good amount of overlap between information you had to
learn for the Networking Essentials exam and the A+ Core
exam. Additionally, if you took Windows 95 as an elective
to become a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE),
then you know a great deal of what youll need for
the A+ DOS/Windows elective. In short, the two certifications
work well together, and youll find a minimal learning
curve if youve already become an MCSE.
The Governing Body
Whereas Microsoft is the sole vendor behind the MCP titles,
a number of vendors support the A+ certification under
the collective title of Computing Technology Industry
Association (CompTIA); member vendors are listed on the
Web site at www.comptia.org. The tests are available in
numerous languages around the world and administered through
Sylvan Prometric (800-776-4276 or www.prometric.com).
The cost per exam is $120 for one or $215 for two (there
are also slight discounts if you work for a company thats
a member of CompTIA). You must pass the two exams within
90 days to become A+ certified, and many candidates choose
to take both on the same daythus qualifying for
the discount pricing. If you dont pass your second
exam within the 90-day period, you must retake the first
exam.
As with the Microsoft exams, anyone can call, register,
and sit the exams. Youre not required to attend
any specialized training first. Youll find numerous
self-study routes available to you; more on that shortly.
An Overview of the Tests
The A+ certification has been around since July 1993,
and over 65,000 people have become A+ certified. The tests
recently underwent a major overhaul to make them more
current, and the new exams debuted on July 31, 1998. Prior
to that, a candidate had to pass the Core exam and an
electiveeither Mac- or DOS-based. After the revisions,
a candidate must pass the Core exam and the new Microsoft
DOS/Windows exam. The Mac elective is history.
Sample
Questions for the A+ Core Exam |
1. The IRQ commonly used
for the floppy drive is:
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
2. How many pins are typically on a keyboard
(choose two):
- 5
- 6
- 9
- 15
3. Expanded memory is controlled or accessed
by:
- Himem
- Hiload
- Emm386
- UMB
(Click here for
the answers.)
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The exams ask multiple-choice questions; theyre
non-adaptive. Whereas Microsoft loves to use verbose questions
that require a great deal of reading just to ascertain
what the question really is, A+ questions are short and
straightforward (IRQ 14 is commonly used for:).
You can mark questions and return to them, as well as
use the Next and Previous buttons to navigate. The exams
incorporate a minimal number of exhibits. The testing
engine is, for all intents and purposes, identical to
that used for the Microsoft exams.
The Core Exam
The core exam consists of 70 multiple choice questions
that must be answered in 60 minutes. The last seven questions
are on customer satisfaction and dont count in your
score. All told, the exam is divided into eight categories.
Those categories and their weight on the exam are as follows:
|
Installation, configuration,
and upgrading |
30% |
|
Diagnosing and
troubleshooting |
20% |
|
Safety and preventive
maintenance |
10% |
|
Motherboards/processors/memory
|
10% |
|
Printers |
10% |
|
Portable systems
|
5% |
|
Basic networking
|
5% |
|
Customer satisfaction
(doesnt affect your score) |
10%
|
The passing score is 65 percent.
Though the Basic Networking portion is only five percent,
youll find that much of the information you had
to study for the Networking Essentials exam (70-058) carries
over to this test. For the Microsoft exam, you had to
know different connector types (which falls into the Installation
section here), modems (which falls into Diagnosing here),
and so on.
What youll find you must study most is the individual
system components: IRQs, DMAs, and I/O addresses, as well
as everything you can about memory and how it was configured
in days of old.
Sample
Questions for the DOS/Windows Exam |
1. In DOS 6.2, the line
FILES=60 should be in which
file:
- Autoexec.bat
- Config.sys
- MSDOS.SYS
- IO.SYS
2. What type of multitasking is supported
in Windows 3.1:
- cooperative
- preemptive
- real mode
- protected mode
3. What is the correct file boot sequence
in Windows 95:
- Autoexec.bat, Config.sys, Command.com
- Config.sys, Autoexec.bat, Command.com
- Command.com, Autoexec.bat, Config.sys
- Config.sys, Command.com, Autoexec.bat
(Click here for
the answers.)
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The DOS/Windows Exam
The elective exam consists of 70 multiple choice questions
that must be answered in 75 minutes. This exam is divided
into five categories; each categorys weight on the
exam is as follows:
|
Function, structure,
operation, and file management |
30% |
|
Memory management |
10% |
|
Installation,
configuration, and upgrading |
25% |
|
Diagnosing and
troubleshooting |
25% |
|
Networks |
10%
|
The passing score is 66 percent.
You must know plenty about MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows
95. If you used a Windows 95 exam (70-063 or 70-064) as
your client elective for the MCSE certification, you already
know all that you need for that portion of this exam.
Just go back and break out the old DOS and Windows 3.x
books and look at the information on file configuration.
Also know what utilities were included with DOS and Windows
3.x for defragmentation, backups, and memory management.
Getting Ready
For this pair of tests, you can take a class, read a
book, or watch a video. Dozens of products have appeared
in the last six to nine months to help you prepare. One
caveat: When looking at books or other study materials,
make certain they reflect the exam overhaul of last July.
In most cases, this is spelled out on the cover or back
of the book. If its not quite so obvious, look at
the copyright date; its a safe bet that any book
bearing a date prior to 1998 is written to the old exams.
I've evaluated a number of texts you can consider for
self-study. Heres a brief rundown:
- A+ Certification Exam Guide
by Michael Meyers. Published by McGraw-Hill for $54.99
(ISBN 0-07913-765-2). Excellent coverage of hardware;
well-illustrated. Includes a CD of test questions that
fit in well with the text rather than being another
add-on.
- A+ Certification Study Guide
by Syngress Media, Inc. Published by Osborne McGraw-Hill
for $49.99 (ISBN 0-07882-538-5). All the topics are
within the standard study guide format; its bundled
with a demo software CD. Be sure to download the errata
sheet from the publishers site.
- A+ Certification Test Yourself
Practice Exams by Syngress Media, Inc. Published
by Osborne McGraw-Hill for $39.99 (ISBN 0-07211-877-6).
This book has no text, per se, but is a good collection
of questions to study in each category; answers follow
the exams. A good companion to any other guide, including
the A+ Certification Study Guide.
- A+ Certification Test Yourself
Personal Testing Center, published by Osborne
McGraw-Hill for $129.99. This newly-released CD-based
software program provides lessons and practice tests.
(A companion package was released at the same time for
the MCSE track.)
- A+ Exam Cram by Jones,
et al. Published by Certification Insider Press (Coriolis)
for $29.99 (ISBN 1-57610-251-3). To those who have used
the Exam Cram books for MCSE study, this format will
be familiar. Rather than going into excessive detail,
the facts you need to know for the exam are covered
in a concise format.
- A+ Exam Prep by Jean Andrews.
Published by Certification Insider Press (Coriolis)
for $59.99 (ISBN 1-57610-241-6). An excellent book with
the information you need for the current exams, although
the layout of the chapters doesnt always make
that as clear as it could or should.
Other
CompTIA Certifications |
The Computing Technology
Industry Association currently offers
three certifications:
- A+hardware certification.
- CDIACertified Document Imaging
Architect.
- Network+formerly known as
IT Skills.
As of this writing, the Network+ exam
was undergoing revisions to accompany
its name change; it wasnt available.
Learn more about the A+ track at www.comptia.org/certification/
aplus/all_about_aplus.htm.
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After You Pass
Answers |
- A+ Core:
1. B, 2. A+B, 3. C
- DOS/Windows:
1. B, 2. A, 3. D
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When you finish the exams, you receive a printout resembling
the ones accompanying Microsoft exams. The report details
how well you did in each category, and which areas you
need to focus on. When youve passed both exams,
Sylvan Fulfillment will mail you a logo tear sheet and
certificate within a few weeks. You can add the A+ logo
to your business cards and purchase placards to display
at your site of business.
If you fail either exam, you can reschedule to take it
at any time so long as both are passed within 90 days.
More
About Training |
In addition to self-study
books, almost all of the vendors behind
computer-based training products for MCSE
exams also have A+ offerings. Vendors
known to have products are listed below
in alphabetic order; check their Web sites
for prices and features:
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