Product Description

This text provides a thorough, step-by-step look at the fundamentals of supporting and troubleshooting computer operating systems. It covers new operating systems including Windows XP, Linux and Mac OS and maps fully to CompTIA's 2003 A+ OS Exam. It can be used in an introduction to operating systems course.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1332555 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 675 pages

About the Author
Jean Andrews has more than 30 years of experience in the computer industry, including more than 13 years in the college classroom. She has worked in a variety of businesses and corporations designing, writing, and supporting application software; managing a PC repair help desk; and troubleshooting wide area networks. She has written numerous books on software, hardware, and the Internet, including the bestselling A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, 6th Edition, and A+ Guide to Hardware: Managing, Maintaining and Troubleshooting, Fourth Edition. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Customer Reviews

Great Tool Part 2
Even though the CompTIA A+ exam objectives changed in 2006 from the old version of hardware and software, that is still the way that most people teach and learn the material. Therefore, this book and its companion volume CompTIA A+ Guide to Hardware cover all the material for the exams 220-601 A+ Essentials, 220-602 A+ IT Technician, 220-603 A+ Remote Support Technician and 220-604 Depot Technician.

These books have a number of great features. First is the exam objective map in the front cover of each book. It maps the exam objectives for each of the four exams to the chapters in the books. The second is the side marks, on each page; there are either green or blue sidebars marking what part of the page is for what exam, or if it is not. (See Image) The extensive Appendixes in this book include:

o Appendix A How an OS Uses System Resources
o Appendix B Introducing Linux
o Appendix C the Mac OS
o Appendix D Supporting Windows NT Workstation
o Appendix E CompTIA A+ Acronym

These are very helpful and really should be essential reading for certification exam prep. Both books also have an extensive glossary; each word that is in the glossary appears in blue in the text of the book. Now from here, the books become very different. This book comes with a supplemental CD with selftest software and other tools to help you in the course, and in an IT job. I keep all my Cert books in a shelf above my desk and reference at least 1 book a week.

The chapters covered in this book are:
1.Introducing Operating Systems
2.Installing Windows 2000/XP
3.Maintaining Windows 2000/XP
4.Supporting Windows 2000/XP Users and Their Data
5.Troubleshooting Windows 2000/XP Startup
6.Windows 9x/ME Commands and Startup Disk
7.Supporting Windows 9x/ME
8.PCs on a Network
9.PCs on the Internet
10.Securing your PC and LAN
11.Supporting Printers and Scanners
12.The Professional PC Technician

This book will be the basis of almost any IT role you will pursue. It is a great tool for your IT tool box. The instructor's version of the book has a different CD and they can generate testbank questions based upon each chapter. There are also supplemental PowerPoints for each chapter and review question answer charts. In IT. it is essential to have three key skills: to be able to research, to have a strong network of contacts to draw upon, and to know how to troubleshoot. These books hammer home the key steps to troubleshooting and give a good start to being a good researcher. I have had a few friends do A+ at other schools or with different books and found that those books were lacking compared to these two. Other resources for you to draw upon are the CompTIA IT Pro forums, the CompTIA Facebook group and the Comptia LinkedIn groups.

Detailed Book
Written in an easy to understand format. Lots of graphics to enhance the text.

A+ Guide to Software
Excellent book that I am going to keep. It is so informative and it will definitely help me with computer problems. Excellent in shipping the book to me by the seller as well. Just like the book states, A+.