A+ Exam Prep Hardware Questions

[james1701]

I currently have the David Prowse 301-802 Exam guide. I am trying to wrap my head around a couple of practice questions that just do not seam right.

The first one was, you want to upgrade the ram and you have sticks you know are compatible and it does not boot. Two of the four choices are, try another ram stick, or flash the bios.

I picked, swap the ram stick, but the book said the correct answer is flash the bios. Why in Gods name would you do that first. If you did your homework on a board and know the memory is on the QVL list and is compatible, there would have been a note on the list saying to upgrade the bios in order to run this memory setup. Would not trying a different stick be less risky than just flashing a bios?

The second question is how do you know a processor is going bad. The correct answer in the book was it would use more and more voltage to stay stable. In an enthusiast world, that would be correct. But in the office world, a mobo does not just keep increasing voltage over the VID, and would not know it was needed to remain stable. The voltage would never be changed.

Why are the A+ test questions such a guarded secret. Are there not people that pay people just to take the test and write a review based on questions that were actually on the test?

 

[Gunbuster]

Back in the olden days when I took the A+ it was a joke. I guess it still is.

 

[Bricked]

It doesn't sound to me like that guide is all that great - the practice questions certainly aren't. I've found A+ practice exams to be pretty useless; when I was studying for my A+, every practice exam I did was way tougher than the actual exams and they didn't help much.

It sounds like you know enough where you can trust your own knowledge. I didn't know much at all when I took my A+; all I had done up to that point was swap some video cards and IDE drives. Afterwards I realized that I could have passed it without studying.

 

[Torn Mind]

The RAM answer is stupid. I'm not sure if it's the author making a mistake or if it is from the cert people themselves. You do not flash BIOS willy-nilly because it COULD go wrong and then your system is screwed. Not always completely, but things can "break". Swapping out sticks, on the other hand, won't do that kind of damage, although you should protect the part from static damage.

 

[Ketchup]

First question. I think the phrase "known good sticks" means that you already know they work and are compatible with the board. However, a computer with non-working RAM is going to get stuck on a beep code before you can flash it.

Second question, impossible to test that in a normal environment.

Honestly, this book of yours seems to be very outdated unless the other questions are much better. I took an A+ course a few years ago, and I don't recall seeing answers like that.

 

[paul878]

A+ is a joke, but you do need it to get your foot in the door.

If the question and answers are stupid, don't fight it.
Sometime you have to use the process elimination to come up with the answer they want, and the right answer doesn't always make sense.

 

[XavierMace]

Yeah don't try to guess the correct answer, try to guess the answer they are looking for.

 

[james1701]

The book is the Exam Cram 801-802 sixth edition 2013. Some of the cram questions just don't make sense at times.

Another ram question was if you are having problems with stick of ram, what should you do. Two of the four answers where clean the ram slot, or run Memtest. The answer in the book was to clean the ram slot.

Two main differences in the 801-802 exam from old is the inclusion of practical application of skills. It opens a CLI and you have to perform tasks from anything from changing file attributes, to navigation and I have no idea what else is involved.

They have changed the particular coarse I am taking in school to where is you pass the A+, its an automatic A for the class. If you do not pass, 60% of your grade is based on the percentage you made on the A+ test. So if you have carried a 4.0 the entire time in college and you get to this class and have a bad day and don't pass the test, then your 4.0 is completely shot. And this entire class is assembling a PC that you choose the parts for and order, and studying this particular book, and taking the test.

That has me worried.

 

[Ketchup]

So if you have carried a 4.0 the entire time in college and you get to this class and have a bad day and don't pass the test, then your 4.0 is completely shot.

I had a business class where 80% of the grade was on one presentation.

And I thought the A+ class was pretty early on, so it should be recoverable, if needed. Besides, if you are experienced with computer hardware, Windows OS's, and some networking, just memorize the ones that don't make sense, and you should do fine with the rest.

 

[james1701]

Nope its one of the last classes in my program. I think about two weeks after I pass the A+, I am going to pass the Net+. I only have one more web design class, and a career prep class and I am done with this degree.

Then I am off for a bachelors in security, with a minor in computer forensics. I just wish I would have not waited until I was almost 40 to do it.

 

[TestSpecimen]

The book is the Exam Cram 801-802 sixth edition 2013. Some of the cram questions just don't make sense at times.

Another ram question was if you are having problems with stick of ram, what should you do. Two of the four answers where clean the ram slot, or run Memtest. The answer in the book was to clean the ram slot.

Two main differences in the 801-802 exam from old is the inclusion of practical application of skills. It opens a CLI and you have to perform tasks from anything from changing file attributes, to navigation and I have no idea what else is involved.

They have changed the particular coarse I am taking in school to where is you pass the A+, its an automatic A for the class. If you do not pass, 60% of your grade is based on the percentage you made on the A+ test. So if you have carried a 4.0 the entire time in college and you get to this class and have a bad day and don't pass the test, then your 4.0 is completely shot. And this entire class is assembling a PC that you choose the parts for and order, and studying this particular book, and taking the test.

That has me worried.

Don't you still have the option of taking the 700 series tests? I just got my A+ back in Feb. and I think I remember reading you had till August to take the older 700 ones and still get credit for it. Unless of course your course stipulates that you have to take the 800 series.

 

[james1701]

Not for the class, its required we take the 800 series test. It's part of an associate's degree program.

 

[mfenn]

That has me worried.

Don't sweat it too much. You only have to answer roughly 75% of the questions correctly to pass. If you're missing 2 out of a 100 question practice test, you are fine.

 

[james1701]

Just an update. Passed both the 801 and 802 exam today. The practice questions were not that much like what was on the test I took, a few were, but not many. A lot of sims.

 

[nanaki333]

you should grab the A+ stuff from this site. they're really cool and some of the questions are word for word.

http://www.actualtests.com/

 

[Ketchup]

Just an update. Passed both the 801 and 802 exam today. The practice questions were not that much like what was on the test I took, a few were, but not many. A lot of sims.

Good job. I knew you could do it.

 

[piasabird]

Well in the days of via chipsets often using a different BIOS version made a difference. However, things have changed a bit. So it really depends on the motherboard and when it was made. Motherboards have become a lot more stable lately. Changing the BIOS is a good way to make a brick.

 

[aigomorla]

The answer to why u flash the bios is incase the new ram installed is compatiable after the bios update was made..

like Pia states...

A lot has changed now... that question was probably written b4 the conception of Dual Channel...


congrats btw!
Now your off fixing computers... yet always end up putting paper in the copy machine.. <--- inside IT joke.

 

[james1701]

lol, good joke.

Actually, I have been working on an internship at a small tech company that is doing online backup, email hosting, cloud data center, remote access, managed services, encrypted email, and network monitoring. They are a Barracuda certified partner, and I am starting to learn those systems. Where I am at, there are not many full service companies like this. It's a really nice learning experience, and the owner, and the other staff person have been really good to me.

From what I am hearing, there may be a place for me there in six more weeks, but I will have to wait to know for sure. It's been like Xmas for me that last couple of weeks. I am enjoying the ride.

 

[PliotronX]

Hah, my classmate and I are studying for the 802 as well with this book. We were discussing this same question and there are a lot of confusing questions in this book and my classmate and I through real-world experience find very different views from the answer given. It seems odd my Cisco professor would recommend it but he said it was cited as being the textbook that aided in a fairly high passing rate. In any case I still enjoy it because I love thinking about hardware and operating systems. I could have passed this exam when I was 15, I am confident. Through the Cisco CCNA course I can answer these questions a lot more in depth now at 29, heh. I just love hardware man, growing up in the 90's it's crazy how it's all evolved.

To top it off, my classmate and I ordered copies of this book new from Amazon and they did not have codes for the Pearson activation. Man how I despise Pearson. The math courses I'm taking prove how difficult it is to work with Pearson material.

 

[james1701]

Lol, when our books came it, it was missing the codes too.

Just make sure you bone up on both types of security. That was one place it seamed like that book lacked compared to what was on the test. Otherwise it did a decent job of being similar.

 

[ibex333]

Back in the olden days when I took the A+ it was a joke. I guess it still is.

Don't say that. I got my job because I have the A+. It may not impress you, but it was a factor in my boss' decision to hire me. Maybe not a major factor, but a factor for sure. A+ wont get you a 90k job, it wont get you anything close to 50k either, but it might get you a starting job in IT and you will go from there.


James, some of the questions in the A+ exam are just plain stupid or don't make any sense but if you study hard you will pass regardless of getting a few questions wrong. And that's all that really matters. You must pass. Just make sure not to assume anything from what people tell you. For example, when I was taking the exam in 2008, people told me not to worry too much about the networking part. Boy, were they wrong! It's a good thing I studied the networking part thoroughly, because there were questions on the OSI model, TCP/IP, and some such. Nothing deep, nothing CISCO like, mind you, but difficult enough for someone who doesn't know jack about networks. And that's how I was back then.

Also, don't just use one book. I had 1 outdated A+ book from Mike Meyers, and 2 pdf A+ books from random authors that I "acquired" online. I really just read the Mike Meyers book, but I skimmed through the other two.

 

[james1701]

lol, I thought I posted I already passed.

Yes there is networking, security and more than just hardware.

It's not the 30 question test it used to be. You actually have to know some items now. I like how they include sim's now. You have to perform, and not just answer multiple choice questions.