Learning CompTIA A+ by Yourself, on the Cheap! Part 2

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On day 2 of my quest to earn a CompTIA A+ certification in 7 days, I learned many things.  Among those, my 7-day timeline was entirely unrealistic.  Sure it was optimistic and rather bold, but I truly believed it could be done.  That was before I spent 4 hours this afternoon on 1/3rd of today’s study material.  I did manage to get through 2 of the 3 chapters I planned so not all hope is lost!  But it turns out, pushing through 200 pages of what is essentially a complex textbook, note taking and all, is not something you really want to do in one day.  I will spare you an updated prediction on the timetable to get through this beast of a book [CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams 220-701 & 220-702)]but it should not be far off from my original 7-day goal.  I’m being extra vigilant in avoiding rushing through a chapter only to have to re-read it before taking the certification tests. I made it through chapters 4 and 5 today.  Chapter 4 was on the operating system Windows.  And just as I catch myself thinking, “Geez, I always thought Windows was more complex than this,” I realize that this was only an introduction to the basic elements of Windows.  In depth analysis and breakdown of the specific functions and applications in relation to troubleshooting and repairing a PC with Windows have their own dedicated chapters further down the line.  I should have known it couldn’t be that easy…

Chapter 5 was on microprocessors (e.g., AMD Phenom II, Intel Core i7)  There really isn’t much to be said on this one.  I was surprised to find the concepts behind the theory and functionality of a microprocessor to be less foreign to me than the Windows OS (2000, XP, Vista).

My excitement has yet to lose any of its momentum.  I’m encouraged as I continue to read about the difference between DIMM and RIMM, megabytes and megabits.  If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to catch up to my original timetable over the next few days as I encounter shorter chapters.  In any case, the study must go on!

Until next time…