Derek Walker's A+ Braindump  September 1998

85% for the core exam and 80% for
the Dos/Windows. Pass mark was 65% and 66% respectivelly.

Ok, questions, sorry, I do not remember any specific ones but I do remember
the following bits which they asked.

Ink jet printer, 2 questions, one about the head (very vague question), the
other about the purge assy (what is it used for).

IRQ's: 4 questions, irq for com1,(twice), which IRQ can't I use if I use IRQ
2, IRQ for LPT 1/2.

Base Addresses: two questions.

Where and how to find info: in Win 95, stax of these, all very vague.

IDE/SCSI cable: how many pins, (at least 3 questions)

Other connectors: Gender of DB9 in serial, what is not a scsi connector type.

Networking: peer to peer.

Memory: what is conventional memory, what is used to load Dos High.

Dos: which is needed to boot up, where is path used, 

Windows 95 startup disk: what files are on it

Windows 95, what is an issue when upgrading from 3,x

Boot Floppy: what files are on it. What happens if one is missing.

HDD's: invalid media message. disk compression.

SmartDrive, cache and swap files: questions on all three, what will improve
performance.

System monitor: 2 questions.

Processors: two questions, first processor to use 64 bits externally. How
much cache in Pentium II, 

Bus types: ISA can be used where, 16 Bit bus is what,

Notebooks: 2 questions, PCMCIA type for HDD.

Cleaning: what is used to clean cases.

Modems: what is command used to hang up a modem, to dial out, external modem
converts from what to what, 

Fdisk: at least 2 questions.

Real and protected mode: what happens if not working properly.

Internet protocols: 2 questions on these.

File and print sharing: 2 questions. 

Print manager in Win95: 2 questions. 

LBA Mode: 1 question

Narrow scsi: (not a term used at all in our notes), how many supported
devices, what is terminator.

Naming conventions in Dos and win95: 2 questions

Board layout: 2 questions, (identify component and what uses soft power off)

Start Menu in Win 95: which files to find errors. What to load for minimum
config.

CD's: vague question about optimising in Win 95

Virus's: 1 question: what is affected.

UPS, surges, sags: 1 question

FAT: what OP sys uses FAT.

At least 2 other questions relating to non starting of win95.

Lasers: 3 questions. (transfer corona, writing phase, light sensitivity)

EMI/ESD at least 3 questions. What affects power cable, where to wear a
wrist strap, when to discharge CRT

Uses of meters: 2 questions (measure a good fuse)

Customer relations: 6 questions (do not count towards score)

Memory: what is a Dimm.

Overall: they seemed to concentrate mainly on physical things like connector
types, cable widths, very little on processors and bus types and stuff which
could be open to ambiguity. The Software exam was difficult, most of us know
how to do things in win95 and 3,X but to be able to write it down is another
thing. I was surprised that there was not too much on memory and memory
management, I expected more on that. 
Time was adequate, although some of the questions are very vague and need
rethinking. I saw very few that could have had more than one answer, most
only had 1 answer. There was nothing on tape drives, co-processors, EMM386
switches, PIF's, profiles, customising, Very little on the register, ini
files, bridges, routers etc.

Thats it I am afraid, I will do some thinking for specific questions. Oddly
enough, many were the same that were used for the previous exam and which
were is Phillip Evans 334 questions and your own brain dump.

Is it easy to pass with minimal knowledge? no. with a bit of studying of key
issues yes. The software exam is not too difficult if you are a regular user
of Win95, but there are other issues to know as well.