Take Core 1 first, always
Core 1 (hardware, networking basics) teaches the vocabulary Core 2 (operating systems, security, procedures) assumes. Ten weeks total at 45 minutes a day: five for Core 1, five for Core 2, with a one-week buffer between exams.
Core 1 (weeks 1-5): touch everything twice
Hardware identification rewards handling parts: if you can, open a dead PC and name everything. Pair each component with its failure symptoms (no-POST beeps, overheating shutdowns, clicking drives). Learn cables and connectors by sight, printers by their process (laser: processing, charging, exposing, developing, transferring, fusing, cleaning), and networking by doing, practice subnetting until /26 arithmetic is automatic.
Core 2 (weeks 6-10): think like a technician
Windows tools by what each fixes (disk, boot, network, permissions), malware removal steps in exact order, and the professionalism scenarios answered as a technician, not a user. Revisit Core 1 networking in week 6. Core 2 assumes you kept it.
The crossover topics (study once, score twice)
Networking (cables, IP basics, Wi-Fi, troubleshooting method) and operational procedures (safety, professionalism, documentation) appear on BOTH exams with different emphasis. Learn them during Core 1 and they arrive pre-studied for Core 2. Schedule a single review week between exams instead of relearning.
Core 1 memorization lists (make these physical cards)
Connectors (USB generations, Thunderbolt, DisplayPort vs HDMI, RJ45/RJ11, SATA, M.2 keys), RAM generations and their notches, printer processes in order, cable categories with speeds and distances, 802.11 standards with frequencies. If a list has more than eight items, split it. Short lists get finished, long ones get avoided.
Two-exam logistics (don't fumble the admin)
Both exams need separate bookings and fees. Schedule Core 1 first, pass it, then book Core 2 within 2-3 weeks while troubleshooting habits are warm. Scores don't combine; each stands alone (675 for Core 1, 700 for Core 2). If Core 1 exposes weak networking, fix it BEFORE Core 2 instead of carrying the gap into an exam that assumes it solved.
What both exams reward
- Best-next-step thinking. Most questions describe symptoms and ask what to do FIRST. Learn the troubleshooting methodology in order and apply it literally.
- Safety answers are cautious. Power, ESD, disposal, and backup questions almost always resolve to the careful option.
- Order questions are free points if drilled. Malware removal, boot processes, and laser printing sequences show up verbatim-style. Rehearse them until recitable.
The ten-week calendar
- Week 1: hardware and safety. Motherboards, RAM, storage, power, ESD, and the tools a technician carries. Open a machine if you can.
- Week 2: displays, printers, and connectors. Cable types by sight, printer stages in order, display faults by symptom.
- Week 3: networking. IP addressing, ports, Wi-Fi standards, SOHO setup. Start the subnet drills now, ten minutes a day.
- Week 4: virtualization, cloud, and troubleshooting method. The six-step method in order, applied to hardware scenarios.
- Week 5: Core 1 simulation and review. Two sittings, then patch only the weak domains. Sit Core 1 at the end of this week or early in week 6.
- Week 6: operating systems. Windows editions, tools, command line, macOS and Linux essentials. Keep one page of commands you actually typed.
- Week 7: security and SOHO. Malware removal order, browser security, wireless security, account hardening.
- Week 8: procedures and soft skills. Change management, documentation, professionalism scenarios, privacy, licensing.
- Week 9: Core 2 simulation and review. Same rhythm as Core 1: sit, review, patch, sit again.
- Week 10: buffer. Life happens. Use this week to absorb a slip, not to learn a new domain.
If you only have four weeks
Two weeks per exam, and no new material after day 12 of each block. Spend the first three days of each block on the domain weight that matters most: Core 1 lives on hardware and networking, Core 2 on operating systems and security. Use one lab a day instead of reading about the procedure. Book both exams up front, but leave at least a week between them. The compressed plan works if your practice simulations are honest. It fails if you count repeat questions as readiness.
Labs that match each exam
For Core 1: build a PC from parts, replace a laptop drive, install a printer and share it, configure a SOHO router, terminate a cable, and diagnose a no-POST machine from beep codes. For Core 2: create and manage user accounts, use disk and boot tools on a broken Windows install, set up a small network share with permissions, remove malware in the correct order, and walk a ticket from greeting to documentation.
Run each lab twice. The first time is learning. The second time, narrate the steps out loud as if the exam is watching. The performance questions grade the procedure, and narration exposes the step you skipped.
Practise with labs and PBQs
The list above says what to practise. Where you practise it matters too: the Core 1 pack holds 37 performance-based questions and 61 labs, and the Core 2 pack holds 39 and 69, all graded on the end state rather than on the steps you chose (counts from the live catalogue).
Pick by the exam you are sitting next, not by what looks interesting. In weeks 1 to 5 that means bench work: a build that proves POST, a repeat tray jam, a cable termination, a SOHO router. In weeks 6 to 10 it means tickets: an account unlock with a forced reset, a spooler that will not clear, malware removed in the right order, a share whose permissions satisfy two audiences. The Core 1 catalogue and the Core 2 catalogue both sort by objective.
Time-box each task to what the exam would allow: roughly a minute per multiple-choice question, five to eight minutes per performance task. A bench task that takes twenty minutes has found a procedure you do not know yet, which is information you want on a Tuesday night rather than in a test centre. The A+ resources comparison covers which platforms grade that state and which only show you a video of it.
How to use the objectives PDF
The official objectives document is a checklist, not a textbook. Print it or keep it open and mark each line as you cover it: confident, seen once, or not yet. The "not yet" list is your study plan. The "seen once" list is your review plan. Do not mark a line confident because you watched a video about it. Mark it confident when you answered a question on it correctly and could explain why the wrong options fail.
Exam day and retakes
Both exams are scheduled separately, and each has its own fee and score. Bring acceptable photo ID and arrive early. Read the question stem twice: A+ questions often hide the real ask after a long symptom description. Answer the performance-based questions first if they appear, flag anything that resists two minutes, and return after the multiple-choice.
If you fail one exam, the other result stands. You retake only the failed exam. The score report shows the domains that dragged you down, and that list is your next two weeks. Book the retake after one full simulation on the weak domains, not the morning after the fail.