About This Study Plan
This 7-day study plan breaks the APLUS1 (A+ Core 1) exam preparation into 7 focused study sessions with 28 actionable tasks. The plan covers all 5 exam domains — Mobile Devices, Networking, Hardware, Virtualization and Cloud Computing, Hardware and Network Troubleshooting — ensuring complete coverage. Intensive 7-day review for CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) covering hardware, networking, virtualization, and troubleshooting.
Prerequisites
- Basic hardware familiarity
- 5–7 hours per day
Study Schedule
- Laptop hardware: batteries, keyboards, RAM, storage upgrades
- Mobile device accessories and connection types
- Mobile display technologies and components
- Practice: mobile device configuration scenarios
- TCP/IP, ports (20–3389), protocols, and OSI model
- Network devices: routers, switches, APs, firewalls
- Wireless standards (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) and configuration
- Cable types: Cat 5e/6/6a, fiber (single/multi-mode), connectors
- Motherboard form factors, CPU sockets, RAM types (DDR4/DDR5)
- Storage: SATA, NVMe, RAID levels (0, 1, 5, 10)
- Power supplies, cooling, and expansion cards
- Printers: laser, inkjet, thermal — maintenance and troubleshooting
- Hypervisor types (Type 1 vs Type 2) and virtual machine setup
- Cloud models: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and deployment types
- Cloud connectivity and security considerations
- Practice: virtualization and cloud scenario questions
- CompTIA troubleshooting methodology (7 steps)
- Hardware troubleshooting: POST codes, beeps, display, power
- Network troubleshooting: connectivity, slow speeds, no connection
- Practice: performance-based troubleshooting scenarios
- Take a full 90-question timed practice exam (90 minutes)
- Review every incorrect answer with detailed explanations
- Identify weak domains and make targeted notes
- Re-study ports/protocols and hardware specifications
- Review ports and protocols cheat sheet
- Quick pass through RAID levels and cable types
- Flashcard run on weakest topics
- Light review and rest before exam
Study Tips
Memorize the common ports — they appear in almost every exam.
Networking (20%) and Hardware (25%) dominate — prioritize them.
Know RAID levels cold: 0 (speed), 1 (mirror), 5 (parity), 10 (stripe+mirror).
Recommended CompTIA Study Resources
Supplement this study plan with the official CompTIA CertMaster labs and practice tests. Download the free exam objectives PDF from CompTIA's website and use it as a checklist — cross off each objective as you master it. Professor Messer's free video series covers every CompTIA exam objective and is widely regarded as one of the best free resources available.
Ready to Practice?
Put your study plan into action with A+ Core 1 practice questions.