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70-270 Exam for Windows XP 8

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stephen3rd

stephen3rd

Technical User
Feb 2, 2003
48
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Does anybody have any advice on 70-270 such as areas to concentrate on?

Been working in in IT for almost 5 years now so i should have the relevent experience.

I have been meaning to start the MCSE for a couple of years now but i always manage to put it off.

Friend of mine who is MCSE has said the best way to get started is to just book an exam and take it.

Any help welcomed.

Cheers
 
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Have two books and transcender for 70-270. Was always my intention to study, its just having the drive to go and book it.
 
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stephen3rd,

It makes more sense now. If you've got the books (and read them), book the test! I'm not done with 70-270 yet, but I took your approach to the A+ exam, and passed with no sweat.

Wishdiak
 
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If it's your first Microsoft exam it's as much about getting used to the questions as having the knowledge IMO. Make sure you do all the Transcenders a couple of times (I used Self-Test questions myself which were very similar in format to the real questions).

Before I took 270 I was really confident, I knew the study books inside-out and was fine with the practice tests. During the actual exam though I was sure I was failing it - I guess part was nerves but it was also the questions, they'd through something weird into them so it wasn't just a straight knowledge test and often you hadn't thought about the scenario in question. In the end I just answered the best I could with the knowledge I had.

I passed with a high mark but ended up feeling that only about 10% of the knowledge I'd learned was tested - it was more about trying to trip you up on a few general concepts rather than testing a detailed understanding of a broad range of topics.

I'd just go ahead and book it for a Monday, cram as much as you can the weekend before and give it a go. If you fail it's probably more you're getting caught out by the questions rather than you lack the knowledge...
 
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stephen3rd ,

I agree with NickFerrar. I haven't taken any Microsoft tests yet, but I took the A+ Core OS, and the wording of the tests seemed designed to trip you up. On many questions, the answer was more of a process of eliminating the wrong answers than choosing the right one. The scenarios that they present (on the CompTIA exams) are full of extraneous details.

Book the test, study your little butt off, and be prepared for the questions to be tricky.

Wishdiak
 
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Just asked my Boss what our companies policy is on Certification fees.

Since we are a Construction company i didnt hold out much hope but i was surprised at his response.

We can have a day off for an exam without having to take a holiday and the company will pay for the first attempt of any exams.

Since i have course MS2400 Implemeting and Managing Exchange 2003 booked for the end of July i would like to get at least XP out of the way before i take the Exchange course

That has piled the pressure on big time although it hasnt left me any excuses not to do it!!!
 
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Microsoft questions are much trickiery than the A+ type tests. If you can get used to the microsoft style of questions (long and convoluted with a trap in the middle) then you should fare well. I found testking to be very helpful and exactly the microsoft style. It is well worth the $.
 
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Shekinah said:
Microsoft questions are much trickiery than the A+ type tests.
Click to expand...
This is an understatement, to say the least. Check out my FAQ on how to pass MS tests the first time. Good luck.
faq468-4224

Glen A. Johnson
If you're from Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin feel free to join the Tek-Tips in Chicago, Illinois Forum.

TTinChicago
Johnson Computers
 
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Testking is nothing a crappy braindump. Transcenders and hands-on beats it every time... There are too many questions in the test pools to memorize... It's a trap...

And if somehow you end up working in IT, having used braindumps will be evident to all of your coworkers, customers, and management...

your last memory of the company might be the first time someone asks you to do something simple like mirroring the boot and system partitions or adding a new scope to a DHCP server...

And you *will* get fired for being an incompetent, cheating so-and-so...

Trust me... Ever since the "paper MCSE" epithet became popular, some properly-certified folks actively look for people like that to differentiate ourselves...

You can cheat but you cannot hide...


JTB
Have Certs, Will Travel
"A knight without armour in a [cyber] land."

 
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And don't forget that the questions aren't about the best way to fix the problem, but about what Microsoft want to hear! When I started studying I had no experience so I could answer questions the "Microsoft Way" but as soon as I got a job and started administering real systems I found the questions harder to answer - some of the so-called "right" answers, are things you would never do in the real world (like having Microsoft perimeter security - asking for trouble, do it properly and use Cisco!. You can take "Skill Assessment" tests on the Microsoft Learning website, this should give you some good examples of how Microsoft like to present their questions

Good Luck
 
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For anyone who's interested,

I took (and passed) the 70-270 yesterday. The passing score is 700, and although I would have liked a better score, I'm satisfied with my 751.

I used Transcenders exclusively, and was only scoring about 710 in practice tests before I took it, so I was quite nervous.

My experience with the actual test is that there is an awful lot about RIS and GPO. These are the topics that you need to focus on, since most people with a single-user XP box will not have any experience with them.

The Microsoft 70-270 book deals with Windows XP in a Server 2000 domain environment, and the test is the same. None of the questions dealt with XP boxes that were not networked in some way.

Your Milage May Vary, of course.

Wishdiak
 
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That's a different experience to mine Wishdiak.
When I did my 70-270 last week, there were very few questions that asked about XP specific issues. There were lots on general networking theory (TCP/IP, but not XP specific), DNS configuration - that I would have thought were more suited to the server network infrastructure exam, but never mind.
I passed with 721, but of 14 people taking the test at the same time, nobody got more than 730 and 2 people did fail it. Certainly a lot in the exam was not in the Microsoft XP book, and I only got through it because I've been studying several together and so was able to use my other knowledge to help me with the non XP questions.

John
 
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stephen3rd,

The test was 50 questions, and this was specified before the test started. I assume that this is standard.

jrbarnett,

There were questions that dealt with APIPA and DHCP, but as I said, all of the questions dealt with machines that were networked in some way.

I think I only saw one that involved broken DNS routing. Suprisingly, I didn't see any questions that tried to trip me up with NetBios vs DNS.

Wishdiak
 
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I used the Transcenders and think that they don't come close enough to the real test questions.
 
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You're right Billy, see GlenJohnson's FAQ faq468-4224

The 2000 and 2003 tests really require memorizing 1000s of questions from braindumps or--and with less effort--just studying the products in a hands-on manner...

Read Microsoft's recommended prerequisites for MCP/MCSA/MCSE at these are not supposed to be "entry-level/no experience" certs...

And feel free to ask any questions because we want all of TT community to be successful!!

JTB
Have Certs, Will Travel
"A knight without armour in a [cyber] land."
 
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jtb,

I agree with you about the 2000 and 2003 exams, but in the case of Windows XP Pro, the average test-taker has more hands-on experience going into the exam than with a Server-based OS.

I found that the 70-270 was not all that difficult, and I used only the Microsoft Press book and Transcenders. The Transcenders gave me a good idea of the subjects that I needed to brush up on, and I used the book for that.

Wishdiak
 
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Wishdiak, thanks for the kind words; but just to help focus, the handson required for 270 includes RIS (server side), attended and unattended installation, and a smattering of security, gpo's, and other things with which the average user doesn't have much familiarity ...

The study guide scared me... ;-)

JTB
Have Certs, Will Travel
"A knight without armour in a [cyber] land."

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
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