70-290 Study Material 1

[Crichton]

Hi,

I'm currently studying for the 70-290 exam and I'm due to take one of the official Microsoft courses next month. However, I wanted to try and get ahead a bit by doing some study beforehand, and I've borrowed a TestOut CD-ROM study guide and a CBT Nuggets CD-ROM from a friend who's already done this exam.

The only thing is, both CD's were purchased in 2004 so they are 3 years old, and I wondered if anyone could tell me if they are still any good ?? or are they too far out of date now ??

Thanks
Lee.

 

[porkchopexpress]

It's not assigned to domain users as such, if you look at the advanced permissions on the default computers container in Active Directory you'll see that domain users have the 'create computer objects' permission. (i'm pretty sure that's the permission i removed it ages ago)

 

[kmcferrin]

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Microsoft. That's why when you're reviewing it's important to not only find out what the right answer is, but also why. Most training materials don't cover every last detail in the lectures, but the tricky stuff usually comes out in the practice questions.

 

[Crichton]

I have the exam tomorrow and I'm not very confident. I think if I do pass it will be a borderline pass.

I've been using the Transcender software for test questions and exams the last couple of days, but I'm still not confident.

At least if I do fail I get a free resit with the offer from MS.

Can anyone recommend any good websites or material for test questions, doesn't matter if they're free or not, I just want something that is realistic i.e. not too easy and not too difficult as some free online tests can be.

Worst of all I have a 6am start in the morning, because of all the flooding in northern UK, most public transport is not running very well and I can't afford to be late for the exam. I only have to travel about 15 miles to the test center, but that's going to be through rush hour traffic, plus all the flooding disruption. So I'd rather be really early than be late, I can go and have a coffee in Starbucks to kill the time.

 

[ntinlin]

How did you get on Crichton?

Neill

 

[Joe80]

What's up!

I take the 70-290 on Monday. I've gone through the TestOut CD course, and I've gone through the MS Training Kit. I do quite well on the TestOut exams, but only about 60% on the MS training exams. It's my first MCP, so needless to say I'm nervous. How well did you guys do on practice exams compared to your actual score?

 

[ntinlin]

I usually got in the high 70's on all the TestOut/MeasureUp and Transcender tests I did.

Only test I scored below 800 on in the real exam was 70-293 but that was partly because it crashed half-way through and I had to wait for a good while while they reset it to another terminal. Yeah I know, excuses, excuses.

Neill

 

[kmcferrin]

I usually do around 95% on the final TestOut practice exam, and my official exams have all been over 850. Highest was a 942.

It's a bit late to change it now, but I highly recommend starting at the lower level exams and working your way up, i.e., doing the 270, then 290, then 291, 293, 294, etc. They tend to build on each other, and a lot of the training material assumes that you have completed previous classes. In the 291 TestOut they actually say in a couple of the units "...and this is where such-and-such comes in. I'm not going to go into much detail on it here because you should have covered that in the 290 course."

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCP, MCSA 2003

 

[Joe80]

Thanks for the insight, I am doing better on the practice exams now (90% from TestOut and 70% from MS Press). The MS Press training kit generates new tests, so I'm not always answering the same questions. I plan on doing 270 next. I know that is slightly out of order, but I had to do it this way for work.

 

[kmcferrin]

I think that the TestOut generates new tests too. There's a pool of about 400 questions and when you do the "Typical Exam" it randomly selects a certain number from each of the subjet areas. I took the 291 practice exam twice yesterday morning and only 10-20% of the questions were the same between them.


________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCP, MCSA 2003

 

[Crichton]

How did you get on Crichton?

Neill

I passed!

The exam definitely seemed easier than the questions I'd been testing myself with on the Transcender software.

I passed with a score of 822, I think I could have done better if I'd been able to allow myself a little more time to study before taking the exam, but I couldn't as I go on holiday tomorrow and I wanted to get it done rather than leave it a week longer.

 

[ntinlin]

Well done!

Don't beat yourself up on the mark, remember that a pass is a pass is a pass.
To quote somebody else in another thread, Question - What do you call the lowest scoring guy in a graduating medical school class. Answer - Dcotor!

The transcript that MS makes available on the site for showing to employers etc. doesn't give the marks anyway.

Wish I could get 70-294 out of the way to finally get my MCSE. That one completely crashed on me and I won't be able to sit it again for a while since I'm starting a new contract. Major bummer.

Would be really nice if Prometric insisted their testing centres opened on Saturday mornings once in a while, even if they charged a premium for it. Say £120 instead of £88. At the minimum wage the centres no doubt pay their admin staff that would cover the extra wage bill at least.

Neill

Neill

 

[Joe80]

Nice Job! Where there a lot of simulations on the exam? I hear from some people that say they had a lot, and some say they did have any. I suppose the questions are random from each topic, making the amount of sims different for everyone.

 

[kmcferrin]

It depends on what you call a simulation. There is one type of question where they present you with a "work area" that looks like a dialog box or configuration page for a particular component, and they say "configure the settings in the workspace to do such-and-scuh." Then there are what I would call actual simulations, where it launches a simulated Windows desktop and they say "configure the server to do these 3 things", and you have to navigate all the menus and configure it as if you're on the server.

On the 290 and 291 I had 3 or 4 "true" simulations, and probably 4-6 of the "work area" type. However, the questions are a somewhat random selection from a pool of several hundred questions, so it can certainly vary. Personally, I like the simulations.


________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCP, MCSA 2003

 

[porkchopexpress]

MS are supposed to be bringing in more simulations that act like a real windows GUI, i like the idea as it should make it more difficult for the testking cheats who just try to memorise all the answers.

 

[onoski]

Please, Kmcferrin the practice questions at the end of the TestOut are they enough in terms of prep for the 70-290 and 70-291 exams in your opinion as compared to transcender?

 

[Crichton]

I would say the amount of sims I had was about the same as what kmcferrin posted. There were definitely 4 "true" sims and about 5 of the other type.

One example was where you're given a scenario for backing up a server, and you have to pick the correct type of backup to use. Basically you're just presented with the backup dialog box that has a pull down menu with Normal, Incremental, Differential, Daily & Copy to choose from.

 

[Joe80]

I passed!

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The MS press training kit is a lot more accure to the actual exam than the TestOut material. Now I'm on to 270.

 

[kmcferrin]

Onoski,

They were enough for me, but I've had years of hands-on experience for most of the subject areas. I have been scoring 850-950 with only the TestOuts.

I have not looked at the Transcenders since NT4 days, but I can say that having more questions = more practice, which generally results in better scores.

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCP, MCSA 2003