I keep failing the 70-685 Exam

Buckles

Hi All,

Today, I took my 685 exam for the third time..
I felt more confident than last time by a fair bit.. thought I understood the questions better.. I had the whole room to myself so I could read them out loud .. And I still failed

2nd Attempt: 614

3rd Attempt: 648

I'm feeling a bit lost. I've done practice exams, read up on the areas I needed to, felt like I understood it better but alas, I still fail.

I'm not gonna lie, it's doing my head in. My scores look OK on paper but I guess with the scaling etc, I'm still failing.

SO... Any thoughts? Should I go back to the drawing board? Do I need to change career? (joke.. lol)
Hoping for guidance and advice.

Cheers

Chris

Robobass

You're not failing; you simply have not passed it yet. Don't give up!

MSP-IT

Besides the CCNA: R&S, this was the only exam I failed, and I failed it twice. CISSP, SSCP, CCNA: Security, 70-680, and the 4 CompTIA I've passed are CAKE compared to the garbage that is the 70-685.

Buckles

Robobass wrote: »

You're not failing; you simply have not passed it yet. Don't give up!

Nice first post ... and perspective!

Thank you

Buckles

MSP-IT wrote: »

Besides the CCNA: R&S, this was the only exam I failed, and I failed it twice. CISSP, SSCP, CCNA: Security, 70-680, and the 4 CompTIA I've passed are CAKE compared to the garbage that is the 70-685.

The struggle is real. I still think I'm being confused by the wording of the exam.. it's more than half the struggle.

Verities

I failed 70-680 3 times. I never went back to try it a 4th time. To bring my mood up, I went for a CompTIA exam to get a quick win with my Net +. I have yet to go back and study for the Windows exam though.

Can I ask what study materials you are using? Are you labbing as well?

Buckles

Verities wrote: »

I failed 70-680 3 times. I never went back to try it a 4th time. To bring my mood up, I went for a CompTIA exam to get a quick win with my Net +. I have yet to go back and study for the Windows exam though.

Can I ask what study materials you are using? Are you labbing as well?

I passed my 70-680 Exam, 2nd Attempt.. Go figure... I'm glad I'm not the only one out there who gets stuck on these exams... It really kills your self esteem.

I've used the Boson Labs site. I did all their exercises the first time (admittedly, I don't think they have too much content to work off) and I've used the Boson Lab to do some Microsoft 70-685 base text book labbing. Probably not enough though.
I would say I'm getting caught up on the W2k8 Server stuff... questions like DNS/DHCP pointers etc struck me as things I had looked at more specifically but not memorised from a functionality standpoint.

So, here is the Material I've been mixing it up with:

Boson Labs
MCITP Self Paced 70-685 Text Book
VTC Training Videos
CBT Nuggets Videos

Supplementary Videos (For the stuff thats in both Exams):
CBT Nuggets 70-680 Videos
Professor Messer Videos 70-680



This one however I'm still getting stuck on!

I'll probably look at setting a VM Lab up on my machine now. It may be a little more conducive to Studying.

Verities

I hear you! From what I've seen of MS exams and the posts of people who successfully pass them, its all about knowing the product inside and out. You can only achieve that through lots of labbing. Did you get a paper after the test stating what areas you scored low in? If so focus on those areas the most and give yourself enough time to learn them before scheduling the exam again.

Good luck to you.

Rocket Impossible

I'm studying for this as well and I think labs are important. I only have one 2008 R2 server and 2 Windows 7 clients set up, but it is helping a lot. Just reading doesn't make it stick for me, though it helps.

Buckles

Verities wrote: »

I hear you! From what I've seen of MS exams and the posts of people who successfully pass them, its all about knowing the product inside and out. You can only achieve that through lots of labbing. Did you get a paper after the test stating what areas you scored low in? If so focus on those areas the most and give yourself enough time to learn them before scheduling the exam again.

Good luck to you.

Yea- I'm setting up a VM Lab at the moment on my Desktop with a Win 2k8/7 Ult environment. That will help to no end. Boson is limited in it's interface.
I've got an i5 Processor with 8GB RAM. Should be enough to carry me along running a few Virtual Machines
I've also reached out to my Course teacher so I'll sit down with him at some point soon and go through my weak points etc.

I scored lowest in
-Solve Enterprise Network Connectivity Issues
-Identify or resolve Performance Issues
-Solve Enterprise Network Printer Issues.

Thanks for the wishes

Swift6

I hear you out. Personally, I found the 680 and 685 challenging even though I managed to pass.
My preparation for these exams involved lots of practise Q's. Measureup questions are particularly useful.

Buckles

Swift6 wrote: »

I hear you out. Personally, I found the 680 and 685 challenging even though I managed to pass.
My preparation for these exams involved lots of practise Q's. Measureup questions are particularly useful.

Yea matey- I've done a number of practice exam sessions answering questions, then looking at the ones I got wrong and figuring out why. It's just that when I get into the exam, the wording really trips me up. They can be so vague... frustrating.

PJ_Sneakers

The wording on this exam is very vague. Usually you can rule out a couple of the answers, though the remaining answers can be very similar in wording.

It's a challenging test. You definitely have to be ready to know when to use the appropriate GPO's. Also, I found performance monitor and event viewer to be some of the trickier topics. And by tricky, I mean phrasing.

Buckles

PJ_Sneakers wrote: »

The wording on this exam is very vague. Usually you can rule out a couple of the answers, though the remaining answers can be very similar in wording.

It's a challenging test. You definitely have to be ready to know when to use the appropriate GPO's. Also, I found performance monitor and event viewer to be some of the trickier topics. And by tricky, I mean phrasing.

I agree on all of the above. Those questions/phrasing were indeed tricky.

Well, I've gotten in touch with my 680-685 course instructor from a year ago and he's going to meet up with me a couple of times to help coach me through where I'm going wrong, I've bought a MeasureUp practice exam pack and set up a VMWare Lab. The brain ****/VCE packs are not 100% trustworthy and the Boson Labs interface is a bit clunky.

I've booked my next exam for March 3rd as the others I felt were too early or in the middle of the week. I steer clear of those times. I like to come in after a weekend when I'm fresh.

PJ_Sneakers

Make sure you pay attention to the explanations from MeasureUp when you get something wrong. I think that's the real value in the practice tests, because it helps you understand the topic. You might get a practice question from MeasureUp that is almost the same as a question on the real test, but it takes understanding the topic of the question to get the real exam question correct.

I don't understand how some people score so high on the 70-685. I think the exam scoring on this one is weighted oddly. My test results category bar chart looked WAY better than what my final score came out to.

But it's Microsoft, so you have to expect that from them. Just because it's a Windows 7 "desktop tech" exam does not mean it's a walk in the park. Especially when you have to pair it with the 70-680, which forces you to memorize so many technically disparate aspects of the operating system.

Buckles

PJ_Sneakers wrote: »

Make sure you pay attention to the explanations from MeasureUp when you get something wrong. I think that's the real value in the practice tests, because it helps you understand the topic. You might get a practice question from MeasureUp that is almost the same as a question on the real test, but it takes understanding the topic of the question to get the real exam question correct.

I don't understand how some people score so high on the 70-685. I think the exam scoring on this one is weighted oddly. My test results category bar chart looked WAY better than what my final score came out to.

But it's Microsoft, so you have to expect that from them. Just because it's a Windows 7 "desktop tech" exam does not mean it's a walk in the park. Especially when you have to pair it with the 70-680, which forces you to memorize so many technically disparate aspects of the operating system.

Yea- as my Teacher said "there's a whole lot of magic that happens between your score getting calculated and what you actually get scored on"

I had two 65%'s then the others were around 75% and an 85% (well, that's what it looked like)... looks like they hit you hard on your lowest marks. But... you never know.. they might mark you down on how long it takes you to answer or how long it takes you to take the entire exam... it's all a mystery.

You're right re: MeasureUp.. that's exactly what I'm going to do (and also what my course teacher said to me ) ..
Wrong answers are almost more valuable.

Thanks for all the advice folks.. time to start making the final push and nailing this thing down!

Domestic

Buckles, I'm also aussie and working on this cert at the moment.

Compared to what some people get on their first attempt at the 70-680 your scores seem pretty good and you are well on the way. Hopefully we'll both have it passed soon.

Buckles

Domestic wrote: »

Buckles, I'm also aussie and working on this cert at the moment.

Compared to what some people get on their first attempt at the 70-680 your scores seem pretty good and you are well on the way. Hopefully we'll both have it passed soon.

Hi Domestic, guessing you mean 70-685?

Countdown...20 Days. I'm taking it in early March.

I've got my VMWare Labs set up, Self Paced learning book, Measure up Test exams as well as Microsoft Press Exam to test me on individual topics. Damn determined to pass this time. I don't want to give M$ anymore of my hard earned. Currently re-learning what I didn't go well in during my first MeasureUp exam as well as what I didn't do well in my Last exam...

Domestic, feel free to inbox me and exchange ideas/notes if you like!

Buckles

So.. I'm scheduled to take the Exam in just under 5 days.

So far, my study has paid off. In saying that, I'm still not 100% there yet. Three Measure up exams in and I've scored 70%, 82% and then 72% today. This has been at the rate of one exam a week with study in between. I've got one, possibly two more practice exams I can take before the day itself. I could have scored better than 72% today. A number of silly errors I made that might not have been made had I not done the prac exam when I was a bit tired and agitated.

In any case, I'm wondering how ready did you all feel by the time you took the exam? This will be my fourth attempt. I'm aware that after the fifth, that's it for a year unless you write to MS and ask for another chance....I really don't want to go there.

Buckles

Well, back to the old drawing board. I went and did the exam even though I wasn't feeling confident and ... didn't pass again. I'm around 100-50 points off passing... it's in reach but ugh...grueling..
SO... I'm thinking there's something fundamentally flawed in my basic knowledge of Windows 7 or just some key things I'm missing. I don't know when I should re-take but I'm thinking space out my study over a longer period of time to allow more targeted labbing and study..perhaps I'm not studying smart.. I know I can get there, it's just been an incredibly frustrating process and that's part of the problem. Probably psyching myself out!

PJ_Sneakers

You're almost there...

You might want to look into some of the Server 2008 study material too. A good portion of this test is Server technology, despite the test being labeled a Windows 7 exam. Group policy, DirectAccess, BranchCache, DFS, Active Directory, print services, performance monitoring, share permissions, etc.

If you're 50 points from passing, that's only a few questions away from 700. You're really close!

Buckles

PJ_Sneakers wrote: »

You're almost there...

You might want to look into some of the Server 2008 study material too. A good portion of this test is Server technology, despite the test being labeled a Windows 7 exam. Group policy, DirectAccess, BranchCache, DFS, Active Directory, print services, performance monitoring, share permissions, etc.

If you're 50 points from passing, that's only a few questions away from 700. You're really close!

:so close: hehe.... Yea- my last exam was worse than the previous. I dropped back another 50 points, so- 100 in total from a pass. Could haven been exam nerves. I've burnt myself out studying to some extent I think.

I think you're right, I got a bit tripped up on the W2k8 questions regarding DFS and in what situation to use Event Forwarding as either Source Initiated or Collector initiated. Interestingly, DFS wasn't really covered in any of the material I studied or the videos I watched. I've got W2k8 set up on my Lab at home so I'll go back to that and hopefully that'll clear up where I'm going wrong.

Smilodon31

Hello Buckles,
I have recently passed the 70-680, and I am currently studying the 70-685. You might think that I am not in a position to give you any advice as I am just at the beginning of the course. But, I have watched some Trainsignal videos of a chap named ED Liberman and the course is "getting started with windows 2008 active directory training". It is purely active directory but it was a real eye opener and an excellent way of setting up your labbing. Infact there were some questions on the 70-680 that I answered correctly because I watched these videos. I didn't go through all the videos , but just what I thought I needed to help me in the 70-680. There are lessons on dns , group policy etc that are very helpful. I hope this helps. Good luck.

Buckles

Smilodon, If there's one thing I've learnt in life; it's to be open to advice from virtually anyone ... There is a lot of cross pollination between the 680 and the 685 exams. Even though I've been playing with 2k8, it's not in depth enough. I'll check out those videos, for sure- thank you!. Do you have any other recommendations? I've given my brain a break for the last two weeks and I'm about to hit the books again.

Judderman88

I also need to crack on with 70-685. Failed it once already with a 682... so close and yet so far....
But we will not be defeated!

Buckles

Judderman88 wrote: »

I also need to crack on with 70-685. Failed it once already with a 682... so close and yet so far....
But we will not be defeated!

That's the spirit!
I've just had a two week break from study. My Wife needed her Husband back for a while...I think I can sneak off to the study again for extended periods of time.

How are you studying for the exam Judderman?

Judderman88

Yeah Buckles, with Second shot on offer, that's a good incentive to get cracking.
I'm labbing on my home server, got the MS press book, Youtube vids, Prof Messer vids (again)...
My girlfriend is studying for a degree so time is not a factor, thankfully

Buckles

Yes mate. I've used two second shots on this exam already.. Thankfully- I've been given a voucher for the next one. I don't want to think about a second shot (would mean my sixth attempt)
I'm going to pace myself a bit more this time... Not taking it until I feel more ready (if that's ever gonna be the case)

Feel free to take this "offline" with me, We can discuss via PM.

Smilodon31

Buckles , I am currently using the microsoft guide by tony northrup and J.C mackin and the cbt nuggets videos, but I am trying to do a lot of labbing and make sure I am good with group policy and the 2k8 side of things as well. One thing I have noticed is that microsoft exams are a lot trickier than cisco and comptia exams. In the end I might get the measure up practice exams as they were really helpful for the 70-680 exam.

Buckles

Smilodon31 wrote: »

Buckles , I am currently using the microsoft guide by tony northrup and J.C mackin and the cbt nuggets videos, but I am trying to do a lot of labbing and make sure I am good with group policy and the 2k8 side of things as well. One thing I have noticed is that microsoft exams are a lot trickier than cisco and comptia exams. In the end I might get the measure up practice exams as they were really helpful for the 70-680 exam.

Smilodon, I'm going to have to expand on my study material because I haven't found the Microsoft Guide in depth enough. I will need to review the Messer and CBT Videos again however. I think getting into 2k8 GPO in depth is really important, knowing how each policy directly relates/impacts a user/laptop. That's probably something I stumbled on in addition to the question/answers.... I found that they don't provide verbose answers options that is an attempt to trip you up to which I would say, get into some prac exams for sure

I'm about to get into my next study campaign. I'm planning to take again in early May if I'm feeling confident enough.

Judderman88

Ouch Buckles, 6?
To be fair, I failed it once and walked away. Need to pull my socks up and am becoming a hermit for April.
Once done, 70-689 appeals

Best of luck to both Buckles and Smilodon