2nd Exam Failure... help

creativeLiquid

Hello everyone,
I have been an avid linux user for the past 3 years... previous to that, it was just playing on the side.
Three months ago I watched the old CBT Nuggets Linux+ videos, took notes... and went straight for the exam.
I failed with a 390 (need 500 to pass).

I then watched all the current CBT Nuggets Linux+ videos (the ones made in this March-2015 by Shawn Powers).
I took good notes... tried out in my systems what I was unsure.

I went in today to re-take the exam, and failed again with a 430.

I do have some notes on places I was unsure of the answer, and I'm following-up on that.
For example: umask - I blanked out on how to calculate it.
Quota... gosh darn it, I thought it was un-important.

Anyway: Any suggestions or practice tests?
To say I am bummed-out is an understatement.

I appreciate all the advice you throw my way.
Thank you

jamesleecoleman

I'm using https://linuxacademy.com and the LPIC-1/Linux+ AIO book to study from. I would suggest those two. Linux Academy has labs and quizzes, while the current AIO book has a virtual machine with the quizzes. Linux Academy has been great for me to far.

creativeLiquid

I was just looking at the CompTIA Linux+practice exams.

One is from Measureup - $279
The other is from Transcender - $109 (lowest option)

That you guys are aware of, are there any online resources without payment?

creativeLiquid

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I'm using https://linuxacademy.com and the LPIC-1/Linux+ AIO book to study from. I would suggest those two. Linux Academy has labs and quizzes, while the current AIO book has a virtual machine with the quizzes. Linux Academy has been great for me to far.

Checking out LinuxAcademy.com now... thank you James!

varelg

Don't skip on man pages. And it seems you identified your weakness so focus on those few subjects.
Umask- you mask what is not to be allowed. Fro user, group and others. remember which file is umask set in for persistent operation. Quotas need practice. It's a procedure, go through it few times, read man pages of commands involved.
Reading your post, in my scenario, I'd stick with this cert after two attempts only if this cert is mandated by your employer, there's a lot of memorization to be done. Since they are multiple-choice fill-in-the-blanks exams. If it's not mandated by anybody but you however, I'd skip on Linux + and go straight for RHCSA. Since you failed twice already, and you'd like to keep your focus on Linux, it seems you already built a solid foundation. That exam is practical, you operate on a running system, it is a difficult exam but not impossible. If you don't remember a certain option of a command there's always man available- you don't have to rote memorize.

creativeLiquid

Thank you varelg!
The certification is not required by my employer...
My employer doesn't care either way (sucks, I know).
I am doing it for myself.
I am going to do what you suggested... hit the man pages.
Going to try out back and forth the quotas.

And something I like a lot, is: when I pass Linux+, I will try out for RHCSA.
Thank you!

blargoe

I just passed LX0-103 last night. I felt pretty confident but scored 590 which is a bit lower than I was expecting - this is a relatively hard test. I used LinuxAcademy primarily, but also supplemented it with stepping through some of the official BASH documentation for some of the shell stuff and some other community forums/blogs for other fuzzy areas. I have been using Linux off and on (recently, off) for about 15 years but no recent production experience. Best advice I can give is that you should not rely on a single source for studying for this test, particularly since the 2015 test update. Linuxacademy was not enough on its own, IMO, and I doubt any of rest would be either.

I found an slightly older free online practice test (the 101) in a reddit thread, much of this would be relevant still - PenguinTutor Linux LPI practice exams

cowill

Dont worry, I had the same experience to the tee. I think I scored a 430 at first and then scored a 390 the second time....Now you probably just want to pass it cause you are taking it personal...Well at least I did.....LOL...I just took it way too serious to fail again......

Outside of a loose knit lab, I used CBT Nuggets & Linux Academy.......

Linux Academy was/is very thorough..........I'd imagine that if you are not on a time crunch and have a few more dollars to spare as well as possibly interested in going further down the line with Linux, it'd be well worth it to get a subscription. That MAY have put me over the top, but I'd think I'd give more credit to my motivation after failing two time prior.....

I had CBT nuggets downloaded on my phone so I began to to eat, sleep and breath linux. When I was driving to work, I'd listen to CBT nuggets.....When I went to sleep, I'd have my head phones one.....I would wake up in hot sweats after having nightmares about Command line Redirection...I just went too hard.....I wasn't going to fail this exam again