Barely

DapperDan

I just got home from taking the 270 test. I feel like I've had the crap beat out of me (mentally) by 4-5 MS thugs. I used all the time allotted. I finished the 58 questions with 20 minutes left to review. I actually changed 2 answers ( I was guessing anyway).

The test was heavily weighted toward Enterprise Level support. Questions on IIS, Intranet setup and security. Group Policy administration from server to client. Remote Login via RAS and VPN. There were a few installation questions but not as many as expected. 20 questions into the test I thought the testing center goofed up and I was taking the 290 test. About 30 questions in, while looking at a question that I had no clue what the answer was, I accepted the fact that I was bombing big time. I continued on and finished hoping I could figure out what my weaknesses were for a re-take.

I finished and lo and behold it said something to the effect “You have completed the test. A score of 700 is needed to pass. Your score : 700”. Talk about the “skin of my teeth”. I used the Sybex book and thought it was good material and was confident that I knew consistently 90-95% of the material. I feel it no way prepared me for this test. The book may be good, but I feel for the 290 test, I may need something else. Any suggestions on this would be appreciated.

I know a pass is a pass. For some reason I'm more relieved than excited.

eurotrash

that's why practice tests are good. they can help you get the "feel" for the exam.
congrats btw!

DapperDan

I did practice tests at this site, MCMCSE site, free-tests.com. I did all the chapter tests that came with my book plus the two bonus exams. I was consistently 90-95% on those tests. If you or anyone else has any suggestions as to what I could use for the 290, it would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

RisingPhoenix

I just passed the test on Friday the 17th. I passed with a 747, but I didnt feel like I knew the test either. I really didnt study much though. I just used the exam cram book and some practice test questions from www.examdrill.com I've already ordered my material for the the 70-290 exam. Overall from the time I got my testing study stuff to the time I passed the 70-270 exam was about 10 days. Thank god for exam cram lol.

Ricka182

congrats!

randy72

Does this site have study materials for GPO in relation to an XP desktop?
I just read the first post and I only know GPO in relation to creating and implementing them within Active Directory to OU's and Containers. Are the test questions just about what GPO's can do to the user's environment?

DapperDan

randy72 wrote:

I just read the first post and I only know GPO in relation to creating and implementing them within Active Directory to OU's and Containers. Are the test questions just about what GPO's can do to the user's environment?

Aprox 1/3 of the my test was GPO. Assigning user rights to XP clients via AD GPO. There was one question that was command-line with the DSQUERY (?!?)
command. I had to look that one up. I thought it was a trick question until I looked in my 290 book.

I understand that what I saw on the test may not be what you will see. Be prepared for everything. Do not be weak in any area. I thought the Sybex book was weak on AD GPA and that was most of my test.

randy72

I don't see why they"re asking AD questions on a workstation exam.
I understand GPO's in AD because I've worked with them but now I'm not sure what to focus on when atudying for this exam. Am I also to study the AD exam material too? WTF

DapperDan

randy72 wrote:

I don't see why they"re asking AD questions on a workstation exam.
I understand GPO's in AD because I've worked with them but now I'm not sure what to focus on when atudying for this exam. Am I also to study the AD exam material too? WTF

I don't mean to scare you. MS tests are tough compared to CompTia. I almost aced the Net+ test. I guess I'm disappointed in my score. Like I said in a previous post, know everything. Do not be weak in anything. IMHO there were too many GPO questions. Anything on security, configuring desktop environment, software installation, resources, etc. seemed to be a AD GPO question. I have whined enough. I thought I was prepared, but I was not. This is a lesson learned for the 290 test. I passed, thats all that matters.

RisingPhoenix

DapperDan wrote:

randy72 wrote:

I don't see why they"re asking AD questions on a workstation exam.
I understand GPO's in AD because I've worked with them but now I'm not sure what to focus on when atudying for this exam. Am I also to study the AD exam material too? WTF

I don't mean to scare you. MS tests are tough compared to CompTia. I almost aced the Net+ test. I guess I'm disappointed in my score. Like I said in a previous post, know everything. Do not be weak in anything. IMHO there were too many GPO questions. Anything on security, configuring desktop environment, software installation, resources, etc. seemed to be a AD GPO question. I have whined enough. I thought I was prepared, but I was not. This is a lesson learned for the 290 test. I passed, thats all that matters.

I actually bought another book after I passed the 70-270 exam so I could learn the rest of the stuff I didnt know. I used the Exam cram books and some practice questions, but I hate knowing that I could only answer about 75% of the questions I was asked on the test. Thats only a C on the A, B, C scale the way I look at it. I'm always afraid I'll be at work and get asked a question I dont know so I think i'll do some more studying even though I passed the exam.

DapperDan

RisingPhoenix wrote:

I actually bought another book after I passed the 70-270 exam so I could learn the rest of the stuff I didnt know. I used the Exam cram books and some practice questions, but I hate knowing that I could only answer about 75% of the questions I was asked on the test. Thats only a C on the A, B, C scale the way I look at it. I'm always afraid I'll be at work and get asked a question I dont know so I think i'll do some more studying even though I passed the exam.

I agree and I am doing just that. I am looking at nerdbooks.com for a MS Press 290 book. I will use both the Sybex and MS Press book for the 290 test. I do not want to "caught" again un-prepared.

mikej412

DapperDan wrote:

I know a pass is a pass. For some reason I'm more relieved than excited.

Congratulations!

Relieved is still better than sad, upset, dejected, miserable, mad, depressed. You may not want to celebrate -- but you still earned and some

And it looks like you're wanting to learn from this close call to avoid them in the future -- that's definitely good.

Multiple study sources is always a good idea -- one book may cover what another is weak at. And re-reading the same book can get boring, and you might miss the same things on a re-read that you missed on the original read.

Sounds like you got a plan!

jescab

CONGRATZ

crap I forgot my old pwd

way to go! those MS exams are brutal!