Starting to study for 70-698

logisticalstyles

I've decided to start studying for this exam. I'm currently working as a help desk lead in a small law firm. I've been using Windows 10 for at least a year and a half now but the firm I work at is now going through a Windows 10 upgrade. I've been getting a lot of questions from my end users so I figured why not sharpen up my knowledge and skills. While I am looking to get the certification, my main goal is to gain the knowledge to make my job easier. My job offers a CBT nuggets subscription and I just ordered the Microsoft Press Reference book. I plan to use the videos and the book as my main source of information along with my day to day hands on experience at work. I've come across a few other resources for studying that I may add in just to be thorough. I think I may be able to finish the CBT nuggets videos by next week. My book is due to arrive next Friday.

Based on this background information do you think it is reasonable to plan to take the test by January 15th? I've never taken a Microsoft exam before. The last cert I took was the Apple Integration Basics exam which was an at home open book test. Prior to that it was my A+ and Net+ about 7 years ago.

logisticalstyles

Thanks! I'm more than halfway through the CBT nuggets videos and my Microsoft Exam reference book came in the mail yesterday. I'm also planning on going through the Microsoft Virtual Academy videos as well once I finish the CBT nuggets. I think the Virtual academy videos line up better with the Microsoft book.

I definitely plan on doing lots of practice exams before taking the actual test. I figure between my studying and real life hands on experience I should be very ready for this exam.

logisticalstyles

I have a question about BitLocker. The videos, and the Ref book all state that a TPM chip is not needed for BitLocker. Yet, every time I try to enable BitLocker on a new computer I get an error stating that the TPM chip needs to be enabled in the BIOS. Once I do that I am able to use BitLocker. So, is the TPM chip necessary for BitLocker?

malachi1612

No, you dont need a TPM. You can enable this in the Local Group Policy to bypass this.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-bitlocker-encryption-windows-10

logisticalstyles

Thank you Malachi and Skyliinez. So if the question comes up on the test I should answer that the TPM is NOT required for Bitlocker? Basically, I'm looking for the "Microsoft answer".

malachi1612

The MS answer is no, as it's mentioned in the MS documentation bitlocker can be used without a TPM.

logisticalstyles

Just updating this so I can track my progress. I've finished watching all of the CBT videos, and the MS Virtual Academy videos. I took my first Transcender practice test and scored a 45. I have to admit it wasn't under the most ideal conditions, there were several interruptions and I rushed it at the end. The plan for the next week is to go through the MS Press book and do as many hands on labs as possible. I'm thankful that my job is going through a Windows 10 migration currently so I am able to really get my hands dirty with real life lab work. I'll try another practice exam in a week.

logisticalstyles

No, I didn't get a chance to take it yet. During the Christmas holiday my wife got very sick and I lost a lot of study time. I've been trying to get back to my study routine but it's hard. I took another Transcender practice exam and I'm still getting 45%. My biggest weakness in my opinion are the Powershell commands. I just dont remember them like I can remember command prompt commands. I'm going to go back over the notes I've taken already and continue reading through the book and watching videos.

My boss is willing and ready to pay for the exam. I just don't want to fail it and let him down. I'm considering asking him to pay for the exam that comes with a second chance. The new goal is to have it done by the end of February.

logisticalstyles

Well, I finally booked my exam date for this test. I had a break in studying around Christmas time but I've still been supporting users on Windows 10 and watching videos in the mean time. I got back to studying and reviewing my notes, reading and watching more videos. I'm taking practice tests and looking up anything I don't understand or recognize. I'm at the point where I'm sick of studying and decided to pull the trigger and book the exam. I'll be taking it Monday the 26th. Wish me luck!

logisticalstyles

Thanks!
My biggest issue now is with the practice questions I am getting. I keep coming across some that are poorly written and have more than 1 correct answer but only one answer is allowed. The transcender practice questions are not good at all. Everyone I have spoken to agree that they don't really do a good job of preparing you for the real test. I've been searching the net for other practice questions and these are even worse. So far any practice questions I've found are only good as suggestion for topics to study deeper. I'm not looking for a bunch of answers to memorize but I at least expect the answers that I get to be correct. This makes me worried that I will fail the test due to poor test prep and conflicting information. I may see if I can find some other practice test questions.

malachi1612

Good luck with your exam (I also have an MS exam booked on Monday too!).

I agree transcender practice questions are bad. I used them for my 70-697 last year and many of the question were way out of scope.

logisticalstyles

I checked out measure up's trial practice test questions. They seemed to be much better than the transcender stuff.

I recommend using the docs.microsoft.com articles for explanations of Windows 10 features and anything listed in the test material. The articles they have are very in depth and have taught me a lot.

I'm in cram mode now. Less than 4 days till test time!

logisticalstyles

I took the test today and I passed with a 797!
Managing and maintaining windows was my strongest area followed by Configure and support core services, and then Implement windows.
I need to brush up on my PowerShell commands. I'm just not used to using PowerShell but this exam showed me that it is necessary. I think I may have the CBT nuggets videos at least 3 times over. that combined with reading the book and actually taking notes helped a lot. I'll be working on studying for the 697 next. I think that will require a lot more effort on my part since we don't use Azure, or iTune at my job. I guess I 'll have to do a lot of labbing. It feels really good to earn this cert after taking such a long break from certifications.

malachi1612

Congrats!

logisticalstyles

Focus on Storage Spaces. I had a lot of questions on that. More than I was ready for. I was actually still scoring pretty low on the transcender tests prior to taking the exam. The CBT nuggets videos have quizzes included. Focus on those quizzes. They seemed to be more in line with the test questions than transcender. The test was actually easier than I expected. I really went deeper in into studying some subjects that never even appeared on the exam.