beast, oh beast, how beast art thou!

bighornsheep

Oh my goodness....I feel like killing myself.....

Sept 28th - 535
Oct 19th - 657
Nov 9th - 636 arrgh...

what the heck....it seems like I have Name resolution and RRAS down now...but still not good enough....oh my goodness.....

royal

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Perhaps you should be looking into various study methods. What are your methods of study and what materials are you using to prepare?

bighornsheep

My first try, I used Mcgraw hill MCSA All in one guide, and Meyers 291 Passport. I had 1 win2k3 box running NAT, DHCP, VPN. I never practiced DNS and I got nailed. I then bought syngress to help with DNS. I also added a win2k3 virtualpc box and practiced AD zone replication.

Failed the second time, after this, I got practice in a real life situation implementing DHCP, VPN, AD File/Print, WINS, and etc. I read all the sections from syngress and I thought I was ready...

and today, it seem to be WSUS, and Network Monitor that got me....sigh...I dont know what to do....

deneb829

OMG BHS!

It sounds like you're just not ready to take the exam. I don't really know what to say ... maybe just focus on one thing at a time. When you configure WSUS, make sure you have an XP client that can be updated.

Configure DNS in every possible way. Use network monitor to the point where you think you are going to puke, etc. Don't watch another Leafs game until you pass. Read how people passed the exam.

Frankly, it's the next exam I need to take, and it makes me nervous that you're having such a hard time.

Please, pass the exam ... do it for the children!

royal

I would keep practicing and perhaps get CBT Nuggets to supplement your knowledge. If you have trouble understanding anything, just ask. Technet is your friend. Microsoft has a plethora of knowledge on those sites to help assist you in your studies. Don't forget about Help & Support either. It's quite useful in Server 2003.

A good study tactic I have found, is take notes while you read the book. Go back over those notes every couple days to make sure you retain important details throughout your studies. You NEED to do a TON of labs. Make sure you feel very comfortable with RRAS, DNS, IPSEC, and DHCP. Having a very good understanding of these technologies will get you the pass. Just doing some work on it in real-life won't give you the knowledge you need to know. Doing real life work will assist you in the knowledge, but it won't cover 100% of the stuff you will need to know for the exam.

samooli

Hi Dude,


What ever you do, dont freak out and stop studying.

The key I found to this exam was to read Sybex, then Microsoft, then get your hands on a book called Exam Cram 2.

That is the winning combination.

I failed it once, then got the three books and voila....

Treg

Are you using a quality practice exam in addition to your studies? I wouldent look less than Transcender for this one personally (since it contains simulations etc and is very similar to the real thing).

Use the exams to find your weak spots and to tighten up.

Dont give up and keep studying your weak areas, you cant let any topic loose in this exam unfortunatly. Keep practicing on the labs too, I used 4 physical machines for this one (2 DC's, 1 Member Server, 1 Client) and practiced everything till I had RSI in my wrist.

famosbrown

Bighornsheep...just keep at it. I too took the exam today, and although I passed, the bar graph showed that I should have had a higher score...in my opinion.

I think with the Microsoft exams, this one in particular, they are testing you on the understanding and attention to detail to the question than anything else...again, just my opinion. MeasureUp exams were good for me as well.

Don't get discouraged...just because the exam is frustrating you doesn't mean you can't do the job. There are MANY professionals out there who have failed these exams and they have been doing this stuff for over 10 years on a daily basis. I again believe that the exam is focuses on your understanding of what Microsoft is asking you and attention to EVERY detail .

Famos

sprkymrk

My condolences BHS, that must be frustrating!
BTW - Don't kill yourself, we like you!

I think I mentioned in a post, in a time long ago, in a thread far away, that you examine your study techniques and try something else. You have a good bunch of resourses (books) and some good hands-on with your job and labs. I would try something else for a while, either attend a boot camp or buy some CBT's.

I wouldn't suggest a boot camp for everyone as it can tend to be a shortcut to passing the exam without retaining the knowledge, but in your case that will definately not apply. I personally learn much better in an interactive, instructor led environment, maybe you will too. Sometimes it just has something to do with a concept "clicking" in your brain to hear it from someone else.

If you can't afford a boot camp, can you scrape together enough for CBT Nuggets or something simillar? I watch the video once to absorb it, then a second time I takes notes and use the "pause" button. They are aptly named "nuggets", because that is exactly what I have picked up from them - nuggets. It's a lot of general information, but with some good exam/real world details thrown in that many books miss.

I think if I were you I would takes 2 weeks off to calm your nerves, then hit it from another angle besides the same old books/labs study you have been doing. Good luck and remember, the harder the fight the sweeter the victory. You can lose three battles but in the end win the war.

elover_jm

If u want to master dns, RRAS etc... which can be very helpful for ur exam... i strongly recommend using Trainsignal they are very good.

thts wut i'm using at the moment..

good luck next time

vcon790

I am using it and it is pretty in depth. A few misspellings, but way better than ExamCram or Transcenders.

Keep hacking at it. Eventually the tree will fall!

Cessation

www.mcmcse.com/articles/failed.shtml

LukeQuake

I managed to nail this one on my second attempt but its REALLY tough. Without working in the industry it can be even harder to pass, some of the questions are so obsecure!

jkstech

keep at it man, don't give up, you'll get it and it will feel so sweet!!!