This helped me, might help you too...
Hi all,
This is my first post. I came across it actually while I was looking for something else but I'm glad I found it. I passed my A+ on February 28. I passed the hardware first time but failed the OS twice. Last time with a 495 which they said was probably 1 question. Worst part was I had to wait a month before I could take it again which meant I'd forget most of it and basically have to start over.
Anyway, to get to the point of this post. I was told of something by a technical school instructor that absolutely helped me to finally pass the OS with a 705.
I'm sure it's in this forum somewhere but just in case you missed it, it's Microsoft Virtual PC.
It used to be that you had to be a Microsoft Partner to get it but it's now free
When I took the test my problem was that I hadn't used 95 or 98 or ME in years. I never used NT or 2000. Virtual PC is an awesome program. It lets you install and run multiple operating systems at the same time so you can get hands-on practice with them. I installed 98 and 2000 as guest OS's and my host OS was XP Pro.
It is SO SIMPLE to use. You download and install Virtual PC from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx. Then you run VPC (Virtual PC) and install the additional operating systems you feel you need experiencewith. VPC presents you with a menu and you just choose which OS you want to start up. You can even have several OS's running simultaneously in their own window! It's so cool. You can have say, Win98 running in it's own little window, click on the start button and restart it and it restarts without disturbing your host OS.
Bottom line is this...if you're weak in any OS's because you haven't used them in years or maybe never used them this is a good way to get all the hands on experience you need.
The only down side is you have to own, or have access to, the other operating systems because they don't come with VPC.
I hope this helps someone as much as it did me.
This is my first post. I came across it actually while I was looking for something else but I'm glad I found it. I passed my A+ on February 28. I passed the hardware first time but failed the OS twice. Last time with a 495 which they said was probably 1 question. Worst part was I had to wait a month before I could take it again which meant I'd forget most of it and basically have to start over.
Anyway, to get to the point of this post. I was told of something by a technical school instructor that absolutely helped me to finally pass the OS with a 705.
I'm sure it's in this forum somewhere but just in case you missed it, it's Microsoft Virtual PC.
It used to be that you had to be a Microsoft Partner to get it but it's now free
When I took the test my problem was that I hadn't used 95 or 98 or ME in years. I never used NT or 2000. Virtual PC is an awesome program. It lets you install and run multiple operating systems at the same time so you can get hands-on practice with them. I installed 98 and 2000 as guest OS's and my host OS was XP Pro.
It is SO SIMPLE to use. You download and install Virtual PC from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx. Then you run VPC (Virtual PC) and install the additional operating systems you feel you need experiencewith. VPC presents you with a menu and you just choose which OS you want to start up. You can even have several OS's running simultaneously in their own window! It's so cool. You can have say, Win98 running in it's own little window, click on the start button and restart it and it restarts without disturbing your host OS.
Bottom line is this...if you're weak in any OS's because you haven't used them in years or maybe never used them this is a good way to get all the hands on experience you need.
The only down side is you have to own, or have access to, the other operating systems because they don't come with VPC.
I hope this helps someone as much as it did me.
Man who say it can't be done, should get out of way of man doing it...Confucious
Comments
-
dynamik
Banned Posts: 12,312 ■■■■■■■■■□
Yep. I actually prefer VMWare workstation, but it costs $190 as opposed to being free. It's been an absolute godsend on my MCSE. I can setup a dozen virtual machines on different networks, sites, etc. The cloning/restore points are awesome as well because you can sabotage something and see the results, then just revert back to the good configuration or clone a new copy from the original install. I have a Core2Duo E6600 with 4gb of ram (intentionally built for this vm lab environment), so your mileage may vary in regards to the number of machines, etc.
[Edit]
You can download VMWare Player and Server for free. The player doesn't allow you to create virtual machines, but you can download free open source OS's/appliances and play around with them. The Ubuntu player download is a great way to start working with linux.