books and practice test enough?

robwis

Hi all

passed my A+ over a year ago, mostly by reading books and practice exams, and would now like to go on to mcdst...can I pass this with limited xp experience (meaning just personal experience, never worked on xp in a helpdesk environment) just by reading books and doing practice tests like I did for A+? or will I need more hands on?

Microsoft also has a free online training course...is this helpful?

Any suggestions or comments on what to do or suggested reading materials/study guides

thanks

Psychobastard

Just about any study materials that you can lay your hands on will help. While it is possible to amass TOO MUCH material (you can get overwhelmed) different books cover the portions better or worse.

I bought the Sybex MCDST, both the MS Press Self Sutdy volumes, the Exam Cram two-book bundle & a less expensive CDROM video training product. A lot of material & a lot of money. I've been hitting each of the resources a little at a time. Each one covers the same subject a little differently & to a lesser or greater degree of detail. Also, this gives me a LOT of practice test options. The more (different) practice test you can take, the better.

I did the same thing for my A+ certification last year. I had the Meyrs All-In-One, I had an Exam Cram Volume, I was taking an online course & eventually enrolled in an A+ class at a communiyty college. The organized course was the best portion but even during the class, per the instructor I STILL used all of the other materials as an adjunct to the K-Force material supplied by the school. I passed both portions about three weeks before the end of the class... well before anyone else had even registered.

Utimately, it has a lot to do with study habits. If you have issues focusing on one book, buying five more will not likely help.

dvaughn81

I Just recently got my MCDST right after my A+, and found the Microsoft exams to be much more difficult than the Comptia ones. Transcender and Measure Up (Included with the Microsoft Press books) are both very good, but a little more difficult than the actual exams. Test Out was also close. For the actual exams, pay close attention to permissions, detailed locations of various options, and take your time reading the questions, don't skim. Good luck!

APA

It's not impossible...... But experience with XP in a domain environment would be a massive help.....