Why is the exam so hard? Studying tips please

I have been studying for 70-290 for over 3 months already.

I have read the MS Press books and Que exam books.

I have installed VM Ware and practiced with Windows 2003.

I have taken Trancender exams and I always fail.

I find the books only give a brief overview on the topics and don't go enough detail on the material.

I would like some advise on how to approach this exam.

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glennrosslee

Hi,

I am also currently studying for my 70-290 and have booked my exam for the 2nd November. I started my certification studies with my A+, N+ and then MCDST. The MCDST broke me into the way Microsoft tests as it is different to Comptia (A+, N+) exams. Also, this gave me a head start in Windows, even though I have been using XP since it was released. After the MCDST I easily passed 70-270, another XP cert. My studying for the 70-290 is so much easier after the MCDST and 70-270, there is loads of overlap on these exams. My suggestion would be to maybe start on the MCDST, depending on your experience level then follow the MCSA/MCSE track incrementally. EG: 70-270, 70-290...etc. As I said, there is loads of overlap and by starting with the other certs it makes it far easier to study for and pass the 70-290 by the time you get there. For your info, I passed the MCDST and 70-270 in less than two months, this is study time and taking the exams. It also helps that I currently work with the OS's (XP, 2003, 2000, NT). I tried starting on the 70-290 over a year ago and also found it difficult to grasp the concepts and I am glad that I canned the idea and then went back to the beginning and started over...eg: A+, N+, MCDST, 70-270 and now finally 70-290. Just my 2c worth, goodluck and never give up...

Regards,

Glenn Rosslee

GT-Rob

I just passed 70-290 last month with only about 3 weeks of study (just after doing 70-270). I used the MSPress book, the measure up questions that came with it, and used 2003 on my home computer to get some hands on with AD and Policies. I have past experience with servers, but not AD.

I have never used transcender, but I can say that the measure up questions were a pretty close to the real thing. If you have hands on with the server and can do basic things, you can pass the sim questions.

IMO, get the microsoft 2nd try deal, book the test, and see what happens. Worst case is you fail, know what to study more and take it again for free. More than likely you will pass though, and be able to move on. Good luck!

GT-Rob

Just to add, the reason the books don't go into too much detail is because this is 70-290. There are like 3 more server 2003 exams on your way to getting MCSE, which go into PLENTY of detail. Think of this as more of an 'intro' to the OS.

Gundamtdk

GT-Rob wrote:

Just to add, the reason the books don't go into too much detail is because this is 70-290. There are like 3 more server 2003 exams on your way to getting MCSE, which go into PLENTY of detail. Think of this as more of an 'intro' to the OS.

I found 70-290 difficult because there so many different items to cover.

For example, if I wanted to know to setup up user accounts I have to setup Active Directory which the 70-290 books doesn't cover!

There seem to be an assumption with the 70-290 that everything is setup already (AD, Routing, Terminal Servers) which isn't the case.

jbaello

I found this exam to be the easiest, compared to 270, you will be surprised with 270 RIS/WDS lol :P they got something really going on in there, as for the AD part of 290 all I remember was the different types of groups, eg. universal, global and such, just make sure your familiar with the difference types of this groups. I kinda find the NTBACKUP a bit annoying.

What part of 290 are you having a hard time?

jahman182

glennrosslee wrote:

Hi,

My studying for the 70-290 is so much easier after the MCDST and 70-270, there is loads of overlap on these exams. My suggestion would be to maybe start on the MCDST, depending on your experience level then follow the MCSA/MCSE track incrementally. EG: 70-270, 70-290...etc. As I said, there is loads of overlap and by starting with the other certs it makes it far easier to study for and pass the 70-290 by the time you get there. For your info, I passed the MCDST and 70-270 in less than two months, this is study time and taking the exams.

Regards,

Glenn Rosslee

snadam

Gundamtdk wrote:

I found 70-290 difficult because there so many different items to cover.

For example, if I wanted to know to setup up user accounts I have to setup Active Directory which the 70-290 books doesn't cover!

There seem to be an assumption with the 70-290 that everything is setup already (AD, Routing, Terminal Servers) which isn't the case.

I am also studying for 290 and have the MS-Press Book along with the exam cram series. One of the first labs in the MS Press book is to set up a DC (which in itself will add AD and any of the other services you wish to choose). I believe its either chapter 2 or 3. It doesnt really cover the AD setup in GREAT detail, but it gets you through the process nonetheless. I would recommend going back to the begining of the book and set up a domain in your lab like they have in their lab. I will agree with you, however, that some stuff (like DNS and DHCP services) are already "assumed" running according to the book, which threw me for a loop a while back.

Also, unless you set your pass rate % in transcender, I think the default is 100% for a pass. So if you miss 1 question, you technically fail.

best of luck on your studies!!!

glennrosslee

Completely agree with you on this one, I encountered the same issue of wanting to do the 290 before the 270, and chose to go 70-270........70-290 route, now it is clearer to me as some things which were assumed in the 290 kit were explained to some extent in the 270 kit and the overlap is understood from that approach. I also have the MS MCDST training kit but will fore-go that certification.
Might mean spending a bit more on books and prep material but I would rather do that than have to redo an exam because I was ill-prepared.[/quote]

My reasoning for taking the MCDST is that there is the sweet upgrade to the Windows 2008 certs, one exam and you get a MCITP: Enterprise Technician and 2 x MCTS certs. This helps when looking at the big picture, by going this way you complete the upgrade and still get a credit towards the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator cert = sort of equivalant to the current MCSE. So there is method to my madness.

Plus it doesn't hurt to have that extra cert. It's something to show to your boss come raise time...

Claymoore

Gundamtdk wrote:

There seem to be an assumption with the 70-290 that everything is setup already (AD, Routing, Terminal Servers) which isn't the case.

Actually it IS the case. Later exams cover the designing, planning and deployment of 2003 based networks, but the 290 exams work on the assumption that you are working on an established network.

I studied by reading the 290 section of the O'Reilly MCSE core exams In a Nutshell for an overview and then I used the MS Press 290 training book for targeted study. I studied for about a week and a half and passed the test easily. However, I have 4 years of on the job experience with a 2003 network so I don't need as much study time. My recommendation is to get as much experience as possible before taking the exam.