About the 70-271...

Hello all,

This is my first post, I had been posting at another forum but this one seems much more active. I have a 70-271 scheduled for the 5th of November, it will be my first Microsoft exam ever, and thus far I have been using free resources such as CertQuest practice exams..pdf files..MS TechNet articles etc.

I get the feeling that although these free resources will help, they won't be enough to cover the material without me getting blindsided when I actually go to sit the exam. I have also ordered the MS Press book, and am wondering if that will be enough detailed information to get past the 700+ mark on the exam.

I have a lot of experience with Windows XP Home, but never XP in the professional/networking sense. In anyone else's experience, has the MS Press book combined with some hands on training been enough?

Thanks

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rfult001

MS Press should be a good start. You need to get hands on with XP Pro though and learn how to support it in an enterprise environment; that is what the MCDST is about.

You may be able to pass with what you've got, but I would HIGHLY recommend getting more hands-on.

Anyway...Welcome to the Forum. Be sure to check out the Technotes for the 70-270 exam!

loxleynew

It's useful but when I took the 271 I went to the bookstore and read over the exam cram book on 271. It covered a lot of the installation and spec questions that the press doesn't seem to cover very well.

RobertKaucher

Jollyrancher wrote:

Hello all,

I have a lot of experience with Windows XP Home, but never XP in the professional/networking sense. In anyone else's experience, has the MS Press book combined with some hands on training been enough?

Jolly, how much experience do you have actually supporting XP? If you have any trouble with these questions you should continue your studies: Can you tell me step by step how to join a PC to a domain without looking at the PC? Could you tell me step by step how to configure proxy server settings on IE 6? What are 3 ways to get to "Internet Options" settings? Can you explain what default gateway, subnet mask, ip address, and dns server are and how to configure them?

I used the MS Press book and Windows XP resource kit and about 1 year of job experience. I passed with 917 or 916. My only concern is that before I started studying (I started just before I got my first tech job) I thought I knew a lot about computers and networking.... I had no idea how little I knew and the MS Press book really set me straight. And yes, I was lazy. Fiddled around for a year before actually testing. But if you think you might be in a similar position just use the test software that comes with the MS Press book when you get it. If you score better than 75% a few weeks of study might be enough. Anything less, you might want to reschedule so as to keep studying and doing labs.

Don't let my cautions discourage you, though. This test is very passable. Good luck!

sprkymrk

pdf files

Jollyrancher

^^ pdf files as in the kind that you can download from the MS TechNet site, on subjects like VPNs etc, or "white papers."

Jolly, how much experience do you have actually supporting XP? If you have any trouble with these questions you should continue your studies: Can you tell me step by step how to join a PC to a domain without looking at the PC? Could you tell me step by step how to configure proxy server settings on IE 6? What are 3 ways to get to "Internet Options" settings? Can you explain what default gateway, subnet mask, ip address, and dns server are and how to configure them?

I used the MS Press book and Windows XP resource kit and about 1 year of job experience. I passed with 917 or 916. My only concern is that before I started studying (I started just before I got my first tech job) I thought I knew a lot about computers and networking.... I had no idea how little I knew and the MS Press book really set me straight. And yes, I was lazy. Fiddled around for a year before actually testing. But if you think you might be in a similar position just use the test software that comes with the MS Press book when you get it. If you score better than 75% a few weeks of study might be enough. Anything less, you might want to reschedule so as to keep studying and doing labs.

If I had to provide direct answers from memory on how to perform all of those tasks that you listed I would be in trouble on the test..and that is why I was getting a gut feeling that my current study method wasn't going to cut it. The book was supposed to ship today, so it shouldn't be much longer.

It's entirely possible that when I get the MS Press book I will realize that I need to postpone the test to give me more time to familiarize myself with the material and do more labs.

RobertKaucher

I wouldn't say you need to provide a direct answer, but I did get a few questions asking me how to perform a certain task (select three from 6 answers). I got a lot of questions about networking where I had to determine if the issue was the subnet mask, default gateway, or IP address. Understanding the role of each is essential to getting those kinds of questions correct.

You CAN do this and you are wise to search for resources on TechNet. I highly recommend you invest in the MS Press book (done already if I recall) and in a practice test from Transcender or SelfTest.

dsaffar

Hi Jolly

I am sitting my 70-271 on Monday 27th Oct, I have read the MCDST book and sat the measure up tests, getting 85%-90% I failed this exam first time round, but hopefully will pass.
What are you using for preperation for the exam?

Dina

Jollyrancher

What are you using for preperation for the exam?

Until my MS Press book arrives I am using free resources like MS TechNet articles, CertQuest practice exams, and other online XP tutorials etc..

Good luck on the 27th