MCTS 070-620 - My first Microsoft exam

timROGERS

Hello,

As part of the free Dreamspark offer, I have booked my first ever Microsoft Exam - Configuring Windows Vista, for 16th April at my local test centre.

I am hoping that I shouldn't find it too bad as I have been using Vista for over a year, and I have got a copy of the Microsoft Self-Paced Training Kit.

The main problem for me is that my lack of experience means that I don't really know how to whole thing works. Once I've done the exam, do I get the result straight away? How do I get my certificate? (I've heard about a Welcome Kit but I know nothing about it!) Where can I find some practice tests that aren't these illegal "braindumps" I've seen mentioned? And finally, what are "sims" in the exam.

Thank you very much for you help,

Tim Rogers

Slowhand

First of all, good luck with your test.

As for your questions, let me see if I can answer them in the order you asked:

1) You'll get your results as soon as you hit the "Finish" button at the testing center. Your score and if you passed or failed shows up on the screen.

2) The welcome kit comes in the mail 4 - 6 weeks after passing your test. The first thing you'll see, though, is an email from Microsoft and a chance to sign into the MCP site to see your transcript.

3) Transcender is going to be your best bet for practice exams. There are others, but they're not quite as good, (or expensive). Other members of this forum can tell you what some others are, since I'm not as familiar with them.

4) Sims are simulations of an actual Vista desktop that you'll be asked to configure in some way. If you've gotten plenty of hands-on experience while you study, it should be no problem at all.

Lastly, I can give you a piece of advice. Pick up a good book to study, or even two, and make sure you get your hands on a trial copy of Vista Ultimate Edition, or at least Business Edition, if you don't already have it. Those things are going to be your first order of preparation for the exam. Use the practice tests once you've done lots of studying, they're only good until you've memorized all the simulated answers and you want to get as much out of them as you can before the exam. (The practice exam answers aren't the same as the ones on the real thing, so memorization won't help.)