Getting ready for test

doc4pcs

I am getting ready to take the test hopefully this week. Any last minute suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Everytime I think I am ready I stumble on to something else that I study and then I get nervous about taking it and then I put it off. But I feel that I want to give it a shot now before I "chicken out" again.

Webmaster

Getting too nervous is never good. Definitely try to relax when you go to the test centre. Scoring 90% and higher on many practice exams is a good way to become less nervous, know the material and put your trust in that

Good luck!

doc4pcs

I usually get 80 to 90% right on the practice test's that I use. But then I always run into something that I didn't know. I guess that is why I keep putting it off. I have downloaded several extra items lately and I have been studying the cramsession guide and I just downloaded a **** study guide. On the ****, I scored 70% (not multiple choice) without reading the guide first. It was 172 questions. So I am going to cram as much as I can this weekend and see if I feel good enough about it to try by midweek.

henrock2

Well i know on the practice test i used i started scoring 90 on them even 100s i was like ok either im becoming familiar with all the questions or either i know. what i suggest is to go to some of these different sites that offer like sample questions even if they are like 10-15 questions take them so that way u will see knew questions. ****.com was and ok site. mcmcse.com,certyourself.com,****,cert21.com..i know they had some pratice test that i took that really gave me a idea of if i really knew the material or just remembering the questions. good luck.

Webmaster

I'm sorry to hear you need to **** your way through exams. Your links to braindumps and **** PDFs sites are replaced by our high-tech-anti-****-link-detector installed on this forum.

doc4pcs

If you are talking about the exams that I was talking about, I assure you that they are the same as here, practice test. I am not only relying on the tests, but the reading as well. Afraid I am too old to even know how to ****.

I have lot's of experience, I have been working as a computer technician and also troubleshooting and setting up a very large wan,(about 40 servers and 2000 machines serviced and setup up by 2 of us) but I started long before these certs were around. I only want the certs for personal reasons. My fear of the tests are that I know what to do to make sure everything works, but do I have the knowledge of the osi layers and ports enough in my memory (without grabbing a manual at work) to pass.

Webmaster

Although the company you mentioned has been shut down due to illegal activitites, copying actual exam questions that is... but I was mostly referring to a braindump site mentioned in henrock2's post but nevertheless if you want to pass the exam for personal reasons I assume you want to take the exam to proof (yourself) you can do it, am I right? Then take my advice and stay away from questions packed in PDF guides, 95% of them, including the one you downloaded (although since they have been shut down the question pool for the real exam probably has changed a couple of times) contain real actual stolen questions and passing an exam while already knowing the questions and answers is hardly a challenge... and a waste of money, time and the certification itself.

Anyway, it sounds like you are well prepared for the exam and you really shouldn't have to be nervous. Although CompTIA tends to use a bit ambiguous wording in their questions, the exam isn't very hard. And since you score 80 to 90% on practice tests you should do fine.

Johan

doc4pcs

I was led to the 2 sites that I had mentioned, one by someone that I know that is a cne, the troy tech, and the other cramsession from here. I stumbled on to here a few days ago when I was searching the web for practice tests and information. The troy tech was the older version from what I gathered and I had someone ask me the questions at the end of the guide and answered everything without referencing any answers. But I only got a little over 70% right. That put the fear back about taking it. I don't want to just waist the money for the test. Not knowing what types of questions they would ask.

If I knew they would ask me wiring, novell 3.1- 4.1- 5 or 6, linux, mac, or windows I would be good to go I think. I still screw up the 7 layer model sometimes. I can read it over and over. Then a few days later I forget what goes with what (well, some things) I have the basics of it drilled into memory now. It is just something that I never use in my job. I am probably going to go for it anyway this week.

Webmaster

I was talking about troy tech, the cramsessions have always been useful to me too. I'm referring to those PDF guides that contain practice questions. Troy tech was one of the first that started "rewriting braindumps" (these are their own words) and also one of the first that was sued. (check out www.certcities.com for more info on these topics). You can find out what type of questions they ask without having to read the actual questions.... and many forums including ours offer tons of information about what is covered primarily in the exams. Just use the exam objectives as a guideline and you should do fine.

According to our net+ poll many people agree with you and find the OSI model one of the hardest topics to grasp. Besides our OSI Model TechNote for the Net+ exam I can only give the advice that you should try to understand the OSI model, once you really do, it will become obvious which protocols, services and hardware components operate on which layer. I never actually used the OSI model on the jbo either, but it proofed to be essential in learning the aspects of networking.

doc4pcs

I do understand most of the osi layers. I still every now and then seem to pick the wrong answers on some of the practice tests that I have taken. Then I go, "oh yea, that's right". That is why I haven't taken the test yet. I have read several of the books for net+. And then re-read them. But then I seem to forget some of the things I have read, and then I had been putting it off. I guess I just need to push a little more and take the test. Which is what I am trying to do now

I have only taken the A+ so far. Only because I am pretty content with my job, not looking to go anywhere else (it's a school system). Just want to do it for myself. I would probably be more comfortable taking server+ but I wanted to do this one first. A+ was a breeze for me, was done with both tests in 15 minutes. And I would like to hope this would be that way. Just seems like so much to remember.

I really appreciate the feedback. Everything helps.

Webmaster

If A+ was a breeze, then Net+ shouldn't be much of a problem either.

If you want some extra practice for the OSI model besides our OSI quiz here, www.cert21.com offers an OSI exam and www.CertYourself.com (CCNA section, but appropriate) does as well.

doc4pcs

These are good links. I have used the osi test that you have here, but the others are also making me feel a little more confident.

Thanks

henrock2

OK ughh where in the post did i say that i cheated? if that was the case then this site and all other sites like this is a **** site. Every tip or hint we give each other on these sites can be taken as we are all cheaters. IM not gettin defensive i was just giving suggestions of sites i used. I didnt say well go into test and write down all the questions and pass them out. I said I TOOOOOOOK THE PRATICE TEST QUESTIONS ON THOSE SITES. if that is cheating then ok i cheated, but this site is a cheating site aswell if u say that. and what site has been taken down? I wasnt aware of any sites that used or have used stolen questions i was under the assumption that every site worked the same just like this one from ppl that have just taken or have already taken the test that wanted to help each other out. besides im to cheap and broke to buy any of that stuff even if i did i wouldnt cuz i have worked for everything i have got and will continue to do the same. So as far as me cheating i really dont care call it what u want. But i know i studied for a good time with lots of stuff including stuff from this site.

henrock2

i just realized that i put amazon.com what the hec is that? was i drunk or something i dont know.but the sites i do recommend is this one, and mcmcse.com which if im not mistaken has a link from this site. like i said if u studied the tech notes from those two sites and understand them u should do ok. u even mentioned urself about certyourself and cert21.so i have no clue as to what u are talking about using **** materials. those troy techs stuff are **** stuff i never used those i didnt want to waste my time trying to memerize that stuff and get into the test and noone of the questions are the same. Besides when you are hired on a job if u dont know ur stuff all the certs in the world wont help you. But i like this site so im not mad, its a post board post ur opinions if ur opinions are that i cheated then you are entitled. Merry christmas.

RussS

Hey Henrock2

Kind of like cars (or anything else you wish to name) - exam sites are all not equal.
There are reputable sites like the webmaster runs here, where we discourage the use of **** and there are **** sites. The two major differences are that in the good sites they have experienced people who write the technical questions for the various subjects as opposed to ****, where people post the questions they remember from the actual exam. And the other major difference is that webmaster does not allow the posting of cracks to quizzers etc. and the moderators delete any references or links that are inappropriate.

Searching the news in the Comptia and Microsoft sites one can find references to various court actions in regard to illicit sites. Something to note is that when a person posts **** to a site their IP address is usually logged, and if the site is hosted where there are decent laws those logs can be checked by the courts and the poster tracked down.
I personally enjoy passing on my knowledge and enjoy 1 on 1 tutoring, but am always aware of the non-disclosure agreements with both Comptia and Microsoft - the time and effort I have put into earning my certifications is not worth throwing away

henrock2

Well thanks for clearing that up bud. Like i said i used some sites like **** but i stopped because i didn't want to study that crap and it not be the same as on the test.But also i was not aware if they were stolen questions or not, i mean how can you tell? I just thought they were questions from different examsims like transcender and symatex ,testout stuff like that not actual from previous exams. I studied pretty much like everyone else on this board,books,tech notes, teachers and staying up late. I was aware sort of those sites but i thought they all got closed down. The other sites i mentioned just like i said i got links to this site and from this site. I don't recommend anyone using troy tech ****, well i do cuz when and if they pass the test they will get on the job and not have a clue of really whats going on,see thats where i come in to take their job away. :P No but really i didn't know about which sites were which. Like i said i used this sites technotes and mcmsce.com technotes and testout examsim software those pretty much helped tremendously in my passing of the test. I have worked in networking and with computers since i was 11 so this is not something i really want to **** myself on,especially with all this competition going on with the laying off of techs. You should you field well enough to do your job competently. Like i said i applaud this site its one of the best i have came across. I will continue to use this site in my quest to pass my other exams.

henrock2

ok i feel way stupid now i just realized that you blanked out the sites that do that. Well from now on i know where to go and where not go. haha i thought i was going crazy cuz i did not remember putting AMAZON.COM but anyway. Sorry guys for being alil jumpy i just dont like to accused of lying or cheating,i always been raised to earn everything i get. And like russ said the satisfaction of studying for the exams and actually knowing that you know the stuff is very fulfilling. I know when i walked out with my big ass grin i felt like all those nites i stayed up until 3 in the morning really played off.

Webmaster

henrock2 wrote:

i just realized that i put amazon.com what the hec is that? was i drunk or something i dont know.but the sites i do recommend is this one, and mcmcse.com which if im not mistaken has a link from this site. like i said if u studied the tech notes from those two sites and understand them u should do ok. u even mentioned urself about certyourself and cert21.so i have no clue as to what u are talking about using **** materials.

You did not put "amazon.com" but www.b-r-a-i-n-d-u-m-p-s.com without the -s, our forum replaced it with www.amazon.com... as it will replace most of these sites with other urls

I've been usingwww.mcmcse.com myself since it was "Jason Spraque's MCSE page" 6 years ago, a great-must-visit-ethical and reliable site.

I originally created www.certyourself.com 2.5 years ago, although I don't approve with the advertisers they currently have, it has loads of useful information.

www.cert21.com provides quality online exams for affordable rates.

These sites and TechExams.Net differ a lot from two sites you mentioned (Thanks RussS for explaining why.) and besides that I would like to discourage you to use bd sites or promote them, I don't want them in our forums.

It's actually very easy to determine the good from the bad in most cases:
- most of them advertise with "real" and "actual"
- those sites that offer hundreds of questions in a PDF guide, and often do that for many different certifications, should not be trusted. Tech writers are expensive, writing practice questions and explanations is costly and takes a lot of time. If those companies would take so much effort and money to create their own orginal questions and diagrams they would spend the extra couple of bucks to create a high-tech highly marketable offline test engine and compete with Transcender for example. The IT cert industry is overrun by these companies that really don't care if you pass or not, they just want to make a quick buck...

If you want more information about such sites and what Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco and Prometric are finally doing about it go to www.certcities.com , use search keywords such as "court" or "security council"

I'll see if I can write an "Anti-Braindump Policy" clearing it all up and something about the methods we use to create practice exams and TechNote showing a clear difference.
I've been thinking of putting up a list of "good and bad" sites as well but that would make our little community here a bit vulnerable for DDOS attacks etc. The Windows & .NET Magazine Network contacted us about new book they released just days ago: the "Insider's Guide to IT Certification" which hopefully covers this issue. We should have a review of the book online soon.

but anyway I surely didn't mean to offend you, I'm glad you like our site and the TechNotes, and I wish you the best with your other exams.

Johan

Webmaster

did it take me that long to write that post?

henrock2

haha,uggh i dont know. But darn man thanks,i wasnt aware of which sites and stuff did that. But u never answered my PM haha i would like to know what u think. Which test is better, ccna or ccda or does it matter what u wanted to do as far as administer or design. Im taking classes from CNAPand i really love the classes.

haha yeah i know this is a net+ board but i guess this is the only way webmaster would see the question. :P

thanks and i have read that link you gave that discussed all of this stuff.

Webmaster

I'll be happy to answer your questions about CCNA vs CCDA but you might want to drop your question in our Cisco forums instead of in the Net+ or PM'ing me That way you'll probably get more response than just my humble opinion...