The Beast Jr. Mauled Me!

Johnny Johnson

This exam should be called The Beast, not The Beast Jr.! I finished with only about 10-15 minutes to spare, and felt rushed through the whole thing because of the length of the questions. I felt I was guessing on most of the questions. I ended up with a score of 574. The sims consisted of GPOs and Certificates. According to the score report, the only section I passed, with almost a perfect score, was the "Plan, Implement, and Maintain Security Infrastructure". The other five sections I did terrible on. Well, back to the drawing board. I'm planning on going through the whole Syngress book this time around, and probably focus on one chapter a week (maybe two if the chapter seems pretty understandable). In any case, like others have said, please do not underestimate this one. IMO this was a lot more difficult than the 291.

Psoasman

Sorry to hear you didn't pass. What specific areas did you have trouble with? I have some good hands-on labs I can send you if you like. PM if interested.
I'm sure you'll maul the 293 next time!

mikedisd2

Wow this one sounds really tough. I guess it hasn't been revised like 291.
I wish the second shot was still going.

dynamik

That score really isn't that bad. Have you given Transcender a shot? The online 30-day access is pretty affordable now.

Johnny Johnson

I had an older version of Transcender that I was using. It didn't include any sims on it. I heard the new version includes sims. I am thinking about purchasing the MS exam voucher and a Transcender download from one of the websites that offers the pack. My question is, if you buy one of those exam voucher + Transcender packs, do you get a refund on the Transcender if you do not pass the exam?

massiramones

Hey Jhonny, im sorry to hear u failed.. DAMN!
Im with u man, but u dont get lose, next time u will be able to pass, i think this exam focus lots of question about PKI, some GP0,and clustering, so better u pay more ur study about those topic, anyway i've scheduled it for next wedsnay, i will tell u about the result and question topic...now be good and think u can do it! come on jhonny

swat

Sorry to hear that man. That's not a bad score to work up from though, at least you know what to expect next time going in, and you can hammer those long-winded question types into your brain. A felt a bit of intimidation/glossing over of the eyes at some of the questions, and had to "snap back" to focus on picking out the information.

You can do it!

Zerubb

This one has "mauled" me also. I agree that 293 is more difficult than 291. I have been working the latest version of Transcenders for this test and have found that many of the Transcenders questions are very close to some that were on the actual exam. The sims with this version are maybe a little more complex than the actual exam sims that I came accross but will certainly help you to be better prepared for you next attempt. I bought my voucher/Transcender combo from getcertified4less, I don't know if there is any type of refund though if you fail after using the questions. Anyone prepping for this exam that has not already taken it would be well served to get the Transcenders. I used both MS Press and Syngress for this exam, studied both religiously and came up short after my first try for 293. Good luck

GBAKER2204

Sorry to hear you didn't pass - I found this one particularly tough. You can beat it, it sounds like you have a good plan to beat this Beast (I also think this one is the Beast not Beast Jnr). The transcenders certainly helped me with this one. You'll get it next time.

novovictus

What would you suggest as a package for virtual labs?

I have a server setup at home that i run through some configurations on, but i wanted to throw something on my laptop.

Testout, Transcender, MS virtual machines? can you point me in the right direction?

dynamik

Transcender makes great practice exams, but I'd go with virtual machines for actual lab work.

novovictus

I have used transcenders before, but i dont recall them even having sims. Are the any simulator engines out there for 293?

Johnny Johnson

novovictus wrote: »

What would you suggest as a package for virtual labs?

I have a server setup at home that i run through some configurations on, but i wanted to throw something on my laptop.

Testout, Transcender, MS virtual machines? can you point me in the right direction?

VMWare is good for virtual labs. I use it all the time. I've heard Virtual PC is good as well, and a lot of people like it because it's free.

Zerubb

novovictus wrote: »

I have used transcenders before, but i dont recall them even having sims. Are the any simulator engines out there for 293?

I bought the Transcenders for 293 about a month ago and there are sims in the version I have. I failed after studying the MS press book, Syngress book and doing all of the labs from both books. After failing I decided to buy the Transcenders for 293 and I'm glad I did. The sims are very close to the sims I encountered when I took the exam.

tomken

Sorry that you didn't make it past this one Johnny, but your score really wasn't all that bad. The Transcenders should put you over the top!!!! Good luck on your next try!!!!

novovictus

thank you much... always good info!

Sbrito

Try not to get to down, I failed this test twice before i passed it with a 904. Just keep going over any notes you have and focus on the sections you didn't do so well on and you'll be in great shape

I think this was the hardest test i've taken so far on the MCSE track(much harder than 'the beast' 291)

Bulletz

Sorry to hear that man...how many sims did you have?

mikedisd2

Sometimes I feel there is only so much you can learn about a subject. After that it's about learning how to address Microsoft's damned long questions. I can spend 3 minutes reading a qu. only to find it is mostly time wasting blab. The point of scenarios can usually be found in the last 2 sentences.

Johnny Johnson

Bulletz wrote: »

Sorry to hear that man...how many sims did you have?

I think I had either two or three sims. From the forum it seems like a lot of people had as many as five! Hopefully the next time around I will only have two or three again.