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83-640 Exam and a dissapointing test center <RANT ON>!

staggerlee

Hi all,

Just toke my 83-640 exam, and sadly the labs didnt start. just stood there for 10 mins waiting for them to connect before going to girl who toke me to say about it.

Her advice.. her only advice, was to skip the first lab and carry on with the exam...

This sounded wrong to me, ive read a few horror stories of the labs not working but i thought they could just close it down and restart.

Never less i carried on... and with no suprise at all the second lab didnt start either. I tell her again. She says finish the exam and i will contact prometric once you have finished.

So with just the 30 exam questions to take i go on. Scoring a laughable 648!

So A: kinda of intersting that you can score that high on the questions alone.. i would guess i got all of them right, and that to pass the exam i would have just to get 1 lab questions right..

b: i finish the exam and go to speak to the ever so not helpful lady again. Where first i got ignored for 10 mins while she was on msn with the prometric site up (Im guessing that it wasnt prometric she was talking to, but i could just be jaded!)

eventually after about 30 mins shes on the phone to prometric and they say since the exam was finished! There are unsure if i will get to do a retake and may have to pay again (Luckly work is paying and we have about 30 spare test exam codes that need using by May so for me not to bad there!)

Im not sure if they allow me to say who the site company where, but for anyone in London UK do NOT..... DO NOT take your exam at the test site at Turnpike Lane tube station (cough cough One Tech UK Ltd Site Code: gb236!!! cough cough)

Anywya theres my rant phase over. Now i guess my real questions is,

Is there a waiting peroid before i can book agian? Im currently waiting to get another exam code to try and book tomorrow or even if possible today. And for several reasons, not least my sanity after scoring so well and wanting this finished. I really need this exam passed before Monday.

Any advice greatly recieved.
S

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Comments

Piers

I believe according to the Prometric site, you can test again within 24 hrs, but most likely you'll have to wait a few days for the Microsoft site to get updated.

That's rotten but great score on the multiple choice questions! Shame you didn't have a second chance voucher code for this, the retake would be free and you wouldn't have to wait for a new code. Hopefully things are the same on your side, but when I booked my 682 exam, I was able to pick a time the next day, less than 24 hrs from when I booked it. I'd wish you good luck, but it's clear you don't need it

GagHalfrunt

Seems a little out of order to me - from my own personal experience I think Prometric has pretty low standards for their Test centres. I've found one which seems OK in Coventry so I'm sticking to it!

Regardless of who is paying for it - surely as you didn't get what you paid for they should refund?

Did you use Second Shot?

slinuxuzer

I've also had trouble with prometric testing sites having comps older than me. I worked nights for a while and it was really hard to get out of bed early and go test, but I did and one morning I waited around for 5 hours before being told no test today, had to go to work dog tired and try again later.

Another time the machine crashed twice during the test and the clock on the test kept rolling.

Another time the test crashed on question 1, which was an easy question. When it came back up I got a different much harder question 1 and I would have to assume and entirely new exam.

If your sims won't load then you should not go forward with the test, and if she instructed you to do so then they should pay for the retake, I would not accept this at all, even if my company was paying, their fault and they need to make it right, I would also contact her supervisor and tell him exactly how this went down.

staggerlee

Well long day over

Called prometric to try and redo the test today but they didnt have my score yet from the exam so couldnt let retake today

I now have to call them tomorrow at work make sure its all sorted and get a retake code off them (least no money wasted in the end i hope!) then since i want to take the test tomorrow ring up some test centers and see if they have a space, then call prometric to get it booked then run over to the test center (Hoping i can make it there on time !)

I never thought of the second shot idea /cryyyy

As for test centers and there conditions, i decided to fill out the survey when i was done, i did enjoy some of the questions

Did they ask you to remove your phone - she asked if i had one didnt bother with the you need to turn that off and leave it in x

Did they check on you during the test - nope no sign off her back at her desk on msn everytime i went to say LAB DONT WORK !

The room i toke the exam was about 7 foot square with the max amount of machines possible to fit in the room, with little side barriers up.

Are most really this basic and poor... I mean i know theres not much you can do.. but surely theres some kind of space between each testie rule..

Anyways thanks for all the replies... im little less stressed now, mainly because i know i can pass the stupid thing, which had me up all night with worry the night before hehe

hopefully the horror will be over tomorrow.

S

earweed

Good luck on your retake..hopefully it works this time

GagHalfrunt

Good luck also.

That's the worst thing isn't it - you get yourself all psyched up for it so don't want things to go wrong even if they aren't your own fault!

staggerlee

well some time has passed and i have calmed down a lil.. i got my exam rebooked for the saturday at a different test center.

Get to test center. no one there..

wait 20 mins (my test should start in 5 mins now) still no one there but 6 poeple standing around waiting to get in.

10 mins passed when my exam should start.. man walks up open door then locks it behind him.

10 mins later... he opens door and lets everyone

10 mins still hes flashs though getting people in i got to put my phone and ipod in a WHITE PIECE OF PAPER he wrapped up and scribbled my name on.. As apparently even though he had 20 odd lockers there. only 2 poeple could use them >.>

10 mins later i sit at my desk and see the ohh so firmilar.. CANNOT CONNECT TO SERVER PLEASE TRY AGAIN.

10 mins later i ask said man to look it into (the dread is back in my life)

at this point things actually got better. the test center guy tried to get it working 3-4 machines.. all failed but hell least he tried and didnt make me finish the exam knowing i would fail! After it didnt work he was kind enough to call prometric and a mere 1 hour and half after my exam was meant to start i was actually taking my exam !!!!

Thankfully i passed 873 ! (cheer) so all is well... but damn do i feel sry for anyone needing to take that exam now.. All the test center guy would keep saying was very bad test always fails.

On a side note.. prometric where pretty awsome i would say.

i called them on day before my exam was told that they hadnt finished resolving the last test to sort a rebooking (fair enough it was only 20 odd hours later) I asked if could book the exam with a new test code and when i get my orginal test back and approved for a re-test i could use it on another exam, lady didnt know but went and found for me and that is sorted for my next run in... every time i called them they were really helpful which is so unique for a help desk so very happy with them!

the trail is over ! thanks for all the advice. time for a rest before 646 !

earweed

Congrats on the new cert. Great score. I hope to do as well.
I'm taking the test in 3 weeks, hopefully all goes well for me. The test center I use is pretty good, even though it is a 1-1/2 hour drive. There are closer test centers but I had problems with them when taking CompTIA tests (old computers, slow connections, one opened a 1/2 hour late after lunch)

teksource1984

How tough are the labs ? what are most of the sim questions like ? do they consist of screenshots or do they have router/switches in them ?

earweed

Have you noticed any routers or switches in the book? This isn't a brain ****, everyone here works too hard for their certs to give up too much info.

teksource1984

I also don't do braindumps. However, im curious to know how to sims look like on the 83-640 exams ? it's a genuine question

astorrs

teksource1984 wrote: »

I also don't do braindumps. However, im curious to know how to sims look like on the 83-640 exams ? it's a genuine question

The best way to find out what the sims look like is to take the exam...

...and since that's the only way you're going to get more detail without someone breaking the NDA they agreed to when they took their test, irrespective of whether or not it's a genuine/fair question, nobody on the forum here is likely to answer it.

The only thing I will say is that 83-640 doesn't use simulations, you are working on labs on "real" (virtual) machines, as for what that looks like etc, take the test - there's always SecondShot.