Exam Questions (SP2?)

4SG

Something I’ve been wondering. Many of the books available were written in 2001-2002. I believe the exam went live in 2001. Does MS update the exam at will and do they post any updated objectives?
The reason I ask is that I see MS Press is coming out with a second edition in February or March of 2005 - MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270) Second Edition (1400 pages - ISBN 0-7356-2152-7). Part of the description says:

“Ace your preparation for Exam 70-270 - and expand your knowledge of Windows XP Professional—with this popular training kit, now fully updated for Windows XP Service Pack 2 and other key topics.”

Makes me wonder what they mean by “other key topics” – maybe material they didn’t cover well (or at all) in the 1st edition. Is SP2 currently an exam topic?

Webmaster

Good question.

I think the 'key topics' refer to part that indeed were not covered well in the training kit... although... 1400 pages!? that should cover pretty much everything about XP. That's a resource kit

I don't think SP2 is an exam topic yet. Just because they are usually not 'that' fast with updating the OS exams with SP X specific topics. But you can expect the exam to be updated when the new training kit is published and/or when the official courses are updated.

Does MS update the exam at will and do they post any updated objectives?

Yes at will, and no, they usually don't update the objectives (they remain the same, the topics and settings referred to by those objectives can change though.) If they do change they probably will announce it, although they don't have to:

Microsoft wrote:

This preparation guide [the exam objectives] is subject to change at any time without prior notice and at Microsoft's sole discretion.

4SG

Thanks Webmaster.
MS’s objectives are kind of vague (to me). But I think that’s a good thing. I don’t want to read a book to be able to the answer 100% of the questions on the exam – Experience with XP Pro is just as (if not more) important. That’s what I think the MS exams are all about. I hope.

I’ve read the MS Press 1st edition (now reading the Exam Cram2). The second edition seems promising. And I’ve seen it listed between 1400-1500 pages. How many pages are required to qualify as an XP “Bible”? It does include a 120 day XP Pro evaluation copy (with SP2) and a 15% discount on a voucher. But unfortunately I plan on taking the exam this month or early next month.

Thanks for the TechNotes, they’re my third resource. Nice to have your personal view of the objectives.

Scott G.