Got pounded on 70-270 today :-(

MYSTYKRACER

Took 70-270 today and came up w/ a 653! If it didn't hurt so much that score would be absolutely laughable!

I've been studying on and off for this test since December and in the last three weeks I easily passed 271 (900) and 272 (920) so I figured w/ a week or so of review I was good to go. I was consistently scoring 90% on the Measure Up practice exam that came w/ the MS Press book but when I got to the exam it seem like the focus of the test was completely different than what I expected.

I had numerous questions on specific GPOs which I thought was completely out of scope for a client side OS test. I also had a bunch of questions on RIS which I expected and some on security as well. There was not one single question on Control Panel or Task Manager and there were only a handful of questions of NTFS/share permissions. From what I recall there was one question on HAL ( dual processor ) and one question on hardware profiles.

For the most part this struck me as something of a "trap" test. The kinda of test when I was undergrad that loaded w/ "gotcha" questions designed to weed people out. I've been in IT operations work for 11 years and I've used XP exclusively at work and at home since it was introduced. I now see why many people save 270 for last and do the server tests 290/291 first. It seems like you'd have a better grasp of GPO after studying that stuff rather than just after learning the client OS.

At any rate, sorry for the rant I'm obviously more than just a little annoyed today! My question for the forum would be, how many other folks saved 270 for last on the MCSA track and is 270 easier after taking and passing 290/291? Relatively speaking, how do the 270 - 290 - 291 compare to each other?

Thanx for any constructive feedback!

Devilsbane

Just took the test over the weekend.

I don't know why this test has XP in the title. (OK, I know why). But it is so much more. There are GPO's, Certificates, IPSec. A killer for me was installing. I've done attended installations before, extremely easy. Now throw in the other 5000 ways to install XP, and this becomes quite complicated. Sysprep, and answer files, RIS server, ect.

The difficulty usually goes 291, 270, 290. The good news, is that lots of the stuff you prepare for with 270 will show up on 290. (Which is why some choose to go 290 first. Learn it good the first time, so when it shows up again you laugh at it).

The hardest part for me when studying this exam was that it wasn't what I expected. I've used XP a long time as well, thought this would be an easy one. But like I said, it isn't just XP. This test has more objectives than the others, so the potential for knowing it all goes down.

I started "studying" for this test back in December as well. I didn't start actually studying until about a month ago. Reading every night, Transcender practice questions, and CBT Nuggets (although I only watched a few videos, the one on regional settings really helped.) Tell me, have you ever configured XP to work with another language? I hadn't. I thought that it would be super easy, but it isn't.

Hopefully you have a second chance voucher. Review the stuff that isn't "typically xp" and hopefully the second try comes out better. Since Microsoft doesn't release how they grade I can't say for sure. But you were probably just 2-3 questions away from a passing score. What that means, is that if you only worked on the GPO part, you could probably pass it.

Good luck!

loxleynew

Hmm my cert path went like this:

271 - 272 - 290 - 291 - 270

I passed all but the 291 on the first time and took that twice. The 270 did seem to correlate to the 290 a lot. Like half of what you study for on the 290 seems to come up on the 270. I guess that's why if you want you could go 290 - 270 - 291. I did find 271 and 272 wayyy easier than 270 even combined.

MYSTYKRACER

Hey, thanx for the feedback guys, knowing that at least a few other people see 270 as being "out of scope" makes me feel not quite as dumb now.

Unfortunately I don't have a "second chance" voucher, they weren't being offered when I registered. I can't figure out MS's timing on offering those and I didn't feel like waiting . . . perhaps I should have. But since i don't have one I guess I'm under no particular constraints to sign up for the same $125 a$$-whoopin' right away so I'm thinkin' I'll just move on to 290/291 for now and circle back to 270 when I have a better handle on GPO and all of the other stuff that seems to have morphed into this test.

poriggity

Im with you guys.. I am getting close to sitting for 270, and it's killing me.. There is REALLY not that much about "XP"...
Scott

Devilsbane

The 271/272 and the 270 are completely separate animals. I know lots of people who walk into the 270 with the thinking that "It's just XP". But it is a lot more. There is AD, and Group Policy, and Certificates, and installation alone is a nightmare.

The good news is the 290 is probably 50%+ the same as the 270. So once you get this down it should be smooth sailing. Until you meet Mr. 291 that is.

Good luck

kriscamaro68

This test is based on windows xp administration in an ad environment that microsoft would setup. This includes GPO's, local gp's, mmc, security templates, ris, unattends, logs, permissions, networking, and many other things. As said before people use xp for years and walk into this and fail. You have to know xp from an ad standpoint and how microsoft wants you to know it.

good luck.

MYSTYKRACER

kriscamaro68 wrote: »

This test is based on windows xp administration in an ad environment that microsoft would setup. This includes GPO's, local gp's, mmc, security templates, ris, unattends, logs, permissions, networking, and many other things. As said before people use xp for years and walk into this and fail. You have to know xp from an ad standpoint and how microsoft wants you to know it.

good luck.

Yeah, I actually have no problem w/ knowing XP from an administrative standpoint even as far as knowing the various installation methods, RIS, local, gp's, permissions, etc. I don't even have problem being tested on the interactions of domain gp w/ local gp. My big gripe is that the test I took wanted you know specific group policies that only originate on the server side. Personally I think it is "out of scope" to be tested on a function that can't even be accessed from the client side OS.

Since group policy can only be accessed from a server, so while it's reasonable to assume there should be an understanding of the impact of group policy on the client OS to me this is like asking someone to know specific weight requirements, tire pressure requirements, braking distances, etc. of a tractor-trailer truck when taking the standard automobile drivers test. While I suppose it might be helpful to know that stuff, it's not necessary for the operation or even "administration" or maintenance of an automobile.

Still though, I get the point that's being made. If MS wants people to know that stuff then that's what you need to know, period. I just wish I would have know the sequence should be 290-270-291!