Time has come upon me! Thursday; 70-640 and I meet!

ThePrimetimer

Well,
Here it is, time to take the 70-640 as I am finishing my WGU class. I gotta say that the test questions I have done on Ucertify, were to easy(?) and the test questions from the MS Press book are a bit harder. However, that is all I have, aside from the LabSim questions that are provided by WGU.

Been reading posts about getting to know DNS and CS is a good thing to do, so I have been focusing on them, but also jotting over everything else.

I'll post my score after the battle.

Wish me Luck!!

elusus

Good Luck! I just finished the 70-640 MS PRESS book for the first time and I'm feeling like I need to go over a lot of things. How long did it take you to be confident enough to take the test? Did you review for a couple of weeks?

Hypntick

Yeah i'm shooting for the 17th on this one actually. Good luck, hope to see the "I passed" post!

Pishof

Good luck!

I just recently passed this one after failing the first time. Whatever you do, don't underestimate it!

jmarti71

All the best!

ThePrimetimer

Well, took the test and failed by either one or two questions as I got a 680, but needed a 700. However, I was very impressed with myself by getting such a score by having studied to 3 months and not even working with AD on a daily basis. Some of the questions were very tough. I don't think I underestimated the exam, but I think I was getting burnt out towards the end with all the questions.

So, I will study for a week and will get back in there and beat this. I mean, I gotta pass this exam if I wanna play with my new Fanatec Wheel for Forza 4 (my early christmas gift).
It may have won this battle, but the war is far from over!

elusus wrote: »

Good Luck! I just finished the 70-640 MS PRESS book for the first time and I'm feeling like I need to go over a lot of things. How long did it take you to be confident enough to take the test? Did you review for a couple of weeks?

Since I am doing this through WGU, didn't have as much time as I would have liked to study, but keep pressing forward. I finished the book about a week ago, so only reviewed for a week. However, after taking the test, I found where my weak areas were, Maintaining Active Directory. I did rather well in Certificate Services and DNS, so i will probably focus on other areas and just touch on the DNS and CS.

Psoasman

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

Well, took the test and failed by either one or two questions as I got a 680, but needed a 700. However, I was very impressed with myself by getting such a score by having studied to 3 months and not even working with AD on a daily basis. Some of the questions were very tough. I don't think I underestimated the exam, but I think I was getting burnt out towards the end with all the questions.

You were very close, probably 1 question away. Good luck on the retake! I'm hoping to take mine by the end of the month.

Hypntick

Yep, that is a super close score. Give it another week and you should do fine. Good luck on the re-take!

ThePrimetimer

So, I've been studying over the section where I did the worst in and feel pretty good there. However, I've been taking the tests that come with the MS Press book and can only seem to get around 60-65% on them. Also, I have done a few Ucertify tests through WGU, and seem to do pretty good on them.

My question is this: How well does the MS Press MeasureUp test compare to the actually exam? Not second guessing my self as this Monday is the retake and I KNOW that I can beat this thing, just something that's been running through my head.

Psoasman

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

So, I've been studying over the section where I did the worst in and feel pretty good there. However, I've been taking the tests that come with the MS Press book and can only seem to get around 60-65% on them. Also, I have done a few Ucertify tests through WGU, and seem to do pretty good on them.

My question is this: How well does the MS Press MeasureUp test compare to the actually exam? Not second guessing my self as this Monday is the retake and I KNOW that I can beat this thing, just something that's been running through my head.

The tests with the Measure Up and LabSim seem harder than the uCertify exams. the LabSim feels most similar to the M$ exams, at least for me.

ThePrimetimer

Well.....
Another defeat! Scored 571 on this one. I cannot tell you how bummed I am with getting a lower score than the first attempt. This time the score sheet said I needed improvement on DNS and CS (go figure!), but on the first score sheet, I did very well on them and needed improvement on backups.

Not sure where to go from here as I am kinda confused on which areas I need to put more study into. I guess it's gonna be backup, DNS, and CS for the 3rd attempt in two weeks. Third time is a charm, or so they say.

Please guys, any study advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I need to pass this exam for AHV1 at WGU or I don't pass the class, don't meet requirements for financial aid, etc..

Essendon

Bummer man, maybe you should give it longer than 2 weeks for your next attempt. Pound away on your weak areas and further consolidate on your stronger ones.

What resources are you using to prepare? I must tell you that it's very important to lab the material up. If you dont work on AD or server stuff in general, these exams are not easy. When I did my MCSA, I was doing desktop support and that made the exams harder as I didnt get to work on servers. So the only way around it is to lab it up.

Read up on TechNet and get your hands on the Unleashed book. I highly recommend TechNet to everyone, it's simply the best resource out there. Passed my last 7 or so exams using just TechNet (or as the primary resource). The CBT Nuggets arent bad either.

Good luck on the next attempt.

elusus

Here's what I did. One of the posters here suggested to tackle the exam by objectives. I noticed that I would forget certain things about a chapter as I did my studies. After going through the entire MS Press book, I've forgotten a lot of things that were on the earlier chapters. And this was a constant pattern for me, as I was trying to cram all the info inside my head, since I've never done anything AD in the past before.

That said I went through the objective page on the beginning of the book(the one where it tells you what chapters to go to read about that topic) and decided to tackle the one I was weakest at. At first it DNS, then CS. After going through those chapters, I then went over Maintaining Active Directory. I did this until I practically read the book the 2nd time(might just be my obsessive compulsive tendencies lol). Doing this gave me a high-level grasp on whats going to be on the exam.

On the weekend before the exam, I loaded up the practice tests that came from the MS Press Book and tackled all 205 questions. On the ones I got wrong, there was a link in the question that took you directly to the technet article. I read the technet article until I had a clear understanding of the answer to the question. A lot of the questions had to do with commands I haven't even heard of, so this really helped on getting those commands to stick in my head. To supplement that also, I noted down the commands that I had a hard time to remember.

Well thats how I went through my studies, might work for some people, or might not. Well I might've written a little too much, lol. Keep at it and good luck next time!

Psoasman

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

Well.....
Another defeat! Scored 571 on this one. I cannot tell you how bummed I am with getting a lower score than the first attempt. This time the score sheet said I needed improvement on DNS and CS (go figure!), but on the first score sheet, I did very well on them and needed improvement on backups.

Not sure where to go from here as I am kinda confused on which areas I need to put more study into. I guess it's gonna be backup, DNS, and CS for the 3rd attempt in two weeks. Third time is a charm, or so they say.

Please guys, any study advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I need to pass this exam for AHV1 at WGU or I don't pass the class, don't meet requirements for financial aid, etc..

That's rough. I agree with Essendon, take some extra time.
I would get your exam objectives and go line by line through them. Look up anything that isn't clear to you and take some notes. Lab through everything again, taking your time. Spend some time on Technet, looking for those little details.
One of the things I do for study is to type up all my notes and then read through them often. What other books have you tried? I found the Server 2008 R2 unleashed to be very detailed, filled in the blanks fairly well.

Good luck!

method115

elusus wrote: »

Here's what I did. One of the posters here suggested to tackle the exam by objectives. I noticed that I would forget certain things about a chapter as I did my studies. After going through the entire MS Press book, I've forgotten a lot of things that were on the earlier chapters. And this was a constant pattern for me, as I was trying to cram all the info inside my head, since I've never done anything AD in the past before.

That said I went through the objective page on the beginning of the book(the one where it tells you what chapters to go to read about that topic) and decided to tackle the one I was weakest at. At first it DNS, then CS. After going through those chapters, I then went over Maintaining Active Directory. I did this until I practically read the book the 2nd time(might just be my obsessive compulsive tendencies lol). Doing this gave me a high-level grasp on whats going to be on the exam.

On the weekend before the exam, I loaded up the practice tests that came from the MS Press Book and tackled all 205 questions. On the ones I got wrong, there was a link in the question that took you directly to the technet article. I read the technet article until I had a clear understanding of the answer to the question. A lot of the questions had to do with commands I haven't even heard of, so this really helped on getting those commands to stick in my head. To supplement that also, I noted down the commands that I had a hard time to remember.

Well thats how I went through my studies, might work for some people, or might not. Well I might've written a little too much, lol. Keep at it and good luck next time!

I like to study in a very similar way. The only difference is I like to go ahead and read the whole book the first time and just try and remember what I can. I don't take notes and I do the labs at the end of the chapter but thats it no questions/case scenarios.

After that I start concentrating on certain subject ADCS,DNS etc. doesn't really matter where I start I just pick one and go.

ThePrimetimer

The only resources that I have been using are the LabSim provided by WGU and the MS Press book. However, I will definitely look into the TechNet. I have been studying for this exam since the beginning of September. Figured that I'd have enough time to get to know this stuff. Plus, my wife is taking our son to her parents for about a week so that I won't be bothered while I study, which should help a great deal.

I know the material, its just that I have to solidify what is already there. I think I might take some of the advice giving here and see how that ends up. I might give myself another week, but I gotta get on this as my term ends the end of February and I will have 2 more classes for WGU. Given that they are the management courses and have been told that they shouldn't take me that long, I still would like to be done before my term ends.

Also, with the score sheets, it looks like the areas that fluctuated the most was backups, DNS, and CS, everything else pretty much stayed the same. So this leads me to believe that I have a pretty good grasp on these, but just need to work on the others.

I'm right there to pass this exam, I only missed it by one or two questions last time and about 7 this time. I just need to do that fine tuning and I know I can kick this things but. I have the confidence that I can pass this test. I don't work with this everyday, but I feel like I have a fairly good knowledge of Windows, so I know that it's within my reach.

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it.

Essendon

Make sure you lab the material as you go too. It'll stick in your head way better that way and it helps when you are making changes on the production network at work!

Download Virtual PC and the iso's for Windows Server 2008 R2 (both free) and lab away. There have been lab building strategy and will provide you with a good foundation to start off against.

Good luck on the next attempt mate, we are all barracking for ya!

lordxar

You are on the same track I was. Fail first very close, fail second miserably, pass third...?? Good luck on your studies, I been there. I ended up studying in my spare time for a few months after my setback and almost total submission to this beast. First problem is that it covers a lot of material, but if you stick to it and study/lab a lot, you'll get through it. Break things down and work on weaknesses, lab everything again. Try doing things on your own though, don't just focus on the labs your given. Try gui versions as well as command line versions of commands. Take a break for a few days, clear your head, then attack it again refreshed.

method115

lordxar wrote: »

You are on the same track I was. Fail first very close, fail second miserably, pass third...?? Good luck on your studies, I been there. I ended up studying in my spare time for a few months after my setback and almost total submission to this beast. First problem is that it covers a lot of material, but if you stick to it and study/lab a lot, you'll get through it. Break things down and work on weaknesses, lab everything again. Try doing things on your own though, don't just focus on the labs your given. Try gui versions as well as command line versions of commands. Take a break for a few days, clear your head, then attack it again refreshed.

Yes this test covers so much material. What I also like to do is use more then one lab. I'll use the MS press book then I'll see if technet as a guide and then I'll just google for someones random guide on the subject. It really helps you get an understand of the different way to do things. I've been doing this with ADCS and it's helped a bunch.

ThePrimetimer

Hey Guys,
Just wanted to update this thread and say that I have scheduled my third attempt at 70-640 one week from today. I have basically went through the MS Press book again and re-did all the labs, supplementing what I read by going to TechNet. I gotta be honest, I am getting burnt out from studying for this exam. It seems that when I am studying, I feel like I already know it. Real hard to study when you get to that mentality.

I haven't started any test questions, but that start tonight to see where I am. I am hoping that I can knock this exam out as from the other posts I've read, the 70-642 and 70-646 seem to be easier than this one.

I have also saved the notes that Psoasman has posted on here. Very nice my friend!

Well, we'll see how this plays out and if I can come back here and become part of that 700 club!

method115

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

Hey Guys,
Just wanted to update this thread and say that I have scheduled my third attempt at 70-640 one week from today. I have basically went through the MS Press book again and re-did all the labs, supplementing what I read by going to TechNet. I gotta be honest, I am getting burnt out from studying for this exam. It seems that when I am studying, I feel like I already know it. Real hard to study when you get to that mentality.

I haven't started any test questions, but that start tonight to see where I am. I am hoping that I can knock this exam out as from the other posts I've read, the 70-642 and 70-646 seem to be easier than this one.

I have also saved the notes that Psoasman has posted on here. Very nice my friend!

Well, we'll see how this plays out and if I can come back here and become part of that 700 club!

I know the feeling same thing happened to me studying for ICND2. Got it on my third try though.

joehalford01

Good luck with it dude!

ThePrimetimer

Well, another fail. Got 624 on this one and Certificate Services was my lowest scoring area. I thought I had it this time. I felt prepared and was ready to go in there and knock this out. Guess I didn't play my cards right. This is the 3rd time that I have failed this exam, so I am not sure what I need to do through WGU.

By not passing this 3rd attempt, it's really made me look at where I really want to go in IT. My first passion with IT is Cisco and networking. I fell in love working with routers and switches and found that learning it came pretty natural. It wasn't hard for me to wrap my head around the concepts. However, Microsoft is a different story. Some of the concepts I read, feel like I understand them, but couldn't really explain them, as I could with networking.

I wanted to get MS certified so that I could have a nice round skill set, server and networking. But now, I'm thinking that I want to focus on what I love: networking. I don't really care for MS, as I was only doing this so that I could make myself more marketable. But, I think that train has sailed.

What has been going through my head is switching degrees to Security. The reasons are that it has more emphasis on Cisco, and I would really like to work against those bad hackers out there.

method115

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

Well, another fail. Got 624 on this one and Certificate Services was my lowest scoring area. I thought I had it this time. I felt prepared and was ready to go in there and knock this out. Guess I didn't play my cards right. This is the 3rd time that I have failed this exam, so I am not sure what I need to do through WGU.

By not passing this 3rd attempt, it's really made me look at where I really want to go in IT. My first passion with IT is Cisco and networking. I fell in love working with routers and switches and found that learning it came pretty natural. It wasn't hard for me to wrap my head around the concepts. However, Microsoft is a different story. Some of the concepts I read, feel like I understand them, but couldn't really explain them, as I could with networking.

I wanted to get MS certified so that I could have a nice round skill set, server and networking. But now, I'm thinking that I want to focus on what I love: networking. I don't really care for MS, as I was only doing this so that I could make myself more marketable. But, I think that train has sailed.

What has been going through my head is switching degrees to Security. The reasons are that it has more emphasis on Cisco, and I would really like to work against those bad hackers out there.

Sorry to hear that. Failing an exam is tough especially when you feel so ready to take it like you described it can feel real disheartening to fail like that. I would take some time off and give this test one more shot, you've already spent so much time on it would be a shame to not get a cert to show that.

Psoasman

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

Well, another fail. Got 624 on this one and Certificate Services was my lowest scoring area. I thought I had it this time. I felt prepared and was ready to go in there and knock this out. Guess I didn't play my cards right. This is the 3rd time that I have failed this exam, so I am not sure what I need to do through WGU.

By not passing this 3rd attempt, it's really made me look at where I really want to go in IT. My first passion with IT is Cisco and networking. I fell in love working with routers and switches and found that learning it came pretty natural. It wasn't hard for me to wrap my head around the concepts. However, Microsoft is a different story. Some of the concepts I read, feel like I understand them, but couldn't really explain them, as I could with networking.

I wanted to get MS certified so that I could have a nice round skill set, server and networking. But now, I'm thinking that I want to focus on what I love: networking. I don't really care for MS, as I was only doing this so that I could make myself more marketable. But, I think that train has sailed.

What has been going through my head is switching degrees to Security. The reasons are that it has more emphasis on Cisco, and I would really like to work against those bad hackers out there.

Sorry to hear. Since you like Networking, a switch to the security track would be a good move. If you decide to try again, you might check out Brian Komar's book on certificate services, I've heard its excellent.

sherrill

Good luck. Certs are nice but at the end of the day it's your knowledge and experience that will make you valuable.

Taking MS exams is a skill set all unto itself.