Hey all.
I took 70-680 on Monday 12/19/2011 and didn't pass with a score of 680.
That exam was hard. I've enjoyed Windows 7 extensively since it was released.
I retested Friday 12/23/2011 and passed with a score of 820.
If anything the second time seemed even harder, so it is God's mercy I passed.
Critical feedback on the 70-680 exam:
--> There is too large of a volume of information for this exam - it should be split into two exams, in my opinion.
--> The study material on the market does not prepare one for the exam, in my opinion.
--> The people preparing the study materials are not the same as those writing the exams, and there is not a good overlap.
Study materials originally used:
--> Professor Messor videos -- free (GREAT overview, but if you are on tight timeline skip)
--> Don Poulton (Pearson) Book -- $40 (best resource)
--> Technet simulations -- free (do these after the books)
--> LearnSmart (aka PrepLogic)'s 3 practice exams -- $90
--> MS-Press Book -- ONLY the practice CD in the back -- $43
--> Used VMWare Player with trial edition of Win7 Enterprise, and Server 2008 R2 Standard.
Main resources I'd use if I had to do it over again:
--> Don Poulton (Pearson) Book for 70-680
--> MS-Press Book for 70-680 -- get latest edition with errata fixes, and do the entire book.
--> Be sure to use practice questions included on the CD, highlight the books as you go, and make flash cards especially for command-line items.
--> Index cards; buy a LOT.
Advice:
--> If you can IDENTIFY the correct solutions/items, you have a better probability of passing. I was expecting extremely complicated simulations but found the simulations easy (personally).
--> I personally found it very helpful that I had memorized common user interfaces. For example, before taking the exam the first time I sketched the most common control panel applets over and over and over until I knew what options are listed under each.
--> Memorize mentioned command line items (especially in Poulton's book) so you can identify when to use them. For important commands, also memorize key switches. i.e. ____.exe /parameter
--> Pay special attention to "Deploying Windows 7" exam objective:
TS: Windows 7, Configuring
Index cards helped me study and memorize the command lines, parameters, and material for this section.
--> Take the exam the first time assuming you might not pass - after you leave go learn the topics you knew the least. Think of it as a trial-run. When I retested, I found many of the questions were very similar in topic.
--> Identify how to obtain/implement certain outcomes. ____.exe? GPO? Using ___ on the Control Panel? ____ in Explorer? (I am completely making this up, but the generalization may be helpful, and is useful in the real world).
--> As it pertains to the objectives, know obvious/important GPO policies, and their parent GPO folder name.
--> Did I mention this is a lot of IDENTIFYING? If you can identify most of the items listed, you have a better probability of passing.
I don't think I disclosed anything I shouldn't, but if so message me and I'll update this post. I want to maintain the integrity of the exam, but also be helpful to those going for it.
Microsoft Certification Exam Policies l Exam Retake Policy l Non-Disclosure Agreement for MCP Exams
TechExams is such an awesome community. I don't post much, but it was helpful and encouraging reading others' posts as I prepared.
To those attempting 70-680 .... Don't give up, this mountain is not unclimbable. If you fall down, get back up and go for it again until you conquer it!
