Passed 70-640

Dracula28

Passed with a nice score of 876.

Lots of questions on AD CS, some on RMS, LDS and FS, a lot on DNS (thankfully, as that is one of my strengths), some on RODCS, FSMO roles, GPOS, backup and recovery, Auditing and DFL/FFL.

My study method was the same as always

1. Read through the Mspress Training Kit, do all exercises.
2. Watch Cbt Nuggets
3. Read through the TK again, do all exercises, write summary/exam cram of the TK (ended up with over 100 hand written pages)
4. Lab a lot by using that summary, also rewrote those 100 pages, down to 20 pages. And go through practice exams (Transcender as always)
5. Read through the 20 pages summary on the day of the exam a couple of times.

In between I also read the Sybex (640, 642 and 643 in one) book and Technet. The sybex book has some good explanations, which were not covered by the mspress book. And Technet really explains things in detail. I also read the last chapter of the 646 training kit (the one on backup and recovery).

Worked really hard for this. Not easy to combine studies with family life and full time job. Even took a week off from work, to do nothing but study the last 10 days. Studied from 9 AM in the morning to 2 AM in the night/next morning.

Next step is 642 and then 646, hopefully by the end of the year.

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on pass!!

majlo333

well done, what was the overall duration of your study?

daba

Great job! I just passed mine on Saturday. Mine had lots of DNS, where I felt strong. I did pretty bad on the CS section.

I have to say there are some stupid questions on the exam. Really nit picky type stuff that has no real bearing on knowing what you're doing in the real world. eg, something like, which menu would you go to for X.

What's next on your hit list?

Dracula28

Thanks guys. I will be doing 642 next, and then 646 to complete MCSA on Server 2008. I already got the books for both.

I have actually been studying for this exam since late autumn 2010. But I wasn't really consistent. It would be 1 month on, 2-3 months off, then another month on ,then 2 months off, and so on. Mostly because I sometimes have to work overtime at work, and its not easy to get up 7 am in the morning, be at work until perhaps 8 pm in the evening, and then come home and hit the books. Especially if you are married. And if you are not consistently studying, its hard to focus on the studies too. I was actually thinking of taking the exam a year ago, studied hard for 7 weeks or so, and scheduled the exam, but then someone broke into my home and I had to postpone the exam.

Then MS changed the exam to include more R2 content, and I had to learn the new stuff as well. But about a couple of months ago, I finally decided to go for it, so I have been consistently studying since about late April, but since I have to work a lot at times, I have not been able to dedicate as much time to my studies as I would have liked to. Its also easier to study when you are in your 20s, then its when you start to reach your mid 30s.

Btw, about the stupid questions, its mostly because the skills that are measured are too broad. I don't think there were any other roles than the AD DS role on the 2003 AD exam. But now you also have to know LDS, CS, RMS and FS. So obviously not all questions go into details. I also think the exams are a bit easier nowadays, then they were back when I was taking my 2003 certs.

Ivanr4g63

Quite and effort you put there, and glad to hear it payed off! - Congrats -

Best of lucks on the 70-642, knowing DNS will give you a good advantage, but don't underestimate the other topics.

Psoasman

Congrats on passing, that's a solid score.

4_lom

Congrats on the pass!

Dracula28

Thanks guys.