Failed with 692, broken sims...

So I sat 290 today and had a good groove going early on in the exam, I was moving along very smoothly through my first 11 questions, the answers were very clear. Then I got hit with my first sim. It was a simple computer account administration problem. I click "simulation" and the window opens, but nothing shows up! I get the test guy, and he checks it out, closes it, reopen it, hen says he's going to make a call and to keep going with my exam and get him if they keep failing. Sure enough, all the simulations were screwed up. 5 in total, out of 44 questions. With a 692 final score, I'm pretty confident I would have passed in the high 700's at least if the stupid sims worked.

Kudos to the test guy who took my info and forwarded it off, Pearson is going to give me a voucher for a free MS exam (ANY exam!) and I used the Second Shot promo, so I get my free retake. I know I have Server down pat, I'm going to try another Pearson testing center (my normal center is closed for the summer so I'll try them next time) and get me my 290. Easy breezy.

For those test takers out there, my exam was heavy on the following:

Backup and disaster recovery
Disk management
Permissions and rights
Software Update Services
IIS

Study materials used were MS Press 70-290 Managing and Maintaining Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, www.techexams.com TechNotes (thanks!), a home lab consisting of 1 W2K3 Server and 1 WXP Client for testing, and 3 months of being seconded to our server support group.

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Comments

Webmaster

I don't know if the sims weight more than the regular questions but even one working sim should have made the difference. Sorry to hear about the problems. Sucks having computer problems at an IT certification test. At least you got a free voucher, that's a thumb up for Pearson. Good luck on your next attempt.

evanderburg

So how does second chance work?

mikey_b

Webmaster wrote:

I don't know if the sims weight more than the regular questions but even one working sim should have made the difference. Sorry to hear about the problems. Sucks having computer problems at an IT certification test. At least you got a free voucher, that's a thumb up for Pearson. Good luck on your next attempt.

I know, I was so close to success. I'm pretty certain there were two other questions for sure that I wasn't very clear on, so I think I still could have passed, but given the opportuniy to do the sims, which by their description seemed relatively simple, I'm certain I would have been successful.

Like I said, my usual center is closed until September, so I'm going to use my Second Shot at that location in a few weeks and just brush up on the sketchy subjects. That center has never had problems, even with their sims as three co-workers were successful and their sims worked fine.

And then I can use my free exam voucher for 70-291 and make my goal of MCSA by end of year. Thanks again for the technotes, they make great "cram" material!

TURTLEGIRL

I'm really sorry to hear that. Better Luck next time.

This simulation problem seems to be coming more recurrent?

mikey_b

evanderburg wrote:

So how does second chance work?

Pretty simple, use the Second Chance promo code when registering for your exam. If you pass, no biggie, on to the next exam. If you fail, just call the regional center and they will reschedule you for your free retake. No hassles. It ends on Wednesday, though...

mikey_b

GBAGIRL wrote:

I'm really sorry to hear that. Better Luck next time.

This simulation problem seems to be coming more recurrent?

Thanks, I'm pretty confident in my W2K3 at this point, so I'm hopeful for the next time. Just going to brush up and go try again.

As for the sims, like I was saying I didn't have the chance to use my normal test center, I tried a different one, I wasn't too happy because I was in a lab with what looked like a typing class, some people were eating, talking, etc. I didn't complain because I was on a real roll and felt pretty confident until the troubles started.

I wasn't aware of this at the time, but one co-worker sat 290 at the same center and had the same problem, then sat at the other center and had no problems at all.

Could be testing center specific?

evanderburg

Thanks for the info on second chance. Too bad I won't be able to take advantage of it. I am not planning on taking a MS test for at least 6 months.

VWBug5000

evanderburg wrote:

Thanks for the info on second chance. Too bad I won't be able to take advantage of it. I am not planning on taking a MS test for at least 6 months.

Don't worry, MS has done this promo before and I'm pretty sure this won't be the last time they try it.