taking the beast in under 24 hours

jwedlund · April 2008

Ok This is my second attempt at the beast after severely screwing up DNS the first time. I am more confident going in this time as i only got a 366 the first time around. Anybody want to suggest what i should do to improve if there is anything at all i have a good understanding of WSUS DHCP and RRAS i just am concerned about DNS

Claymoore · April 2008

No offense, and you probably don't need me to tell you this, but with a score of 366 you screwed up more than just DNS the first time. So that we may give you some advice, would you mind answering a few questions?

1. What kind / how much experience do you have?

2. What other certifications do you hold or tests have you passed?

3. What areas were you weak or strong on the first time you took 291?

4. What study methods did you use the first time?

5. What study methods have you used this time?

6. Based on the answers to 4 and 5, how do you expect the results to be different this time?

jwedlund · April 2008

1. What kind / how much experience do you have? I have almost no experience in the field

2. What other certifications do you hold or tests have you passed? I hold the A+ and net+ along with MCP on 270 and 290

3. What areas were you weak or strong on the first time you took 291? weakest areas on 291 were DNS and RRAS everything else was about in the middle

4. What study methods did you use the first time? i only used the first edition of MS press first time around

5. What study methods have you used this time? i used the syngress book, exam cram, CBT nuggets, MS press second edition, and Mastering server 2003 this time around

6. Based on the answers to 4 and 5, how do you expect the results to be different this time?i gave myself more time to prepare this time around. Been studying to get this thing out of the way as i don't have a job at this point in time. I was also only given a week to prepare the first time i took it due to my parents saying how "easy it was"

snadam · April 2008

well all I can say is best of luck! the rest is up to you.

dynamik · April 2008

jwedlund wrote:

i gave myself more time to prepare this time around. Been studying to get this thing out of the way as i don't have a job at this point in time. I was also only given a week to prepare the first time i took it due to my parents saying how "easy it was"

Was it April Fool's Day? Many consider 291 to be the most difficult MS exam (at least in the MCSE track). How long have you been studying for this attempt? You definitely have a much better list of resources this time around.

Claymoore · April 2008

1. What kind / how much experience do you have? I have almost no experience in the field
Experience definitely helps and makes this exam easier. Did you get a chance to lab out some of the exercises in the MS Press book? Anything would help.

2. What other certifications do you hold or tests have you passed? I hold the A+ and net+ along with MCP on 270 and 290
Good. I was hoping this wasn't your first MS exam. You know what to expect from an MS exam and have the 'general server knowledge' exam out of the way.

3. What areas were you weak or strong on the first time you took 291? weakest areas on 291 were DNS and RRAS everything else was about in the middle
RRAS was my weakest area on 291 as well (we use Cisco gear for those tasks), although I aced it on the 293 exam. I know the questions are different, but I also used the excellent Syngress 293 book on that exam and reviewed the RRAS chapters. The 293 book is only a $12 digital download - perhaps the 'big picture' concepts in the design exam will help clear up the 'little detail' exam points of the 291 exam. It might be worth a look to clear up some last minute DNS concerns as well.

4. What study methods did you use the first time? i only used the first edition of MS press first time around

5. What study methods have you used this time? i used the syngress book, exam cram, CBT Nuggets, MS press second edition, and Mastering server 2003 this time around
Ahh, Mastering Server 2003 - I practically owe my NT4 MCSE to Minasi (the NT4 book was so good and so useful that I eventually bought 3 different editions of it!). I failed the NT Server exam, used a battered and discounted copy of the NT book to cover my weak areas, and aced those formerly weak categories on both the Server and Enterprise NT exams. I really intended to use the 2003 book this time, but I just didn't feel like reading 200 pages about DNS. Provided the quality of his team's writing hasn't slipped too much, you should be in good shape.

6. Based on the answers to 4 and 5, how do you expect the results to be different this time?i gave myself more time to prepare this time around. Been studying to get this thing out of the way as i don't have a job at this point in time. I was also only given a week to prepare the first time i took it due to my parents saying how "easy it was"
While I do believe that the difficulty of this test is oever-hyped somewhat, I still wouldn't call it easy. Fortunately it looks like you approached this exam with a good plan this time. You took your time and used multiple study resources to get a different take on the material. Hopefully you got some lab experience as well.

For the next 21 or so hours, I would suggest labbing out some DNS exercises if you can or haven't already. Also, try going through the practice questions from the MSPress CD in study mode (rather than certification mode). Study mode gives you immediate feedback on the questions, and it's just as important to know why some answers are wrong and not just which one is right.

Good luck!

Slowhand · April 2008

If your better scores were towards the middle, you're not even close to ready for this exam. Saying you have a good understanding of DNS, RRAS, and DHCP, while having scored below 400 on 70-291 is your main weakness. If you scored that low, you don't have a very good understanding of these topics. (At least, not when you took the exam the first time around, you might have nailed 'em down better for this attempt.)

Once you can accept where you're weaknesses lie, it's time to really study. Read the books, that's a start, and then do lots and LOTS of hands-on work with a lab-setup. If you buy the MS Press book, you get 180-day trial editions of Windows Server 2003, so you can use something like Virtual PC or VMware to install two or three lab-machines to practice the concepts with.

I'm not trying to knock you or make you feel bad, but getting a realistic idea of the exam topics, and then gauging how much you know is essential to passing the test. And beyond the cert, knowing the material for your job is even more important. Compared to being elbow-deep in DNS problems or DHCP issues when you're a systems administrator for a company, the Beast isn't that tough.

Here's to seeing that "I SLAYED THE BEAST!!!" thread from you after this attempt. Good luck!

jwedlund · April 2008

Yes i had a chance to lab out the exercises in both the first and 2nd editions of the MS press books. Did i miss to much if i didn't watch the testout videos because i've heard different people use the testout so are there any differences between CBT and testout

Slowhand · April 2008

jwedlund wrote:

Yes i had a chance to lab out the exercises in both the first and 2nd editions of the MS press books. Did i miss to much if i didn't watch the testout videos because i've heard different people use the testout so are there any differences between CBT and testout

There are differences, but when you've got both the book(s) and other study material, like TestOut or CBT Nuggets, you're overlapping the coverage. You don't need both the TestOut and CBT Nuggets to pass, but it's definitely not a bad thing to go through both. Since you said you did lab-work and read the book, then you're definitely on a much better road than the first time around.

jwedlund · April 2008

ok so when i posted this thread yesterday i thought i was taking the beast today. Well come to find out i must have unknowingly moved my mouse down to the 16th without even realizing it. So i showed up to the test center an hour before my supposed exam today on 291. Well they say theres nothing on microsoft scheduled today. So i go check my email and find out i accidentally must have moved my mouse to the 16th

Mishra · April 2008

I think that is worse than prometric having problems during your test. lol

jwedlund · April 2008

I retook the beast Yesterday and i scored a 560 on it the 2nd time around. I was so sure i was going to get it this time i spent a month preparing to take the test and doing labs on it especially DNS which was my weakest area last time i took the beast but to come out with another fail i felt like crap so i spent yesterday reviewing everything i could to take it one more time in a couple of more weeks here.

azjag · April 2008

Sorry to hear that you didn't pass the beast the second time around.

Maybe 3rd times the charm.

snadam · April 2008

jwedlund wrote:

I retook the beast Yesterday and i scored a 560 on it the 2nd time around. I was so sure i was going to get it this time i spent a month preparing to take the test and doing labs on it especially DNS which was my weakest area last time i took the beast but to come out with another fail i felt like crap so i spent yesterday reviewing everything i could to take it one more time in a couple of more weeks here.

tough luck, but youre getting closer! Just look at the score sheet and work on the weaker objectives, you should be golden for the next time round!

jbaello · April 2008

jwedlund wrote:

I retook the beast Yesterday and i scored a 560 on it the 2nd time around. I was so sure i was going to get it this time i spent a month preparing to take the test and doing labs on it especially DNS which was my weakest area last time i took the beast but to come out with another fail i felt like crap so i spent yesterday reviewing everything i could to take it one more time in a couple of more weeks here.

Sorry to hear that you didn't passed, goodluck on your next attempt, perhaps you should try more hands on lab approach before you take it, I used trainsignal for my lab study with this exam.

Vex10 · April 2008

Oh man sorry to hear you didnt pass.

Iam kinda worried now, I got my exam on the 2nd of may. You got any tips?

jwedlund · April 2008

you should know DNS insideand out. i got one sim this last time i took it. Not a whole lot about 50% of my test was DNS soit's still pretty big about 25% was DHCP. The remaining 25% wassplit between RRAS security and WSUS

taking the beast in under 24 hours

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