Is it possible to pass 70-680 without labbing?

Hi all,

I have been studying for the 70-680 exam since mid-December, a couple hours a day. I have read the the MS press book, watched all of the CBT Nuggets, read Don Poulton's book and read some other random material found online.

I saved the practice exams on the MS press book until I finished reading all of the material and I am getting 85% or higher on the exams.

Now, I have read a ton of posts on this forum and everyone is saying they are putting a ton of time into labbing. I don't currently have any equipment to do it besides my one desktop. I was wondering, has anyone been able to pass this exam without labbing? Is it worth a shot or am I wasting my money and should I wait until I can setup and use a lab?

Thanks!

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apena7

Unless you have been working on a variety of Windows 7 issues in an enterprise envirionment for the past year, then labbing probably wouldn't be necessary. If you don't fall into that category, then lab as much as you can. This exam is extremely broad and it will take more than textbook answers to pass.

Devilsbane

Dumpers pass exams all the time without having any idea what is really going on, so I'll say yes.

But remember the goal isn't just to pass the exam. The goal is to get the knowledge so that you can use it in your career. Labbing is definitely a benefit. Setting up a VMware (or even virtualpc for cheaper) network is pretty easy and will certainly help you out.

ehnde

I passed the 70-680 and consider my labbing experience my most valuable time spent studying. However, you can pass this exam without labbing. I believe that.

....that being said, if you come back and post that you failed the exam, your biggest recommendation will be to lab the objectives you did worst on.

cyberguypr

What kind of desktop do you have? Unless it is an old Pentium 90Mhz you may have everything needed for setting virtual machines. That is the difference between certifying now and 10 years ago. We'll be more than glad to help you build a no-cost lab given you have a fairly modern computer.

CamtheChamp

I do have a good desktop that I built myself about 6 years ago and upgraded the majority of it 2 years ago. I have ZERO experience creating virtual labs though and from all of the threads I have read, their lab setups dwarf my computer.

My basic specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00GHz
2GB Ram
64-bit Windows 7
70GB 10,000RPM hard drive with my OS installed on it
second 250GB internal hard drive

If you can lead me in the right direction of the best way to setup a lab to run on my desktop, that would be huge!

Basically, the only areas where I don't have hands-on experience are deployment, encryption and VPN/DirectAccess. But I do understand the concepts since I deal with similar XP versions every day at my job.

I am tempted to go take it once, see where I stand, then lab the areas I need work on.

earweed

You'd be limited by your RAM to having at most 2 VM's operating at less than peak performance. If you can go to at least 4 GB (check your MOBO model to be sure you can support it) that would help you out.

Daniel333

Statistically someone is gonna pass that test without studying too hard. And I figure about 1/3 to 1/2 people **** so yeah. Sure you can pass without labbing.

That said, no. Get in there, build some system images, connect a projector, upgrade from XP, Vista, upgrade some hardware etc etc. At least 50 hours. (install time doesn't count). You get what you put into certification. I learn more from my lab hours than I ever do reading the books.

More importantly, you walk into my interview with TS: Windows 7, configuring on your resume. And I ask you what sorts of problems in the past have had with offline updates of drivers and you can't give me a good story I realize you're a paper tiger. Your work just became a mark against you.

Certainly bump the ram on your machine up and read up on Virtual Box. If you're like me you like video learning. In which case vtc.com has some good videos on using Virtual machines.

If you find the materials on the 70-680 too much, I have been told many find it easier to start with 70-620 and then come back to 70-680.

cyberguypr

As earweed said, bump that PC up to 4GB at least. My ESX 3.5 lab machine is an older HP DC7600 P4 3.2Ghz with 4GB RAM. I got that machine off eBay for $125 and just added RAM and disk. That allowed me to complete the server component of my MCITP:EA studies last year as well as 70-680 this year.

Some will recommend VirtualBox, which is a very valid and easy option. However, my recommendation is to go with ESx/vSphere. Although you may need to spend more time setting it up initially, you will gain invaluable experience in enterprise class virtualization technology.

Forgot to add a few links for vSphere installation videos:

How to Install VMware vSphere ESXi 4.0 Video ? 5min.com

YouTube - VMWare ESXi 4 0 install part b

za3bour

You don't need to lab a lot for this exam but if you didn't lab at all and passed you will not be able to do a lot of thinkgs (Deployment, images ..etc) so in reality you havn't achieved other than the cert itself.

As every one said your PC just needs Ram but it can run two machines lets say one Win7 and one Win 2008.

Setting a lab is super easy, installation is very normal it's just a little hard for first timers to configure the network so I would suggest that you start and you can ask here if you found any problem. If you don't have the time to do this go ahead and take the exam then you do the lab.

Bottom line, you gotta do the lab sooner or later.

Liggle

I have been labbing using Oracle on an old Dell with the following spec:

Celeron 2.8ghz
2GB RAM
80GB HDD
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit

I have been using a 1TB NAS device for storage and to use as a deployment share etc.

I have 2x W7 Ultimate VM's with just 512mb of RAM each and they run fine simulatenously, although obviously not lightening fast.

za3bour

Liggle wrote: »

I have been labbing using Oracle on an old Dell with the following spec:

Celeron 2.8ghz
2GB RAM
80GB HDD
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit

I have been using a 1TB NAS device for storage and to use as a deployment share etc.

I have 2x W7 Ultimate VM's with just 512mb of RAM each and they run fine simulatenously, although obviously not lightening fast.

Yea but that's Win7, running a Windows 2008 Server will be a problem.

Liggle

za3bour wrote: »

Yea but that's Win7, running a Windows 2008 Server will be a problem.

Very true, I havnt setup a Windows 2008 Server yet during labbing but its something I plan to do.

Claymoore

Yes, its possible. However, I don't recommend doing it that way. Exams are easier when you have experience with the product, either through live production experience or labs on specific subjects. Labs are a great way to work on topics that you haven't used in a production environment and can really help you master the concepts.

I passed the 680 beta exam and I didn't install Windows 7 until a couple of months after I took the test. I know what works for me and neither labs nor practice exams are important for my preparation.

themagicone

Daniel333 wrote: »

Statistically someone is gonna pass that test without studying too hard. And I figure about 1/3 to 1/2 people **** so yeah. Sure you can pass without labbing.

That said, no. Get in there, build some system images, connect a projector, upgrade from XP, Vista, upgrade some hardware etc etc. At least 50 hours. (install time doesn't count). You get what you put into certification. I learn more from my lab hours than I ever do reading the books.

More importantly, you walk into my interview with TS: Windows 7, configuring on your resume. And I ask you what sorts of problems in the past have had with offline updates of drivers and you can't give me a good story I realize you're a paper tiger. Your work just became a mark against you.

Certainly bump the ram on your machine up and read up on Virtual Box. If you're like me you like video learning. In which case vtc.com has some good videos on using Virtual machines.

If you find the materials on the 70-680 too much, I have been told many find it easier to start with 70-620 and then come back to 70-680.

But what about if that person who has the 70-680 doesn't have any work experience? That person won't have any stories, and if you don't do something everyday it doesn't stay fresh in your mind. Just seems a tad harsh to ding someone who has a cert but can't back it up with detailed experience.

QHalo

Daniel333 wrote: »

More importantly, you walk into my interview with TS: Windows 7, configuring on your resume. And I ask you what sorts of problems in the past have had with offline updates of drivers and you can't give me a good story I realize you're a paper tiger. Your work just became a mark against you.

Bottom line is this certification is entry-level for Windows 7. It is possible to do the test and pass and not have any real world experience. I find it harsh as well to ding someone for not having real world business experience on an entry level exam. You have to start somewhere these days.

You also have to remember that someone interviewing for a position where they have this certification and nothing else is most likely interviewing for a level one or possibly two position. Not everyone has gone through a Windows 7 migration. I might give them a bit of a hard time if they were going to be working for an MS partner and going to be doing migrations of Windows 7 daily though. That's the only devil's advocate comment I can come up with to ding someone over not having experience especially with an OS this new to the business world.

ally_uk

I would say that Labbing and getting hands on with the technology will be a massive benefit in terms of actually proving to potential future employers that you are comfortable in working with the technology and have the know how and skills to dig yourself out a hole when things go wrong.

I would reccomend taking the time to setup a Windows Server 2008 virtual image so that you can really get a grasp of how the deployment works and can start experimenting with WDS, And you will then have a foundation of how Server 2008 works ideal for future exams and ideal if you are tested on the 70-680 exam.

Here is a example of my setup.

Main Box

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz
3 Gig DDR-2
150 SATA HD
DVD RW
Running Windows 7 Ultimate and Server 2008 rc2 Vmware
my main technician computer where I create images

Laptop
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.7Ghz
2 GIG Ram
Windows 7 Ultimate used to test out images

I also have Linux running virtually on my main box as I am a self confessed open source tech lover lol

Training Resource I am using

MS Press Book
Train Signal Windows 7

tecjohnson

This may sound like a stupid question but where can one get the OS for the Server 2008 VM? Or Windows 7 for that matter?

za3bour

tecjohnson wrote: »

This may sound like a stupid question but where can one get the OS for the Server 2008 VM? Or Windows 7 for that matter?

You can get the VHD for Windows 2008 R2 from here

Windows Server 2008 R2: Virtual Hard Drive

Or you can get the normal setup files from here (you have to register, sign in with your Windows live account)

https://profile.microsoft.com/RegSysProfileCenter/wizard.aspx?wizid=326fd3e4-2f89-4715-a678-808356d339b4&lcid=1033&ci=51&WT.sp=_evalcenter_,dcsmgru7m99k7mqmgrhudo0k8_8c6m

And finally you can get the evaluation for Win 7 Enterprise edition from here

Windows 7 Enterprise | Trial, Evaluation, Test, Download

certhelp

You can download trial server 2008 from MS Server 2008 Page:

Windows Server 2008 R2 Evaluation Free 180-Day Trial

and Windows 7 trial from

Windows 7 Enterprise | Trial, Evaluation, Test, Download

CamtheChamp

Thanks for all the help guys. I have been using VirtualBox and upgraded my RAM to 6gb.

I have a question though about using an autounattend.xml file when using virtual box.

I have created the autoattend file and I am trying to use it to install the Windows 7 but it doesn't seem to recognize it. I have put the file in a USB drive which is hooked up to one of my main ports on my desktop. I also activated the USB on the virtual machine that I created in VirtualBox. The microsoft directions are below. Does anyone know how to get this to work?

Turn on the reference computer and insert the Windows 7 product DVD and the UFD containing the answer file you created in the previous step (Autounattend.xml).

Important

When using a UFD, insert the drive into the primary set of USB ports for the computer. For a desktop computer, this is typically in the back of the computer.

Restart the computer by pressing the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys. To boot from the CD/DVD-ROM disc, you may have to override the boot order. During initial boot, select the appropriate function key to override the boot order.

Windows 7 Setup (Setup.exe) will begin automatically. By default, Windows Setup will search the root directory of all removable media for an answer file called Autounattend.xml.

After Setup finishes, you can validate that all customizations were applied. For example, if you included the optional Microsoft-Windows-IE-InternetExplorer component and set the Home_Page setting in your answer file, you can verify it now by opening Internet Explorer

hamzilla

I had the same problem with Virtualbox and switched to VMWare and the same autounattend worked fine.

QHalo

Vitualbox works just fine on my Mac and booting autounattend.xml. Try putting the drive into your machine and then dismounting it from Disk Management and then letting Virtualbox attach to it. It's what I have to do on my Mac but it works. No biggie. I guess you can use VMware workstation if you want to pay for it.