Needing a bit of advice and assistance for the 70-640

Alright, so for the moment, I'm having a bit of a struggle. My experience with AD is next to zero, and I'm doing my best to try to study and prepare for this exam. So far what I have to work with is the labsim course and the Self Paced Training Kit ( R2 version ) from Microsoft. It is currently beating me down. I had planned on having this done along with the 70-646 by the end of the year, but I'm getting more and more depressed about it. The book is beyond boring. The labsim course for this one doesn't seem much better, I'm not feeling it with that instructor. I tried even looking at a CBT nugget video by James Conrad, and I can't seem to get into it. I need to find a new method, or a new set of materials to try to get through this one.

Guess in the end what I'm asking is if anyone has any recommendations on a different book that I can use to more or less start from scratch ? I know some of ya might suggest the R2 Unleashed book...but that covers way more than what I'm looking for right now, and I'm not certain that book alone would be enough for the exam. I want to do away with the MS book I'm currently using and find something that may hold my interest a little better. I thought I just needed a break, so I took one, for almost 2 weeks now, and I still can't get into this course ware. It's like.....I can sit down, and I can perform all the labs without issues, but I dont understand anything I'm doing, just that I am good at following directions

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Essendon

Ditch that book mate, most MS Press books are dull and boring. Read up on www.technet.microsoft.com . The most comprehensive resource out there and from the vendor themselves. Here's the link: Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2

This is what I have been doing since my MCSA days: Read the exam blueprint > Read the contents of the MS Press book > Read the corresponding topics on TechNet (from the link I just posted) > Lab as I go > Make notes as I go > More labbing > Read TechNet again if I have to. When I am closer to my exam date, I read my notes and lab them up. This method has worked well for me.

The Unleashed book aint bad, but TechNet is better, IMO. I love the way TechNet is written. Go this route and thou shalt not falter!

JubeiYagaru

Alright, so going on what you are saying with technet. Should I just ditch all my current study material and maybe go through every tech net article posted under the 70-640 resources thread for my test preperation ?

Also, as far as labs go, are there any available free online labs or lab guides outside the MS Press book that I have that I may use for better preperation ? If ya feel going over the technet articles from top to bottom and commit that information to memory is what I need, I'm willing to try, it seems a bit more broken down and less over whelming than the book anyway.

Psoasman

Essendon wrote: »

This is what I have been doing since my MCSA days: Read the exam blueprint > Read the contents of the MS Press book > Read the corresponding topics on TechNet (from the link I just posted) > Lab as I go > Make notes as I go > More labbing > Read TechNet again if I have to. When I am closer to my exam date, I read my notes and lab them up. This method has worked well for me.

+1 Here! You can't go wrong with that way of studying. I am on page 522 of the Unleashed book and there are 1500+pages of material. It does cover the material in great detail, but it's on the dry side.

Check out this link.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/bb310558
There are some virtual labs you can use and other good resources. It sounds like you need more time to work on the 640. I'd print out the exam objectives and go use any labs you, that correspond to those. Maybe breaking up the material into smaller pieces will help you. I am studying for the 640 now and it isn't the easiest material to absorb.

JubeiYagaru

I appreciate the both of you replying , and I greatly appreciate the links for study material and labs. I'm going to give this direction a shot. One of the biggest reason I wanted to be done by the end of the year was because I'm also starting WGU, and I need to get a job, so I didn't want so much on my plate at once.

Tackle

Just fyi, you're going to have to do quite a bit of labbing and studying if you have "next to zero" experience with AD. I think Microsoft recommends you have 1.5-2 years working with AD extensively to take the test.

Best of luck with your studying!

bdub

I used a combination of Mastering Server 2008 R2 book, MS Press, Sybex's All in One (640,642,643) book, CBT Nuggets and Kaplan SelfTest.

The Sybex all in one book is great as an overview as its easy to read and explains in an easier to understand sort of way than the MS Press book. This was also the case with Mastering Server 2008 R2 and sure there is a ton of information, but what I did is just go through and put a tab on each chapter that covered topics related to the 640 exam and then read each chapter that corresponded to each CBT Nugget video as well as labbed.

I was MCSA previous to this test and had worked with AD a fair amount in the past, though there was a lot of new information to me such as certificate services. Its definitely not an easy exam.

As far as motivation to actually study, that really just needs to come from within, whether its because the topics genuinely interest you or because you really want to pass the exam's and get certified. For me, my motivation comes from my family and wanting to give them a better life. You've gotta find that "thing" to create drive, because honestly without much experience with the topics covered in these exams you wont pass without a lot of ambition.

JubeiYagaru

As far as motivation and stuff goes, my reasons are the same as yours. That is why I got the other 4 on my list in such a short amount of time. My problem with AD is that any of material I have tried might as well have been taught by Ben Stein. I got lucky in my previous courses just due to the instuctors seemed oddly excited about what they were teaching, which made it less of a drag. That is why I was trying to find a different approach and a different set of resources for this exam. I feel once I'm done with 640, the rest of my track won't be as bad. To be honest I could probably just stop AD all together and do a better job of passing the 643,646, and 647, I am that confident in the material I have for those exams. Something about AD just seems daunting to me though.

Pishof

The test may as well be renamed to Active Directory Certificate Services going by me experience of taking the test twice now. I passed it yesterday with a 700 exactly after missing it by one question last time.

The test is definitely not easy because Microsoft has some of the most obscure questions in there probably not covered in any exam/server book except the darkest reaches of technet itself. My weakest areas on the first test I scored perfect this time and my strongest areas the first time were my weakest on this last exam.

I'm glad to be moving on now. I suggest making sure you really understand what all the command line tools are used for and powershell syntax as well. Microsoft loves Certification Services so focus on mastering that as well.

IT Explorer

Congrats Pishof

Psoasman

Pishof wrote: »

The test may as well be renamed to Active Directory Certificate Services going by me experience of taking the test twice now. I passed it yesterday with a 700 exactly after missing it by one question last time.

The test is definitely not easy because Microsoft has some of the most obscure questions in there probably not covered in any exam/server book except the darkest reaches of technet itself. My weakest areas on the first test I scored perfect this time and my strongest areas the first time were my weakest on this last exam.

I'm glad to be moving on now. I suggest making sure you really understand what all the command line tools are used for and powershell syntax as well. Microsoft loves Certification Services so focus on mastering that as well.

Congrats on passing! I've been hitting PowerShell and AD CS hard in the lab, hopefully it will pay off later. I agree about the obscure questions you may see. Microsoft exams are often a reading comprehension exam.

jmarti71

Hi Essendon, like JubeiYagaru , I need help big time! I’m in a bit of strife trying to study for the 70-640 cert. I did a short 3-day course here in Melbourne. I was given the MS 70-640 self-paced training kit and a disk copy of server 2008 for sims. I was really motivated at first. Put in a bit of time and effort but , I feel like I’m not even “scratching the surface”. The copy disc supplied seem to hit a dead-end when I try to follow it from the book, as a result I can't even do the exercises and so on. I feel disadvantaged, really discouraged and slowly losing interest. I wonder if you know any group for interaction with similar interest here in Melbourne? I feel like I need coaching to get me in the right direction.
Reading the thread gave me a bit of hope. Thanks in advance and Go the BOMBERS! (I lived in Ascot Vale once upon a time)

AlexMR

I paid for 3 exams back in june in order to make myself study, take and pass 3 microsoft exams, most likely the ones for the MCITP: Server Administrator certification.

The long story short is that I havent taken any exam. And I'm preparing some material for a course I will start teaching and have a lot of work. And I'm currently doing my MBA.

What I'll do is go and take the three exams to get an idea of how they go. I even get the chance to take them twice!!

I have studied a lot of the material, especially the Network Infraestructure part. I am a network admin for a small, server 2008 domain with about 80 users.

I got the Official MS PRESS R2 books and so far the book for the 70-642 is good.

Can anyone suggest a good crash course that you think could help me?

Mega Guides maybe??

I honestly dont have much expectations about passing any exam. But anything that could enhance the odds is welcome.

Essendon

jmarti71 wrote: »

Hi Essendon, like JubeiYagaru , I need help big time! I’m in a bit of strife trying to study for the 70-640 cert. I did a short 3-day course here in Melbourne. I was given the MS 70-640 self-paced training kit and a disk copy of server 2008 for sims. I was really motivated at first. Put in a bit of time and effort but , I feel like I’m not even “scratching the surface”. The copy disc supplied seem to hit a dead-end when I try to follow it from the book, as a result I can't even do the exercises and so on. I feel disadvantaged, really discouraged and slowly losing interest. I wonder if you know any group for interaction with similar interest here in Melbourne? I feel like I need coaching to get me in the right direction.
Reading the thread gave me a bit of hope. Thanks in advance and Go the BOMBERS! (I lived in Ascot Vale once upon a time)

Dunno whether you'll read this ever but maybe you will. Do you have server responsibilities at work? Have you got some kind of lab at home? How are you doing those exercises in the book? You are going to need some kind of labbing environment if you are going to understand these exercises. There are numerous threads in this forum to help you with a lab of some sort. You should go through them and come back with specific questions.