Customer Reviews

MCDST Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-271): Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Microsoft® Windows® XP Operating System, Second Edition (Pro-Certification)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

microsoft has finally figured out how to write a book for their certifications. hire someone outside their organization to do it. previous books have always fallen woefully short of teaching a person to the point that they can come close to passing the test. this book accomplishes this goal. admittedly, this is a verrrry simple and easy test. but i did find the objectives covered adequately to figure out the answers. this was microsoft's big failing in previous books. they skimmed over or inadequately explained the topic and then hit you with detailed and complex scenarios on the exam that were several levels more advanced than what they taugh you. this book brings you to the level you need to be able to figure out the answers you need. this is what microsoft should have been doing all along. kudos to them.

I've been a heldesk technician for less than a year, so I was nervous about taking the exam. I bought this book and the Exam Cram, and they did the trick--especially this book. The book is easy to follow, has all the basics, and gives you good test prep drill too. In retrospect I probably didn't need the Exam Cram. In fact, the other book that was pretty useful is the Windows XP Resource Kit, edition 2.

Depending on your experience this may be the only book you need to pass the 70-721 exam. I did require additional material but this book was certainly the major reason that I passed the exam with a 917 score.

The only reason why I gave this book four stars and not five is because of the practice test. The practice test was very useful, and I was using it repeatedly for reviews, taking four practice exams in the week leading up to my test. But the questions and answers in certification mode were some times ambiguous and on one occasion the question presented the user with the incorrect graphic to click on to give an answer. This left me to wonder if I should be clicking on the "advanced" tab even though the wrong dialog was shown or should I click in the area where the "advanced" tab would be located on the correct dialog? In spite of these errors the questions in the practice test were exceptionally useful for locating holes in my knowledge which I was then able to fill by finding and studying material in other resources such as knowledge base articles on the Microsoft web site.

Since I purchased this book and began my studies (I wanted to get some work experience before taking the test) I have found the information and tips in this material, the book and the testing software, immensely useful from a practical stand point. Even the most obscure knowledge found in this book has aided me in resolving real user issues on the job. At my current job as a desk top technician, if my colleagues have an issue relating to Windows XP that they do not know how to solve they come to me before they escalate it. One case is where the guy next to me received a call from a user whose key board was acting abnormally. He had to press in the key and hold it down for more than the normal time to get the letter he was typing to appear. I knew immediately that FilterKeys had been enabled and I was able to tell my coworker exactly how to disable it due to having missed the question nearly five times in the practice tests and finally memorizing everything I could about accessibility options out of frustration with myself.

The practice test has 300+ questions, far more than included in any other testing resource. If you want to pass the 70-721 exam you will need this book.

This "kit" is well put together and covers the exam thoroughly. I also have a couple of years supporting XP but this book covers the stuff that is rare but tested on the exam. I thought it was well written and is pretty much all I studied for the exam.

The CD comes with some good testing software and the questions in some instances very closely mirrored ones on the actual exam.

So, I would say, study, with XP running on a machine go through the exercises, get up to 90% or more on the practice exams, and you should do fine.

Good luck.

Suppose you were looking to hire someone for your help desk. You narrow it down to the final two candidates You ask them how well they know Windows XP. One says, "I know it pretty well." The other says, "I'm a Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician on Windows XP." Which would you hire?

That's not to say that the first candidate wouldn't do a fine job for you. But it is to say that the second candidate will give you a higher feeling of confidence. To make yourself be the second candidate is the only reason for taking this test.

Oh, one thing more, besides just taking it, you need to pass it. And that is the reason for having this book. It will help you pass the test.

The contents of the book are just about what you'd expect: everything you need to know to support end users running (or trying to run XP). Among everything else this includes: installing, setting up users and groups, understanding file and folder access, installing and managing hardware (display, I/O, storage, printers), networking, accessing the internet. And each of these subjects is the subject of a chapter in the book.

And because this is a training kit for the test, it has extensive review questions and a CD with additional questions and information. Finally this kit will give you a 15% discount in the cost of the test.

A little background history:
I am 48 yo and I am italian, so I am not really fluent in english language, however I can read it (although with some difficulties).
I am in search of a new job so I needed to get a recent qualification in the IT field.
I worked almost 5 years as a Desktop Support Technician before leaving my old firm (due to my pay dissatisfaction) in search for best opportunities.
Unfortunately the new job I got (although ways better payed) was physically too hard for me and I got injured (it ways a factory worker job) so I needed to turn back into the IT field.
So I had the idea to get a Microsoft Certification to raise my job chances.

Back to the present:
When I worked as a DST I handled mostly Windows 2000 and NT 4 workstations, with very little theoretical background. So I knew that a lot of background knowledge was missing to me. This fact, along with the english language based study and exam, was scaring me.

But I took this book, I read it (with some difficulties) from the first to the last page, I did the tests in the enclosed CD, I practiced with my own pc and after 18 days of intense study I passed the 70-271 exam first try with 783.

I also had the Exam Cram 2 book, which I read only in part, doing all the tests enclosed with it.

Sure my previous practical experience helped a lot, but I knew I had big holes in my theoretical background, and this book helped me a lot to integrate my knowledge (I.E. until I read this book I really didn't know that the ipconfig /flushdns command was able to flush the dns cache of a workstation).

When I booked for the exam I was exitant to take it, because the "Certification simulation" mode of the tests enclosed with the CDs of these books had me often failing to pass.

After the exam I can say that the real Microsoft questions are ways more clear and understandable that those presented in the simulation tests.

In fact - beside learning unknown and valuable troubleshooting tricks and methodologies - the real problem for a foreign language speaker like me was to correctly understand the english-formulated questions, that often can be very devious.

But the learning tests enclosed with the books are a though (maybe frustrating) way to improve your reasoning skills about Desktop assistance.

Now I am studying for the 70-272 exam in order to get the MCDST certification and I am really more relaxed about it.

I recently purchased this book with CDs to prepare for the 70-271 exam. After reading the book and working from the CDs, I passed the exam on the first try. It required learning all of the 146 practice questions, then the 311 Measure-Up questions. My only frustration was that the CD questions cover all sorts of topics about Windows 98 to XP issues (dual-boot, etc.) and the exam is much more "Up-To-Date." However, the book without the questions would not have prepared me at all for the exam.

Very in-depth view of how things are done using Windows XP. Of course, I've been in the IT field for many years but there was stuff in this book that I did not know I could do!

The best way of studying? Take out the old fashioned notebook and pen and jot down your hardest areas. Basically, create a cheat sheet and study that like no tomorrow.

Also, with the included MeasureUp certification test engine, heed their words seriously. "You must pass the certification test mode at least three times at 100% before taking the test". Indeed, there were about 6 or 7 of those questions on the exam.

I passed the exam last Monday with no problems so, have faith with this book, and stdy well!

I read through the book cover to cover, and as I took the mini-quizes at the end of each section I was answering just about every question correctly. I thought I was good to go. Then I put in the CD with the practice tests... boy was I wrong. The practice tests were asking questions that were never touched on in the book anywhere. I'd try to use the book to find the answer to a practice test question and there was no mention of it. The book was far more basic than the questions being asked on the tests. I changed my study habit and used the practice tests on the to "study" but really all I was doing was learning how to answer the questions. Even that was difficult because the testing software was as buggy as Windows itself... There are questions were you have to click a part of a graphic, or move items up and down in list kind of things... I would put in my answer, it would mark me wrong, then when I read the explanation, I realized I was right and the programmer scored the question wrong. There were at least a dozen different questions in the exam where the explanation tells you you got the answer right, but are still scored incorrectly.

At the end of the day, I passed the exam with an 800 (need 700 to pass) so I suppose that's all that matters, but it was a pretty darn frustrating experience using Microsoft prep materials for a Microsoft test, but having the study aids be bordering on useless.

I will keep the book though. It is a solid reference book for Windows XP... just not any help for the exams.

Hi, I purchased both the MS Press 70-271 and 70-272 books to prepare for my MCDST certification. I read this book, the 70-271 MS press book as my sole study source for the exam and passed on my first try.

The book is layed out well, at the end of each chapter are test and scenario based questions to help test your knowledge and understanding of the material. The second part of the book has a complete test prep section to further help prepare you for the exam.

For the most part the book contained all of the pertinant information I was tested on in the actual exam. Make sure you especially understand how TCP/IP works as explained in the book, NTFS permissions and File and Print Shareing and permissions, as you'll be tested extensively on that.

Overall I enjoyed the book, it has many photo's and illustrations as you're reading through the book, so even if you don't have the operating system handy to practice on while you're reading, you'll still get a general ID of how things look. This book also includes a trial version of Windows XP Professional SP2, as well as testing software to test your knowledge. I do highly suggest that anyone taking this exam also has the opportunity to review what they've learned on the actuall Operating System to review their knowledge.

Good Luck on the exam and with the help of this book you'll be on the right track!