Customer Reviews

MCSE Core Four Exam Cram Pack Adaptive Testing Edition: Exam: 70-067, 70-068, 70-073, 70-058

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I had barely touched NT Server, took no classes, and purchased no additional texts with which to supplement these books. Using Exam Crams and Transcenders, I had the MCSE wrapped up in less than four months. Yeah, my social life suffered over that time, but the point is, these books have what you need to pass.

I read a couple of reviews that docked the quality of the CD. I didn't touch the CD, so that could be perfectly true. The books are pretty darn accurate, though, so buy the pack and stick with the printed page and you'll be good to go.

One word of caution is that the practice quizzes and tests in these are less challenging than and/or not too applicable to the actual exams. I urge you to cough up some money for the Transcenders and take them only after you have read and studied these books. They are so much like the real thing (harder in most cases) it is frightening.

I was working on a help desk when I bought these books. Now I support NT servers internally for a Fortune 100 company, and make close to double what I made about 6 months ago. Nuf said.

These books contain many many errors, and do not cover everything that is on the test. If you want to pass the exams on the first try get the Microsoft self-paced books and the Microsoft Readiness Review books, the answers are correct and most correlate directly to the test. And NO I do not work for Microsoft, I got 866/1000 on NT Workstation, after giving up on the "Cram" series as the junk that it is....

Don't make the mistake I did in assuming the second edition would surely have errors corrected from previous editions. Since this is a shrink-wrapped set you cannot determine the printing history of each book before you buy the set. Coriolis customer service would not even return my calls leading me to believe they know they have a lemon on the shelf and refuse to replace error-riddled sets. They've lost their credibility with these books.

The exam Cram books are the best resource I have found to prepare for the MCSE exams. If there is something the book does not cover, it's very little. I would suggest having a Microsoft Press book for additional references. As long as you understand all that you read and re-study the things that you fail in the pre-tests, you should be OK. After reading the book, take as least 3-4 prep tests. The prep tests help you discover if you are ready. Good Luck

These books are great if you already have experience in the IS field. They are very cut and dry and dont go to indepth. I just took the Net Ess. test today and passed... but if i hadn't read the Sybex Net Ess book I would have been introuble. Dont get me wrong the book is great but for someone with no experience I would recomend a more detailed book such as the Sybex series or the Microsoft series. There were plenty of questions asked that were never even mentioned in the Exam cram book. The moral of the story is, if your a beginer with no experience go with Sybex or Microsoft first then the Exam Cram. If you have experience then you should be just fine with the exam cram.

Some of the other reviewers that said they passed the exam only using the exam cram's with no hands on or experience. Well they must be the next Bill Gates or just plain lucky. Good Luck to you all.

I purchased this set to augment my Microsoft Press collection as a ready refresher before the exams. What a mistake!!

Each of the four books has errors in them, that if taken as gospel will result in answering questions incorrectly. Not only errors but also contradictions to the authors own ramblings would appear a few pages later.

It's a good job I have a lot more material to be going at as well as my own network to try stuff out on before sitting the exams!!

DO NOT BUY THESE BOOKS, SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR THE EXAMS.

Michael Lewis

Background info. I have never worked in the IT field. I decided to become an MCSE+I when I read about all the great jobs. In just a month, I passed the first four exams!!! How did I do it? I used the random question tests from Transcender Corp.

Sitting on my file cabinet is about $500 worth of books that are more reference material than aimed towards passing the certification exams. Exam Cram falls into the same category. However, the authors used about 50 pages of "filler" i.e. the same intro material in each book; and at least 60% "cut 'n' paste" in the three books that cover NT Workstation, Server, and Enterprise.

Furthermore, Exam Cram does not cover the new adaptive tests from MS - which is primarily essay problem solving. As a matter of fact, when I passed these tests in March 1999, an average of two questions from the Exam Cram material was relevant.

If your main goal is to pass the exams, skip all these bogus claims of "First and Last", "Guaranteed to Pass", etc. Go out, buy the Transcender CD-ROM's and take the CAT exams until you consistently pass.

Bruce A. Ades

Instead of spending large amounts of money on training classes for the MCSE, I bought this set of books. I was able to read the books,take the practice tests supplied with the books and pass the MCSE tests.

I used these books for a supliment to the ATEC training that I received. No previous experance with NT before my class. I passed every test first time after reading the books. Average 2 weeks apart for each test

I love these books! As an experienced NT guy, I didn't want to waddle through 700 page books! Used this and Transcender to pass the exams on the first try. I only needed two weeks for each exam!