Customer Reviews

MCSE Windows XP Professional Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram 70-270)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Okay, I'll admit it, I bought this book mostly 'cause I wanted to maybe brush up here and there just to make sure I got a decent score on the test.

I really thought I was the man where WinXP was concerned. I do registry tweaking how-tos for a PC site, I've done troubleshooting and repair for MS products since the 80s. I've gone well past the realms of the new user...

I picked up this book, and after getting through the standard stuff about what to expect from the test, the book then got deep into the kind of things you can expect as a network administrator. Stuff I haven't really had to deal with since the company I worked for went under (back in the days when Win NT servers and 98 terminals were all the rage).

Trust me, if you haven't had to spend a lot of time SERIOUSLY networking WindowsXP, get this book. It probably saved me over 100 bucks for the retest as it is.

Oh, and by "Seriously Networking" Windows XP, I don't mean a home network with a DSL setup, or maybe a small office with a 5-port Router. I mean stuff like what authentication should be used on a VPN running L2TP/IPSEC.

It'll be a few before I head down to take the test. I've had pretty good luck with Exam Cram's books for my last couple certifications. I also recently added another Exam Cram book for my Server+ studies, and it's already covered a lot of ground my more expensive MS-press guide did not.

As for the benefits of this test, an O/S certification is almost a requirement these days. My Comptia certifications alone wouldn't have gotten me hired at my last job, if it hadn't been for my previous experience, I'd have been up the proverbial creek. Also, Microsoft lets you "in" as a MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional), and you get access to more Windows Info. In this day and age, the more knowledge you have, the better off you are.

Overall, this book is pretty damn good, and I learned a lot more about Windows XP than I knew before preparing for the exam, but the book could use some improvement.
1. The book covers many topics, but leaves some details out in specific cases. Some of these details were on the exam, and I only got them right because I had experience with them. One of the questions on the exam, (wasn't coverered in the book), but I had read an article in Windows & .NET magazine, and implemented it at our site.
2. The Prep-logic practice exam that came on the CD kind of sucked. It asked three questions about running a telnet server on your Windows XP machine??? I was kind of freaking out since I waited until the last minute to take the practice test. So like an idiot, I went online and purchased the full thing from Prep-Logic website. After taking another practice test, I felt a lot better, but I would doubt that any official MS exam has anything on it about running a telnet server. Also on the REAL exam, the questions are much more complicated than the Prep-Logic ones.
3. The book and the Prep-Logic Exam seem to conflict on a couple of ideas. Everyone seems to have their own theory of the correct page file size. I was always taught that Inital Size = 1.5 x Physical RAM and Maximum Size = 3 x Physical RAM. The book claims that the initial and the max should be the same. The prep-logic exam doesn't really say, but it did say that the max should never be over 2.5 x. I found a page on Microsoft that also claims the correct is what I was originally taught. Who knows???

The good news is I passed the test and with some room to spare, and I probably wouldn't have been able to without this book, hands-on-experience, and some extra exams. Although, next time I won't be purchasing Prep-Logic.

I read through this book twice, installed the Preplogic Preview Edition CD and studied it until I got all the answers right. I passed the first time in an hour! This book along with the CD is literally all you need to pass the 70-270 Exam. I'm telling you, this is EXACTLY what you need to pass the exam the FIRST time. Props to Exam Cram 2 for producing such an awesome product.

This is my first Exam Cram book. It's packed with useful information, so much so that I read it twice. It's not only valuable for the taking the exam, I think it'll serve as a useful reference tool as well.

The book starts out with some very useful info about the certification exam. The practice questions throughout the book are great for checking comprehension before moving on to the next section. And the sample test and CD work well for exam preparation. The only challenge is absorbing everything in the book.

I haven't read any other exam preparation books on XP Pro to compare this to. I don't see any reason to.

Well let me tell you something, I used Smart Certify as a primary source of my study... and fail twice :( In other words, their course was a waste of time for this particular exam, there were errors in the material, there was no sample tests, I got fed up with trying to find "free" exam preps tests, so when I fail the second time, I was both angry and glad. Why glad, because I got a refund from Smart Certify, but since this was my first Microsoft exam, I really wanted to pass, so I purchased some XP books, and this one is the best I think. Use it as a source of learning, not as a cram... if you want to get a knowledge this is a source for you (but the same knowledge which will get you to pass the exam), if you are just interested in passing the exam, try something else... with the book I think you need to practice and play around with XP a lot, but I think this is the way to go... Good luck to all

Dan Balter and Derek Melber have done a tremendous job researching and writing this book. It is an effective MCSE prep tool and has solid, real world tidbits an tricks to set it apart from the typical "just pass the test" books out there.

Que has done us all a service by continuing the EXAM CRAM line and maintaining and improving the quality of the product -- the inclusion of the new "PREP LOGIC" CD-ROM is a big plus!

Anyone who has ever been impressed by an Exam Cram book before will be doubly impressed by WINDOWS XP... Anyone who has prepared for MCSEs without one will find a welcome and critical addition to their preparation process.

This book covers a lot of what you need to know to pass the exam, the reason I purchased this book was because I have purchased several exam cram 2 books recently and have enjoyed the wealth of advanced material found within those books and ive been using windows XP for a long time and didn't feel the need for a basic book. And typically exam cram books go into granular detail about some advanced topics and the reading is pretty much enjoyable.

Sadly that is not the case with this book =\, this book is basically a dry read. Id guess half the book is just showing directions on how to open something up ( in insane step by step detail!!! ), and at the same time the book seems to cover all you need to know about TCP/IP in 2 full pages!

Basically the exam wants you to know a lot about GPO / Active Directory / Shares / networking and so on which isn't given too much detail in this book. Luckily im going for my MCSE and have some windows 2003 server books ( MS press self training series ) to review some AD concepts. As im already network+ a+ ccna etc certified I could make do with this book easily.

However if you are using this as your only book and this will be your first exam and you haven't taken a formal networking class or windows server class I would highly recommend getting an book on active directory and GPO ( any of the msce titles should suffice ) and for networking the exam cram network+ is an amazingly good read! And will help you breeze through the exam.

But if you have taken windows server courses and networking classes at a college or self study then by all means just buy this book read it once take the practice tests in the back of the book ( and on CD ) and you will easily pass the test ( I studied for all of 1 week ).

This is my first time using Exam Cram to study for a certification, and I am so glad it was recommmended to me. It really breaks everything down into terms anyone could understand and learn. The book has really made me feel more comfortable about taking this exam, and I plan to use Exam Cram again in the future.

Good book to help prepare you for the 70-270 exam. Nice intro section on self-assessment and test taking stategies. Good summary sections, however I would prefer shorter sections will more review questions. Get the book, read it, pass the exam.

This book provides a real good start with less than 500 pages. But you will never pass the test just from the material in this book. Taking the advice of others before me, I obtained all the info I needed from this book, plus the Windows XP resource kit (available free online or in paperback) and "Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2" (Also an online microsoft resource).