Customer Reviews

MCTS: Microsoft Windows Vista Client Configuration Study Guide: Exam 70-620

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used this book along with hands-on experience with Vista Ultimate to pass the exam with flying colors! Although the exam itself is on the easy side, this book serves as a great resource for all things Vista. This is also a very well-written book, and it is very easy to read.

As for the previous reviewer rating this a 1 star because they couldn't get the CD to work...no comment!

First, this book is really good introduction to the Vista operating system. It takes you through all the necessary features for you to begin to understand Vista and perform the actions the tech for whom the exam geared. I have more prior enterprise experience than expected exam-knowledge level and was taking 70-620 as an excuse to learn Vista and of course get another certification. Studying for the exam (using strictly this book and real life experience) only achieved one of those goals. I did pass the exam with a 930. The exam "rigorously" tested one's knowledge of RSS, media center, Internet Explorer 7, and wireless.

If you are looking at obtaining knowledge to pass the exam and about the new features of Vista, this book is recommended. If you are looking for Vista in your enterprise (which is admittedly the next exam), I would recommend another book.

I have been using this book for studying the 70-621 exam (instead of the 70-620) since there weren't any books at the time for the 70-621. I have already been deploying Vista Business & Ultimate in our work domain after using Business & Enterprise at home (Technet Subscription was a really good idea).

I thought I learned quite a bit from the hands on, but I was pleasantly surprised how much this book covered in great detail. I almost always chunk the CD in the back of most books but the authors did a superb job on this CD. Excellent chapter tests of 20 questions each and two bonus sets of 50 questions each. Only problem I had was the WinSim when it showed a Movie section. I didn't get any sound but I wasn't sure I was suppose to, but either sub titles or sound informing me what tasks it wanted to take would have been helpful as it plays a little quick, so you have to replay it a few times to figure out what the scenario was about. Flashcards - I generally HATE flashcards, but this was fantastic, it didn't bore the heck out of me like 99% of them do.

Of course, the whole book is on the cd as well and I found I like reading it better than lugging around that heavy book since I can enlarge the print for easier reading.

Of course it helps to know the background of a couple of the guys (authors) who helped write this book - Michael Aldridge and Josh Evitt. They used to work for Transcender and I met Michael after he left there and have had lunch with him on a few occasions. Really good people and always willing to help/advise people on their careers and certifications (see certcities.com & mcmcse.com). Michael and Josh now currently work for Boson. Looking forward to buying products they produce for them as I know it'll be good.

For the Exam 70-620, I don't think you can do any better than this book. It's just plain easy reading (Sybex has always been good about that style) and straightforward and I almost maxed the client section of the 70-621 (just need more work on the enterprise section now). Good luck with your 70-620 exam, but with this book - you won't really need luck, just some study time.

This was my first attempt at a Microsoft certification. I passed the 70-620 exam with primarily this book alone. I really liked the electronic flash cards and saw a lot of familiar questions on the actual exam.

This book is easy to follow and understand. I passed the test with an 884. My biggest problem with this book is the WinSim program. That was basically a few movie clips showing how to do a few steps. The clips were from the easy exercises. There were a couple of ones where you got to click where they told you to. Basically that part was a complete waste of time and a big disappointment to me. There are 2 test on the cd (50 questions each) plus all the questions in the book. There is also some flashcards. It is a good book and if you only used this book you could probably still pass but I would recommend using other material as well. Overall this is a good book and I would recommend it (despite the WinSim issue).

This is a well-written guide. It's very readable and informative and you should have no problem passing the exam after reading this guide. All of the information that you need is there.

The only reason why I give this 4 stars instead of 5 is that a lot of information that you *don't* need is in the book, as well. There are whole topics that you won't find on the exam. It turns out that those topics are on the 70-622 exam (the Vista Enterprise Support exam). If you plan to take 70-622 next, you could probably kill two birds with one stone by reading this guide. If you don't plan to take 70-622 next, you'll waste a lot of time reading and studying topics that you won't be tested on in 70-620. Some of those topics include automatic deployment (Windows Deployment Services, ImageX, unattend.xml, etc.), user profile types (mandatory, roaming, super-mandatory), Group Policies (local, password, audit, inheritance), file/share permissions, dynamic storage types and security protocols (PPTP, L2TP, MS-CHAPv2, EAP etc.). Those account for a sizable portion of the guide. Basically, all of those harder topics that you usually find only in workplace/domain environments, you won't find on 70-620 (which is completely consumer/home-oriented). You can see what I mean by looking at the exam objectives at Microsoft's website.

So, the only fault of this guide is that it throws way more information at you than you need for the exam. Depending on your goals, that may be a non-issue... or it may be important to you if you don't have much time to waste. Either way, it does do the job of helping you pass the exam, and that's the most important thing, I'd say.

70-621 Passed on 1st try (Resources Used)

Hello All,

I was able to successfully pass the 70-621 this week.
On the Desktop Support Section - Enterprise I was able to score: 820
On the Configuring Windows Vista Client I was able to score: 867

I was quit impressed with my scores and thought it best to share the Resources that I used to prepare for this test incase someone else needs some direction.

On the Desktop Support Section - Enterprise I used: Exam Cram Exam 70-622 by Paul A. Mancuso and David R. Miller (ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-3719-9)

On the Configuring Windows Vista Client I used: MCTS Exam-620 "Sybex book.." by Michael Aldridge, Josh Evitt, Lisa Donald and James Chellis (ISBN: 978-0-470-10881-9)

I read both books completely through only 1 time. I also went through ALL the test questions contained in each kit only 1 time in study mode, viewing all the answers which were correct and wrong. I then went and took the test and to my surprise did quite well. I hope this will help someone else out there.


What's next for me? Today I just started studying for Microsoft exam 70-648 Upgrading Your MCSA on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008. Next I will work on becoming Windows 7 Certified; because I know without a vision the future is obsolete.

--
Regards,

wefoundtruth

MCITP - Enterprise Support Technician
MCTS - Windows Vista - Configuration
MCSA - Server 2003
MCDST - Windows XP
CompTIA Network+
CompTIA A+
MCP

While I did notice some errors, namely in the answer keys for the practice exams, the editorial problems were minimal. I had only limited experience with Vista so I wanted a study guide before I tested and I passed using only this book, so I cant complain. I have used Sybex several times. when the reviews say a title is effective, I use it.

used this to pass the exam, although I did use other reference materials as well. I don't think there is a all-inclusive book out there for any certification exam. anyhow, a good addition for anyone wanting to study.

I've had very good experiences with the Sybex line of books, and this one is no exception. The book covers the exam topics very well, and provides hundreds of questions - the questions are the key to passing the exam, the more the better. The CD is also handy because you can carry a copy of the ebook on a flash drive wherever you go, and also provides the questions in an electronic format which is easier to test on. Although you shouldn't expect any single resource to be your sole source of information, this book provides a good starting point, and you can supplement the material with information from[..]. It took me three months of studying to pass the exam. Good luck!