Customer Reviews

MCSE Windows 2000 Core Four Boxed Set (Exams 70-210, 70-215, 70-216, 70-217)

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

 

 

As a Microsoft Certified Trainer and college instructor for over eight (8) years, I have collected (and actually read; ) *many* study guides. This series by Syngress Media Inc/Osborne, McGraw-Hill stands out well above the rest. The "Two Minute Drill" sections at the end of each chapter are exceptional for last minute study, right before you sit for your exams. There are only two minor drawbacks to this set: 1) length (necessary for full proper coverage of W2K; 2) CD audio (brief at best). I highly recommend "Self Test Software" and "AudioWhiz" audio training CDs to bring you over the top. Best of Luck with your studies, and remember to consider getting this series for help!

I bought this core set...and gave it 4 stars

There is no core set that covers the core four windows 2000 exams for a 100%. But i think that this core set from Syngress is the best study pack out there. It has only one flaw: the windows 2000 server study guide. This one ok, but it explains IIS 5 and network printing poorly. The rest of the pack (Pro, AD services and Network admin) is just great. If you need more info about IIS 5 and printing, you must check the Tech Net or online help for IIS 5 and printing, and then you are fine. Nevertheless, the Syngress Server 2000 study guide is a good prep tool.

I had the New Riders Windows 2000 server study guide, wich explained IIS 5 and printing pretty well, so i was lucky.

I can give some windows 2000 mcse core set study tips: Forget the Sybex books.. they stink. Forget the New Riders core study guides. They contain a lot of errors. Only the New Riders' Windows 2000 server training Guide from Dennis Maione has good info. (see above)

And how about the MS Training Kits. They are expensive and pretty boring. Be carefull with The Coriolis Prep Guides and forget the (in)famous exam crams. Windows 2000 exams are difficult!!, and just craming data will not get you there. Alan Carter's Study System is good, but caution, it only prepares you for the Server and Pro 2000 exams. IT WILL NOT PREPARE YOU for the AD services and Network administration exams Alan Carter has lost it: His nt 4 study guide (3 exams) was the best, but his new Study System covers only 50% of the core 4 windows 2000 exams (his explains AD services and Network admin at an introduction level)

My advice: Buy The Syngress core set if you are going for the core four exams of the windows 2000 track. You will save money, and you WILL be prepared. And if you want more, ($$$ !!) buy the Transcender.com prep exams.. then you will pass the exams in no time with a 101 %

Ciao

The network (70-216) book itself rates four stars becuase it fairly thoroughly covers the material tested on the exam.

The AD book (70-217) itself rates three stars because it misses some key areas.

The workstation (70-210) and server (70-215) books miss broad expanses of test material, so although they may not be bad introductions to Windows 2000, they are grossly inadequate for exam preparation. Further, the two books are virtual carbon copies of each other.

Overall, I was troubled by the lack of editing and several major factual errors.

Please note that some of the other reviews are by authors and editors. At least they had the integrity to sign their names.

Without a doubt, these are the very best study guides on the market! Everything you need to pass the 70-240 exam is contained in Core Four Boxed set. All subjects, from RIP v1 and v2 to IPSec to RRAS Authetication like CHAP, SPAP, MS-CHAP v1 and v2 and EAP are covered in detail.

While all the books are great, the best one is the Network Infrastructure (70-216) book. In no other study guide do you get the level of detail and examples of practical applications that you do from that book. The RRAS chapter is over 100 pages! You'll also get a grounding in DNS, DHCP, WINS and IPSec that you'll find nowhere else.

After studying these core four books, you WILL know Windows 2000. Each book has hundreds of practice questions, at least 40 videos of the most important procedures, a quick review mode, and an audio CD track that you can listen to on your CD player.

I'd give this set six stars, but they only let me go up to five :-)

Please for God's sake stop saying these books are good, I studied from the first book for the exam 70-210 and I check what I studied with the self test software and transcender and what I got, NOTHING FROM THESE BOOKS COMES IN THE REAL QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!, I am terribly sorry to admit that I was fooled by the reviews written here by the author and his family, I wish I can return the books but unfortunately I am in Cairo, Egypt and shipping fees are so expensive so the sum that will be returned is not worth returning the books. please stick to the microsoft training kit, they are the exam authors and they know what will come and dont be fooled by the reviews written by the authors of the books

Sherif

There are a lot of good ideas built into this set. Along with reading the books, there is an audio track on the CDs, and then the self test.

In the book, certain points are emphasized for test takers and implementers.

The books are very readable, and cover much of the material quite well. I have taken and passed one test, and am close to taking another.

There are some inaccuracies that I have found. The server book makes a statement about NAT that is true for Internet Connection Sharing, but not NAT. The Professional book misstates hardware requirements in a spot. There are more...

The audio track on the CD is a short, and many portions use the same wording from the book. It was like someone was reading short excerpts from the book.

The assessment test is crude, it appeared to me that the slapped something together just so that they can say they have an assessment exam. I bought one from the link off the Prometric site, and found that one to be much more useful.

I probably won't buy another Syngress Osborne book whenever I have an alternative. They are good enough that I will continue reading the books I have. They aren't so bad that I have bought replacements, but I wouldn't chose them again

Have been reading the books since I purchased them a bit of a month ago, and first of all I am rating them in a set instead of individually. For those who don't know, the 4 core tests have a good dea of information that repeat, so you read one book (say Server) and then read Pro, you are going to get some repeat. So be aware of this, this isn't the authors just stuffing books to make extra money, it is just how the tests work. A friend of mine took the test for Pro on accident and passed it, he was studying Server however, so they do mingle together a bit.

My only thing to really add is read the books, atleast Pro, Server, and AD before taking either one of the tests, you will have a much better understanding because sometimes one book is lacking in an explination of a topic, and then the other explains it in detail. So in the end I give the set 4 stars, and would recommend it to anyone that wants to learn 2000 and pass the tests.

I'm only halfway through the 2000 professional book, and I'm already regretting my purchase of the set. The information is not presented in a clear consise manner, and I've noticed some minor mistakes. All in all, if you're actually interested in avoiding forking out re-test money, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

I purchased the box set of the Syngress MCSE books. I found the books are a big waste of time. If you intend to pass the MCSE exams with these books, you are in for a rude awakening because they are not how you should approach your studying. I thought so myself until I went and took my first exam. Boy, I was so ill-prepared after reading the Syngress books.

The books contains a lot of fluff: one thousand or so pages and not all the topics are covered that are in the actual MCSE exam. Some of the topics contradict what was previously written. Moreover, the simulation that the authors claim will further help you were nothing more than what was written in the book. Get this, they are not the same simulation that you sit through when you take the exam.

If you are really interested in attaining your MCSE certification, I suggest you purchase the books release by Microsoft themselves, for example, the ones released by Microsoft Press. However, use those books as reference and purchase the Transcender simulation exams. They really help. If you are unsure about a specific topic, visit Microsoft Technet for the most up-to-date information. Lastly, I cannot express the notion of studying for these exams because they are really hard, so STUDY STUDY STUDY.

I found these books to be totally useless. While they may do a good job of going over the basics of the exams and the exam objectives, they do little to actually help the reader actually prepare for them.