MCSE Microsoft Windows XP Professional Readiness Review; Exam 70-270 (Cpg-Other) (Paperback)

by Kurt Dillard (Author), Anthony Northrup (Author) "The process of installing Microsoft Windows XP Professional is easier than the installation process for previous Windows operating systems, but you still must verify that..." (more)
Key Phrases: incoming fax documents, section lists supplemental readings, electronic assessment, Correct Answers, Microsoft Windows, Control Panel (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (November 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735614601
• ISBN-13: 978-0735614604
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #944,057 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exam-study or not - Very Enlightening, March 3, 2002

By	Jase T. Wolfe - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I was very surprised when I used this book and the associated practice exam system (both in the book and on the CD-ROM) in the amount of information about the XP OS that I learned. I've used XP since it was in beta, read the Resource Kit, read other Microsoft Press books on XP and still I found reference to items in this book that I had not read anywhere else. Granted, the book presents the data in very brief summary statements and if you really want to learn more than what is needed to get the practice exam answers right you will need to use the on-line help in XP, the Resource Kit and the Microsoft Web Site. But the knowledge gained after reading the book and following up with the additional resources was well worth my time.

My only complaint about the book is that much of it was obviously the Windows 2000 Professional Exam Prep, and whoever performed the global search and replaced missed quite a few 2000 references. It can sometimes be a little confusing when they are giving you a scenario involving Windows 2000 and Windows XP, and the answer does tell you to boot from the Windows 2000 CD-ROM to correct your Windows XP installation.

Regardless of whether you are studying for the MCSE exam or not, if you want to delve into the Windows XP OS and learn about things that may not have been obvious, this is a great book.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars False sense of security, March 5, 2002

By A Customer

I get the impression that Dillard and Northrup really rushed to get this book onto the bookstands. Reading through chapter one I found many instances where the authors stated Windows 2000 when they meant to say Windows XP. For example, page 19 suggests that to install Windows XP you simply "insert the Windows 2000 Professional installation CD-ROM and reboot the computer." Well, last time I checked the Windows 2000 CD installed Windows 2000, not Windows XP.

So then I consulted the Microsoft Knowledge base, and discovered Q316452 which lists out all the mistakes in the book. What a mess! These authors really rushed the book, and made a lot of mistakes as a result.

On the bright side - I did pass the exam, and the book did give a good overall perspective of the knowledge required to pass. My advice, however, is to make this book a supplement to a much larger amount of study. The exam had a surprising amount of questions related to the PC BIOS (APM vs ACPI) and SCSI BIOSes.

To the authors I offer this - please put out a Second Edition as soon as you can, and correct these errors. The 70-270 is a fundamental exam for the .Net MCSE's, and I don't want to be working with dummies!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and informative, February 6, 2002

By A Customer

I read the resource kit, wrestled with XP on a handful of computers at work and at home, and then read this book before signing up for exam 270. I passed it easily. I've read several other readiness reviews from MSpress and they all follow a similar format, I wasn't expecting to get everything I needed to know about being a Windows XP guru, but it gave me good guidance for the test. It was lot more readable than most MSPress books with scores of sample exam questions.