Maximum PC

Hi all

Just looking for suggestions for study material for the MS 70-680 exam...

I already have:

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-680): Configuring Windows 7 (Hardcover)

and a training/testing CD which comes with it.

I read the book (some chapters 2-3 times to ensure understanding), and have taken the sample exams on the disc several times and each time I get at least a score of 85%..

My problem is... I took the REAL exam today and I found the material covered in the book and sample tests was very different than on the actual exam.... my exam score was a 636 - needed 700 to pass, and yet today on my practice exam before the real exam I got a 93%... That's a pretty wide variation.

Does anyone have a suggestion for "it worked for me" material I can look for, so I don't have to keep ordering books off Amazon until I find one that has similar material to the actual exam?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, BUT you WILL not find ANY type of book that includes the ACTUAL test questions. The questions in those books/CDs will help you learn what the actual question is asking, but they won't be the same exact question(s). ONLY by studying the material in said books will help you arrive at the right answer to the ACTUAL questions within the exam/test. If you think about it, if it was that easy people would just memorize the answers. CompTIA books have questions reworded that are fairly similar to the actual questions asked. BUT thats about the best you're going to find. STUDY...STUDY...STUDY.

Oh I'm not looking for the direct answers to any of the tests... I know there's brain dump sites out there.. I'm much more interested in the how and why everything works instead of just knowing "B" is the answer.

I just feel that the book and DVD I have (published by MS) didn't adequately cover the material that was actually tested. eg. I studied the UAC and VPN extensively since the book says they are heavily tested... and only got 1 question total on my actual exam about the 2 topics.

Hopefully you registered to acquire a Second Shot voucher! I was going to post earlier but didn't want to jinx myself. I just got back with an 800. Not as good as I wanted, but I passed! Some of those questions are evil. They give us the Skills Being Measured and you've seen the exam in person so there shouldn't be any surprises now. They cover everything on the list! Research everything that you don't know and review everything that you think you already know.

Experiment! I've been doing some of the stuff so long that it seems like common sense. I enjoy experimenting and hands on always works for me. I switched from XP to 7 RC at home last June. I switched to 7 Ultimate in July thanks to Technet! TNWIN7L knocks the price down to $250 and we get all of M$'s software with lots of keys! I migrated to Vista Enterprise at work around the same time and have been supporting customers on it since. We have a great Public key infrastructure, I administer VPN accounts and client software, and I deal with encryption from hell on a daily basis so that stuff was fairly easy. I had to spend a lot of time Building a Standard Image of Windows, going over the Automated Installation of Windows 7 Overview, and learning about the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) Tool. I had to memorize M$'s official hardware requirements, upgrade limitations from Vista, and other BS like that too.

Technical Guidance can be found here (very important link). You want VPN? Click "What’s New in Networking". Take note of the "special considerations" and don't forget about the list "establishing VPN connections and authentication; enabling a VPN reconnect;" Scroll down a little and you'll see "What's New in User Account Control." Jump back to the list and see "configuring local security policy; configuring admin vs. standard UAC prompt behaviors; configuring Secure Desktop:" Time to track those down and start clicking on stuff or asking questions. Hope it helps!

Some good points, thank you! I do see some stuff that I never touched upon in my book. Only need a few more questions right to pass next time so we should hopefully be good with this additional info. Thanks

Let us know if you have any questions or need help with certain sections. We can't break the rules, but we can help point you in the right direction if needed. PMs work if you don't want all of your business out here in the open. Let us know how it goes & what you found helpful the second time around.

I hate to drag up an old thread but I wanted to follow up and say thanks to all in this thread. I passed the exam yesterday with a 912 score!

Congrats!

Thanks