# failed 70-680



## mike.grren.1986 (Dec 13, 2011)

hi everyone
just failed the 70-680 exam yesterday,
currently studying with home learning, and thought that would be enough to get my through, unfortunately i was seriously mistaken, think now would be a better idea to create my own lab with a windows server 2008 r2 machine.
Just wondering if anybody would know any good books that may be able to help me?
thanks mike


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## Thrillhouse (Oct 12, 2011)

I haven't done the cert but I am curious about this as well as I will likely attempt the exam in the future after finishing my comptia certs.


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

I typically recommend Microsoft Press and Sybex for Microsoft exams. What have you been using?


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## Lockheart (Nov 18, 2011)

I feel your pain. I've actually failed the exam twice now. The first time I ran through the MS Press book Configuring Windows 7 Training kit by Ian McLean and Orin Thomas. Later I learned there is a lot of errata in the first version of the book I purchased. Be sure to practice the examples and concepts in the book and don't just read from it. I was overconfident because I've been using Win7 for over a year and using many of the administrative tools to deploy and customize images.

Errata section - MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-680): Configuring Windows® 7 (Corrected Reprint Edition) Confirmed Errata | O'Reilly Media
Link to Updated pages in PDF form - Book update/Page corrections:
Book Reprint Information - Book reprint: MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-680): Configuring Windows 7 - Microsoft Press - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

I also picked up a Pearson Cert Guide by Don Poulton and performed a lot of the practices and wound up coming short again. I was scoring in the 80% range on practice tests which gave me some good confidence as I've seen in the past the practice exams were tougher. YMMV.


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## mike.grren.1986 (Dec 13, 2011)

thanks for ur replys guys
i basically signed up with a home learning course and read though the books practised what i could as i dont have a server running server 2008 r2 so was limited, in terms of the actually practices i could do, and feel like thats whats cost me.
However i found the actual exam much harder than the practice exams as i was scoring upwards of 80%.
But i think now the best chance i have of passing is to create my own test lab and practice all the concepts in real life, (reading from the book isnt working for me!)


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

there's a good practice exam provider I know who does excellent exams Cisco Network Simulator | IT Practice Exams | IT Training | Boson.com


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## mjgravina (Jan 9, 2012)

You know, just got back from testing on the 70-680. Was feeling pretty good, as I had been scoring 80% consistently on the MS Cert Kit Practice exam, and had spent the last four days watching and taking notes from James Conrad's CBT Nuggets for 70-680.

Sad to say, I walked away with a score of 490. 

I feel embarrassed. How was the exam different? The questions seemed a bit tricker in the real exam. One thing that I did notice, was that many more (if not most) questions about commands for imaging and/or administration, did not stop at its use alone, but actually the switches, and the switches of its switches. 

I would definitely recommend downloading the Video collection (26 vids, 17hs of training, super cool) as it taught me a great many things.

As for complementing, I am now going to set up VMWare, and start playing around imaging on my own, and getting more hands on. In the end, I think that was the biggest gap between my preparation and what the test required.


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

Microsoft recommends 6 months of experience administering Windows 7 in a domain environment before pursuing this exam. Do you currently administer Windows 7 in a domain environment? If so, for how long?


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## mjgravina (Jan 9, 2012)

Really good point, Michael. I only administer Win7 within the Helpdesk / IT Scope, but I would have to say 80% of the issues I respond to for Win7 boxes, would also happen in XP or Vista.

While I have many years of windows experience, I have no hands on experience creating, capturing, customizing images, for instance. 
Also configuring WSUS, or WDS servers.

I am glad to say that I have just finished installing a Win2k8r2 box via VMware, and that I will be playing intensively with imaging, and GPOs.

I feel those were some of my weakest points from the exam. 

Any consensus on which is the most correct book out there for this exam?

Cheers...


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

Yeah, you're probably on the right track getting yourself some hands-on experience with image-based deployment methods.  WSUS and GPO experience is always a good thing as well.

I didn't use any books when taking 70-680, so I don't know what is the most "correct" book. However, I generally use MSPress and Sybex for Microsoft exams.


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## mjgravina (Jan 9, 2012)

Here is a crazy thought. Would eyeing (perusing, starting to read/watch) materials for 70-685/686 (also Win7 mastery) somewhat help increase or build up on the skills required to pass this 70-680? 

(Sorry OP, I did not mean to hijack your thread)


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