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i signed up for this when they offered it and registered for it at that time,
now that i want to use it, i can't, whats up with that. I went and took the
070-271 today and failed it by like 10 points today, so, thinking that i had
a free retake, i took it again after passing 070-272 exam. Failed it again,
totally different set of questions and the second one's seemed harder than
the first. I must personally say, i am not impressed with these exams, the
way that MS fixes the problems is not the way that things are done in the
field.
I am not happy with the fact that i failed this exam twice and couldn't even
use my free retake. I work as a Desktop Support Technician and troubleshoot
a lot of the same problems and some of those fixes i have never seen or never
found even when searching microsoft's knowledge base.
I am very upset, i was expecting to be able to retake one of these exams
with the retake that i registered for back in the beginning of May. Now i
have paid double for something that should have been free according to what i
signed up for. Anyone know if there is a way to pull up that paperwork for
that offer to see if youregistered and when and when the time limit expired
on taking an exam retake.
Its funny, there is Microsoft's way and then there is the real world way,
guess in this situation you have know the MS way eventhough it doesn't work
in the real world.

"Ryan" <> wrote in message
news:88DBE09A-3DD2-49A0-BB06-...
> i signed up for this when they offered it and registered for it at that
time,
> now that i want to use it, i can't, whats up with that. I went and took
the
> 070-271 today and failed it by like 10 points today, so, thinking that i
had
> a free retake, i took it again after passing 070-272 exam. Failed it
again,
> totally different set of questions and the second one's seemed harder than
> the first. I must personally say, i am not impressed with these exams,
the
> way that MS fixes the problems is not the way that things are done in the
> field.
> I am not happy with the fact that i failed this exam twice and couldn't
even
> use my free retake. I work as a Desktop Support Technician and
troubleshoot
> a lot of the same problems and some of those fixes i have never seen or
never
> found even when searching microsoft's knowledge base.
> I am very upset, i was expecting to be able to retake one of these exams
> with the retake that i registered for back in the beginning of May. Now i
> have paid double for something that should have been free according to
what i
> signed up for. Anyone know if there is a way to pull up that paperwork
for
> that offer to see if youregistered and when and when the time limit
expired
> on taking an exam retake.
> Its funny, there is Microsoft's way and then there is the real world way,
> guess in this situation you have know the MS way eventhough it doesn't
work
> in the real world.

If you are referring to the Second Shot promotions (there were 2 that I
recall in the last 12-18 mos), they expired quite a while ago. Sorry...

Did you study for the exam?

I shouldn't even respond to this, but yes, i studied both 271 and 272 using
the Actualtests.com content, microsofts e-learning self paced study guide and
Measureup's practice test.
Did I study enough, obviously not, going to do some more and retake the
friggin thing again.
"Chefdenker" wrote:

> Did you study for the exam?

Ryan. I am not sure about your retake situation. I do remember seeing it
offered by Microsoft, but I did not pay attention to the details.
However, let's talk about the unsuccessful attempts to negotiate the
70-271 exam. It is my understanding that you have sat the exam twice
now. So you have seen roughly 100+ actual Microsoft questions. You know
the format that Microsoft asks their question. And unfortunately you
have witnessed firsthand that Microsoft has their own philosophy in
troubleshooting. This is not to say their techniques are wrong and do
not apply to the real world, but there are different ways to skin an
animal and Microsoft wants you to know their way. So with that said,
here is my 2 cents:

1.) Lay off the practice exams. You have seen the actual exam twice now.
This is not about "practicing" for the exam anymore. This is about
understanding the concepts and material. Look at your test scores and
concentrate on those areas that Microsoft stated you had difficulty in.

2.) I know you are frustrated because you failed this exam and this is
what you do for a living. Do not ever let test scores dictate to you
what type of technician you are. Some people are test takers and some
are not. You know what Microsoft expects from you.

3.) When you go to sit the test, leave your job, your experience and
your ego at the door. READ the question. ANSWER the question. MOVE on.
If you doubt your answer, leave it answered, "mark it" and come back to
it. Your first answer is normally the correct one. After you answer the
question, you begin to doubt the answer because you are a technician.
You begin to think, "Well, I would do it like this..." This thinking
will unfortunately fail you.

4.) Relax. It is a long test. You are going to be there for about an
hour - if not a little more. Trust me when I say I know that at times
you just want to get it over with. But just relax. If you feel yourself
getting frustrated, stand up and stretch for a second. As a technical
instructor, I had this one student who failed the software portion of
the A+ exam 6 times. He knew the material when asked. But he just had a
problem with tests. He would get anxious, change his answers, doubt
himself, etc. On his 7th attempt, he asked me to help him do a quick
study before the exam. I declined. He looked at me in shock, and asked
why. I told him that he knows the material, he has sat the exam 6 times,
he knows what to expect. He then asked what he should do. I suggested
him to have a little fun. So we went down to Dave and Busters for about
an hour before his exam. Right before entering the testing center, I
gave him a rubber band and instructed him to wear it around his wrist.
When asked why, I told him to "pop" himself when he felt anxious, tired,
or frustrated. When he came out of the testing center, his arm was
completely red. But he had a smile on his face. He had passed the exam.

There is no secret book out there. No sacred advice passed down from
successful test takers. There is the prescribed material Microsoft
expects you to know, and there is you. Look at you test results. Review
the material on TechNet. Schedule your exam. Pass the test. Good luck.

Let me know how it goes. I am interested in your progress.

--
Michael D. Alligood,
MCSA, MCDST, MCP, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW Assoc.,
CIW Certified Instructor



"Ryan" <> wrote in message
news:5E3987B2-BA75-4E31-98F9-:

> I shouldn't even respond to this, but yes, i studied both 271 and 272 using
> the Actualtests.com content, microsofts e-learning self paced study guide and
> Measureup's practice test.
> Did I study enough, obviously not, going to do some more and retake the
> friggin thing again.
> "Chefdenker" wrote:
>
> > Did you study for the exam?

The free retake ended either July 1 or maybe it was August 1, and you had to
test by that date.
I missed it too, by a few days.
I have failed 70-270, 70-271 and 70-272 in the last six months, all by less
than 50 points, typically 2 to 4 questions correct would have made the
difference.
I am studying for re-takes on all of them.
I use Transcenders and Exam Cram/Measure Up.
Gerry


"Ryan" wrote:

> i signed up for this when they offered it and registered for it at that time,
> now that i want to use it, i can't, whats up with that. I went and took the
> 070-271 today and failed it by like 10 points today, so, thinking that i had
> a free retake, i took it again after passing 070-272 exam. Failed it again,
> totally different set of questions and the second one's seemed harder than
> the first. I must personally say, i am not impressed with these exams, the
> way that MS fixes the problems is not the way that things are done in the
> field.
> I am not happy with the fact that i failed this exam twice and couldn't even
> use my free retake. I work as a Desktop Support Technician and troubleshoot
> a lot of the same problems and some of those fixes i have never seen or never
> found even when searching microsoft's knowledge base.
> I am very upset, i was expecting to be able to retake one of these exams
> with the retake that i registered for back in the beginning of May. Now i
> have paid double for something that should have been free according to what i
> signed up for. Anyone know if there is a way to pull up that paperwork for
> that offer to see if youregistered and when and when the time limit expired
> on taking an exam retake.
> Its funny, there is Microsoft's way and then there is the real world way,
> guess in this situation you have know the MS way eventhough it doesn't work
> in the real world.

You know Ryan, as someone who has been part of the exam creation process on
other exams I have this to say about that:

1. You are dead right. There is a Microsoft way and there is often a 'real
world way' as you call it. The bottom line is the real world is not
certifying you, Microsoft is. The way it works is this: If you can do it
the Microsoft way it usually means you understand the issue and the
resolution. It also means you can probably take that knowledge and solve
the problem in other ways. If you only know the other way then maybe you
don't really understand the technology.
1a. "guess in this situation you have know the MS way eventhough it
doesn't work in the real world." You prove my point... If you understood the
technology you would know that the Microsoft way DOES work, you are probably
just not doing it right.

2. Microsoft has had two 2nd chance offers, each expiring June 30th (2005
and 2006). If you signed up for it and did not use it in that time frame,
and did we mention that when you signed up for it they gave you a code that
you had to use when registering for the exam, then maybe your problem is not
understanding the technology so much as you just do not like to read.

3. (possibly insulting statement withdrawn)

4. "I must personally say, i am not impressed with these exams..." Yeah, I
feel for you. I have taken a few exams and some of them do not really
impress me either. Others do. Might I add that I say that having passed
the exam so I have earned the right to complain authoritatively about it.
Until you pass the exam you are just bellyaching so please stop because none
of us want to hear it.
4a. For the record it would seem that however unimpressed you might be
with these exams that these exams seem to be less impressed with you.

5. (Wow... if I left #4 in can you imagine how truly insulting #3 must have
been for me to withdraw it unseen?)

6. "Now i have paid double for something that should have been free" No, you
have paid for an exam that you were not prepared for. Twice.

I will be reposting this post and my reply on my blog. Feel free to comment
there because I read that more often than I read this forum these days.

M

--
MDG, MCT
MCSA (2003), MCSA (2000), MCDST.
MVP, Windows Server - Customer Experience
Certified Small Business Specialist
Visit my blog at http://www.mitpro.ca/Blogs/tabid/59/...2/Default.aspx


"Ryan" <> wrote in message
news:88DBE09A-3DD2-49A0-BB06-...
>i signed up for this when they offered it and registered for it at that
>time,
> now that i want to use it, i can't, whats up with that. I went and took
> the
> 070-271 today and failed it by like 10 points today, so, thinking that i
> had
> a free retake, i took it again after passing 070-272 exam. Failed it
> again,
> totally different set of questions and the second one's seemed harder than
> the first. I must personally say, i am not impressed with these exams,
> the
> way that MS fixes the problems is not the way that things are done in the
> field.
> I am not happy with the fact that i failed this exam twice and couldn't
> even
> use my free retake. I work as a Desktop Support Technician and
> troubleshoot
> a lot of the same problems and some of those fixes i have never seen or
> never
> found even when searching microsoft's knowledge base.
> I am very upset, i was expecting to be able to retake one of these exams
> with the retake that i registered for back in the beginning of May. Now i
> have paid double for something that should have been free according to
> what i
> signed up for. Anyone know if there is a way to pull up that paperwork
> for
> that offer to see if youregistered and when and when the time limit
> expired
> on taking an exam retake.
> Its funny, there is Microsoft's way and then there is the real world way,
> guess in this situation you have know the MS way eventhough it doesn't
> work
> in the real world.