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Hi,

Can anybody offer any advice...

Trying to get into IT but have had no hands on experience.

Just passed A+ and N+ and now trying to study for 70.210,
215, 218.

Is is possible to get through the microsoft exams without
the pratical experience?

Would anybody suggest what is the best order for taking
the exams?

Any thoughts on the quality of selftest testprep questions?

Hope somebody can take the time to put me on the right
track. Many thanks.

You really need to have some hands on experience for the upper level exams.
Most of the official MS training books come with a 180 day evaluation CD of
the software the book is about. With the price of Computer hardware falling
I would get two computers with the following specs.
(1) PC to use as a server.
1 GHz or better
256 MB ram (512 if you can afford)
1 20GB
1 CD any speed
2 hard drives any size ( not required but you could use to practice creating
the various volume types)
1 Ethernet card
1 video card

(1) PC to use as a workstation
500 MHz or better
128 MB ram (256 MB if you plan on loading XP)
1 20 GB Hard Drive
1 CD
1 Ethernet Card
1 Video Card

other Items
1 Ethernet crossover cable or 1 Ethernet hub with two patch cables

I quickly looked on pricewatch.com and you can get all of this for under
1000.00 dollars.

I have been using the Measure Up test prep software and it seems to be very
good. It provides explanations to the questions and the locations to look
for additional information.

The order you listed the test in is what I think is the best order. I say
that because Server builds on what you learn in workstation and Managing
networks builds on server and workstation.

In addition to using the official MS books I would recommend Mike Myers
Passport books. They offer a great review for the test but I would recommend
you use them in combination with other sources.

Hope this helps

Rick

"reders" <> wrote in message
news:017a01c369b3$0cfac790$...
> Hi,
>
> Can anybody offer any advice...
>
> Trying to get into IT but have had no hands on experience.
>
> Just passed A+ and N+ and now trying to study for 70.210,
> 215, 218.
>
> Is is possible to get through the microsoft exams without
> the pratical experience?
>
> Would anybody suggest what is the best order for taking
> the exams?
>
> Any thoughts on the quality of selftest testprep questions?
>
> Hope somebody can take the time to put me on the right
> track. Many thanks.

check out www.selftestsoftware.com for testing software thats as close to
the real thing as you can get. Also, if you can get your hands on the W2K
Resource Kit, it will give you good in-depth info that may prove useful on
the 70-210 test. If you have little/no experience, you might take the tests
in the order recommended by MS (210, then 215, 21. Be advised that you may
see a fair amount of server (215) questions on the 210 test. I failed my 1st
attempt at 210 for this reason -- use a combination of books.
"Rick Sears" <> wrote in message
news:...
> You really need to have some hands on experience for the upper level
exams.
> Most of the official MS training books come with a 180 day evaluation CD
of
> the software the book is about. With the price of Computer hardware
falling
> I would get two computers with the following specs.
> (1) PC to use as a server.
> 1 GHz or better
> 256 MB ram (512 if you can afford)
> 1 20GB
> 1 CD any speed
> 2 hard drives any size ( not required but you could use to practice
creating
> the various volume types)
> 1 Ethernet card
> 1 video card
>
> (1) PC to use as a workstation
> 500 MHz or better
> 128 MB ram (256 MB if you plan on loading XP)
> 1 20 GB Hard Drive
> 1 CD
> 1 Ethernet Card
> 1 Video Card
>
> other Items
> 1 Ethernet crossover cable or 1 Ethernet hub with two patch cables
>
> I quickly looked on pricewatch.com and you can get all of this for under
> 1000.00 dollars.
>
> I have been using the Measure Up test prep software and it seems to be
very
> good. It provides explanations to the questions and the locations to look
> for additional information.
>
> The order you listed the test in is what I think is the best order. I say
> that because Server builds on what you learn in workstation and Managing
> networks builds on server and workstation.
>
> In addition to using the official MS books I would recommend Mike Myers
> Passport books. They offer a great review for the test but I would
recommend
> you use them in combination with other sources.
>
> Hope this helps
>
> Rick
>
> "reders" <> wrote in message
> news:017a01c369b3$0cfac790$...
> > Hi,
> >
> > Can anybody offer any advice...
> >
> > Trying to get into IT but have had no hands on experience.
> >
> > Just passed A+ and N+ and now trying to study for 70.210,
> > 215, 218.
> >
> > Is is possible to get through the microsoft exams without
> > the pratical experience?
> >
> > Would anybody suggest what is the best order for taking
> > the exams?
> >
> > Any thoughts on the quality of selftest testprep questions?
> >
> > Hope somebody can take the time to put me on the right
> > track. Many thanks.
>
>

Cbt nuggets are also pretty good, but nowhere near gives you the full
knowledge you need to know. It's more of a prepping material to give you a
broad overview of what you need to know, more like an introduction.

Also, QOD (Question of the day) sites are also good.
A Good QOD site is, www.mcseworld.com.

"Dan Ward" <> wrote in message
news:...
> check out www.selftestsoftware.com for testing software thats as close to
> the real thing as you can get. Also, if you can get your hands on the W2K
> Resource Kit, it will give you good in-depth info that may prove useful on
> the 70-210 test. If you have little/no experience, you might take the
tests
> in the order recommended by MS (210, then 215, 21. Be advised that you
may
> see a fair amount of server (215) questions on the 210 test. I failed my
1st
> attempt at 210 for this reason -- use a combination of books.
> "Rick Sears" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > You really need to have some hands on experience for the upper level
> exams.
> > Most of the official MS training books come with a 180 day evaluation CD
> of
> > the software the book is about. With the price of Computer hardware
> falling
> > I would get two computers with the following specs.
> > (1) PC to use as a server.
> > 1 GHz or better
> > 256 MB ram (512 if you can afford)
> > 1 20GB
> > 1 CD any speed
> > 2 hard drives any size ( not required but you could use to practice
> creating
> > the various volume types)
> > 1 Ethernet card
> > 1 video card
> >
> > (1) PC to use as a workstation
> > 500 MHz or better
> > 128 MB ram (256 MB if you plan on loading XP)
> > 1 20 GB Hard Drive
> > 1 CD
> > 1 Ethernet Card
> > 1 Video Card
> >
> > other Items
> > 1 Ethernet crossover cable or 1 Ethernet hub with two patch cables
> >
> > I quickly looked on pricewatch.com and you can get all of this for under
> > 1000.00 dollars.
> >
> > I have been using the Measure Up test prep software and it seems to be
> very
> > good. It provides explanations to the questions and the locations to
look
> > for additional information.
> >
> > The order you listed the test in is what I think is the best order. I
say
> > that because Server builds on what you learn in workstation and Managing
> > networks builds on server and workstation.
> >
> > In addition to using the official MS books I would recommend Mike Myers
> > Passport books. They offer a great review for the test but I would
> recommend
> > you use them in combination with other sources.
> >
> > Hope this helps
> >
> > Rick
> >
> > "reders" <> wrote in message
> > news:017a01c369b3$0cfac790$...
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Can anybody offer any advice...
> > >
> > > Trying to get into IT but have had no hands on experience.
> > >
> > > Just passed A+ and N+ and now trying to study for 70.210,
> > > 215, 218.
> > >
> > > Is is possible to get through the microsoft exams without
> > > the pratical experience?
> > >
> > > Would anybody suggest what is the best order for taking
> > > the exams?
> > >
> > > Any thoughts on the quality of selftest testprep questions?
> > >
> > > Hope somebody can take the time to put me on the right
> > > track. Many thanks.
> >
> >
>
>