70-680 Training Kit

I have the 70-680 Configuring Windows 7 Training Kit, and there are some
discrepancies within the book and Microsoft's web site regarding System
Requirements. These discrepancies are on page xxiv, Page 5, and
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/system-requirements.

On page xxiv, Table 1 is supposed to list the minimum and recommended
hardware requirements for Windows 7, but Table 1 is subtitled, “Windows
Server 2008 Minimum Hardware Requirementsâ€. This caused me to check
Microsoft’s website for Windows 7 requirements, and I find yet a different
set of criteria.

The web site does not list the Minimum or Recommended requirements mentioned
on page xxiv, but rather the “here’s what it takes†(HWIT) section and the
“additional requirements to use certain featuresâ€. Unfortunately these don't
corresponded to the Minimum and Recommended columns in the book.

Between pages xxiv & 5 and the web site, there are five different references
for disk space:

1. Page xxiv states for disk space 40 GB minimum requirement, and 60 GB
recommended.
2. Page 5 for Starter and Basic says, “A 20GB (x64) or 16-GB (x86) hard disk
drive, traditional or Solid State Disk (SSD), with at least 15 GB of
available space.
3. Page 5 for Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise,
mentions, “A 40-GB hard disk drive (traditional or SSD) with at least 15 GB
of available space.â€
4. The web site’s HWIT section says “16 GB available hard disk space
(32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)â€.
5. The web site’s “additional requirements†section mentions an additional
15 GB for Windows XP Mode.

The requirements for graphics components are different between the book on
pages xxiv and 5 and the web site as well.

The ultimate question this raises is, what will the correct answer be
regarding system requirements on the test I am preparing for? The correct
answer as listed on the web site, or one of the answers presented in the book?

Is there an official Microsoft policy on what answer to expect on the test
when the MS Press book information is incorrect or inconsistent?

Regards,
William

 

The correct answer is always the "Microsoft Official" information posted on
microsoft.com

You should consider certification training books as simply tools to organize
the material into a cognizant approach to learning. This is also why it's
recommended to never study only *one* source to prepare for a certification
exam.

Don't make the mistake of presuming that an MSPress book is any more
authoritative (or correct) than any other publishers. Microsoft Press is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. MSPress hires authors to
write books. Authors are human. Authors, sometimes, fail to research
questions as simple as Minimum System Requirements. Missing that particular
point, though, does shed some concern on the Author and Technical Editor,
and might make me take everything else in the book with a grain of salt as
well.

Note: It looks to me like the Hardware Requirements Table 1 on p xxiv is the
Vista requirements with a Win2008 table title.

--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP:EA, MCDBA
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

My Blog: http://onsitechsolutions.spaces.live.com
Microsoft WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Lawrence.Garvin

 

Thank you Mr. Garvin!

 

Thank you for this posting. I have started to read this book with a view to
doing the 70-680 exam. I too am worried about the probable errors I have
found in the book. Is there a Microsoft web page giving details of any errors
and omissions in the book? The companion MS Press 70-620 book and the
included tests on the CD suffer badly from serious errors that should have
been picked up during editing.

Cheers and thanks
Bert

 

Errata for any MSPress book is normally posted on the MSPress website.

From the Overview section of the 70-680 book:

Note MORE INFO: FIND ADDITIONAL CONTENT ONLINE

As new or updated material that complements your book becomes available, it
will be posted on the Microsoft Press Online Windows Server and Client Web
site. The type of material you might find includes updates to book content,
articles, links to companion content, errata, sample chapters, and more.
This Web site will is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/books/online/serverclient and will be
updated periodically.

From that page click on "Search for Corrections", which will instruct you to
enter the book's 10-digit ISBN number as a search parameter on the Microsoft
Help & Support page -- and of course, nothing comes up -- in which case you
are encouraged to "...contact Microsoft Press Customer Support..." at
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training/format-books-support.aspx#tab1

--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP:EA, MCDBA, MCSA
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

My Blog: http://onsitechsolutions.spaces.live.com
Microsoft WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Lawrence.Garvin

 

I have put up an errata sheet at:

http://www.amazon.com/70-680-Errata...d_ef_rt_tft_tp?_encoding=UTF8&asin=0735627088

Until one is officially poste.

Good luck on your exam.