MCTS 70-620

I guys - it's been over a year since getting my MSDST. I am now working on
the MCTS and have the Press Book. I'm only on Chapter 4, but am getting 78%
on the Certification mode (45 questions) on the practice software. How long
do you think it takes to get aquantained with Vista? I don't use it in every
day as I use XP at work and at home.

The boss let me have a laptop with Vista Business on it, but now need Vista
Ultimate in order to practice other things. Just wondering how long I should
take before I go ahead and take the REAL test. Any info would be
appreciated. Thanks.

 

At least until you finish the book!

You're getting 78% on the test exams and you're only on Chapter FOUR!?

Just Keep Reading!!

The differences between Vista Business and Vista Ultimate aren't significant
enough to worry about getting an actual installed copy of Ultimate if you
have a working copy of Business.

To refresh what you should have retained from Chapter 1 or 2...
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx

Ultimate contains (not in Business):
- Media Center
- DVD Maker
- Movie Maker
- Extra Games
- Bitlocker

With the exception of Bitlocker, I wouldn't expect any of the entertainment
or multimedia stuff to be on the the cert exams (except possibly on the
MCITP: Consumer Support Technician exam, where 50% of that works going to be
involved in multimedia applications).

At least until you finish the book and can get 80% on the practice exams.




--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP(x2), MCTS(x5), MCP(x7), MCBMSP
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Lawrence.Garvin

 

Then why do they emphasize upgrading to Ultimate in the 70-620 Press Book?
Michael - want to comment on this. You mentioned Business "wasn't enough".

Hmm...

 

<cynicism mode=on>
Because the retail price for Ultimate is $319 and Business is $299, and they
want the extra $20 of revenue.
</cynicism>

Actually, I believe, because it's important to understand how the Upgrade
Anytime technology works, since it's new to Vista, and the only way to do
that is to actually *do* an upgrade.

(Actually, given the fact that there's only $20 difference between Business
and Ultimate, and Business doesn't have Bitlocker -- why would anybody
actually buy Business?!?)



--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP(x2), MCTS(x5), MCP(x7), MCBMSP
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Lawrence.Garvin

 

I didn't "purchase" business. My boss was kind enough to "give" me business
so that I could start into the book. If I had known, prior to purchasing the
Press Book that I needed Ultimate, I would have asked for that. Microsoft
just wants to squeeze every penny out of you while you study for a
cert....."now let's upgrade from Ultimate to Windows 7 in order to progress
to chapter 5."

Yes, I am getting a 78% on the practice tests in certification mode...and
YES, I'm only on chapter 4. Most of Vista is nothing more than putting XP
into a blender and letting the pieces settle.

 

Never said you did. I was just making a side comment on why (for $20 a pop
retail -- which is significantly less in volume licensing scenarios),
anybody wouldn't opt for Ultimate -- if at least to get BitLocker -- if not
DVD authoring capabilites.

Jo... don't stress out... go back and reread Chapter ONE, where that book
points out that all installations of VISTA have a 30-day activation grace
period...

So... dig out the Vista DVD, "upgrade" to Ultimate, play with Ultimate for
30 days until your grace-period expires, and then strip the machine and
reinstall Business from scratch (which will also be GOOD practice).

Hey! That was a COMPLIMENT! The fact that you're scoring that well and not
even halfway through the book is a GOOD THING.

Yeppp!!!!


--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP(x2), MCTS(x5), MCP(x7), MCBMSP
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Lawrence.Garvin

 

I'm not so sure Microsoft is trying to squeeze every penny out of us while
we study for a cert. They let you download a free VHD of Vista Ultimate
and run it on a virtual machine. You could use that to practice the
features included in the Ultimate version.

 

My only comment on that....

If I was going to download a VHD to run in a virtual machine, there's not
much point in it being any higher of an edition than Home Basic.

With no video/graphics capabilities, no USB, and marginal disk performance
in a desktop environment, trying to run Vista Ultimate in a desktop VM is an
exercise in futility. If you need to learn those features, then you need to
*use* those features, and using them in a VM with an emulated Trio3 chipset
and 4MB Video Ram ain't gonna do it.

In fact, now that I think about it -- by definition a Virtual Machine
environment doesn't even meet the minimum installation requirements for
Vista!


--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP(x2), MCTS(x5), MCP(x7), MCBMSP
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Lawrence.Garvin