70-620: Microsoft Windows Vista, Configuring
July 28th, 2010 by Chapman70-620: Microsoft Windows Vista, Configuring
About These Notes
These are notes that I took while studying for the 70-620 exam. I've boiled them down to what you need to know when you take the exam.
I hope that these notes prove helpful to you and good luck on the exam!
General Advice
This is an easy exam. In fact, it's a laughably-easy exam if you have a lot of Windows experience and certifications. If you don't, you still shouldn't have much problem at all. I can't imagine someone failing if they read a good book and study my notes here.
I used the Sybex study guide to study for this exam. It did the job (again, the exam is easy), though I found that it covered a lot of material that the exam doesn't cover. Those topics end up being covered in the 70-622 exam (Vista, Enterprise Support). If you intend on taking 70-622 next, then the Sybex guide practically kills two birds with one stone. If, on the other hand, you don't intend on taking 70-622 next, you might be better off with the Microsoft study guide, which appears to better-address the 70-620 and not much more. Both are very good and recommended guides; pick the one that better suits your plans for after 70-620.
This exam is an easy one, but you shouldn't take it too lightly. My main pieces of advice are:
See if Microsoft is offering their "Second Shot" (free re-take) promotion and take advantage of it (even if you think that you'll pass. There's no reason not to, since you can use it more than once. You must sign up with Microsoft and use the special promotion code when scheduling your first sitting in order to be eligible to re-take it free (should you fail).
Consider taking your own notes while studying. Writing things down helps the memorization process. Besides, it's possible that a topic that I know well and didn't think to include is one that you may not be so strong in.
Print these notes out and carry them with you (along with your own notes) on the day of the exam. Go over them on breaks, in the car and, most importantly, immediately before walking into the exam room (leave them outside, of course). For the most part, I've designed them to be succint and memorizable.
Bring a pen with you and, should you fail the exam, as soon as you leave the testing center, write down (on the back of the printout or paper that you brought with you) everything from the exam that you can remember, especially questions and answers that you weren't sure of. Spend a good 15-30 minutes. You won't recall much even a few hours later, unless you have a better memory than I do. It really, really helps if you made good use of the "Select for Review" checkboxes while taking the test, since it means that all of the questions and answers that you weren't sure of are the freshest things in your mind when you leave the testing center. Use everything that you wrote down as the basis for your re-take studying.
Exam Format
Format: Multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, hotspot, etc.
Questions: 64
Time Limit: 210 minutes (+30 minutes for comments and reading the pre-exam disclaimers)
Passing score: 700
