70-621 Pro: Upgrading your MCDST Certification to MCITP:EST Study Guide

[Qs]

Key Points

Study Time: One Month (Three Hour Daily Min)
Materials:
MS Press Book 70-620 - Link
MS Press Book 70-622 - Link
CBT Nuggets - Link
Mock Exam: MS Readiness Review Suite
Lab: Vista Ultimate as Virtual Machine
Exam: Part 1: 22 Questions, No Sims Part 2: 32 Questions, No Sims


Overview

First things first, 70-261 is a combination of two exams, the 70-620 and the 70-622. The exam is broken down in to two sections. The first section is 70-620 material, the second is 70-622 material.

Other points to note:-

• 70-621 counts as 70-620 in all Microsoft exam paths.

• MCDST is a pre-requisite! You won't gain any additional certs by passing 70-621 on it's own.

• As 70-621 is a combination exam, when you pass it you gain two new certifications - Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Support Technician and Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Vista

Important - If you fail either part of the exam, you fail the whole thing. There are no part-passes here people! You need to be sure you know your stuff for both halves.



Study Guide

1. I started by reading the 70-620 MS Press book as much as I can on a daily basis. Depending on the time I had available determined how much I could read and make notes on. My average daily reading time was three hours. Depending on previous experience you may need more/less than this. Keep the note-taking concise and to the point. Don't go writing out the whole book (like I did).

2. As soon as the 70-620 MS Press book was completed then I used the Readiness Review Suite for 70-620. I started by doing the questions by chapter, with the oldest first. This helped to reinforce the material that I learnt first. I then rinsed and repeated, going through the chapters until I was certain of even the most minute details. Whilst doing this I was playing around a lot with the Vista VM, which enabled me to learn the techniques required to do certain tasks etc.

3. Next I read through my notes and started watching the CBT Nugget videos (which I HIGHLY recommend doing as they're fantastic). After each video I read through the appropriate notes quickly to make sure it hadn't missed anything and to re-inforce some of the more picky details.

4. Once finished, I watched CBT Nuggets a second time (yes, I'm hardcore). I made additional notes for the information that I didn't know (holes in my knowledge).

5. Once done, I did a couple of goes through the Readiness Review Suite and then went and took the exam.

One thing to bear in mind... if you wish to further reinforce your knowledge then you may need to purchase and study the MS Press 70-622 book as well. I personally found there was a lot of overlap and so didn't really touch 70-622 but each to his/her own.

Hope this helps. Thanks to craigie for the layout, I'm far too lazy to change something that's awesome already

Any questions then please ask

Qs

[craigie]

Thanks for the guide mate!

[dazza786]

Cheers mate !

[Evilwheato]

Thanks for the guide- you might want to change the first book ;)
70-620

[Qs]

Originally Posted by Evilwheato

Thanks for the guide- you might want to change the first book ;)
70-620

Glad you like it. These study guides should be pinned IMO so that they're easy to find in the relevant sections.

Change the first book? Why?

Qs

[Modey]

Originally Posted by Qs

Glad you like it. These study guides should be pinned IMO so that they're easy to find in the relevant sections.

Change the first book? Why?

Qs

Probably because it says 621 on your link, to a 620 book. I think it's the correct book (because the 620 material is covered on the 621 right?), just looks wrong.

[Qs]

Originally Posted by Modey

Probably because it says 621 on your link, to a 620 book. I think it's the correct book (because the 620 material is covered on the 621 right?), just looks wrong.

It's obviously far too early in the morning, thanks for the heads up.

Qs

[ThomasMc]

Good work Qs, I've decided to do this one so this info is great

[dazza786]

Originally Posted by Qs

First things first, 70-261 is a combination of two exams, the 70-620 and the 70-622. The exam is broken down in to two sections. The first section is 70-620 material, the second is 70-722 material.

622/722 WHICH ONE!?!?

[Qs]

Originally Posted by dazza786

622/722 WHICH ONE!?!?

Goddamnit. Was I drunk when I did this? Mod change please!

Qs

[dazza786]

Originally Posted by Qs

Goddamnit. Was I drunk when I did this? Mod change please!

Qs

drugs...

got you back

[BosonMichael]

I'm somewhat partial to the Sybex 70-620 book.

[Qs]

Originally Posted by BosonMichael

I'm somewhat partial to the Sybex 70-620 book.

I'd list it up there, but I can't edit the original post now.

Plus one of the authors is way too awesome. It would put the Microsoft book to shame.

Qs

[BosonMichael]

Originally Posted by Qs

Plus one of the authors is way too awesome. It would put the Microsoft book to shame.

Josh is pretty freakin' cool, isn't he?

[Evilwheato]

Just got the 70-620 book (which they had to increase by £4 when I wanted to buy it) after passing my MCDST on Monday I'm taking a couple of days off then getting straight back to work

I'll likely get the Sybex as well, they're generally a good resource to have.