CERTguide's Frequently Asked Questions

1.01 What is an MCP/MCSE anyways?
1.02 Do I need to take any courses first?
1.03 Which exam is the easiest?
1.04 What order should I take the exams in?
1.05 Which electives are good to take?
1.06 How much do exams cost?
1.07 How do I schedule an exam?
1.08 If I fail, can I take it again?
1.09 What benefits do I get for passing an exam?
1.10 What is an adaptive exam?
 

2.01 When is the NT4.0 MCSE going to expire?
2.02 How many exams do I need to take to upgrade to Windows 2000 MCSE?
2.03 Are my electives valid towards the Windows 2000 MCSE?
2.04 What is this 70-240 Upgrade exam I keep hearing about?
2.05 Will there be a new logo for the Windows 2000 MCSE or should I still use the same one?
 

3.01 What books do you recommend?
3.02 I hear people talk about Braindumps, what are they?
3.03 What are Transcenders and are they really that good?
3.04 Where can I find some FREE practice exams?
3.05 Where can I find some FREE study guides?
3.06 Are boot camps any good?
 

4.01 Do I need a home network to practice on?
4.02 Can I dual boot 95/98 and Windows NT?
4.03 Should I use NetBEUI or TCP/IP?
4.04 Why can't I see my PC's in Network Neighborhood?
4.05 How can I install NT on a 13 Gig hard drive and make it one large NTFS partition?
 

5.01 Where can I find a job?
5.02 How much money should I ask for?
5.03 Should I wait until I get my MCSE or start looking sooner?
5.04 What other Certifications should I get?

1.01 What is an MCP/MCSE anyways?  

Microsoft Certified Professional and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
http://www.microsoft.com/trainingandservices/default.htm is Microsoft's official training site

1.02 Do I need to take any courses first?

You can take the exams whenever you feel you are ready.  Only trainers have to take a course before they can teach it. 

1.03 Which exam is the easiest?

It all depends on your experience.  If you work with NT workstation all day long, you may find that exam easier than the others.  Everyone differs as to which exam they find easier.

1.04 What order should I take the exams in?

My recommendation is to take Workstation, Server, Server in the Enterprise, Network Essentials then your electives.  The reason for this is that these exams build on each other.  Server contains most of what is in workstation along with Fault tolerance, some extra RAS and Netware.  Enterprise contains what is in Workstation and Server along with Trusts and domain models.  Network Essentials contains info that you will see while preparing for all of the above.

1.05 Which electives are good to take?

It really depends what you like and what you want to do.  If you like messaging, go with Exchange as an elective.  TCP/IP is always good as you will see it no matter where you go.  I took IIS as I love the Internet and websites.

1.06 How much do exams cost?

1.07 How do I schedule an exam?

Exams can be taken at an authorized Sylvan or Vue testing center.
Sylvan - Register Online or call 1-800-755-EXAM in USA or Canada.  Go here for all other numbers
Vue - http://www.vue.com/ms/ or call 800-837-8734 in USA or Canada  Go here for all other numbers

1.08 If I fail, can I take it again?

Yes, you may take a test until you pass but you will be charged the full price for each attempt.  If you fail an exam twice, there is a 14 day waiting period before each future attempt.

1.09 What benefits do I get for becoming an MCP or MCSE?

Cool things like a lapel pin, wallet card, new car, MCP magazine subscription.  Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.   Here is a list of the benefits with each certification.  
Actually I think they stopped giving the cars away :-)

1.10 What is an adaptive exam?

Adaptive exams are tailored to the person taking the exam.  Whether you answer a question right or wrong will determine your next question.  You must answer each question as you go as you will not be allowed to go back and review questions.  Here is Microsoft's link to more on different testing types:
http://www.microsoft.com/trainingandservices/default.htm?PageID=mcp&SubSite=examinfo&PageCall=tesinn

2.01 When is the NT4.0 MCSE going to expire?

The core exams (Workstation, Server and Enterprise) will be unavailable as of December 31, 2000.  Due to a recent policy change at Microsoft, the NT4.0 MCSE will not be expiring at this time.  

2.02 How many exams do I need to take to upgrade to Windows 2000 MCSE?

2.03 Are my electives valid towards the Windows 2000 MCSE?

If your NT4.0 electives are still current, they will count towards your Windows 2000 MCSE.

2.04 What is this 70-240 Upgrade exam I keep hearing about?

If you have completed Workstation, Server and Enterprise by Dec. 31, 2000, you will be eligible to take an upgrade exam.  You will have one chance to pass this exam.  The exam is free and you will receive a voucher for it if you have completed the 3 core exams.  If you pass this upgrade exam, you will not have to take the following exams (70-210, 70-215, 70-216, 70-217).  Keep in mind that the upgrade exam tests all of the information from the 4 exams that it replaces.
The upgrade exam is retired and is no longer available.

2.05 Will there be a new logo for the Windows 2000 MCSE or should I still use the same one?

No, you will not receive a different logo. When you have passed the new Windows 2000 track exams, you may use your updated transcript to document your expertise.

3.01 What books do you recommend?

Please take a look at our Book Review section here:  
http://www.certguide.com/books.htm

3.02 I hear people talk about Braindumps, what are they?

A Braindump is when someone takes a test and then dumps what they remember from the test and posts it on the web.  They are not a substitute for learning the material but can be useful to help you know which areas to study.  You can find them here:  http://www.braindumps.net/

3.03 What are Transcenders and are they really that good?

Transcenders are the standard in practice exams.  They are expensive but really are worth it.  The format and question type are very similar to the real exams.  You can get their demos here:  ftp://206.204.30.174/ or purchase the full version here:  http://transcender.com/

3.04 Where can I find some FREE practice exams?

CERTguide has compiled a list of sites that offer Free practice exams here:
http://www.CERTguide.com/tests.htm

3.05 Where can I find some FREE study guides?

http://www.CERTguide.com/guides.htm - our own study guides.
http://cramsession.brainbuzz.com/cramsession/ - Cramsession has study guides for almost everything.

3.06 Are boot camps any good?

Boot camps are good for people that have lots of experience and want to learn what they need to pass the exams.  They are not for the inexperienced.  They cram months of material in a one week camp.  You will come away certified but will not gain the expertise to back up your certification from a boot camp.

4.01 Do I need a home network to practice on?

It is highly recommended to have a minimum of two PC's networked together to help you with your studies.  One system should run NT Server and the other one can run Windows9.x.  Both systems will need network cards (NIC cards).  These systems should be connected either with a crossover cable or with a hub.  Running a crossover cable between 2 systems is the cheapest way but you will not be able to add a third system without going for the hub.

4.02 What do I need to do to dual boot 95/98 and Windows NT?

For starters, choose your file system carefully.  Windows NT can not recognize FAT32 locally.  Windows9.x can not recognize NTFS locally.

4.03 Should I use NetBEUI or TCP/IP?

While NetBEUI is lightweight, requires no configuration and is ideal for small or home networks, I recommend going with TCP/IP.  TCP/IP is something you will see a lot of in your career.  Any exposure you can get to setting it up and troubleshooting it will be very helpful.  If you are totally new to networking, you might want to set up your network with NetBEUI first to see that your systems can communicate, then when you know that NetBEUI works, switch over to IP.

4.04 Why can't I see my PC's in Network Neighborhood?

4.05 How can I install NT on a 13 Gig hard drive and make it one large NTFS partition?

When NT is installed, the drive is formatted as FAT.  Even if you choose NTFS it will install as FAT and then convert.  There is a limit to creating a 4 Gig partition during this setup.  The easiest way around this without using 3rd party utilities is to put the drive in another NT system as a slave, format the drive using NTFS, then put it back in the original system and install NT telling it to leave the current file system intact.  This method will let you get around the 4Gig limit.

5.01 Where can I find a job?

http://www.CERTguide.com/
http://www.headhunter.net/JobSeeker/Index.htm
http://monster.com/
http://net-temps.com/
http://www.careerpath.com/service/cp/EndUser/?srv=EndUser&act=Homepage
http://jobfind.com/
http://jobs.com/
 
5.02 How much money should I ask for?

Lots.  Actually, check out MCP magazine's salary survey for your geographical area and experience level:
http://www.mcpmag.com/members/00aug/fea1main.htm

5.03 Should I wait until I get my MCSE or start looking sooner?

You should actually start your job search right away.  Understand that you may have a hard time finding a job without experience so you must be willing to start out low.  Try for an entry level position at a help desk.  You will be able to work your way up the ladder quickly as you gain experience, confidence and pass your exams.

5.04 What other Certifications should I get?

A lot of people recommend getting A+ before going for the Microsoft certifications.  This is a good idea for those transferring into the computer industry as it gives them some good basic computer hardware skills.  After achieving your MCSE, going for your CCNA is a nice next step.

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