hi

Can you tell what the best books are to take the win2k/ 2000 server or xp/2003 server exam are?

Thanks in advance
Sunny

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This is one of the most often asked questions. It's somewhat difficult to answer objectively. I have used ExamCram, Sybex and MS Press and others. I seldom buy more than one book for a particular exam however. So I cannot really say which one is the best, I can only say I read this book and it was good.

The biggest piece of advice I have to offer is to study from a variety of sources. Yes, you will choose a book to provide the bulk of information on the subject you are learning. This will also act as an outline for your studies, guiding you through from one topic to another.

Where people encounter difficulty is when they finish the book, they assume they are ready for the test. This is where you should be reviewing the exam description and course descriptions for the exam you are studying for. For topics that are not crystal clear from the book or not covered at all, dig down and do some research. Go to the vendor site for the exam you are taking. They typically have a lot of free resources to help you with their product. Third party sites that support or add-on to that vendors product likely also have white papers and knowledge base articles.

I have seldom hear someone totally bash a particular book. In my experience there has only been 1 that I could say I didn't like. Pretty much try to examine serveral books first hand at the book store. Look at the index for the logical structure. Flip to the middle of the book and read the material. Do you like the way the author communicates? Look for additional materials (trial version of the product you are studying, practice exams, ect.) Good luck!

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I don't know about for taking the actual exam but for learning I'm using the MS press upgrade book, MS newsgroups, ms webcast and technet. I'm really enjoying the MS book because it has a lot of questions and labs. I haven't used sybex or examcrams since my core 2000 exams but they were fairly good (especailly the 217 examcram.) I agree with jeff on looking through books at a book store. I purchased a SQL admin book from amazon for the purpose of learning it for my job and I couldn't retain anything thing that I read from it due to the authors writing style.

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As JB and ClintonN have mentioned, I think the key is not so much "what is the best study guide" as opposed to "what is the best supplemental material" that will reinforce the concepts that are only introduced in their brevity within the study guides.

As for Win2k, I liked Minasi's Mastering Windows 2000 Server. I used that with the W2k Reference Kit Online, Microsoft white papers, some newsgroups and of course a lot of playing in the lab.

My experiences with WS2k3's design exams yield about the same thinking as 2k. Look for materials centered around the objectives listed on the exam and reinforce them as needed.

Cheers,
TB

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