* Use the process below to take the workstation test first. This lays a good basis for the server test. (and besides, the Transcenders in my experience are closer to the real thing ... for workstation than the Transcender server test).
* Read the Sybex book, and answered the questiosn without looking in the back and then graded myself (I borrowed this from grade school).
* Found that the Mastering Computers "pretests" didn't work for me
- the software crashed ... (so much for a one day class for $200.00! they get detention!)
* Borrowed the Genuine Micro Squish books for 803 and 922. I read the text beneath the cool powerpoint slides, because I didn't go to class so I didn't have an instructor to tell me stuff. I had to do this old fashioned thing called "read". (borrowed this from college).
* Went through the Transcender and then checked out the answers on each question I missed. For the books I had, I found 90% of the information. (once again, that fancy Computer Science Bachelors's degree paid off here ...)
* I wrote out an explanatory statement about each transcender question - like "the server manager is used for setting X type of alerts" - something that was a salient characteristic of each question and the possible answers provided. (see comment on 4)
* I found that the Sybex book is weak - not enough depth for me. I don't think that if you just know the "Yes/No" answers in thier book you would get a high score.
* I found the Micro Squish ATEC class book was excellant - 90% to 92% of the answers were in it. Bribe someone.
* Know everything you can possibly know COLD - because RAS is not documented well enough to pass all the possible permutations of 9 to 10 questions on it that I had (62% in this catagory).
* Kinestetic cognition - (fancy way of saying "do the stuff" - my wife is a teacher) is HIGHLY VALUABLE. For example there was a question on 'what happens if you attempt to delete your boot partition with disk administrator'. Well, I did this and to this day I can hear the bell and see the message on the screen. What message? Try it!
* One needs understand the Transcender answer - not just memorize the answer - and why the other answers are wrong. With any luck, memorization will get you a passing score on the Workstation test, but not the server test. In the real test I took there were only a few questions that closely mimiced/paralleled the Transcender. The theme and intent of Tscender Q's is there, but the Workstation TS is much closer.
* The questions I experienced, in no particular order. I don't provide answers for most of these - rather you should understnat what Micro Squish is asking about. And besides - if you become an MCSE by just reading you will end up getting fired later. TO QUOTE ALL OF THOSE FANCY COMPUTER SCIENCE BOOKS IN COLLEGE .. "the exercise is left up to the reader!"
you have win95 clients dialing into your network which use 3rd party SW that has DES encryption. Which security level do you check?
RAS, RAS and more RAS. Just plain RAS. UGH!!!
Your clients have netbeui (first) and ip protocols for dial in as well as your server. They cannot use a winsock application. what might be the problem? ( I picked "configure SLIP" because this was the closest answer, and it was what the Transcender said.).
Netware. You have installed the GSNW. what is next? (once GSNW is on the machine, what do you need to do on the netware server to 'enable' it? What do you need to do on the NT machine to setup shares/resources ?)
Your network has DOS and WFW PC's using Netware client to get to a netware system. you setup an NT server with the SQL server. what needs to be on the server for clients to "see" the NT machine?
What needs to be on the server for clients using netware so that they can use an application that uses netbios?
A detailed question on the steps to regenerate a stripe set with parity when a disk fails. very detailed. far to detailed ( I complained. ) You better know the steps well. borrow some PC's and do this ... (those people needed to upgrade thier operating systems anyway
- so what if you wiped out their HD ... )
Your 40 NT stations are in a workgroup and you setup a PDC with a domain name the same as the work group. What needs to happen on the server and the stations so they can become members of the domain?
You suspect that your server is experiencing excessive paging. Which perf monitor counter do you monitor?
NT backup: you want to make a safe copy of the windows NT registry while the system is up and running - what do you use?
NT backup: you have 10 95 clients and two servers. your backup is finishing late in the morning. how do you make this more efficent (where do you place a second tape drive). (This questions was almost identical to a Transcender question.)
Your network has one central site and four remote sites. They use netbios at the remote sites and ip to connect the five sites. 90% of the clients use local resources and 10% of the time they use remote resources. How can thier NT workstation systems be configured so they can best use the network
You have a DOS PC and you want to install NT server. the cd rom drivers are functioning and the cd is supported. what ways (check all)
can you use to install nt? (wnnt from the cd and use the setup disks)
While using the setup disks, NT does not recognize your cd rom but it is listed in the HCL. how do get the setup routine to use the cd - what do you need to do ("scan for specify the device manually" or "scan for devices").
So and so is a member of the sales group and kissed booty so they got promoted to the managers department. they can't see a directory they are supposed to be able to see. you look at the two graphics - one lists group membership for so and so, the other has the perm's of the directory. through careful observation you should be able to detect that the sales group has no access to a directory. Come on ... this one was right off the CD! (OK, I am getting a little squirly right now .. just to much brain dumping going on here...)
Copy versus move in the same ntfs filesystem (or volume or directory ... ) What happens to the attributes?
You obliderate a boot sector virus from your boot disk. Right along with the virus went the ntldr program. What do you do to fix this problem?
FAT versus NTFS - the great controversy! (LFN and attrib's)
Replication - based on the graphic they show, what goes where in what directory from the source server to the target server? (you need to do some replication (stop snickering) to get this question.)
Something about setting up 'server alert' - do you have to setup the alert on each server, or can you do it in on the PDC and assume the other BDC;sor member servers get updated? (brain getting fuzzy right now... )
If you setup 10 perf mon alerts from 5 servers and your system is slow, what knuckleheaded thing can you do to improve response time (like duh ... I decided that I should increase the interval .. which happens to be right! then again, I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth because this was almost word for word from a Transcender question).
Mandatory profiles - what happens to the user when they login and the PDC is down - which profile to they get if any?
Setting up a home directory for so and so because they want to login anywhere and be able to get to thier stuff.
Setting up a profile - on a system other than the PDC - and the system is not available at login time, what happens?
You have some disks that have X amount of space each. how much free space do you have if you setup a stripe set with parity?
your clients are using the netware DOS software and can't see your brand spankin new NT box that cost you a gazillion dollars. Your boss is breathing on your neck so heavily that the starch in your shirt is wilting. What dialog box do you look in to diagnose the problem? (hint - your network is in the wrong 'frame' of mind ... )
You have an IP only two segment network. How do you setup the IP addresses on the NT server which you are going to use as a router so that the two networks can talk to oneanother (hmmm ... do I need the same address on each adapter, or different addresses, or subnet masks, or what).
Since you are a control freak you manage your IP network by hand. What do you need to set up minimally in the IP propetries for your network to function?
Since you have found that managing your IP network by hand has driven you into therapy, you decide to implement DHCP. What IP based parameterscan you setup from your DHCP server (this was a checkbox answer. options were default ftp, web, and mailhost; the type of netbios name resolution; and the default gateway).
You have seent the light. You want to monitor IP traffic. What needs to be setup on the NT server so you can smiply manage your network protocol (oops) - so you can see IP based statistics in the perf monitor?
You have installed a new HD. What (nit picky) option do you need to do from the Disk Admin menu so that ... YOUR PARTITION INFORMATION IS COMMITTED to disk (now that is a glaring answer ... I thought that I said I would not do that .. OH WELL!)
There was a few fairly complex question on X (printer) managment that required an indept knowledge of local / global groups.. For example - printers - You have a tech department that wants to manage printers on all of your servers, what are the various setps involved in setting up local, global groups? This Q was almost the same as the Transcender Q.
You want to optimize the response time of the foreground application you are using on this NT server. What do you need to do (the answers were text descriptions - use X and push the Y button and pick the Z option).
I had about 9 questions on RAS, which I scored a 62% in. So, based on this, I suggest doing everything possible that you can in order to see how RAS works. Read as much as you can.
Netware was fairly straightforward. Understanding what the acronyms mean
- NWLink, CSNW, GSNW, FPNW, DSMW, IPX, etc. and how they are used. I had three questiosn with the same answer "nwlink" - things like "your client needs X to do Y".
Disk management was a bit nit picky. One needs to understand how Disk administrator works, and the math involved in calculating free space and usable space. One also needs to have used the menu's and setup a few stripe sets - so ... with the price of disk drives dropping, get out there and buy some more HD's and try out this stuff (Just Kidding ... )
User management - there were a few questions on this. If you have the user management related questions from the Transcender workstation test, you will not even review these questions. I did, just to make sure, but then I don't want to spend $100.00 twice for a test ... Micro Squish is interested in you knowing what program does what - what server manager does, what user manager for domains does, etc. They are also interested if you know what button on what program does what. So - you better use the stuff!
Local and global groups are important in the sense that the few questions I got were quite involved (32, above). There is a single Transcender question on setting up printers management - and the steps involved - so you need to understand this in depth. These few questions do not play around.