The new Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) credential proves that you have the skills to successfully support end users and successfully troubleshoot desktop environments running on Windows XP. MCDST candidates must pass two core exams (70-271 and 70-272). The 70-271 exam, when combined with the 70-272 (the application exam for desktop support technicians), validates that a candidate can successfully answer (or escalate) all calls from end users. Co-written by best-selling author Dan Balter, the MCDST 70-271 Exam Cram 2 gives readers the essential information they need to know to pass this exam, focusing on exactly what they need to know. This book can be used as a sole study guide for those experienced with Windows XP or it is the perfect supplement guide for more comprehensive training materials, instructor-led classes, and/or computer-based training.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 11 Ratings

Good, but problematic.... - 2006-09-23
Reviewer Rating:
I just passed my 70-271 exam and I do believe this book was an important factor in my score. However this book is problematic.

1.) The MeasureUp practice exam questions are 50 of the same questions found in the Microsoft Press book for the same exam. But that book has 261 more questions than this one.
2.) The questions in the book are far more difficult than necessary and many are more appropriate for the MCSA/MCSE exam 70-270.
3.) There are too many typographic errors to name. The major ones have been mentioned by other reviewers.
4.) There is no information on service pack 2.

I intend on using my MCDST credentials as an elective exam for the MCSA, so I appreciate the difficulty of the questions but by attempting to attain an 85% to 90% on the practice exams in the back of this book I had thoroughly convinced myself that I would fail the test and was very close to rescheduling it. I did not, and I passed my test with more than 200 point over the minimum score.

To this books credit I have found the information very useful in my job. I have received several calls from users with processor affinity problems or with 16 bit program errors that I know how to solve immediately because of the high standards set by the questions in this book. I am, therefore, very satisfied with my purchase.

Edit to original review: Having achieved my MCDST credentials and completed my MCSE Security I believe that what I have written concerning this book is correct. Many of the questions in the book are much better suited for the MCSA/MCSE track. I found the extra knowledge useful, but the objective should be to help you prepare for the 70-271 NOT to stress you out with topics you will never see covered on the exam.

Great book, but I never took the cert test. - 2009-11-09
Reviewer Rating:
XP is to old now to cert in, but a great book for those who still use it and want to learn about it.

Certification Ready - 2008-09-05
Reviewer Rating:
This book was very helpful in passing my Microsoft 70-271 exam. It provided much relevant material from a users standpoint that prepared me for my certification. It also is a good Book to keep around as a reference.

Useful if you have lots of real world experience - 2008-08-28
Reviewer Rating:
For those of us looking to fill in our varied real-life technical support experience with some actual honest-to-goodness certifications, this book is a useful cram. I was looking for more of the experience of the test, and I found the difficulty of the questions to be appropriately challenging. I'm pleased to find that they are actually geared towards a higher level exam, since that is my ultimate goal. I also skimmed the book a lot, and did not even try to read it chapter by chapter (I don't study for exams that way). I ended up absorbing a lot more information from this book than I thought I would have, and I must confess I'm extremely desensitized to spelling mistakes in computer software, and didn't notice them in this book. I certainly didn't come across anything that would have stopped me from picking up the sense of the information offered. I definitely picked up new things from this book that I didn't know before, and I appreciated that. Learning more about the innards of Windows XP is never a bad thing, and at least one piece of information I was able to immediately use at work.

Pretty Good - 2007-05-08
Reviewer Rating:
I passed the test so I guess that means the book worked. It was actually supplemental material. My first choice is always Sybex. This is a decent book, it went too much into the Remote Installation for what I had on the test but the test may be different for you.

Browse Similar Topics

Top Level Categories:
Certification

Sub-Categories:
Certification > Microsoft