Absolutely stumped by this ridiculous exam

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i have a question (one of many) on this mock exam from computeach (windows 2000 server) and i just can't see that any of the answers are correct. It would be much appreciated if i run it past someone who knows more than me, if only just to see if i am being stupid. If anyone is interested in helping out someone whos about to pull their hair out i would be most grateful. the question reads as follows:

You attempt to install Windows 2000 server on a computer that currently has no operating system installed. The computers configuraton includes a pentium 166Mhz CPU, 128MB of RAM, an 800MB hard disk and a 24x speed CD-ROM drive without the DVD capability. The hard disk and the CD-ROM drive are connected to the same IDE controller. You start the installation from the CD-ROM drive, but the installation fails and you receive an error message.

Which of the following is the most likely reason for the installation failure?(select the best choice)

A.RAM Does not meet min reqs.
B.CPU Does not meet min reqs.
C.The hard disk has been formatted with the FAT16 file system.
D.CD-ROM does not meet min reqs.
E.Windows 2000 does not support IDE CD-ROM drives
F.Windows 2000 does not support a hard disk and a CD-ROM drive that are connected to the same IDE controller

According to Microsofts Website(and you would have thought they'd know) the minimum reqs for windows 2000 server are as follows:

Processor: 133 MHz or faster Pentium-compatible processor; supports up to four CPUs on one machine

Memory: 128 MB of RAM (256 MB recommended); 4 GB maximum

Hard Disk: 2 GB hard disk with 1 GB available hard-disk space; additional available hard-disk space is required if you are installing over a network

Drive: CD-ROM or DVD drive

The only requirement which the test question does not meet is the hard disk space which is not an option from the answers.

I'm also pretty sure that windows 2000 supports fat16 (albeit not reccommended), which it would also choose automatically as the partition and indeed the disk is less than 2GB in size

Which leaves options E and F which both sound ridiculous to me

Please can somebody shed some light on this dire situation

 

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You're right in saying that the real reason it would fail would be a ridiculously small HDD (or HDD partition). It's a little unusual to put a hard drive and a CD-ROM on the same IDE controller. The data transfer rate on a CD-ROM is slower than on an ATA HDD so it tends to slow hard drive transfer rates if a CD is on the same controller. Short of finding the answer on the Internet or from another guru, I'd configure a lab machine to meet the specifications of the test question and try to install 2000 Server just to see what would happen. Just for kicks, I'd use a hard drive that met the requirements to see if having both the HDD and the CD-ROM on the same controller made a difference.

The only other thing I can think of is that you're running the absolute minimum of RAM. While Server is supposed to install and run on a machine running 128 MB RAM, that's no guarentee that in a pinch, the install won't just puke on you because it would really like 256 MB.

The last thing you need to consider is that the test question was written poorly. Is there anyone you can check with at Computeach that can explain the answer and give you the source of where their question comes from? Whenever I write a test bank for a class or text, I'm required to site the source including page number so that my question structure and answer can be verified as accurate. Just a thought.

 

Hi, I've come across this one, and agree it is a really abstract question!

The conclusion that I came to was a drive formatted with FAT16, as the large cluster size wouldn't give enough space to install server on.

Not 100% on this one, but that was my best guess, hope that helps....

 

Hmmm. I think you're on to something, Cartman. Have a look at this.

 

Someone on a budget or just enjoys watching W2K take 25 mins to boot up!!

 

Someone writing ridiculous and unrealistic exam questions.

 

thanks for all the help i've had so far - much appreciated. I guess you can all see my point now about getting 90% when most of the questions are like that! you would have hoped that with such a high pass rate it would have been absolutely black and white. Anyway i'm gonna give them a call and see if i can get hold of a course tutor

thanks again

 

Unfortunately, the real MS exam questions also can be real brain twisters. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

 

Yeah, first of all you've shown that you know the minimum requirements, therefore you have discounted certain answers.

Then your left with no apparent possible answer.

But this question is actually incoprorates your knowledge of clusters, and the difference between NTFS and FAT.

Because Fat uses bigger cluster sizes, it doesn't make efficient use of the hard disk space.So you can write more files to 800MB of NTFS volume than you can to 800MB FAT partition.

Having said that, NTFS does need more space to set itself up.

Have to admit that these questions are excellent for making sure you know your stuff (this particular q drove me mad for a couple of days ), but when you finally get the right answer, it's a feeling of accomplishment.

90% for newbies ridiculous though

See page 269 of your Server book Prestd.

 

Cheers everyone - a big help

Even so i don't recall ever covering cluster sizes in any of the supplied material.

So how many attempts have you had at this exam now flex? ive had four and ive managed to push my percentage up to 73 -still way off though. although i read in some of the unoffcial computeach forums that some people are still struggling after their 10th exam!!

Also I tried to contact one of the elusve course tutors today with no luck
so i guess ill just keep on ploughing through.

you guys looked like you really enjoyed getting stuck in to that, which is good because theres plenty more where that came from!!

 

I have sent my exams off only once.I got 69% on the server, and 58% on pro I think.Can't remember as it was a while ago.

I'm not going to bother sending them until I am sure I have at least 90% score.
My papers got lost in the post last time (apparently :hhhmmm ) and well, it took forever to sort out.
What's the point in sending them in, waiting two weeks for them to return, if I know I haven't passed.Seems a pointless exercise.I know I have done well on my q's so far, but well, well, isn't good enough for them.90%, know it like the bottom of a beer jug is the only way of passing.

I hardly read the unofficial forums anymore, as many people on them just moan because they can't be bothered studying.However some valid points are raised.
The sad thing is that people like me, Cartman, and yourself have got off our ar$es and decided to work hard in order to achieve something and better ourselves.Yet we're being set near impossible tasks before we've even been incentre and had some tutoring.

Some people might think I'm whinging, well shoot me , but I just think this is a little unjust