Failed 70-685 for the second time.

Discussion in 'Windows 7 / 8 /10 Client Exams' started by Pseudonym, Jan 28, 2016.

  1. Pseudonym

    Pseudonym Kilobyte Poster

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    Scored 520 both times.

    I can't quite figure out what's going wrong to be honest. I feel like I understand the concepts as well as any other exam I've done previously. I've labbed more on this than any other.

    There are definitely a few questions with extremely questionable wording, that lack the specificity to give a definitive answer. A couple made me extremely angry, actually. There were a few in there that aren't covered in the MS press book too.

    I did feel on quite a few that maybe i didn't understand 100%, so they were half guesses, so there's still work to be done but I really felt like my score would at least improve. That's what's gotten me down the most. The first exam I got over 70% in every area, but bombed in one and it dragged my whole score down. The second time it was my strongest area and I messed up a couple of others.

    Any advice from people who've specifically done this exam, or other notorious MS exams like server 2003 would be highly appreciated.
     
  2. SimonD
    Honorary Member

    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    So I have to ask, have you tried using the CBTNuggets videos for this, there are two courses showing up for 70-685 and 70-686 which may be worth investing for a month (or a free 7 day eval).

    https://www.cbtnuggets.com/search?q=70-685
     
    Certifications: CNA | CNE | CCNA | MCP | MCP+I | MCSE NT4 | MCSA 2003 | Security+ | MCSA:S 2003 | MCSE:S 2003 | MCTS:SCCM 2007 | MCTS:Win 7 | MCITP:EDA7 | MCITP:SA | MCITP:EA | MCTS:Hyper-V | VCP 4 | ITIL v3 Foundation | VCP 5 DCV | VCP 5 Cloud | VCP6 NV | VCP6 DCV | VCAP 5.5 DCA
  3. RichyV

    RichyV Megabyte Poster

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    +1 for vids.
    No way would I have passed without CBT/Trainsignal (or whatever they are now...).
    Certainly worth the money.

    Sounds like you *may* have overly-invested in the area you did badly on the first time around? How long did you re-study between exams?
    I was quite unhappy with the way some of the 685 Q's were put, if I'm being honest. Are they still using the 'scenario-based' Q's for this one..?
     
    Certifications: B.Sc.(Hons), MBCS. MCP (271,272), MCDST, MCTS (680), MCITP:EDST7, MCSA:WIN7, MCPS, MCNPS
    WIP: 70-686, then onto MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure via MCSA: Server 2012...
  4. Pseudonym

    Pseudonym Kilobyte Poster

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    I'm currently in the process of watching the videos. I'm only a few in but there's relatively little information in here that I didn't already know, so far anyway. It might get me a few more marks potentially though, so it is beneficial. For instance the 'getmac' command isn't mentioned anywhere in the press book.

    I took 2 weeks between the exams and studied heavily. I honestly know the majority of the book like the back of my hand. I was unsure with a few things to do with manually configuring directaccess, BUT I find that the questions don't even tend to go into that much depth. And yes, the questions are scenario based mostly. I just take issue with the fact that microsoft knows 100% that some questions have more than one viable answer. I'm hoping that CBT nuggets might address which is the "correct" answer in some of the exam scenarios, cause the press book certainly didn't.

    To reiterate though, I think if I understood a few concepts more soundly I could scrape a pass. Like remote administration questions got me a couple of times.
     
  5. RichyV

    RichyV Megabyte Poster

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    You are happy, then, that after watching a vid section you are able to completely recreate what was demo'd?
    It's the only way to know you've grasped all the concepts fully.
    And yes, the 685 is another of MS's 'thinking outside the box' exams, so the scenario based questions are not so easily seen as black and white at first glance.
    How long are the exam sessions taking - anywhere near the full alloted time? Are you finishinig very early or running out of time..?
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2016
    Certifications: B.Sc.(Hons), MBCS. MCP (271,272), MCDST, MCTS (680), MCITP:EDST7, MCSA:WIN7, MCPS, MCNPS
    WIP: 70-686, then onto MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure via MCSA: Server 2012...
  6. Pseudonym

    Pseudonym Kilobyte Poster

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    Yeah, I've labbed everything numerous times, and so far the videos have been less in depth.

    Both times I've taken about 2 hours out of the 2 and a half. I got stressed towards the end on both and just wanted it to be over so I rushed through the last 8 questions.(the interactive bit) I actually found the questions to be more simplistic on those funnily enough even though there was more background information. I don't know whether I'm overthinking the questions and trying to apply too much real life logic to the situations, maybe?

    I also found that the questions contradicted themselves sometimes. It said the solution must adhere to the corporate security policy, but then said you must do the exact opposite of one of the policies. How would you do this? It literally made no sense.
     

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