Kit requirements

Discussion in 'MCDST' started by dv-ant, Jan 8, 2010.

  1. dv-ant

    dv-ant Bit Poster

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    Hiya all

    Was wondering if someone could let me know what type of hardware a person requires for studying the MCDST
    All I have is a laptop with 80GB HD and 1.66 dual core processor and 2GB RAM
    I keep reading about people having all this kit in their personal labs at home and its freaking me out thinking
    that I might not have the rescourses to study for the exams :(
    I can upgarde my laptop or even get a more powerful desktop if need be

    cheers
     
  2. crazy horse

    crazy horse Byte Poster

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    Hi DV-Ant,

    Yes the laptop you have is enough to use to study the MCDST. Are you looking at using this as your main computer as well as for study? If so, my advice would be to get MS Virtual PC and create a Win XP virtual machine (obviously you will need a XP pro license and media). This will enable you to practice the installation and initial configuration chapter.

    If its not your main PC then yeah go nuts with it. The laptop far exceeds the minimum spec for XP and suitable for the MCDST cert.

    Hope this helps,
    Crazy Horse
     
  3. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

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    This would boil down to personal preference as you don't necessarily need to splash out on hardware for the MCDST cert.

    Judging from the spec of your laptop you can install MS VirtualPC and use it to carry out lab practices. However, running too many VM's on your laptop would slow the laptop down considerably. Best wishes and go with whichever you feel comfortable as long as you learn and get some hands on practical experience.
     
    Certifications: MCSE: 2003, MCSA: 2003 Messaging, MCP, HNC BIT, ITIL Fdn V3, SDI Fdn, VCP 4 & VCP 5
    WIP: MCTS:70-236, PowerShell
  4. dv-ant

    dv-ant Bit Poster

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    thanks for the info guys - I will be using the laptop for my studies only so thats eased my worries
    will definately look into MS Virtual PC

    Cheers :thumbleft
     
  5. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    I agree with the above - its basic XP stuff and basic Office - playing around is sufficient so one VM at a time would probably be OK in most circumstances.

    Thinking back, I set up a VM for the MCDST and can't actually remember using it all that often - just using XP normally was sufficient from what I remember.
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293

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