<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Do not use this book as a study guide for the MCSA
Review: ***Some errors not included in the Errata***
1. Page 82. "Reseal" should be "Reset"2. Page 15. 2nd paragraph. Under "Clean Install or Upgrade?". The book states that the "only operating systems that can be upgraded to Windows XP Professional are Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 3.51 or 4, and Windows 2000 Professional." Not to be rude. But you might want to get the author of that statement in sync with the author of the following statement from page 106. Page 106. 1st paragraph. Under "Client Upgrade Paths and Requirements". The book now indicates that "Only the following operating systems can be directly upgraded to Windows XP Professional: Windows 98 (all releases), Windows Me, Windows NT Workstation 4, and Windows 2000 Professional". OK. I ask you, "What happened to Windows 3.51 from page 15"? Did it get up on all fours and walk out? Another one on Page 106. "There is no supported direct upgrade path for Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows NT 3.51, or any version of NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 Server." Look at the book. One paragraph above it says "NT 4.0 Workstation is supported". Now one paragraph below it says that "any version of NT 4 is "...(not) supported". Look at the book. On page 15 the book indicates that Windows 3.51 is supported. On page 106 you retract that statement and now say it's not supported. This book is inconsistent and discrepant. Perhaps the book is fraudulent, deceitful, and fallacious.
Rating:
Summary: Do not use this book as a study guide for the MCSA
Review: Do not buy this book. Check the eratta sheet first. It's almost as long as the book. I don't know which book you should buy, but I feel that you will be sorely disappointed if you purchase this one. I have not taken this exam yet, so please don't discount my post as the tantrums of a jilted test taker or competing author.
Clearly they cut and pasted most of the content of this book from their Windows 2000 Pro study guide. How do I know? Among other things, they forgot to change chapter 3's Title, "Upgrading to Windows 2000 Professional." It should read, "Upgrading to Windows XP Professional." They also didn't run a spell checker on the text is littered with words like "WindowsXPintroducesafeaturecalledWindows", and "Softwarerestrictionpoliciesare." My thinking is, if the team of geniuses they had writing and editing this book can't catch these simple mistakes, how can we, the readers be sure of any technically specific information? I am very disappointed by this book. I used Sybex exclusively when studying for the A+ and Network+ certification exams and passed both, on the first try, with ease. I had such good experiences with the previous Sybex books I bought this one on blind faith. I hope they take it back. It stinks!
Rating:
Summary: The eratta sheet is longer than the book.
Review: Do not buy this book. Check the eratta sheet first. It's almost as long as the book. I don't know which book you should buy, but I feel that you will be sorely disappointed if you purchase this one. I have not taken this exam yet, so please don't discount my post as the tantrums of a jilted test taker or competing author.
Clearly they cut and pasted most of the content of this book from their Windows 2000 Pro study guide. How do I know? Among other things, they forgot to change chapter 3's Title, "Upgrading to Windows 2000 Professional." It should read, "Upgrading to Windows XP Professional." They also didn't run a spell checker on the text is littered with words like "WindowsXPintroducesafeaturecalledWindows", and "Softwarerestrictionpoliciesare." My thinking is, if the team of geniuses they had writing and editing this book can't catch these simple mistakes, how can we, the readers be sure of any technically specific information? I am very disappointed by this book. I used Sybex exclusively when studying for the A+ and Network+ certification exams and passed both, on the first try, with ease. I had such good experiences with the previous Sybex books I bought this one on blind faith. I hope they take it back. It stinks!
Rating: 
Summary: Do NOT use this book for the MCSE exam!
Review: I bought this book and another Sybex book (MCSE Windows 2000 Directory Services Design) at about the same time in preparation for these two exams. I am SORELY disappointed in Sybex for these books. I took the Windows XP exam yesterday and failed it. This is not the first time I have failed an exam, but it is the first time that I failed one because my study guide didn't properly cover the material. There are a plethora of problems with this book. First of all, as everyone else has said, the editing is TERRIBLE. I saw a multitude of typos, inconsistencies, and just plain wrong answers! Also, the CD that comes with the book makes a good coaster; don't use it for the test. I scored over 90% on most of the exams on the CD, then when I went to take the test, I said, "Hmmm...I've never seen THAT before..." (referring to the book's lack of coverage of the new GPUPDATE.EXE vs. the old SECEDIT.EXE amongst other things). Also, the Adaptive Test that comes on the CD is totally useless because it scores some of your answers wrong even if they are right. (Anybody see any problems with this?!) I had never bought a Sybex guide before; I am not likely to purchase one again, despite their generally good reputation. Life is too short for me to spend [money] and two weeks on a useless study guide. I only gave the damn thing 2 stars because it DOES teach about Windows XP, just not what you need for the test. Isn't that nice? I'm just glad I hadn't wasted 4 hours and [money] taking the Design test yet...I know to read another book first. (Check out the reviews for the Design book...it's even worse than this one.)
Rating:
Summary: Do NOT use this book for the MCSE exam!
Review: I bought this book and another Sybex book (MCSE Windows 2000 Directory Services Design) at about the same time in preparation for these two exams. I am SORELY disappointed in Sybex for these books. I took the Windows XP exam yesterday and failed it. This is not the first time I have failed an exam, but it is the first time that I failed one because my study guide didn't properly cover the material. There are a plethora of problems with this book. First of all, as everyone else has said, the editing is TERRIBLE. I saw a multitude of typos, inconsistencies, and just plain wrong answers! Also, the CD that comes with the book makes a good coaster; don't use it for the test. I scored over 90% on most of the exams on the CD, then when I went to take the test, I said, "Hmmm...I've never seen THAT before..." (referring to the book's lack of coverage of the new GPUPDATE.EXE vs. the old SECEDIT.EXE amongst other things). Also, the Adaptive Test that comes on the CD is totally useless because it scores some of your answers wrong even if they are right. (Anybody see any problems with this?!) I had never bought a Sybex guide before; I am not likely to purchase one again, despite their generally good reputation. Life is too short for me to spend [money] and two weeks on a useless study guide. I only gave the damn thing 2 stars because it DOES teach about Windows XP, just not what you need for the test. Isn't that nice? I'm just glad I hadn't wasted 4 hours and [money] taking the Design test yet...I know to read another book first. (Check out the reviews for the Design book...it's even worse than this one.)
Rating:
Summary: Do not rely on this as your only study guide!!!!!
Review: I studied this book for about two months and then purchased the
transcenders for the 70-270 and failed. The book was a broad over view of the Operating system. But does not go deep enough for you to pass this exam. Allot of the things that were focused on in the book are not even on the actual exam!! If you want to pass this exam find a different study guide. I highly recommend using the transceders also!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Study Aid
Review: I would not recommend this book to anyone trying to learn Windows XP or prepare for the 70-270 exam. The authors took their Windows 2000 study guide and updated it to reflect changes in Windows XP, which is understandable given that the majority of the material is equally applicable to either operating system. However, they're editing is so sloppy it is ridiculous. A simple search and replace could have fixed some of the mistakes they overlooked. If you need a book to teach you Windows XP, the editing mistakes will most likely leave you either confused about some topics or, worse yet, with an inaccurate understanding of the topic. If you are already familiar with 2000/XP and are looking for a resource to help you prep for the test, the numerous editing mistakes will leave you so annoyed and/or frustrated that you most likely will stop reading it. A couple examples of editing mistakes: Chapter 3 is titled "Upgrading to Windows 2000 Professional" Chapter 4 explains that regedit has replaced regedt32 as the primary tool for editing the registry but lists regedt32 (not regedit) as a "key term" to remember at the end of the chapter.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the read
Review: This book is riddled with typos and technical errors. This is not the book you want to prepare you for the 70-270 exam. Even the CD that ships with the book is loaded with errors and programming mistakes. Should you purchase the book, Sybex will replace your CD with an updated one that includes a new version of the book in a soft-copy, but it's not worth it. Don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Shame shame shame!
Review: This is the worst SYBEX book I have ever purchased (out of 12). Yes I do believe I cought an "occasional error" it falls somewhere between page 1 and 786. The typos are embarrassing and too many to point out, was the editor on vacation when this was going to print. I only blame Lisa Donald and James Chellis, the authors, and WILL avoid their future books, sorry guys, your names are on the hard cover. I also do not appreciate the lack of authors emails or an email to send feedback to for the book. In closing can I get a refund? Very, very disapointed,
Rating:
Summary: Shame shame shame!
Review: This is the worst SYBEX book I have ever purchased (out of 12). Yes I do believe I cought an "occasional error" it falls somewhere between page 1 and 786. The typos are embarrassing and too many to point out, was the editor on vacation when this was going to print. I only blame Lisa Donald and James Chellis, the authors, and WILL avoid their future books, sorry guys, your names are on the hard cover. I also do not appreciate the lack of authors emails or an email to send feedback to for the book. In closing can I get a refund? Very, very disapointed,
<< 1 >>
| 
