Certification Prep – The 20 Minute Workout

Windows 7 has been released with a number of different editions of the operating system much in the same fashion as Windows Vista. With Windows 2000 Professional which was built off of the NT kernel technology that grew from Windows NT, there was just that release of Windows 2000 with respect to a client operating system aimed at the corporate environment. There were three versions of Windows 2000 Server that were released but these were designated for servers and workstations over desktop or laptop use. Windows XP released with a Home Version and a Professional Version with Home being targeted for the end user / consumer field and Professional being targeted for corporate environments. When Windows Vista released there were a number of versions that were made available for both consumers and corporate customers. Read the full article via Windows 7 Features Offered on each Edition of Windows 7 Technorati Tags: 70-680 Windows 7 , Windows 7 , MCTS , MCITP

by Jason Zandri Windows 7 has been released by Microsoft as the successor to Windows Vista and prior to that Windows XP. In most cases, consumers purchased their computers and notebook systems with Windows XP Home Edition preinstalled and then later when Vista was released they bought systems with Vista Home Basic or Home Premium installed. Some may have otherwise opted to have Windows Vista Ultimate installed. There were other versions of Windows XP and Vista that were aimed at the commercial computer space much like what we have today in Windows 7. This article will be an overview of some of the system requirements and included features of Windows 7 Starter Edition. Read the full article via Windows 7 Starter Edition Technorati Tags: 70-680 Windows 7 , Windows 7 , Starter Edition , MCTS

by Jason Zandri Windows 7 has recently been released from Microsoft as the newest desktop operating system available for computer users. Most end users will either purchase their system with Windows 7 pre-installed or will have an existing system running either Windows Vista or Windows XP and they will upgrade to Windows 7. The main difference is the completion of that upgrade task. Read the entire article - Performing a clean install of Windows 7 Technorati Tags: 70-680 Windows 7 , free , install , MCTS , MCITP , Perform a clean installation , training , Windows 7

Author : Greg Shultz Greg Shultz walks through the steps of setting up Windows XP system to dual boot with Windows 7 Read the entire article @ TechRepublic   Technorati Tags: Dual boot , multi boot , Windows 7 , training , install , Setting up Windows 7 in a dual or multi boot configuration

Video: Dual-boot Windows XP and Windows 7 Date : November 30th, 2009 Author : Bill Detwiler Bill Detwiler shows you how to install Windows 7 in a dual boot configuration with Windows XP Watch the entire video @ TechRepublic Technorati Tags: Dual boot , multi boot , Windows 7 , training , install , Setting up Windows 7 in a dual or multi boot configuration

Author : Greg Shultz Greg Shultz walks through the steps of setting up a USB flash drive so that you can deploy Windows 7 with it. Read the entire article @ TechRepublic Technorati Tags: Perform a clean installation , Windows 7 , training , install , USB , Flash Drive

Video: Install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive Date : November 23rd, 2009 Author : Bill Detwiler Bill Detwiler shows you how to install Windows 7 directly from a USB flash drive Watch the entire video @ TechRepublic Technorati Tags: Perform a clean installation , Windows 7 , training , install , USB , Flash Drive

Microsoft kills $150 Windows 7 Family Pack deal by Gregg Keizer - December 7, 2009 - Microsoft yanked its $150 Windows 7 Family Pack from the U.S. market last week, saying that the limited time offer had expired. The page dedicated to the Family Pack now reads: "Thank you for your interest in Windows 7. The Windows 7 Family Pack offer has ended." Read the complete article @ IT WORLD Technorati Tags: Windows 7 , upgrade , install

A Free Lecture-based Educational Course on how the OSI model works Part of the www.LearnTCPIP.com Education Series Covering TCP/IP, TCP, DNS, Ethernet, OSI Model, Subnetting, IP Addressing and the Internet Check it out @ http://www.learntcpip.com/OSIModel/default.htm Technorati Tags: free , certification , training , general

A Free Lecture-based Educational Course on IP Addressing and Subnetting Part of the www.LearnTCPIP.com Education Series Covering TCP/IP, TCP, DNS, Ethernet, OSI Model, Subnetting, IP Addressing and the Internet Check it out @ http://www.learntosubnet.com/ Technorati Tags: free , certification , training , general

By Dan Woods Multi-core processors may slow many applications down, not speed them up. The widespread adoption of multi-core hardware is in many cases actually slowing down computing. A typical scenario: A company has a data-intensive software application and wants to make this software run as fast as possible. When its single-core machine reaches end of life, the company purchases multi-core hardware. To everyone's surprise, the application starts to run slower. For technical support staff, the first question to ask when someone calls with a performance problem is, Have you done a hardware upgrade? Often, when the application is switched back to single-core hardware, the problem disappears. How can this be? Don't more cores mean more computing power? Doesn't more computing power mean software that runs faster? The simple answer is no. Unless the software was written specifically for the multi-core paradigm, multi-core hardware may be a waste of money for increasing

By Ed Sperling One of the biggest questions hanging over the processor world for the past few years is what to do with all those cores. This isn't a matter anyone is taking lightly. It's one that carries huge ramifications, because without a compelling answer there's no reason for CIOs to collectively spend billions of dollars on new server hardware with more cores on each chip. The basic problem is that chipmakers can't develop processors the same way they did in the past. If they continue turning up the clock speed with a single core (which is how they got most of the performance increases in the past) they'll literally melt the chip. So they've added lots of cores that run no faster than a single core (and often much slower), using the sum of the performance on multiple cores to achieve increases in performance. Unfortunately, most software doesn't run on multiple cores, so much of that gain is wasted. It runs on one core, or at best two, if some pa

By Dan Woods " Why Apps Can't Run Faster " explained that just putting more and more cores in chips doesn't increase the processing speed of applications. This is because applications aren't typically designed to take advantage of more than eight cores. To be able to make the most of a multi-core processor, you can run lots of applications on one computer with lots of multi-core processors. Then the operating system balances the workload across all of the cores. But this is much less efficient than running applications that are multi-threaded that balance the work across cores inside the application. This is the art of parallel programming. Read the entire article - Waking Up Multi-Core Processors Technorati Tags: multicore , processor , application , CPU

By Ed Sperling The problem may not be evident at two, four or even eight multicore computer processors. But when an application is written to take advantage of eight cores and the next iteration of that processor has 20 cores, the vast majority of applications will continue to take advantage of only eight cores. Moreover, even if an application is rewritten to utilize all 20 cores, the performance gains will be lower than a decade ago when the clock speed was doubled on a single core processor. And that's a best-case scenario. A word processing application threaded for 20 cores will not run much faster than a version that uses one or two cores. Read the entire article - Why Apps Can't Run Faster Technorati Tags: multicore , processor , application , CPU

On the Windows Team Blog, Springboard technical contributor Jeremy Chapman posted a five part series Windows XP to Windows 7 - Guidance for IT pros. Each of the parts can be found via the links below directly from the blog: The "One-Pager" for Moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 (Overview) Migrating User Files and Settings from Windows XP to Windows 7 Application Management and Preparing for a Windows 7 Deployment Choosing and Image Strategy and Building Windows 7 System Images Automating the migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 End-to-End For those of you that are taking the 70-680 exam, these posts fit right in along the topics that are covered in the Installing, Upgrading, and Migrating to Windows 7 domain of skills being measured. Technorati Tags: 70-680 Windows 7 , Enterprise Administrator , Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 , MCITP , MCTS

There are a number of different ways that you can install and deploy Windows 7 as a single installation on a desktop or a laptop. This can be done as a “bare metal” installation where there is no current operating system installed. It could also be done as part of an in place upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista. Additionally, it could be a custom / complete install from a legacy operating system such as Windows 2000 or Windows XP that does not allow for in place upgrades. Whichever install method you choose, your end result is going to be the same; getting Windows 7 onto the machine as the only operating system present. In my Exam 70-680 TS: Windows 7, Configuring - Perform a clean installation - Identifying hardware requirements (PART 1) post i had outlined what the hardware requirements were for a Windows 7 installation to be successful and to meet the recommended system requirements. One of your installation options is to perform an in place upgrade. In order to do

by Paul Thurrott It was the final unanswered question about Windows 7. But now, thanks to numerous reader reports, my own hands-on experience, and a briefing with the team at Microsoft responsible for this technology, I think we have some answers. Sadly, Microsoft is still making it difficult to clean install Windows 7 with Upgrade media, as it did with Windows Vista. But fear not, there is some good news. While you can't simply use Upgrade media to do a clean install of Windows 7 on a new or previously formatted PC, the workarounds this time are easier than ever. And that's what this article is all about: Revealing the secrets to clean-installing Windows 7 with Upgrade media. For all the details read Paul Thurrott’s article - Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media Technorati Tags: 70-680 , MCTS , Windows 7 , install , upgrade

By Woody Leonhard Topping the long list of readers' Windows 7 questions is whether you can use the upgrade disc to perform a full install of the new OS. You may be surprised to discover that in Windows 7 there's no difference between the "upgrade" and "full" DVDs and — just as with XP and Vista — the cheaper upgrade version can indeed be used to perform a full install. But that's just one of your many Windows 7 questions. From what's possible, to what's legal, to what-on-earth-were-they-thinking, here's the skinny on the ins and outs of Microsoft's best OS yet. There's no way to fit all your Win7 queries into a single column, so you can be sure I'll have many more Win7 FAQs in the weeks to come. Will a Win7 upgrade disc install the full OS? Read Woody Leonhard’s entire article - Fully install Windows 7 from the upgrade disc Technorati Tags: 70-680 , MCTS , Windows 7 , install , upgrade

As posted from the Microsoft website , the LEVEL 300 webcast will review the best practices for integrating Microsoft Volume Activation into your enterprise software deployment and management efforts. Benefit from lessons others have learned from dealing with the license activation of the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems in a variety of IT environments, including networked, isolated, roaming, branch office, development, and test. Language(s): English. Product(s): Windows 7. Audience(s):  IT Decision Maker,IT Generalist. Duration: 60 Minutes Start Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 1:00 PM Eastern Time Presenter: Kim Griffiths, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation You can register directly online for the session - Event ID: 1032428920 Technorati Tags: Microsoft , Free , LEVEL 300 , Deploying , Windows 7 , 70-680 , 70-685 , 70-686 , volume activation

As posted from the Microsoft website , Microsoft’s eBook Deploying Windows 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine combines selected chapters written by industry experts such as Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jerry Honeycutt, Ed Wilson, and the Windows 7 Team. Additionally there are several Windows 7 articles from TechNet Magazine included in this PDF download as well. With topics including Deployment Platform, Planning Deployment, Testing Application Compatibility, and 8 Common Issues in Windows 7 Migrations these are some good review topics for those of you that are studying up for certification exams – most note worthy would be Exam 70-680: Configuring Microsoft Windows 7 Exam 70-685: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician Exam 70-686: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator Technorati Tags: Microsoft , Free , eBook , Deploying , Windows 7 , 70-680 , 70-685 , 70-686

The Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial that is being offered by Microsoft is for IT Professionals that are looking to “kick the tires” on the full release of the product. The download provides the opportunity for IT Pros to become more familiar with the key improvements over previous versions of the Windows operating system, and experience firsthand how Windows 7 can make your PC environment more productive, secure, and manageable. If you qualify under one of the following programs listed below, you may already have access to full release bits of Windows 7 and do not need to download the 90-day Trial. Partner Program MSDN Subscriber (Developer) TechNet Plus Subscriber Volume License/Software Assurance customer If you do not have access to any of these programs then this download may be the answer for you. Microsoft does not recommend that you install this if you are a not an IT Professional or not professionally managing corporate networks. Access the Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial

So in my last post I offered my thoughts and opinions on the two tracks and what I would personally do if I was first starting out in the field at the end of 2009 or if I was already engaged and that would be to get or finish my MCSE and then move on to the MCITP certification. The folks over at Windows Server HQ which is a member of the family of sites run by TrainSignal.com have recently written three very good articles on the subject. Gosia Grabowska wrote an article back in August titled MCSE vs MCITP: Is the MCSE Still Worth It? in which she outlined her thoughts on which certification might be more valuable and worth the time and effort. She also took the time to outline the different certifications available and the tracks to get you there. Brian Nelson wrote a couple of articles this month (October) titled Why Getting Your MCSE Now Is Still A Good Idea and What’s The Next Step for MCSEs? Both of these articles offer some history and perspective of the venerable MCSE certi

I get asked pretty regularly by folks looking to get into the Information Technology field or even the ones in there a year or so what makes more sense – getting their MCSE or working toward getting their MCITP certification. The way I look at it is this – if you’re already started on the MCSE then it makes sense to finish it even if you’re just one or two exams in. The additional reasoning for this is that many corporate environments are still Server 2000 / 2003 mixes or fully blown 2003. There are some that are running Server 2003 with a mix of 2008 and a few that are totally 2008. The long and short of that is that many will need to have 2000 and 2003 expertise and you can validate that for perspective employers by getting that MCSE finished. This advise is true for people looking for new opportunities as well. Most places will need to know what your foundation of skills are and this will be shown on your resume and in your work history as well as any certifications you have o

Microsoft has an online learning catalog of training that is available at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ The site offers multiple types of learning environments which include including classroom training, e-learning, certification, Microsoft Press books, skills assessments, and more. Most of the sessions are moderately priced but there are often free “clinics” that are available especially for newly released products such as Windows 7. Most of these clinics are specifically geared for a presumed audience and predefined skill set. Clinic 10077: What's New in Windows 7 for IT Professionals is a free two-hour clinic that provides you with an overview of the new and enhanced deployment, security, manageability, and performance features in Windows 7. It describes how these features meet the day-to-day needs of IT professionals and covers the following topics. Overview of Deployment Enhancements Overview of Security Enhancements Overview of Manageability and Performance Enhancements

Microsoft has an online learning catalog of training that is available at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ The site offers multiple types of learning environments which include including classroom training, e-learning, certification, Microsoft Press books, skills assessments, and more. Most of the sessions are moderately priced but there are often free “clinics” that are available especially for newly released products such as Windows 7. Most of these clinics are specifically geared for a presumed audience and predefined skill set. Clinic 10088: What's New in Windows 7 for Information Workers is a free two-hour clinic that provides you with an overview of key enhancements in Windows 7, which help information workers to improve their productivity as well as work in a more secure environment. This clinic covers the following topics. Be More Productive with Windows 7 Be More Secure with Windows 7 Get Connected Faster and Easier with Window

As part of your effort to take the 70-680 Exam for Windows 7 you’ll need to make sure you have a good, solid understanding of all of the skills measured. This will need to be a combination of academic knowledge of the subject matter and real world experience. The exam itself is intended for technicians and desktop administrators that have at least one year of experience working with the most recent desktop operating system (Vista). You will also need to have about one year of experience implementing and administering systems in a networked environment. The first domain is “Perform a clean installation” and the first set of knowledge to have is “Identifying hardware requirements.” What this means is that you need to understand the base, primary system requirements for Windows 7 which are: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit) 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) DirectX 9 graphics device

So I had a couple of inquires as to what I might be doing other than the upcoming 70-680 exam overview so I thought I would post up some of my aggressive plans for the site since I seem to be getting a post up once a day (a lot more aggressive than I thought I was going to be able to). I will probably cap new items to five posts a week most weeks; the plan was at least three and I really didn’t have an upper limit because I didn’t think I’d have to worry about an upper limit but I can see how I might get on a roll from time to time. So anyway – I am planning to kick off 20 Minute Workout segments for all of the following exam tracks over the next couple of months: Exam 70-685: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician Exam 70-686: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator Exam 70-640: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring Exam 70-642: TS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring Exam 70-643: TS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastr

In my last post I outlined the 70-680 exam overview and which certification you’d earn by taking and passing the exam (MCTS – Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist) as well as the credit you would get towards the cumulative Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certifications: MCITP: Enterprise Administrator MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7 MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 In this post I will be reviewing the skills measured from each of the domains within the 70-680 exam TS: Windows 7, Configuring Installing, Upgrading, and Migrating to Windows 7 Perform a clean installation. Identifying hardware requirements Setting up Windows 7 as the sole operating system Setting up Windows 7 in a dual or multi boot configuration Leveraging different installation methods Booting the system from the source of installation (DVD, network, image, WDS, etc) Preparing the installation source (DVD, network, image, WDS, etc) Upgrade to Windows 7 from previous versions of Win

Published: June 01, 2009 Language: English Audience: IT Professionals Technology: Windows 7 Type: Proctored Exam Candidates for this exam should have a base set of skills working with the Windows 7 desktop operating system from a general use perspective as well as in an enterprise environment. They should have at least one year of practical experience in the IT field, as well as experience implementing, operating and administering current and previous Windows client operating systems in a networked environment. Examinees should be able to install, deploy, and upgrade to Windows 7 as well a troubleshoot pre-installation and post installation issues. Examinees should also be able to properly identify hardware and software compatibility and address and configure pre-installation and post-installation system settings, Windows security features, network connectivity and mobile computing. They should also be able to operate and update deployed systems, including monitoring for an

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog Certification Prep – The 20 Minute Workout. I suppose the best way to kick this off is to introduce myself to you, give you a little run down on who I am and what I'll be embarking on here on this blog and what you can expect going forward. My name is Jason Zandri; I have been working in the information technology field in one form or the other since 1996. I am currently employed full time at Microsoft as a Senior Technical Account manager. I also write technical articles for numerous other sites and I teach an MCSE class at a local technical education center here in Wallingford Connecticut, which is my hometown where I have lived my whole life. As for my own certifications they are: Microsoft Certified IT Professional Enterprise Administrator Apr 24, 2009 Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Jan 19, 2009 Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuration Feb 05, 2009 Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuration