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Rating: 
Summary: Watch out for incorrect information.
Review: At first I was fairly impressed with this book. It has lots of pictures that help you reference exactly where you are in the steps of instruction that they give. There were a couple of obvious errors in the first chapter (800x60,Windows 200) that concerned me a little, but were not too alarming. In tests after the chapter I found one obvious error (Chapter 16 Question 3... do the math). I had had some reservations about some of the other questions and this did not help.
Then while taking the 2000 Professional masterexam on the CD, I ran into a question that talked about the winnt.sif configuration file. The reference material said that this was covered in Chapter 1. WRONG. Search the PDF... they never covered the information in that question.
While taking the 2000 Server masterexam on the CD, I got the question "How can you assign an application to one processor exclusively?" According to the masterexam the answer is to right-click on the "executable, select properties and select assign processor." The correct answer is to use Task Manager to Set Affinity. At least the reference material was correct.
The quantity and nature of the errors makes me question everything I "learned". For anyone who is new to networking, this book possibly has enough errors to guarantee that the person fail the tests. This book is worse that useless in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!
Review: Do not waste your money buying this book! I totally agree with the other reviewers on this book. However, the accompanying CD is the worst I have ever seen! For example, I am studying for the 70-210 exam. When I attempted to use the CD, I awas given only 2 choices (not the 3 as stated in the back of the book): either the open book or closed book exam. I selected the closed book exam. I was gven the opporunity to select the number of questions - from 1 to 15!!! Once I reluctantly selected the 15 questions, the test began with only a 30 minute time limit. Once I started on the test, the test would go to the next question after I have clicked on only the first two clicks of question one! Never got a chance to finish the question!!! Thinking something may have gone wrong with the installation, I reinstalled the CD - no change! Additionally, it was impossible to separate the information for the 70-210 exam from the remainder of the material. The book and CD now reside in the trash!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good guide - get the software and do the exercises
Review: I found this book to be very helpful in preparing for the 215 and 218 exams (already passed 210). Having Windows 2000 Server and Professional to perform the exercises is kind of the point so I disagree with the previous review that it is a problem. You can ask Microsoft for 120 evaluation CDs if you don't own the software, which is what I did. Overall, the book proved a very good guide in helping me pass the exams.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!!
Review: I really enjoyed this reading this book! It was definitely a key to my success in obtaining the MCSA certification. The material presented was very thorough and the technical knowledge of all of the authors was quite evident. Thanks for the tips and for making it easy to read and apply with the real-life examples!!
Rating:
Summary: It is an all-in-one
Review: I think the last three reviewers missed the point - the book is an All-in-One covering all three of the stated exams. Chapter-end questions deal with information found in the chapter. The idea is to provide a foundation for passing all three exams. This book does a good job of that. The CD material that comes with the book lets you study for each exam individually. Like any book, it has some typographical errors, which is why you don't rely on it exclusively but also use the product and other resources.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 1/2 stars - needs more coverage of each exam.
Review: In the process of reviewing books one thing I have found is that when you try to combine several exams in one book you usually have problems trying to cover all the exams. For the most part this book does not come under that rule, however the book could be updated with more information for each exam. In over 950 pages the 70-210, 70-215 and 70-218 exams are broken down with over 175 exercises. This book is a great self study tool but I found it to be a little difficult to adapt to a classroom environment with some of the exercises. From installation to upgrading, configurations of both hardware and software, through management of the network and servers and great coverage of TCP/IP, these are but a few of the topics discussed in the pages. The review questions are right in line with the exams and the book is not broken down by exam but rather it incorporates the exams together making a much better flow of material. The cdrom has the entire e-book, as well as lab simulations and 300 plus practice questions.
Rating:
Summary: Bad format, Wrong Information
Review: Watch out for wrong information. There are so many mistakes in this book. For example almost all of chapter one is wrong. One thing that is blatantly wrong is under the minimum system requirements (page 3) says for 2000 server its a minimum of 256MB Ram, actually its 128MB, 256MB is only recommended. That is just one of many many confusing mistakes.
On top of all the wrong information, if you are using this as a study guide to certain tests, then the format will confuse the heck out of you. When I want to study for a certain test (70-210) I want to know everything I possibly can for that test and not get messed up with other information not on that test. This book merges all 3 tests together and has them spread throughout the book.
Do not buy this book, you will spend more time checking their answers and trying to fumble through the format than you will actually spend studying.
Rating:
Summary: Bad format, Wrong Information
Review: Watch out for wrong information. There are so many mistakes in this book. For example almost all of chapter one is wrong. One thing that is blatantly wrong is under the minimum system requirements (page 3) says for 2000 server its a minimum of 256MB Ram, actually its 128MB, 256MB is only recommended. That is just one of many many confusing mistakes.
On top of all the wrong information, if you are using this as a study guide to certain tests, then the format will confuse the heck out of you. When I want to study for a certain test (70-210) I want to know everything I possibly can for that test and not get messed up with other information not on that test. This book merges all 3 tests together and has them spread throughout the book.
Do not buy this book, you will spend more time checking their answers and trying to fumble through the format than you will actually spend studying.
Rating: 
Summary: Watch out!!!
Review: Watch out with this book. Although I like the format of the book, there are multiple typographical errors and some flat out misinformation. In double checking some of the file names and other things that will be necessary for the three exams covered in this book, I went to Microsoft's website, and they say something totally different than what this book states. I believe that this book was poorly edited and reviewed, and rushed to press to catch the market for the new MCSA.
I find myself disappointed because I purchased the new edition of All in One A+ Certification by Michael Meyers, and I credit that book with my passing the A+ exams with flying colors and in record time (15 minutes for both exams...thanks Mike!) I had hoped that this book would be just as good, but after just a few chapters...well, I don't think it will measure up.
The book also assumes that anyone who purchases it has a free computer and a copy of Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Server to install on this computer. Many of us are using older computers that would not meet the Microsoft HCL, and thus make the installation of these two OSes difficult to impossible. Also, at the purchase price of each of these operating systems...well, you get the picture. The labs in the book are impossible to do if you do not have the computer and the operating systems, so that part of the book is a waste for many people, and there are MANY labs.
I will close by saying that it is not a substitute for classroom training.
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