Exam Profile MCITP 70-685: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician
Date: Oct 16, 2012
The 70-685 exam is meant to be taken by those who will be supporting end users running the Windows 7 operating system in a corporate environment. You need to have experience using applications that are included with the Windows 7 operating system, such as productivity applications used in a corporate environment and Microsoft Office applications. You should be able to resolve operating system issues by telephone, email, connecting to an end user's system remotely, or by visiting an end user's desktop. You will also have to have a working knowledge of operating in an Active Directory domain environment.
After you pass Exam 70-685: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician, you complete the requirements for the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 certification.
Exam Details
- Number of Questions: Approximately 47 questions (Since Microsoft does not publish this information, the number of exam questions may change without notice.)
- Type of Questions: This test format is multiple choice and multiple choice multiple answer. You may also see several scenario questions.
- Passing Score: 700
- Time Limit: 120 minutes
- How to Register: Prometric.com
This passing score does not mean that you must answer 70 percent of the items correctly in order to pass the exam. The actual percentage varies from exam to exam and may be more or less than 70 percent. There is no penalty for guessing. No points are deducted for incorrect answers. If a question specifies that you must choose multiple correct answers, you must choose the exact number of correct answers specified in the question in order to earn a point for that item. Some of the questions on the exam may not count toward the calculation of your score. Microsoft will often throw a question in that is meant to gather data that will help them improve the exam.
Trouble Spots
As with any exam, it will vary from person to person as to what is deemed to be difficult. Be sure you are familiar with each of the topics in the exam objectives listed below.
- If a user is having trouble logging onto their PC in a network environment, there are several things that should be checked. Always start at the physical layer and check for unplugged network cables, lights flashing on the network interface card, network drops that are inactive or non-functional. If dealing with a laptop, make sure that the wireless is activated as many laptops have a physical button to turn wireless on/off. Once you have determined it is not a physical problem, make sure the user has typed their name and password correctly – yes this happens more often that you would think. If you are in an environment with multiple domains, make sure the correct domain is chosen. It is also possible that the user’s account has been locked by a group policy for too many failed login attempts.
- Group Policy helps administrators choose what users can and cannot do on a computer system. You can use Group Policy to enforce a password complexity policy, to prevent unauthenticated users from connecting to a network share, to block access to the Windows Task Manager or to restrict access to certain folders.
- To prevent documents from being viewed in Content View, you can set Group Policy to enable the Turn off display of snippets in Content view mode setting.
- Nslookup.exe is a command-line administrative tool for testing and troubleshooting DNS servers. This tool is installed along with the TCP/IP protocol through Control Panel. In order to use Nslookup, at least one DNS server must be specified when you run the ipconfig /all command from a command prompt.
- Your DNS cache stores the IP address locations of web pages you have recently viewed. If the location of the page changes before the entry in your DNS cache is updated, you will be unable to access the page. When encountering a high number of HTML 404 error codes, you may need to flush your DNS cache. Once you clear your DNS cache, your computer will query nameservers for the new DNS information you require. To flush the DNS cache, run a command prompt and type ipconfig / flushdns.
Preparation Hints
Review the Exam Objectives below and make sure that you are familiar with them. The Microsoft Windows Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 exam is designed for those who have experience in this environment. Always check the Microsoft site for the specific exam you are going to take. In this instance, the site is http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-685.
There are many web sites and blogs that can help you to research topics, but be careful to fully research the information you read. It is not advisable to try to find sites that list questions and answers for several reasons. First, you don’t know if you will be asked a specific question and second, the answers given in a blog may be inaccurate and third, you need to understand the information to adequately prepare.
When taking the exam, read each question carefully. Microsoft is notorious for adding a lot of unneeded information in their questions. Make sure that when you click on a choice, that it is really marked. Be careful clicking anywhere on the screen. I found that by inadvertently clicking near the scroll bar on the right of the screen, I actually changed an answer. You get a single piece of paper and a marker for writing. You can use a small amount of time before you even start the exam to make notes once you enter the test area. Sometimes there is even a questionnaire at the beginning of the test that does not count against your test time. You can even use this time to write down notes, facts, tables or other information by taking your time between answers.
Recommended Study Resources
MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-685): Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician (Pro[md] Certification) by Tony Northrup and J.C. Mackin (Mar 24, 2010)
Exam 70-685: Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Support Technician (Microsoft Official Academic Course Series) by Microsoft Official Academic Course (Feb 2, 2011)
Microsoft also has recommended classroom training, namely 6293A: Troubleshooting and Supporting Windows 7 in the Enterprise (3 Days)
Exam Objectives
The exam objectives are broken up into five different categories. The 70-685 exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below.
The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam. The higher the percentage, the more questions you are likely to see on that content area on the exam.
The objectives for Exam 70-685 as stated by Microsoft are as follows:
Identifying Cause of and Resolving Desktop Application Issues (20 percent)
- Solve software installation escalations.
- Solve software failure escalations.
This objective may include but is not limited to: installation permissions; local administrator requirement; licensing restrictions; digital signing
This objective may include but is not limited to: checking the logs; checking whether the application runs in Safe mode; running the application in a previous version of Windows; repairing the installation; checking recently added programs; restoring or reimaging the system
Identifying Cause of and Resolving Networking Issues (23 percent)
- Solve enterprise logon issues.
- Solve enterprise network connectivity issues.
- Solve enterprise names resolution issues.
- Solve enterprise network printer issues.
This objective may include but is not limited to: hardware vs. network; password expiration; trust relationships with machine accounts; determining logon context; logon hours compliance
This objective may include but is not limited to: determining scope of issue; determining whether it’s a PC or a network connectivity issue; TCP/IP; hardware and cabling; proxies; default gateway
This objective may include but is not limited to: checking which DNS is assigned; flushing the DNS cache; nslookup to DNS server; checking the DHCP scopes
This objective may include but is not limited to: hardware failure; server issues; printer failure; network issues; driver issues
Managing and Maintaining Systems That Run Windows 7 Client (21 percent)
- Identify and/or resolve performance issues.
- Solve hardware failure issues.
This objective may include but is not limited to: analyzing system and application logs; analyzing started services; setting power management; checking hard drive space; optimizing virtual memory
This objective may include but is not limited to: identifying bad sectors; diagnosing memory issues; recommending replacement hardware; updating the BIOS; determining which component is broken
Supporting Mobile Users (18 percent)
- Solve enterprise wireless connectivity issues.
- Solve enterprise remote access issues.
This objective may include but is not limited to: signal strength; encryption types; encryption keys; wireless profiles; mobile devices
This objective may include but is not limited to: VPN client not connecting; IPv6 support; access and authentication to network resources
Identifying Cause of and Resolving Security Issues (18 percent)
- Solve Windows Internet Explorer security issues.
- Solve enterprise issues due to malicious software.
- Solve enterprise storage security issues.
- Solve enterprise software update issues.
This objective may include but is not limited to: adding trusted sites; advanced settings; installing plug-ins; identifying group policy restrictions; certificates
This objective may include but is not limited to: analyzing services; analyzing programs; analyzing processes; analyzing browser helper add-ons; user account control
This objective may include but is not limited to: requirements for installing; recovering encryption keys; key management
This objective may include but is not limited to: identifying software update level; checking whether client is receiving regularly scheduled updates; identifying incompatibility of update with other applications
Where to Go from Here
After you pass the Microsoft Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician (70-685) exam, you may want to take the following exams:
Exam 70-686: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator