Below, the beta information for 2003-->2008 exams 71-648 and 71-649 (for which we did an original beta run at TechEd in Orlando). Only take these exams if you are MCSA or MCSE on Windows Server 2003--no one else will receive credit for participating. If you'd like to participate in the beta, please review all of the information below very carefully.
Register for Beta Exam 71-648 or 71-649
MCSA and MCSE on Windows Server 2003 are invited to participate in the beta of exam 71-648 or 71-649 toward Windows Server 2008 certifications. If you pass the beta exam, the exam credit will be added to your transcript and you will not need to take the exam in its released form.
71-648: TS: Transitioning your MCSA on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 Technology Specialist counts as credit towards the following certification(s).
71-649: TS: Transitioning your MCSE on Windows Server® 2003 to Windows Server® 2008 Technology Specialist counts as credit towards the following certification(s).
By participating in beta exams, you have the opportunity to provide the Microsoft Certification program with feedback about exam content, which is integral to development of exams in their released version. We depend on the contributions of experienced IT professionals and developers as we continually improve exam content and maintain the value of Microsoft certifications.
Please remember that participation in the beta process is completely voluntary and Microsoft makes no promises or guarantees regarding the beta exam process. You can expect to receive your score on the beta exam within 12 weeks of taking the exam, although in some instances, beta exams may take longer to score and your results may be delayed.
Availability
Registration begins: July 9, 2007
Beta exam period runs: July 9, 2007– August 3, 2007
Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta; we recommend that you register immediately. Beta exams have limited availability and are operated under a first-come-first-served basis. Once all beta slots are filled, no additional seats will be offered.
Testing is held at Prometric and Pearson VUE testing centers worldwide, although this exam may not be available in all countries (see Regional Restrictions). All testing centers will have the capability to offer this exam in its live version.
Regional Restrictions: India
Registration Information
You must register at least 24 hours prior to taking the exam.Please use the following promotional code when registering for the exam:
Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta; we recommend that you register immediately.
To register in North America, please call:
•Prometric: (800) 755-EXAM (800-755-3926)
•VUE: 800 TEST REGistration (800-837-8734)
Outside the U.S./Canada, please contact:
•Prometric: http://www.register.prometric.com/ClientInformation.asp
•VUE: http://www.vue.com/ms/
Test Information and Support
You are invited to take this beta exam at no charge.You will be given four hours to complete the beta exam. Please plan accordingly.Find exam preparation information:
Frequently Asked Questions
For Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) help and information, you may log in to the MCP Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/mcp/ or contact your Regional Service Center: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/support/worldsites.asp.
•What is a beta exam?
•Where can I learn more about the registration process?
•When will my beta exam results be available?
•Where can I learn more about the beta exam invitation process?
•Where can I learn more about the new structure of Microsoft Certification?
•Who do I contact for help with this beta exam or other MCP questions?
Is it a good idea to publish the promotion code here? :-/
Go for it, it usually isn't that hard to guess anyways.
I'm still wondering if this is any indication on the status of Vue after August 31st. Please provide some current insight on this.
Still a bad decision IMHO.
Yes, i think so. Because if it wasn't for this blog post, i wouldn't been able to register.
I've got my seat for tomorrow morning, 09:00 :)
Jump on this while you can – go to Prometric's site and register for 71-648 for MCSA 2008 or 71-649 for MCSE 2008. If you are a MCSA 2003 and not MCSE 2003 yet, use TIG648 for the promo code and only take 71-648 to go to MCSA 2008. If you are a MCS
After the very bad experience with the beta exams for Vista, I will definetly bypass this beta offer....( Windows 2008 has already been announce that is delayed until next year), I also believe that the results for these beta exams won't be made public until after the official release of the product, that mean next year,8 to 12 month after someone has take the beta exam.
It seems that Microsoft is going on a down pathway ...
I think this is one of the main reason for which Trika has posted, on clear, the promotion code.
I was just asked if it is OK to register with VUE for this beta. The answer is YES. VUE will continue selling and honoring exams until the dates we announced..."Pearson VUE will discontinue selling Microsoft professional certification exams after August 31, 2007. To accommodate those who purchase Microsoft professional certification exams through August 31, Pearson VUE will continue to administer the exams through December 31, 2007."
Daniel: We usually don't make these codes public... but in this case the only people who can use it (MCSA/MCSE 2003) are the people we want to take it, so it is OK if it is out in the open. Make sense?
Lukas: Good luck.
Adrian: Can't blame you on shying away after the Vista drama... I'm hoping that is not something we'll repeat. As far as timing... these exams are available in advance of the February 2008 WS2008 launch, so your beta results would be avaialble at that point. I'll find an update on our WS2008 exam/cert release schedule and share that out.
only MCSA/MCSE 2003 "can" or "should" register with this code? If it is technically possible to register without being MCSA/MCSE, I'm sure you will have some poeple taking this exam who are not MCSE or MCSA :)) Why would they do that? no idea :-P
Wow, I wonder if they ever sent this out in email invites at all. Belatedly seeing it here is great compared to not seeing it at all, but dang... this seems like unusually short notice. "Published Tuesday, July 17, 2007". "Beta exam period runs: July 9, 2007– August 3, 2007".
Not only do we only have two weekends remaining to do it in (and I'm out of town for one of them) (why couldn't it have lasted till August 4?), but you normally get 1-2 weeks notice before the exam dates even begin.
Like for 71-622: "Registration begins: November 27, 2006. Beta exam period runs: December 7 - December 21, 2006." For 71-620: "Registration begins: October 23, 2006. Beta exam period runs: October 31 - November 13, 2006."
At least I got a spot at all, but I wish there'd been more advance warning, to leave time to prepare!
And for that matter, I wish it had been delayed a few more months; I'm not quite finished with MCSE yet, so even if I manage to pass this exam, I'll still have to come back for the third TS separately later. (Hopefully there are betas coming up later for those individual tests.)
Now, am I the only person wondering whether to do both in case I manage not to pass the 'big' one?
Trika: If we expect to be an MCSA 2003 by the end of the year (I only need 218 and 292), can we still take the exam, or do we have to be a MCSA or MCSE 2003 NOW?
O pessoal que é MCSA ou MCSE (ambos na versão 2003) podem se inscrever pra prova beta de upgrade para...
I am trying to register in the UK over prometric site and I keep getting a Timeout Expired when I try to validate the promo code!!
:(
I've now taken the 649 and 648 exams.