Windows 7 Certification Information Update

Posted on July 17th, 2009 by Lisa Szpunar

I made a post way back in April when information about Windows 7 certifications had just started to trickle out. Back then, this is what was projected (Note* These exam titles are no longer quite accurate – see below):

  • 70-680, TS: Windows 7, Configuring
  • 70-685, MCITP: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician
  • 70-686, MCITP: Windows 7, Desktop Administrator

Since then there have been some interesting developments.

First of all, the MCITP titles have a different word arrangement than the actual exam name. Is that less or more confusing? Actually, I think it is less. For example, what you see above lists the exam number 70-685 and the letters MCITP in the same line. This might lead you to believe that you would become an MCITP after taking just the 70-685 exam. That would be too easy!

Instead they have made the actual MCITP title:

     MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7

while the exam is being called:

     70-685, Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician

Here is some more information about the two MCITP paths that will be available for Windows 7:

MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7

Like other Microsoft Certified IT Pro level titles this one has several exam requirements that need to be fulfilled before you get the beloved MCITP letters after your name.

Who is HDI? They are the leading international association for technical support professionals. They offer training and certification in IT service and support.

The theory is a good one: a certification that shows you both understand the technical aspects and are actually human. But when push comes to shove, will an HR manager really know the difference between Enterprise Desktop Support Technician and Enterprise Desktop Administrator? Who knows.

MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7

There is still nothing official said about this path yet. I would guess it would include the 70-680, 70-686, and maybe one other exam. I do know it will not include the “soft skills” requirement from HDI. Ken Rosen from Born to Learn says:

“So for those of you who want a well-rounded technology+soft skills credential, there’s MCITP: EDST7, and for those of you just want the Win7 piece, there’s MCITP: EDA7″

So what about MCTS: Windows 7, Configuration?

Since my last Windows 7 certification post the 70-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring exam has, thankfully, not changed names. It was removed from being in beta status last month. An objective list is available but Microsoft has no study materials available yet (and neither do many legitimate 3rd parties).

Microsoft has promised that the 70-680 exam can be used toward the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator title, but I have been hearing that people are having issues with this. They have completed 70-680 and all the other requirements for Enterprise Admin, but are still not receiving the Enterprise Admin title on their transcripts.

I hope MS gets their act together and gets this resolved or people are going to be more reluctant to be early certification adopters in the future. What would Microsoft do without their beta exam takers?

So there you go. That is the latest confirmed and unconfirmed information about Windows 7 certifications. Don’t shoot the messenger!

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9 Responses to “Windows 7 Certification Information Update”

  • John Veenhuizen Jr. Says:

    August 5th, 2009 at 6:39 pm

    I have found that I cannot play some of my Train Signal products on a system that has Windows 7 installed. Most notably my ISA 2004 videos will not play. Is there a compatibility driver available?

    Thanks,
    John

  • Eric Says:

    August 6th, 2009 at 9:31 am

    Hi John,
    Currently our videos do not play on Windows 7. Have you attempted to download the TSCC codec located here http://download.techsmith.com/tscc/tscc.exe ? You could explore into the DVD and attempt playing the AVI files, again as Windows 7 is not going to be RTM for the public until October I cannot guarantee this codec will fix the problem.

    Eric

  • adabbas Says:

    August 28th, 2009 at 2:54 pm

    Will Windows 7 exam count towards MCSE Client exam (the same way that Vista exam can be used as an MCSE client exam)?

    I need MCSE 2003 for my Job, where I do not deal with workstations; only servers. So I will keep the client exam to that last and learn something useful instead of Vista if Windows 7 can be used instead :)

  • Lisa Szpunar Says:

    August 28th, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    Adabbas,

    Unfortunately, I don’t think that the 70-680 counts for the MCSE according to these two sites:

    http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-680

    http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mcse.aspx#tab2

    Sorry!
    Lisa

  • Allan Says:

    September 1st, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    I looked up the HDI course — they’re not cheap!! It’s not like something you can pay for out of your own pocket if you’re doing this on your own. MS had the right idea, but the HDI requirement might just sink the W7 DST…

  • Alfred Says:

    September 16th, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    I have been using the Server 2008 AD (70-640) on Windows 7 since the RC with no problem after installing the codec.

  • Kasia Grabowska Says:

    September 21st, 2009 at 2:08 pm

    Hi John,

    I received more info about how you can play our training videos in Windows 7 (in case downloading the codec doesn’t do the trick).

    One of our customers sent us this message:

    “Microsoft actually has a Program Compatibility feature built right into Windows 7 that makes the videos run without a problem.

    It’s part of the Action Center features and it picked up on the problem, sent it to Microsoft as always, and put a compatibility fix in so that it would run (and continue to in the future) WITHOUT having to go into XP mode running virtual.”

    Hope this helps!

    Kasia

  • Allan Says:

    January 19th, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    It doesn’t appear that the Customer Service exams are a part of the Win 7 MCITP requirement anymore… maybe MS, in its infinite wisdom (yea, right!) realized that nobody will bother getting the ITP certs if they have to pay a fortune to take a customer service course…

  • MigrationKing Says:

    April 5th, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    When is TrainSignal going to release Windows 7 training?

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