MS has many different certification tracks, so where you start really depends on where you want to specialize. Here is a link to their cert overview:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/default.mspx

I would suggest creating a Microsoft Data Link file (UDL) to build & test your connection string. Take a look at this blog post, maybe it will help:

http://wvmitchell.blogspot.com/2007/02/connection-strings.html

Once you...

Thanks everybody for your help.

I had a conversation with the server vendor yesterday, they are in fact using Backup Exec 11d & I'm satisified that backups are being done to...

Wow, I glanced at that thread but never got involved. Good thing for me.

I wonder if that's a record - 323 posts.

Mr. Gates dropped out of college & never got the degree either. Look where he wound up

Steve, mine happen to be on Blogger, and Google indexes them so a Google search will find Blogger posts in addition to regular web sites. I'll just keep them where...

I got my cert for two reasons: to prove to myself that I really did know the stuff, and to validate my credentials to prospective customers.

It's really the same thing...

Great article. I agree that some books can be a valuable reference, long after the exam. I bought the original SQL Server 7.0 Exam Cram (70-029) and it's still on...

I couldn't agree with you more. One of my pet peeves is that it sometimes loses the database context - e.g. you have a query window open, your db is...

Hi Jason, just checking to see if you found a solution.

I have some more info about those registry keys. I have SQL 2000 Dev installed on three PC's - Win...

When you said "What happens if you're clients building collapses and you can't get to the fireproof safe?" I had to laugh. Not the feel-good kind, but the kind that ties...

If I were you, I would look for a copy of SQL 2000 Developer Edition; mine cost about $50 US. Since you're teaching yourself, there are a lot more books...

Mark, from what I read at the Symantec site they are probably using 11d, I think that's the 2005-compatible version.

But tell me, why did you move away from Backup Exec? And...

This was a great article. I am guessing that the negative posters haven't actually read the book. Perhaps they saw themselves at a less-than-guru level and are reacting to that....

Now I feel like chicken little saying "the sky is falling!".

The server vendor tells me that "we installed and configured the [Symantec] Backup Exec SQL Agent...We have full...