Modern Desktop Certification Exam MD-100: Windows 10

Explore what's new in Windows 10, including the tile-based start menu, cloud sign-in with Azure AD and OneDrive, recovery tools, virtualization options, mobility improvements, and security enhancements.

Windows 10 delivers easier use, touch support, a consistent UI, and faster performance for small and medium sized businesses, with continuous updates and centralized management.

Enterprise desktops benefit from a standard operating environment to achieve consistency, enabling centralized management and streamlined deployment from images using WDS, SCCM, Autopilot, and Intune.

Identify Windows 10 editions from home to enterprise, including 64-bit guidance and domain join limits, plus notes on Pro, Enterprise, Pro for Workstations, and ltsc features.

Select the right Windows 10 edition for each form factor and evaluate business needs, touch capability, and addressable memory limits of 32-bit vs 64-bit.

Identify Windows 10 requirements and ensure sustainable performance with a 1 ghz processor, 1 gb RAM or 2 gb, 16 gb disk, DirectX 9+ with WDDM 1.0+, and 800x600 display.

Identify feature-specific requirements for Windows 10, including biometric hardware for Windows Hello, secure boot with UEFI, signing loaders and drivers, and TPM or USB for Bitlocker.

Activate Windows 10 by linking product key to a unique installation ID; there is no grace period, and use retail, OEM, or volume licensing with AD activation, KMS, or MAK.

Identify deployment scenarios, architectures (32-bit vs 64-bit), and environments for Windows 10 deployments, then plan drivers, storage, and automation, including BitLocker, licensing, and application compatibility.

Demonstrates a manual Windows 10 installation from a DVD using Hyper-V, selecting edition and drives, configuring accounts, privacy settings, and post-install setup before activation.

Upgrade to Windows 10 with an in-place upgrade from Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1, evaluate compatibility, back up data, run setup, and verify hardware, applications, and updates.

Identify upgrade paths and use in-place upgrades that retain data and applications; upgrade only to compatible editions, and use Windows Update or media for 8.1 and RTM upgrades.

In-place upgrade preserves user settings, apps, and files, requires no extra migration storage, and provides a setup with a 30-day rollback, but can cause compatibility issues and remnant file problems.

Migration moves files and settings from the old Windows to the new, enabling a cleaner, more secure desktop and any edition, but requires USMT, data storage, and downtime.

Compare modern, dynamic, and traditional deployment methods for Windows 10, highlighting Autopilot as a modern solution that reconfigures devices to the out-of-box experience while applying configurations and apps, avoiding reimage.

Learn client virtualization on Windows 10 Pro/Enterprise by creating and managing multiple virtual machines with Hyper-V, using Hyper-V Manager and PowerShell for VM networking and storage.

Learn how Windows Sandbox in Windows 10 version 1903 creates a pristine, disposable environment without a VM, using hardware-based virtualization for secure, temporary sessions when enabled on hardware.

Explore Windows 10 deployment strategies, from high touch retail media to light touch with MDT or Intune, and zero touch with ZTE, enabling BYOD management.

Discover the Windows assessment and deployment kit (ADK) or SDK, using DISM, Windows System Image Manager, Windows PE, provisioning packages, and USMT to automate deployment, updates, drivers, and language packs.

Explore deployment tools for Windows 10, including VMT, Windows Performance Toolkit, Application Compatibility Toolkit, MAP, upgrade readiness, and the desktop deployment center for Windows 10 and Office 365.

Explore the user state migration tool for migration scenarios, capturing configuration stores and migrating user data, settings, and apps to another computer using scan state and load state.

Explore the Windows as a service model for Windows 10, featuring continual quality and feature updates delivered through Windows Insider, semiannual, and long-term servicing channels with servicing rings.

Explore servicing channels and how they control update cadence: Windows Insider for early previews, the semi-annual channel as default, and LTSC for selected releases.

Explore Windows update options in Windows 10, including built-in client, manual updates, deferment, delivery optimization, and cloud-based Windows Update for Business, Intune, and ConfigMgr, with rollback via Dism or recovery.

Explore Windows update settings in the Settings app, including checking for updates, viewing history, adjusting active hours, and enabling delivery optimization for peer downloads on the local network.

Use Windows server update services to centrally and automatically install updates across the network, with GPO pointing clients to a WSUS server and optional piloting groups or replica servers.

Discover how Windows update for business keeps Windows 10 devices current by connecting to Windows Update, with cloud-based management via Intune or group policy, plus distribution rings and deferred updates.

Explore configuring Windows updates using the settings app and group policy, including Windows Server Update Services, Intune, and SCCM, and tailor active hours, delivery options, and intranet update service location.

Customize the start menu by adding shortcuts, resizing tiles, and grouping them; pin to start or taskbar with settings synchronized via a Microsoft account and Azure Active Directory enterprise roaming.

The action center in Windows 10 consolidates notifications into shortcut tiles for actions, accessible from the bottom-right corner, the Windows key, or a trackpad swipe, with configurable actions in settings.

Configure Cortana, the built-in Windows 10 digital assistant, with natural language voice commands and adjust settings in the Settings app, including voice activation, keyboard shortcut, and lock screen availability.

Learn to customize the Windows 10 user interface by rearranging the desktop, personalizing the start menu and live tiles, forming app groups, and tweaking the action center and themes.

Open the settings app to configure Windows 10, where many control panel functions have moved; use the Start button gear or Action Center and select a category.

Explore the settings app from the Start menu to navigate system, accounts, network, personalization, and update and security, including joining Azure AD or linking to a Microsoft account.

Explore how the control panel fits into Windows with the settings app replacing many traditional options, and access network adapter settings, devices and printers, backup and restore, and Outlook profiles.

Explore using the control panel alongside the Windows 10 settings app, including searching, viewing by icons, renaming the computer, and joining a domain for quick administration.

Configure Windows power plans to optimize energy use and performance, selecting balanced, power saver, or high performance, then adjust sleep, lid actions, and hibernate in system settings and control panel.

Navigate display options in the Settings app under the system category or via the desktop right-click, and configure text size, resolution, app size, orientation, brightness, and advanced display settings.

Explore mobile device options in Windows 10, including tablet mode, wireless displays, VPN, quiet hours, and individual tiles in the Action Center to configure settings.

Explore Windows 10 privacy controls introduced during setup and accessed via Settings. Manage location, camera, microphone, account data, email, calendar, contacts, documents, pictures, and videos.

Explore additional options in Windows 10, focusing on display, privacy, and mobile settings. Learn to navigate personalize versus display settings, adjust colors, themes, nightlight, and app permissions.

Explore how active directory domain services provides a hierarchical on-premises database managed by domain controllers, enabling domain logon, DNS integration, and hybrid identity with Azure Active Directory.

Apply on-premises Active Directory Group Policy to Windows clients and servers, using settings and preferences. Link GPOs to sites, domains, or organizational units using the Group Policy Management Console.

Link GPOs to Active Directory containers to apply policies to users or computers, using domain for all and OUs for subsets, and follow the local, site, domain, OU processing order.

Master Windows PowerShell, a scriptable shell for managing Windows 10 with remote capabilities, script automation, and extensible module commands for services like Azure Active Directory and Hyper-V.

Discover Windows PowerShell, an administrative command shell with access to the local file system, registry (HKCU and HKLM), and environment variables, using the verb-noun format and Get-Service examples.

Explore Windows PowerShell, the admin command line for system administration, its verb-noun commands, modules, and scripting tools for managing services, devices, and cloud connections.

Explore how device drivers enable communication between the Windows 10 kernel and hardware, including 32 bit and 64 bit drivers, digital signatures, and driver store staging with pap util.

Explore device manager to install and update drivers, enable or rollback with safe mode, troubleshoot issues, and manage devices locally or remotely in read-only mode, plus PowerShell for automation.

Learn to manage Windows 10 devices using Device Manager, Settings, Control Panel, and PowerShell. Explore drivers, hardware IDs, MAC addresses, and printers with updates, scans, and changes.

Explore Windows 10 printing terminology, including print devices, printer ports, tcp/ip ports, and the Windows representation of printers via the printer driver and the devices and printers utility.

Explore type four printer drivers, a single print class driver for multiple devices, and languages like PCL, Postscript, and XPS.

Connect to print servers or local printers in Windows 10, manage queues, spooling, and printer properties, and set the default printer via the print management console and PowerShell.

Explore the print management console in Windows 10 to manage and share printers, deploy via group policy, and use custom filters for multiple print servers.

Configure and manage Windows 10 printers using the Settings app, TCP/IP, Web services, and shared printers; deploy via Group Policy and Print Management for multiple servers.

Explore Windows Server Remote App and App-V, where apps run on the server and render to the client over RDP, with nothing installed on the client OS.

Explore deployment options for Windows apps, from manual installs to Group Policy, ConfigMgr, and Intune, including app virtualization and image-based delivery for scalable, automated deployments.

Compare automated installation options for Windows deployments—group policy, MDT, autopilot, and config manager—focusing on practical scenarios and their pros and cons.

Office 365 offers cloud-based office apps like Word, Excel, and Teams with varying licenses. It supports installation via portal or deployment tools, automatic updates, and username-based licensing across multiple devices.

Learn to control access to the Windows Store to prevent app installation by blocking the Store or Microsoft accounts, using registry edits, group policy, and AppLocker.

Enable sideloading through developer features to deploy apps without the Windows store. Sign AppX packages and import certificates into trusted root authorities before using Add-AppxPackage to install from a server.

Manage applications and windows in Windows 10 by using the settings app, apps and features, and default app configurations; learn installing Chrome and Office 365 with admin rights.

Compare Internet Explorer and Edge, highlighting Edge as Windows 10 default with annotations saved to OneNote, Cortana integration, reading mode, and extensions from the Windows Store.

Explore Edge across devices, including reading mode, a central hub for favorites, reading list, web notes, touch-friendly controls, and improvements in accessibility, security, and favorites management.

Edge extensions from the Microsoft Store customize your browser with translation tools, LastPass password management, ad blockers, web clippers, and Amazon assistants.

Explore Edge productivity features that boost browsing speed, including tab pinning, paste and go, reading view, Windows Hello sign-in, and cross-device syncing.

Learn how Internet Explorer supports legacy apps and technologies like ActiveX and Silverlight, while applying privacy and security features such as private browsing, Smartscreen, and cross-site scripting filters.

Explore how privacy features in internet browsing protect users and organizations by using private browsing, tracking protection, and cookie controls, plus selective history deletion.

Block unsafe sites with Smartscreen, and manage ActiveX via per-user opt-in and per-site checks, while built-in cross-site scripting protection and data execution prevention strengthen security.

Learn how Internet Explorer 11 uses add-ons to enhance browsing and manage ActiveX controls, plug-ins, extensions, toolbars, and search providers to troubleshoot performance and content display, html5 and flash.

Explore compatibility view in Internet Explorer, enterprise mode and the site list manager using an XML file to enforce compatibility mode for select sites on Windows 10 business editions.

Learn to configure Edge and Internet Explorer in Windows 10, adjust privacy, security, and extensions, manage proxy settings, and deploy group policy with enterprise site manager.

Explore BYOD challenges within the Microsoft device strategy framework, comparing high trust/high freedom vs low trust/low freedom scenarios, including unmanaged and managed devices and Intune policies.

Tackle data access challenges across devices by shifting to people-centered access. Ensure consistent access by unifying the environment and unified applications, enabling bring-your-own-device capability and policy enforcement to manage risk.

Describe how authentication verifies identity with credentials and multi-factor options like biometrics, and how authorization grants access based on that identity, highlighting Kerberos V5 and single sign-on in Active Directory.

Explains four account types—local, domain, Microsoft accounts, and Azure AD—and how where they are created and stored affects access, including hybrid Azure AD and on premises configurations.

Explore Windows 10 service accounts, including managed service accounts and virtual accounts, for automatic password management and Kerberos authentication, created via PowerShell to support domain isolation for applications.

Explore Windows 10 Credential Manager, built into the control panel, which saves web and Windows credentials, lets you view, remove, backup, or purge them, and supports domain and non-domain setups.

Differentiate workgroup and domain network types in Windows, describing peer-to-peer resource sharing in workgroups with local accounts and no servers, versus centralized authentication, policy, and replication in Active Directory domains.

Explore the Windows authentication flow from DNS service discovery to Kerberos validation, access token creation, and ticket granting, and learn common failure points like DNS or domain controller availability.

Explore how authentication differs with Azure Active Directory in cloud scenarios versus on premises, including hybrid environments, DNS lookups, and synchronization delays between local AD and Azure AD.

Explore how password policies in Active Directory and Group Policy govern length, age, history, and complexity, with Azure AD focusing only on length and including lockout settings.

Explore how user properties affect sign-in, including login name, password, lockout policies, and smart card requirements, and note possible expiration or disabled accounts on a domain controller.

Understand how Windows 10 creates and loads user profiles, including local vs domain naming, Ntuser.dat, app data, desktop, public profile, and Azure AD login, plus migration with third-party tools.

Demonstrates viewing and managing Windows 10 user profiles, joining and disconnecting from a domain, and linking local, Microsoft, or Azure AD accounts to a PC.

Understand how user account control functions as a security feature, prompting for admin credentials and enabling elevation via file and registry redirection, installer detection, and the UAC prompt.

Explain how UAC prompts standard users for administrative credentials when elevation is required in Windows 10. Administrators still consent to elevation, while many tasks run without prompts.

Identify tasks that require elevation and administrative rights, such as installing or uninstalling applications, configuring remote desktop, and managing user accounts on Windows.

Learn to configure UAC notification settings in Windows 10, exploring control panel and group policy tweaks from local policies to domain GPOs, including elevation prompts and admin approval.

Explore how workplace join registers devices to access data, linking the device to the user with a certificate in Active Directory and enabling single sign on via claim based authentication.

Register non domain joined devices in Active Directory to provision a certificate and enable single sign-on for selected apps, with ADFS and Web Application Proxy securing access.

Analyze infrastructure requirements for device registration, including active directory, pki with certificate authority, adfs with ssl certificates, enterprise registration dns name, and device registration service.

Register devices using domain credentials in settings, accounts, and access work or school; enter the user principal name to authenticate and enroll, with multiple enrollments allowed.

Explore IPv4 fundamentals by examining 32-bit protocol addresses in dotted decimal notation, subnet masks, network IDs, and ARP for MAC resolution to same or remote networks.

Examine how IP addresses and subnet masks determine the network and host portions, translate masks to CIDR notation, and troubleshoot connectivity by validating network ID and default gateway alignment.

Set up beyond the local subnet by configuring a default gateway and DNS server, via manual entry or DHCP, to enable name resolution for Active Directory networks.

Explain public vs private addresses, why public addresses require global uniqueness and IANA assignment, and how NAT lets private ranges such as 10.x, 172.16–31.x, and 192.168.x.x reach the internet.

Compare manual configuration, dhcp, and apipa as methods for assigning IPv4 addresses, noting manual drawbacks, the need for a dhcp server, and apipa as a troubleshooting fallback.

Discover how Windows 10 provides tools to configure and troubleshoot networks, including the network setup wizard, network and sharing center, settings app, PowerShell cmdlets, and legacy netsh usage.

Demonstrates configuring Windows 10 network settings via settings, control panel, and command line, covering IP and DNS configuration, DHCP, metered connections, VPN, and firewall considerations.

Explore built-in Windows 10 troubleshooting tools, including event viewer, network diagnostics, ipconfig, ping, traceroute, nslookup, PowerShell cmdlets, and Microsoft Message Analyzer for packet traces.

Explore how to troubleshoot Windows 10 network issues using built-in tools like ipconfig, ping, traceroute, nslookup, and test-netconnection to validate IP configuration, DNS, and gateways.

Discover IPv6’s advantages, including a 128-bit address space, hierarchical routing, automated configuration, IPsec support, and NDP replacing ARP for efficient neighbor discovery.

Explore the three IPv6 address types—unicast, multicast, and anycast—and learn how global, link-local, and unique local unicast addresses enable one-to-one, one-to-many, and locating services or the nearest router.

Learn how the domain name system translates host names to ip addresses, and how dns clients query servers, cache results, and use zones, resource records, and the host file.

Set up a local dns server as the preferred resolver for clients, clear the cache, check the host file, and perform recursive and iterative queries to reach authoritative servers.

Learn to troubleshoot name resolution by clearing DNS cache with ipconfig /flushdns or Clear-DnsClientCache, test connectivity by IP before hostname, and use nslookup to diagnose server or host issues.