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MCSAMicrosoft Windows™ 8.1

Complete Study Guide

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MCSAMicrosoft® Windows® 8.1

Complete Study Guide

Jeffrey R. Shapiro

Darril Gibson

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Senior Acquisitions Editor: Kenyon BrownDevelopment Editor: Amy BreguetTechnical Editors: Ed Tittle and Troy McMillanProduction Editor: Christine O’Connor Copy Editor: Elizabeth WelchEditorial Manager: Mary Beth WakefieldProduction Manager: Kathleen WisorAssociate Publisher: Jim Minatel Media Supervisor: Richard GravesBook Designers: Judy Fung and Bill GibsonProofreader: Nancy BellIndexer: Ted LauxProject Coordinator, Cover: Brent SavageCover Designer: WileyCover Image: Wiley

Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-55687-0 ISBN: 978-1-118-76324-7 (ebk.)ISBN: 978-1-119-11246-4 (ebk.)

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To my wife Esther, who reminds me how much better life is when you share

it with someone you love. God willing, we will spend another 20 years

together in love and in learning.

Acknowledgments

Books of this size and depth succeed because of the hard work of a full team of profes-sionals. I’m grateful for all the hard work put in by several people at Sybex on this project. I would like to fi rst thank Jeff Kellum and Kenyon Brown, my acquisitions editors, for believing I could write this book for Sybex, and also for their support and for making sense of the complicated business of book publishing. Amy Breguet was a great develop-mental editor; she helped keep things on track and provided excellent editorial guidance. A big thanks goes to Elizabeth Welch, who copyedited the book, and Christine O’Connor, who guided the book through production. The technical editors, Ed Tittell, Andrew Bettany, and Troy McMillan provided insightful input throughout the book.

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About the Authors

Jeffrey R. Shapiro, MSCD, MCT, MCSE, MCITP, has been involved with Microsoft in infrastruc-ture — servers, desktops and networks — and software for more than 20 years. He has taught many courses on MCSE (NT 4.0, Windows Server 2000–2012), MCITP (Windows XP, Windows 8 and 8.1, SQL Server, IIS, Active Directory and more), MCSD (Visual Basic, C#, ASP, ASP.NET and the .NET Framework), networking fundamentals, and network security. Jeffrey has authored, coauthored, or contributed on more than 20 IT books.

Darril Gibson is a veteran trainer who holds Microsoft, CompTIA, and (ISC)2 certifi cations. He has authored or coauthored more than 30 books.

Contents at a GlanceIntroduction xxvii

Assessment Test xl

Chapter 1 Introducing Windows 8.1 1

Chapter 2 Planning the Windows 8.1 Installation 59

Chapter 3 Installing Windows 8.1 89

Chapter 4 Using Virtualization Technologies 129

Chapter 5 Networking 169

Chapter 6 Windows Firewall and Remote Access 223

Chapter 7 Managing Windows 8.1 in a Domain 271

Chapter 8 Users and Groups 297

Chapter 9 Managing Security 339

Chapter 10 Managing Files and Disks on Windows 8.1 393

Chapter 11 Managing Windows 8.1 Hardware and Printers 447

Chapter 12 Monitoring System Performance and Recovery 485

Chapter 13 Recovery and Backup Options 527

Chapter 14 Installing and Configuring Applications 547

Appendix A Answers to Review Questions 565

Index 589

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ContentsIntroduction xxvii

Assessment Test xl

Chapter 1 Introducing Windows 8.1 1

Navigating Windows 8.1 2Using Gestures 4Using Charms 5Using Tiles 5Using Alt Menus 6Using the Start Menu 6Showing Administrative Tools 7Snapping Apps 9

Using Windows 8.1 Shortcuts 10 Understanding Authentication and Authorization 12

Account Types 12 PIN and Picture Passwords 15

Using the Windows Command Prompt 17Launching the Command Prompt 17Launching with Administrator Privileges 18Command Prompt Basics 19Using runas 23System Variables 24Commands and Paths 25Using Copy and Paste with the Command Prompt 33Capturing the Output 35Creating a Batch File 35

Using Windows PowerShell and the PowerShell ISE 38Windows PowerShell ISE 39PowerShell Command Overview 42Verbs and Nouns 44Sending Output to a Text File 44PowerShell Syntax 45Running PowerShell Commands 48Running PowerShell Scripts 49Just a Glimpse 51

Summary 52Exam Essentials 52Review Questions 54

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Chapter 2 Planning the Windows 8.1 Installation 59

Choosing a Windows 8.1 Edition 60Windows RT and the Surface Tablet 63Software Assurance 64

Evaluating Hardware and Compatibility Requirements 64Considering x86 and x64 (32-Bit and 64-Bit) 65Determining Screen Resolution 65

Choosing Between an Upgrade and a Clean Install 66Windows.old Folder 67Upgrade Paths 67Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant 68Upgrade vs. Migration 69

Designing an Operating System Installation Strategy 70Windows 8.1 Images 71Design Considerations 78

Summary 82Exam Essentials 83

Review Questions 85

Chapter 3 Installing Windows 8.1 89

Performing a Local Installation 90Installing and Configuring Windows To Go 94

Installing Windows To Go 95Configuring Windows To Go 96Using Command-Line Tools 97

Creating and Installing a VHD 99Designing a Solution for User Settings 102

User Profiles 103Folder Redirection 107User Experience Virtualization 109

Migrating User Data 109Windows Easy Transfer 110User State Migration Tool 112Folder Redirection for Migration 122

Summary 122Exam Essentials 123

Review Questions 124

Chapter 4 Using Virtualization Technologies 129

Understanding Virtualization and Hyper-V 130Reviewing Requirements for Hyper-V 132

Contents xv

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Enabling Hyper-V 134Configuring Virtual Switches 135Creating Virtual Machines 138

Creating a VM for Windows 8.1 140Installing Windows 8.1 in a VM 142Creating a VM for Windows Server 2012 143Installing Windows 2012 in a VM 144Configuring Windows Server 2012 145Promoting a Server to a DC 148Joining Your Windows 8.1 System to a Domain 151Logging On to the Domain 153Creating and Manipulating Snapshots 154Comparing Test and Production Networks 157Configuring Virtual Machines 158

Designing a Virtual Application Strategy 159Remote Desktop Services 160Comparing RemoteApp and RemoteFX 161Understanding App-V 162


Chapter 5 Networking 169

Understanding Network Connectivity in an Enterprise 170Unicast, Multicast, and Broadcast 172Understanding IP Addresses 173IPv4 vs. IPv6 178Resolving Names to IP Addresses 182Basic Commands Used with Networking 185

Using the Network and Sharing Center 192Understanding Network Locations Profiles 193Configuring Network Locations 196Configuring HomeGroup Settings 197Configuring a Wired Network Interface Card 200Configuring Wireless Network Settings 202

Resolving Connectivity Issues 210Verifying Hardware and Cabling 211

Using Command Prompt Tools for Troubleshooting 213Troubleshooting and Resolving Name Resolution Issues 214


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Chapter 6 Windows Firewall and Remote Access 223

Configuring Windows Firewall 224Firewall Limitations 227Windows Firewall Exceptions 227

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security 229Enabling a Port 232Enabling a Protocol 234Configuring Authenticated Exceptions 236Configure Connection Security Rules (IPsec) 238

Configuring Remote Management 241Remote Access Overview 241Choosing the Appropriate Remote Management Tools 242Configuring Remote Management Settings 243Configuring Remote Desktop Settings 247Configuring Remote Authentication 248Connecting to a Remote System with Remote

Desktop Connection 251Supporting VPNs 254DirectAccess 258BranchCache 258Supporting Mobile Devices 260Sync Center 261Supporting Broadband 263


Chapter 7 Managing Windows 8.1 in a Domain 271

Workgroups vs. Domains 272Domain Controllers 272Joining a Domain 273

Authentication and Authorization in a Domain 275Authentication 276Authorization 276

Using Group Policy in a Domain 283Group Policy and the GPMC 284Group Policy Scope 286Group Policy Nodes 288Group Policy Settings 290


Contents xvii

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Chapter 8 Users and Groups 297

Overview of Windows 8.1 User Accounts 298Account Types 299Built-in Accounts 300Local and Domain User Accounts 301

Logging On and Logging Off 302Using Local User Logon Authentication 302Signing Out of Windows 8.1 303

Working with User Accounts 303Using the Local Users and Groups Utility 304Using the User Accounts Option in Control Panel 306Creating New Users 307Disabling User Accounts 311Deleting User Accounts 312Renaming User Accounts 313Changing a User’s Password 314

Managing User Properties 315Managing User Group Membership 316Setting Up User Profiles, Logon Scripts, and Home Folders 317

Troubleshooting User Account Authentication 322Troubleshooting Local User Account Authentication 322

Using, Creating, and Managing Groups 323Using Built-in Groups 324Creating Groups 328Managing User and Computer Groups in Intune 332


Chapter 9 Managing Security 339

Managing Security 340Managing Security Configurations 340Group Policy Processing 341Using the Group Policy Results Tool 342Group Policy Caching 343

Managing and Applying LGPOs 343Configuring Local Security Policies 346Support Authentication and Authorization by Using

Account Policies 347Using Local Policies 354

Configuring User Account Control 363Managing Privilege Elevation 363Registry and File Virtualization 366

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Using Advanced Security Options 366Configuring the Action Center 367Performing a Manual Scan 367Configuring Windows Defender 369Other Security Options 371

Using BitLocker Drive Encryption 373Understanding Smart Cards 374Managing File and Folder Security 375

Folder Options 375Securing Access to Files and Folders 379

Managing Network Access 380Creating Shared Folders 380Configuring Share Permissions 382HomeGroup 383

Using Windows Update 383Using System Center 2012 386

Microsoft System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection 386Summary 386Exam Essentials 387Review Questions 388

Chapter 10 Managing Files and Disks on Windows 8.1 393

Understanding Files and Folders 394File Basics 394About Folders 396

Configuring Folder Sharing 399Advanced Sharing Options 402Using Public Folders 402Advanced Sharing 403Configuring OneDrive 404Configuring HomeGroups 405

Managing File and Folder Security 410Folder Options 410Securing Access to Files and Folders 414Determining Effective Permissions 419Viewing Effective Permissions 420Determining NTFS Permissions for Copied or

Moved Files 421Managing Network Access to Folders 421

Creating Shared Folders 422Configuring Share Permissions 423Dynamic Access Control 424NTFS Auditing 425Supporting Data Security by Using EFS 426

Contents xix

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Managing Local Storage 427Managing Disk Volumes and Filesystems 428Configuring Disk Quotas 430Managing Storage Spaces 432Supporting Data Storage 433

Monitoring System Performance 434Configuring Indexing Options 435

Controlling Access to Removable Media 438BitLocker and BitLocker To Go 438Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring 440


Chapter 11 Managing Windows 8.1 Hardware and Printers 447

Configuring Devices and Device Drivers 448Signed and Unsigned Drivers 455Installing, Updating, and Disabling Drivers 457Managing Driver Packages 462Resolving Driver Issues 463Rolling Back Drivers 464Configuring Driver Settings 465

Installing and Sharing Printers 466Adding and Connecting to Printers 467Connecting to a Shared Printer 470Configure Location-Aware Printing 474

Monitoring and Managing Print Servers 476NFC Tap-to-Pair 477


Chapter 12 Monitoring System Performance and Recovery 485

Using Task Manager 486Reviewing the Enhancements 486Task Manager 487Using Task Manager 490Remediating Startup Issues by Using the Diagnostics

and Recovery Toolkit 498Using Event Viewer 498

Configuring Event Logs 499Analyzing Event Logs 500Configuring Event Subscriptions 502

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Resolving Hardware and Device Issues 504Using Performance Monitor 506

Data Collector Sets 509Accessing and Using Reports 512Using Resource Monitor 512

Optimizing Performance by Using Windows Performance Toolkit 513

Xperf.exe 513XperfView.exe 514Xbootmgr.exe 514Windows Performance Recorder 515

Troubleshooting Boot Issues 517Using System Recovery Options 518


Chapter 13 Recovery and Backup Options 527

System Protection 528Enabling System Protection 528

File Recovery 531Using File History 531Creating a Recovery Drive 540


Chapter 14 Installing and Configuring Applications 547

Windows Store 548Using the Windows Store 549Navigating the Windows Store 550Using Windows Intune 555

Supporting Desktop Apps 557Configuring Application Restrictions 560


Appendix A Answers to Review Questions 565

Chapter 1 566Chapter 2 568Chapter 3 569Chapter 4 571Chapter 5 574

Contents xxi

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Chapter 6 575Chapter 7 577Chapter 8 578Chapter 9 580Chapter 10 581Chapter 11 582Chapter 12 584Chapter 13 585Chapter 14 586

Index 589

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Table of Exercises

Exercise 1.1 Adding Administrative Tools to the Start Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Exercise 1.2 Creating a Local User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Exercise 1.3 Changing a Standard Account to an Administrator Account . . . . . . . . . . 14

Exercise 1.5 Creating a Picture Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Exercise 1.6 Launching the Command Prompt with Administrative Privileges . . . . . . 19

Exercise 1.7 Modifying the Path System Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Exercise 1.8 Using the cd Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Exercise 1.9 Using Drag and Drop with the Command Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Exercise 1.10 Using Copy and Paste from the Command Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Exercise 1.11 Creating a Batch File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Exercise 1.12 Updating Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Exercise 1.13 Running PowerShell Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Exercise 1.14 Changing the Execution Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Exercise 2.1 Checking Screen Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Exercise 2.2 Running the Upgrade Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Exercise 2.3 Installing the Windows ADK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Exercise 3.1 Installing Windows 8.1 from the Installation DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Exercise 3.2 Installing Windows To Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Exercise 3.3 Configuring Windows To Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Exercise 3.4 Creating a Bootable VHD Using DiskPart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Exercise 3.5 Creating a Bootable VHD Using Disk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Exercise 3.6 Showing Hidden and System-Protected Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Exercise 3.7 Redirecting Folders to Migrate User Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Exercise 3.8 Running USMT in a Batch File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Exercise 4.1 Enabling Hyper-V on a Windows 8.1 Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Exercise 4.2 Creating a Virtual Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Exercise 4.3 Creating a VM for Windows 8.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Exercise 4.4 Installing Windows 8.1 in a VM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Exercise 4.5 Creating a VM for Windows Server 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Exercise 4.6 Installing Windows Server 2012 in a VM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Exercise 4.7 Configuring Windows Server 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Exercise 4.8 Promoting Windows Server 2012 to a DC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Exercise 4.9 Joining Windows 8.1 to a Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

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Exercise 4.10 Logging On to Windows 8.1 with a Domain Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Exercise 4.11 Creating Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Exercise 5.1 Selecting a Network Location Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Exercise 5.2 Creating a HomeGroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Exercise 5.3 Joining a HomeGroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Exercise 5.4 Configuring a Network Interface Card (NIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Exercise 5.5 Configuring a Wireless NIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Exercise 5.6 Creating a Metered Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Exercise 5.7 Connecting to a Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Exercise 5.8 Verifying and Diagnosing the Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Exercise 5.9 Using Hostname Resolution Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Exercise 6.1 Configuring Windows Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Exercise 6.2 Configuring Windows Firewall Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Exercise 6.3 Using Windows Firewall with Advanced Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Exercise 6.4 Enabling a Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Exercise 6.5 Enabling a Protocol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Exercise 6.6 Configuring Authenticated Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Exercise 6.7 Configuring Connection Security Rules (IPsec) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Exercise 6.8 Configuring Remote Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Exercise 6.9 Sending a Remote Assistance Invitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Exercise 6.10 Configuring Remote Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Exercise 6.11 Configuring Remote Desktop Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Exercise 6.12 Connecting to a Remote Computer Using the Remote Desktop App. . . 252

Exercise 6.13 Connecting to a Remote Computer Using Remote Desktop

Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Exercise 6.14 Creating a VPN Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Exercise 7.1 Joining Windows 8.1 to a Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Exercise 7.2 Accessing Local Security Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Exercise 7.3 Creating Users and Groups in a Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Exercise 7.4 Starting the Group Policy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Exercise 8.1 Adding the Local Users And Groups Snap-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Exercise 8.2 Using the Local Users And Groups Snap-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Exercise 8.3 Creating New Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Exercise 8.4 Disabling Accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

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Exercise 8.5 Deleting a User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Exercise 8.6 Renaming a User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Exercise 8.7 Changing a User’s Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Exercise 8.8 Changing a User’s Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Exercise 8.9 Setting Up User Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Exercise 8.10 Assigning Home Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Exercise 8.11 Creating Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Exercise 8.12 Adding Accounts to Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Exercise 9.1 Adding the Local Computer Policy Snap-In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Exercise 9.2 Accessing the LGPO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Exercise 9.3 Configuring Password Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Exercise 9.4 Configuring Account Lockout Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Exercise 9.5 Configuring Audit Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Exercise 9.6 Applying User Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Exercise 9.7 Seeing How UAC Affects Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Exercise 10.1 Changing the Default Program or App. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

Exercise 10.2 Configuring Folder Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400

Exercise 10.3 Managing NTFS Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Exercise 11.1 Viewing a Device Driver in Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

Exercise 11.2 Viewing the Devices Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453

Exercise 11.3 Installing a Device Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Exercise 11.4 Updating a Device Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Exercise 11.5 Rolling Back a Device Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Exercise 11.6 Configuring a Device Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Exercise 11.7 Configuring a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

Exercise 11.8 Sharing a Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Exercise 11.9 Connecting to a Shared Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472

Exercise 11.10 Configuring Location-Aware Printers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

Exercise 12.1 Configuring Event Subscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502

Exercise 12.2 Adding Counters to the Performance Monitor Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

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Introduction

Windows is the number-one desktop operating system worldwide. Microsoft has created two major exams for Windows 8.1:

■ 70-687: Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCSA): Windows 8.1, Configuration

■ 70-688: Microsoft Certified Professional (Pro): Windows 8.1, Enterprise Desktop Administrator

You can view the objectives for each of these exams with the following links: troyhttps://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-687.aspx and https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-687.aspx

The exams are designed to measure your skill and ability to implement, administer, and troubleshoot computers running all editions of Windows 8.1. Microsoft not only tests you on your knowledge of the desktop operating system, but also has developed questions on the exams to force you to apply your knowledge to work out solutions in the same way you would when presented with real-life problems. Passing these exams demonstrates your competency in administration and support. In these challenging economic times, keep-ing ahead of the competition—standing out among your colleagues—can make a big dif-ference in whether you gain a promotion or possibly keep your job instead of being the one who gets laid off. Or maybe this is your fi rst attempt at certifi cation because you’ve decided to venture into a new career in IT. You’ve realized that getting into the IT sector is smart because the demand for knowledgeable professionals in this dynamic fi eld will only intensify dramatically.

This book covers all the objectives to help you develop the specifi c core competencies that you need to master as a desktop support specialist. You should be able to pass the exam by learning the material in this book without taking a class.

Who Should Read This Book

This book was written for two primary audiences:

Administrators on the Job This book is primarily written for administrators who need to install, deploy, and support Windows 8.1. It’s intended to be an on-the-job reference book to help real-world administrators support Windows 8.1 from a desktop administrator or desktop support technician perspective.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-687.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-687.aspx

https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-687.aspx

https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-687.aspx

xxviii Introduction

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Exam Takers This book covers all of the objectives for the core 70-687 and 70-688 exams as well as the upgrade exam 70-689. If you’re studying for either of the two core exams, this book is an excellent supplement to other exam materials. It can help you master the objectives so that you will pass either of these exams the fi rst time you take it.

What You NeedThis book leads you through the paces of managing and supporting Windows 8.1. It includes many exercises that require you to have Windows 8.1 installed on your system.

What Is Covered in This Book

MCSA Windows 8.1 Complete Study Guide: Exams 70-687, 70-688, and 70-689 is orga-nized to provide the knowledge you’ll need to support Windows 8.1. It includes the follow-ing chapters:

Chapter 1: Introducing Windows 8.1 This chapter provides an overview of important new user interface elements fi rst introduced in Windows 8, including the Start screen and its tiles and charms. You’ll learn how a Windows Live account is used to streamline the use of Microsoft cloud-based services. You’ll also learn about picture passwords and other forms of user authentication. Finally, you’ll fi nd out about two important administrator tools: the command prompt and Windows PowerShell. Many of the questions covered by the exam are related to commands executed with these tools.

Chapter 2: Planning the Windows 8.1 Installation This chapter covers the features and capabilities of the versions of Windows 8.1 as well as the specifi c hardware requirements for each version. You’ll learn how to perform a clean installation of Windows 8.1 and upgrade from a Windows 7 or Windows 8 installation. Windows 8.1 deployment strategies for larger enterprises are also covered, as well as issues related to Windows To Go, virtual-ization, booting from a virtual hard disk (VHD) fi le, and multiboot systems.

Chapter 3: Installing Windows 8.1 This chapter provides more details on Windows 8.1 installation topics, including using Windows To Go to install the operating system on an external USB drive and creating a virtual hard disk for a Windows 8.1 installation. You’ll learn about managing user settings and data with local, remote, and mandatory profi les and how Windows Easy Transfer can be used to streamline setting and data migration for single users. You’ll also fi nd out how the User State Migration Tool’s loadstate and scanstate commands can simplify installations and upgrades for multiple users by auto-matically migrating user settings and data to the new operating system.

Chapter 4: Using Virtualization Technologies This chapter covers virtualization capa-bilities that allow you to run one or more virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical host computer. You’ll review the requirements for Hyper-V and work through several exercises related to virtual network creation. These exercises will provide you with a

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