MS-102 test format - Microsoft 365 Administrator Updated: 2024

Get prepared for the Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Exam

Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification test measures your skill set in provisioning and managing an Azure environment with a focus on Azure subscription management, compute, storage, networking and identity. The AZ‑103 test replaces the AZ‑100 and AZ‑101 exams, thereby simplifying your journey to become a certified Azure Administrator Associate.

Download this study guide to learn about the Azure Administrator skills measured in AZ‑103, as well as some of the important courses that will be covered under each of the exam's study areas, such as:

• Azure subscriptions and resources management
• Storage management and implementation
• Deployment and management of virtual machines
• Configuration and management of virtual networks
• Identities management

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With nothing more than a generic Windows 11/10 installation disc or USB flash drive, one can enable the built-in Administrator account with a little simple trick – and then use it to lock you out of your own system, or worse, access your private and sensitive files. In this post, we will walk you through the steps to delete the inbuilt Administrator Account in Windows 11/10.

By default, the built-in Windows administrator account is disabled. The built-in administrator account in Windows 11/10 does not even require a password. If you enable the built-in Windows administrator account by choice, you should always create a strong password to use with it.

Caution: It’s strongly recommended NOT to delete the inbuilt Administrator account.

To delete the inbuilt Administrator account in Windows 11/10, do the following:

Since this is a registry operation, it is recommended that you back up the registry or create a system restore point as necessary precautionary measures. Once done, you can proceed as follows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM\SAM

• At the location, on the left pane, right-click the expanded SAM folder, and then click Permissions on the pop-up context menu.
• In the Permissions for SAM window, select the Administrators group. Then, enable the Full-Control and Read options under the Allow header.
• Click Apply > OK.

• Next, click View on the Registry Editor window menu bar, and then click Refresh.
• Now, expand the subfolders underneath the SAM folder until you get to the Names folder. The path is as follows:

SAM > Domains > Account > Users > Names

• Expand the Names folder to reveal the list of user accounts on the system.
• Right-click the Administrator folder, and then click Delete.

That’s it! You have successfully deleted the Windows built-in Administrator account.

You can use the same process to delete the Default Account and Guest Account in Windows as well.

To verify that the built-in admin account has indeed been deleted, you can open a command prompt by pressing the  Windows key + R, then type cmd and hit Enter. In the command prompt window, type net user and hit Enter. This command will list all accounts on the system – even if they have been disabled.

Once the command executes, Windows will display a list of all accounts on the system. Note that the Administrator account is no longer visible.

You can also verify that the built-in Windows admin account is gone by opening the Computer Management console in Windows 11/10.

To do this, invoke the Run dialog box, then type compmgmt.msc and hit Enter. Then, click Local Users and Groups and select the Users folder. Again, note that the Administrator account is not visible.

Hope this helps.

Microsoft published a list of upcoming features and bug fixes for its Edge browser earlier this week. One of the items included in that list, a fix for an administrator mode notification, is already being tested in Version 78.0.253.0 of the browser, which is the latest Edge Canary build.

Based on user feedback, Microsoft had identified a bug where users "receive an 'Administrator Mode Detected' notification (advising them to close and relaunch the browser in non-administrator mode) each time they launch Edge". The company has now added a new flag to Edge Canary that deals with this issue.

The new flag, described as "De-elevate browser on launch", works as follows:

"When the browser is launched in admin mode, automatically relaunch as the currently logged-in user - Windows

The fix is particularly important as running your browser with administrator mode on can put you at significant risk. If a malicious app or website were to compromise your browser, having it running in administrator mode would also grant the attacker the privilege of accessing system files, making the attack far more devastating in its impact.

If you have the latest Edge Canary build installed, you can access it by navigating to edge://flags in the address bar and searching for the above flag. It is enabled by default.

In other Edge news, Microsoft has also been experimenting with other features for its browser. The company recently added global media controls to Edge Canary and Insider builds now also support sign-ins from work and school accounts. A sign of the advanced stage of its development, Microsoft has also released a new beta channel for Microsoft Edge, indicating that an official, stable release is imminent.

Thanks to Leopeva64-2 for the tip!

USB Drives are notorious for being vulnerable to viruses and malware as it is constantly plugged into different computers. So, because of this, we may need to format the drive more often than not, but what if you are not able to do that? In this article, we are going to see some of the solutions that could help you.

Can’t format USB Drive

These are some of the things you can do if you can’t format the USB Drive on your Windows 11/10 computer:

1. Make sure the is USB Drive is not Write-Protected
2. Scan your Computer & USB for Virus
3. Run CHKDSK scan on the USB
4. Format USB Drive using Command Prompt

Let us talk about them in detail.

Windows was unable to complete the format

1] Make sure the Drive is not Write-Protected

The first thing you need to make sure, before concluding that something is wrong with your USB Drive, is if it’s write-protected. To clear the USB write-protection, we are going to use the Command Prompt.

Launch Command Prompt as an administrator and type the following commands.

DISKPART

list disk

select disk X

Note: Replace “X” with the number of your USB Drive. You can confirm the number by looking at the Size.

attributes disk clear readonly

Now, your Drive is not write-protected.

Try formatting it, if the error is because of this issue, it will be fixed.

Fix: USB error There is no media in the specified device

2] Scan your PC & USB for Virus

One way to fix the issue is by scanning your computer for viruses and malware. You can use any free antivirus or Microsoft Defender. In this section, we are going to use Microsoft Defender.

To scan your computer for malicious files, launch Settings by Win + X > Settings and click Update & Security > Windows Security > Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options > Windows Defender Offline scan > Scan now.

Let the Windows Defender scan your system and eliminate all the viruses and malware.

3] Run CHKDSK scan on USB

With the help of the CHKDSK command, we are going to fix the corrupted USB drive. This will fix all the bad sectors of your drive.

To do that, launch Command Prompt as an administrator, type the following command, and hit Enter.

chkdsk g: /f /r /x

Note: Replace “g” with your USB’s Drive letter.

If the issue is because of a corrupted drive, it will be fixed.

4] Format Drive using Command-line

If you can not format your USB Drive from File Explorer, try doing the same with the Command Prompt.

To do that, launch Command Prompt as an administrator, type the following commands and hit Enter.

DISKPART

list disk

select disk X

Note: Replace “X” with the number of your USB Drive. You can confirm the number by looking at the Size.

clean

create partition primary

format fs=ntfs quick

Note: If you have chosen fat32, replace ntf with fat32.

Hopefully, this has helped you in fixing the “not able to format USB Drive in Windows 10” error.

Read Next: The device is currently in use – USB error.

Microsoft last week revealed a price hike in Microsoft Certifications that'll go into effect throughout many parts of the world starting in July.

The price hikes will affect the following certifications: Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD), Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST), Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD), Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA).

Microsoft said it doesn't expect to increase the price of Microsoft Certified Master (MCM), Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA), Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), and Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certification exams.

Microsoft isn't raising the price of exams uniformly around the world: The retail price for Microsoft Certification exams in the U.S. and Canada will rise from $125 to $150, but it'll remain unchanged in counties like Ireland, Spain and Greece, whose economies are still shaky.

Microsoft says it'll use the price hike to Strengthen the Microsoft Certification program with new certifications and question types, as well as frequent test updates and better test security.

The move came as a surprise to partners, and those who've been adjusting their businesses to meet the new terms of Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) said the timing is unfortunate. However, Microsoft plans to offer partners "substantial savings" on test fees for Microsoft Certifications required to attain MPN competencies. Details on these offers are on the agenda for this year's Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), to be held from July 10-14 in Los Angeles.

MPN adds a great deal of weight to the technical skills partners carry, and many have had to make difficult choices as part of their migration to MPN. In MPN, the old Gold and Silver rankings are now being used as indicators of a partner's skill level within 29 distinct MPN technology competencies.

To obtain Gold, partners must hire or contract with four Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs), and the requirement for Silver is two MCPs. This is in addition to the business model changes Microsoft is pressing partners to make as part of the software giant's march in cloud computing.

In light of all these changes, it's understandable that some partners would be irked by the addition of an additional cost burden.

"Not only are we eating administrative costs to realign ourselves with Microsoft, we’re coming off a tough few years of lackluster IT spending and dealing with cloud solutions that are trying to capture a significant amount of value from the channel ecosystem," said Travis Fisher, executive vice president at Inacom Information Systems, a Salisbury, Md.-based solution provider. "I can’t imagine a worse time for increased certification costs to take effect than right now."

Next: Certifications Are Just Part Of Microsoft Partners' Costs

Microsoft, through its testing partner Prometric, offers a 30 percent discount to partners that purchase an 8-pack of test vouchers, which includes one free "re-take" for those who don't pass the first time. There are seven exams required for the MCSE certification, which adds up to $1,050 without the discount.

But as Fisher notes, exams costs are only part of the equation when it comes to obtaining a Microsoft certification. When everything is taken into account, he estimates that Inacom invests around $10,000 per person for certifications every three to five years.

"Let’s be honest: The real costs of obtaining any certification come in the form of boot camps, which cost around $3,500 per week, payroll expenses, and lost productivity," Fisher said.

It's unlikely that higher certification costs are going to dissuade Microsoft partners that have begun their move to MPN, particularly because like MPN itself, the test price hike will likely supply partners better visibility and differentiation within the Microsoft channel.

"This will definitely raise costs in the short-term, but fewer partners will achieve and maintain these certs, allowing them to differentiate themselves as experts in a way that other partners can’t," said Rick Oppedisano, executive director of partner and channel Sales at Azaleos, a Seattle-based Microsoft solution provider.

Dave Sobel, CEO of Evolve Technologies, a Fairfax, Va.-based Microsoft partner, was surprised by the price hike, but says it won't affect his company's MPN plans.

"It's unfortunate that it's coming in the midst of our move over to MPN, and it matters because we're trying to get a bunch of people trained," he said. "But Microsoft has long been quite generous in giving training incentives to partners, and this isn't an unreasonable increase."

Adrian Grahams began writing professionally in 1989 after training as a newspaper reporter. His work has been published online and in various newspapers, including "The Cornish Times" and "The Sunday Independent." Grahams specializes in technology and communications. He holds a Bachelor of Science, postgraduate diplomas in journalism and website design and is studying for an MBA.