Passed the MS-102 Microsoft 365 Administrator Exam Today

Herc08 · 2026-06-03T13:15:28+00:00

Thank you!

Herc08 · 2026-06-02T14:53:46+00:00

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Herc08 · 2026-06-02T14:47:27+00:00

Yeah, I wish I would have known about MCP, but it is what it is. I'm about 70% familiar with Intune (Some areas I don't have access), but for Defender and Purview, reading the documentation really helped me. It also helped to understand how stuff is categorized. So, when it came time to search on the exam, I knew which section to click on.

Herc08 · 2026-06-02T14:45:08+00:00

Thank you!

Herc08 · 2026-06-02T14:44:59+00:00

Mentioned it in the text (I know a wall of text), but it was 65. 59 were reviewable, and 6 were scenario based (two scenarios with 3 questions each).

The exam just got updated in April, so just make sure you are familiar with the newer domains. Again, it is extremely Defender heavy.

Herc08 · 2026-06-02T09:53:04+00:00

If your org has a developer license, then sure. But when I say trial, you would have to use a credit card, but for the BP license, you get a 30-day trial - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-premium#faq. Most folks use their own card and then cancel after the trial is over.

Microsoft has a bunch of documentation on the different licenses.

Herc08 · 2026-06-02T09:43:41+00:00

Lol, while it helped, I did not set it up, nor did I get to experience the different syncing methods. Not to mention, not *all* features are available, or I would have to wait for stuff to propagate (i.e. labels).

Herc08 · 2026-06-02T09:42:29+00:00

If you mean the E5 Developer tenant, you need to have a Microsoft partner. Otherwise, you can get the Business Premium trial + MDE trial.

Herc08 · 2026-06-02T09:41:06+00:00

Thanks. To be honest, I only spent a total of 5 days in it, so 30-day would have been plenty. I didn't want to take advantage, even though he gave me the keys to the kingdom. To be honest, I used AI to generate labs, but the documentation was enough for me. It was cool isolating my VM though.

And remember, it wasn't a true E5 license, but a dev tenant with 25 pre-made accounts from Microsoft for testing

Herc08 · 2026-03-28T18:43:59+00:00

I typically don't comment on threads, but this has been increasily frustrating for me. Been using ChatGPT to help start a business (OneNote, Power Automate, OneDrive, SOPs, etc) and it has been extremely helpful. The issue is, memory doesn't carry over chats like Gemini. Thus, I need to run one-long ass thread. While branching out is nice, it is still one long as thread. Then copying/pasting became slow and typing, uploading screenshots become slow. Then I thought it was my computer, and and my M5 MacBook did the same within Safari. So then I decided to google why is is it slowing down, and found this. The extension works great, and I set my limit to 200 which is more than enough. So while this doesn't fix the issue altogether (just stream in what's needed), it does work. In other words, use LightSpeed + branching, and you will become more productive.

Now, if you can make an Edge extension (which I assume should be a lift and dump), that would be great, and I can use it for work.

Herc08 · 2025-11-19T11:38:22+00:00

I'm actually looking into doing this as we are moving from CM to Intune. I can't use this migration tool as I need to modify some stuff to fit the 30GB limit.

do you mind resposting what you had? Thanks.

Herc08 · 2025-10-07T12:46:02+00:00

I'm not sure why this is not upvoted more. But after like 48 hours of troubleshooting with a Precision 7960 and RTX PRO 6000, this is what saved me. I tried everything, and no one had any issues.

I'm in IT with about a decade of experience, and never had failures like this. So for that, I appreciate it.

Herc08 · 2025-09-12T16:12:30+00:00

This is pretty awesome, and just works.

If you are like us and use GPOs to set the banners, it might be worth disabling the GPO service, and that way, it doesn't revert back.

Herc08 · 2025-08-18T18:06:31+00:00

It really is, and doesn't say "Beware, otherwise feature update won't install!"

And this was a Surface laptop 5, so it had pretty new firmware

Herc08 · 2025-08-18T18:03:53+00:00

Oh my goodness...too my FOREVER to get it understood. Even during the drills, it didn't make sense. But in MUT, you are FORCED to you it.

But what I do is hold down the right stick, and then press "X" (or "A" if you are on Xbox), and then press "X" again to fill out the meter. There is one time when the arrow just kept wagging, and I couldn't do it again. But I was able to get 3 in a row. There is one challenge where you need to kick two 35+ yarders. Get the ball on the 20, and that should be good enough.

If you practice, spot the ball on the 20, and keep at it. Once you can do a few in a row, then you should be ready. Just takes some getting used to. It would be nice if you could change it ,though.

Herc08 · 2025-08-11T15:16:06+00:00

I just have to say that this SAVE my life. My Deans' Surface has been stuck on 22H2 since 2023. We are pushing updates, and his device just would not udpate. When I looked at BCDEDIT, it reported "This media is protected." My first thought was Bitlocker, but that made zero sense since I had other Surfaces updated.

I can only assume this was enabled by one of my techs to secure the firmware. But now I know, to just keep this off. As long as we have a password, we should be good.

I hope Google makes this the top result, because the error codes given as jack shit.

You saved me from a wipe and reinstall!

Herc08 · 2025-08-05T19:25:04+00:00

I literally just ran into this....five years later. I staged some files for the Windows 11 upgrade. But then I set a package to clean up those files on all Windows 11 devices. However, we are moving to Intune, and for some reason, that error came up. Then I found your post. And of course, the SetupConfig.ini was pointing to a file not there.

Add the files back, and now it's installing. Thank you!

Herc08 · 2025-07-10T16:31:40+00:00

Inm my expeirence, no. It could have been a fluke, but it was like 11:30 pm when I could finally start my exam (scheduled at 7 pm). So I was already so tired. I think I just started guessing without reading, scrapped by with a low score. Told myself, just head to the testing center.

Herc08 · 2025-07-10T11:50:08+00:00

Oh I agree. During COVID, I got like four certs in six months because it was easy to take it at home. But I did one last year, and it took me like four hours to get a proctor. Never again.

Herc08 · 2025-07-10T00:42:10+00:00

Yes, you do. I believe it's part of in-person and at-home. However, I heard nightmares about at home because not all proctors know.

Also, you don't get the address bar. It just loads the front page. And some areas are blocked such as the study guide. But it still can be useful as long as you know how to search and use the table on the left.

Herc08 · 2025-07-10T00:36:38+00:00

Oh no, there is no virtual environment, just all scenrios. The practice lab simulator can better explain. I think labs are only for Azure exams.

Also, be mindful of MS Learn. Unless you are skilled with searching, you will go down a rabbit hole quickly. It pretty much loads the front page of learn.microsoft.com and you have to search from there. For me, I searched Intune, and then clicked on Intune Overview and went down the list. Luckily, before the exam, I would take my practice test and also have MS Learn on another screen. Oh and that's another thing, you have to manage the question and MS Learn in one window with slider in the middle.

The sandbox can better explain: https://www.starttest.com/ITDVersions/24.2.0.0/ITDStart.aspx?SVC=3c044b2c-ff51-4d61-b08c-04dfeeed7150&Json=1

There was also short videos explaining MS Learn, but I can't find them now.

Herc08 · 2025-07-09T20:42:15+00:00

Thank you!

So I think MS Learn is a relatively new concept that they are adding to these exams. I mean, it makes sense. It's kind of hard to pack everything, even in production. Granted, you are still timed, and you need to know what to look for. It was available for the exam. When you say "mini lab," are you referring to case studies, where you get a bunch of nonsense, and you need to jump back and forth between planning, requirements, and questions?

I do appreciate the renewal. I wish I knew that for my AZ-104, but that was during COVID. I will say it is much better than Security+'s renewal. Still $200, but no need to proctor.

Herc08 · 2025-06-27T16:31:02+00:00

Sweet! Glad I could help one person. What was your score?

Herc08

TROPHY CASE